The Works of Richard Owen Cambridge Including several pieces never before published: with an account of his life and character, by his son, George Owen Cambridge |
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 | The Works of Richard Owen Cambridge |  |
217
BOOK VI.
218
ARGUMENT.
Scriblerus meets with the son of Faustus the Alchymist, who invites him to his house. Faustus explains to him the cause of their festival, and relates the history of Basilius Valentinus. The Alchymists are again baffled in their attempt to transmute the lead. Scriblerus desires to make a trial; is refused on account of his mean appearance, but discovering his name and family, is admitted with honour to the furnace. He soon obtains a colour, which success is received with universal applause. They contend who shall pay him the greatest respect, and eagerly embrace the proposal of Bossius to beatify him. The Hero, by a presentiment, is aware of the accidents that may happen at this important crisis, and advises to postpone the honours designed him 'till the great work be fully accomplished, left vanity, which already begins to possess his mind, should stop the progress of it, and perhaps entirely disappoint their expectations. His speech is interrupted by their enthusiastic zeal, and they immediately proceed to beatification. And now the Poet having conducted Scriblerus through a series of adventures, with success beyond the expectation of a mortal, concludes his poem with the Apotheosis of his Hero.
219
Thus, wrapt in thought, the Hero trod the plain,
When, sudden, rushing from the hills amain,
A youthful sportsman flies with rapid pace,
And, o'er the lawn, pursues his insect chace.
A waistcoat of the thinnest silk he wore,
And in his hand, of slightest texture, bore
A curious net, whose meshes light and rare
Scarce shone distinguish'd from th' unbodied air.
And now the plain's remotest verge he treads,
Now, nigh the Sage, the chace his footsteps leads;
Now in his slender toils he holds the prey,
And joyful to Scriblerus bends his way.
Stranger, contemplate well, with earnest eyes,
Eager he calls, this paragon of flies.
Observe him o'er; and tell if thou hast seen,
Or on the trees, or on the level green,
His pregnant mate, the precious insect show,
And claim whate'er my bounty can bestow.
O! youth, the Sage replies, nor have I seen
Or on the trees, or on the level green,
The pregnant consort of your beauteous game,
Nor aught, tho' needy, from your bounty claim.
Yet oh! vouchsafe one hospitable boon,
Declare the name os yon majestic town,
And point the way. To Munster's proud abode,
The youth replies, companion of the road
Myself thy steps will guide. Be thou my guest:
For sure some secret pow'r informs my breast
Thou draw'st thy lineage from no vulgar race,
And thro' thy rags a godlike mien I trace.
From far-fam'd ancestors my birth I claim,
A glorious lineage! Faustus is my name.
My great exploits th' Aurelian sages show,
Their walls resplendent with my labours glow.
Propitious Hermes to my sire imparts
The greatest, noblest of all human arts.
Obedient Vulcan owns his high commands,
Nor changeful Proteus can elude his hands.
When, sudden, rushing from the hills amain,
A youthful sportsman flies with rapid pace,
And, o'er the lawn, pursues his insect chace.
A waistcoat of the thinnest silk he wore,
And in his hand, of slightest texture, bore
A curious net, whose meshes light and rare
Scarce shone distinguish'd from th' unbodied air.
And now the plain's remotest verge he treads,
Now, nigh the Sage, the chace his footsteps leads;
Now in his slender toils he holds the prey,
And joyful to Scriblerus bends his way.
Stranger, contemplate well, with earnest eyes,
Eager he calls, this paragon of flies.
Observe him o'er; and tell if thou hast seen,
Or on the trees, or on the level green,
His pregnant mate, the precious insect show,
And claim whate'er my bounty can bestow.
220
Or on the trees, or on the level green,
The pregnant consort of your beauteous game,
Nor aught, tho' needy, from your bounty claim.
Yet oh! vouchsafe one hospitable boon,
Declare the name os yon majestic town,
And point the way. To Munster's proud abode,
The youth replies, companion of the road
Myself thy steps will guide. Be thou my guest:
For sure some secret pow'r informs my breast
Thou draw'st thy lineage from no vulgar race,
And thro' thy rags a godlike mien I trace.
From far-fam'd ancestors my birth I claim,
A glorious lineage! Faustus is my name.
My great exploits th' Aurelian sages show,
Their walls resplendent with my labours glow.
Propitious Hermes to my sire imparts
The greatest, noblest of all human arts.
Obedient Vulcan owns his high commands,
Nor changeful Proteus can elude his hands.
221
He said: his words the Hero's breast inflame;
But chief, O Faustus, thy auspicious name,
Sure presage of success. With streaming eyes,
His joys dissembling, thus the Sage replies.
But chief, O Faustus, thy auspicious name,
Sure presage of success. With streaming eyes,
His joys dissembling, thus the Sage replies.
Thrice bounteous youth, my grateful thanks receive,
'Tis all alas! that poverty can give.
Once happier days were mine; and not the least
In Hermes' art, was known your wretched guest;
And O! were now some chymic task assign'd,
The god would still support th' industrious mind.
To temper lute; the never-dying flame
To tend, assiduous as the Vestal dame.
With muffled face corroding fumes to dare,
Nor pounded poison's subtlest atoms fear.
Not undeserving would I eat my bread,
An idle loit'rer on your bounty fed.
'Tis all alas! that poverty can give.
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In Hermes' art, was known your wretched guest;
And O! were now some chymic task assign'd,
The god would still support th' industrious mind.
To temper lute; the never-dying flame
To tend, assiduous as the Vestal dame.
With muffled face corroding fumes to dare,
Nor pounded poison's subtlest atoms fear.
Not undeserving would I eat my bread,
An idle loit'rer on your bounty fed.
Scriblerus thus disguised his promised fate,
And now they reach great Faustus' friendly gate.
When thus the courteous youth his Sire addrest:
Disdain not to receive this stranger guest,
Tho' mean the garb which wraps the man of woe,
Tho' thus he roam a mendicant in show.
Oft, like the sun behind some dusky cloud,
Is Learning known her radiant head to shroud
In tatter'd robes; and frequent have we seen
Ev'n wit, affecting a neglected mien,
In rags like these, all specious pomp abjured,
Chuse to reside; his glory unobscured.
And now they reach great Faustus' friendly gate.
When thus the courteous youth his Sire addrest:
Disdain not to receive this stranger guest,
Tho' mean the garb which wraps the man of woe,
Tho' thus he roam a mendicant in show.
Oft, like the sun behind some dusky cloud,
Is Learning known her radiant head to shroud
In tatter'd robes; and frequent have we seen
Ev'n wit, affecting a neglected mien,
In rags like these, all specious pomp abjured,
Chuse to reside; his glory unobscured.
223
Stranger, the Sire replies, in happy hour
Thou com'st, directed by some fav'ring pow'r.
Propitious Venus sped thee on thy way
To share the triumphs of this glorious day
Sacred to science and to festal mirth,
The day which gave the great Basilius birth.
Free and unquestion'd enter, and prepare
The due libation and the solemn prayer.
Or if thy curious bosom burn to hear
Why thus Basilius mem'ry we revere;
Or why to his distinguish'd shade belong
The hallow'd victim and the votive song,
Attend. To this illustrious Sage were known
The long-sought virtues of the wond'rous stone,
Potent the fleeting spirit to restore,
Or to pure gold convert the baser ore.
Thus had th' adept prolong'd his niggard span,
Thus had he liv'd immortal, tho' a Man.
But wayward fortune takes a spleenful joy
The wisest schemes of mortals to destroy.
Thou com'st, directed by some fav'ring pow'r.
Propitious Venus sped thee on thy way
To share the triumphs of this glorious day
Sacred to science and to festal mirth,
The day which gave the great Basilius birth.
Free and unquestion'd enter, and prepare
The due libation and the solemn prayer.
Or if thy curious bosom burn to hear
Why thus Basilius mem'ry we revere;
Or why to his distinguish'd shade belong
The hallow'd victim and the votive song,
Attend. To this illustrious Sage were known
The long-sought virtues of the wond'rous stone,
Potent the fleeting spirit to restore,
Or to pure gold convert the baser ore.
Thus had th' adept prolong'd his niggard span,
Thus had he liv'd immortal, tho' a Man.
But wayward fortune takes a spleenful joy
The wisest schemes of mortals to destroy.
The Sage, long wasted with consuming cares,
His body bending with a weight of years,
When now he felt the tyrant hand of death,
Thus to his son addrest his latest breath:
His body bending with a weight of years,
When now he felt the tyrant hand of death,
Thus to his son addrest his latest breath:
224
With painful watching and incessant pray'r,
Nine tedious months I labour'd to prepare
The precious drops this chrystal vase contains,
The rich reward of all my wasting pains.
Now mark, my son, and with attentive ear,
The virtues of our great Elixir hear.
Nine tedious months I labour'd to prepare
The precious drops this chrystal vase contains,
The rich reward of all my wasting pains.
Now mark, my son, and with attentive ear,
The virtues of our great Elixir hear.
When hast'ning age the call of fate obeys,
When the soul sickens, and the sense decays,
When all the weaken'd organs lose their tone,
The nerves relax'd, th' elastic vigour gone,
When ev'n the life-blood stagnates in my heart,
Soon as thou seest my latest breath depart,
Within my lips the sacred med'cine pour;
The draught vivific shall my soul restore;
Course thro' the veins, the springs of life renew,
And ev'ry nerve with active force endue.
So may your pious gratitude bestow
On me the life which to your Sire you owe;
And when thy soul obeys the call of fate,
To thee the precious gift will I repeat.
Thus may we oft renew the mutual boon,
Thus lose the names of Father and of Son.
When the soul sickens, and the sense decays,
When all the weaken'd organs lose their tone,
The nerves relax'd, th' elastic vigour gone,
When ev'n the life-blood stagnates in my heart,
Soon as thou seest my latest breath depart,
Within my lips the sacred med'cine pour;
The draught vivific shall my soul restore;
Course thro' the veins, the springs of life renew,
And ev'ry nerve with active force endue.
So may your pious gratitude bestow
On me the life which to your Sire you owe;
And when thy soul obeys the call of fate,
To thee the precious gift will I repeat.
Thus may we oft renew the mutual boon,
Thus lose the names of Father and of Son.
He said, and sunk to death. Th' unduteous boy,
Drunk with delusive hopes of worldly joy,
And still mistrustful of his Sire's controul,
Checks ev'ry thought of duty in his soul.
To common earth commits the lifeless corse,
Nor hears great nature's call, or feels remorse.
Drunk with delusive hopes of worldly joy,
And still mistrustful of his Sire's controul,
Checks ev'ry thought of duty in his soul.
225
Nor hears great nature's call, or feels remorse.
And now he hastes new pleasures to explore;
Some new expence to vent his endless store.
From vice to vice, with tasteless ardour roves,
And cloy'd, ere night rejects his morning loves.
Some new expence to vent his endless store.
From vice to vice, with tasteless ardour roves,
And cloy'd, ere night rejects his morning loves.
A son he had; Renatus was he nam'd:
Transmitted vice his genuine birth proclaim'd.
No generous passion warm'd his brutal breast,
But basest av'rice all his soul possest.
Suspicion, which in vicious minds supplies
Bright wisdom's post, and points the jealous eyes,
Directs the Sire his sordid soul to scan,
Who thus prepared his artful speech began.
Transmitted vice his genuine birth proclaim'd.
No generous passion warm'd his brutal breast,
But basest av'rice all his soul possest.
Suspicion, which in vicious minds supplies
Bright wisdom's post, and points the jealous eyes,
Directs the Sire his sordid soul to scan,
Who thus prepared his artful speech began.
Thou know'st, my son, thy Grandsire's virtues claim
An ample tribute from the voice of fame.
And oft have I confest this plenteous tide
Of endless treasure by his art supply'd.
Yet one important secret still remains;
One blest attainment of his pious pains.
An ample tribute from the voice of fame.
And oft have I confest this plenteous tide
Of endless treasure by his art supply'd.
Yet one important secret still remains;
One blest attainment of his pious pains.
'Twas on an hallow'd and auspicious hour,
When thus, inspired by strange prophetic pow'r,
The great Basilius spake:
When thus, inspired by strange prophetic pow'r,
The great Basilius spake:
Behold the yellow Lion shall go forth,
A potent monarch from the frozen North:
The swift-wing'd eagle from his claws shall fly,
The griffon shall but see his face and die:
The crow, cameleon, and the dragon's blood,
Mixt with the virgin's milk shall be his food;
The salamander shall his rule obey;
And all the sons of earth shall own his sway.
A potent monarch from the frozen North:
226
The griffon shall but see his face and die:
The crow, cameleon, and the dragon's blood,
Mixt with the virgin's milk shall be his food;
The salamander shall his rule obey;
And all the sons of earth shall own his sway.
Thus he by figurative signs exprest
The truths that roll'd tumultuous in his breast,
With pray'r and fasting then the holy man
The sacred heav'n-directed work began.
The truths that roll'd tumultuous in his breast,
227
The sacred heav'n-directed work began.
Nine months within the womb of time it lay;
At length began its glories to display.
At length began its glories to display.
Then spake the lab'ring Sage: my son, attend;
Learn thy conception, and thy wond'rous end.
On that auspicious ever-honoured morn
Wast thou conceived, on which thy Sire was born.
The sun himself presided at thy birth;
Nor shall thy body turn to common earth.
The sacred influence of his virtuous ray
Exalts thine essence, and sublimes thy clay.
Thy body thus prepared, these drops shall save
From foul corruption and the loathsome grave;
Th' elixir swallow'd ere thy corse be cold,
Shall all thy limbs convert to purest gold.
Basilius thus his wond'rous art display'd,
And to my hands the precious drops convey'd.
Then, when in death, a recent corse, I lie,
Be thine the pow'rful med'cine to apply.
Learn thy conception, and thy wond'rous end.
On that auspicious ever-honoured morn
Wast thou conceived, on which thy Sire was born.
The sun himself presided at thy birth;
Nor shall thy body turn to common earth.
228
Exalts thine essence, and sublimes thy clay.
Thy body thus prepared, these drops shall save
From foul corruption and the loathsome grave;
Th' elixir swallow'd ere thy corse be cold,
Shall all thy limbs convert to purest gold.
Basilius thus his wond'rous art display'd,
And to my hands the precious drops convey'd.
Then, when in death, a recent corse, I lie,
Be thine the pow'rful med'cine to apply.
Renatus heard the tale with secret joy,
And thus, with frequent tears, reply'd the boy:
And thus, with frequent tears, reply'd the boy:
Obedient, I receive thy great commands;
Yet think not, that, with sacrilegious hands,
Thy son shall e'er thy dear remains abuse,
Or prostitute thy limbs to common use.
But in the consecrated fane bestow'd,
Adore at once the statue and the god:
Before thy shrine perpetual incense burn,
And filial duty to devotion turn.
Yet think not, that, with sacrilegious hands,
Thy son shall e'er thy dear remains abuse,
Or prostitute thy limbs to common use.
But in the consecrated fane bestow'd,
Adore at once the statue and the god:
Before thy shrine perpetual incense burn,
And filial duty to devotion turn.
Thus while he spake, he views his father's height
With rapture, and compute's his future weight.
The limbs he measures with desiring eyes,
Impatient to transmute the bulky prize.
Nor long laments the promised boon delay'd,
But soon with joy the breathless corse survey'd.
Then, big with hope, the potent med'cine brought,
And the rich drops pour'd, trembling, down his throat.
Already the rich drops their virtues prove;
And half the dose impell'd the limbs to move.
Up-rose the body, with a sudden bound,
And dash'd the shiver'd chrystal on the ground.
Th' elixir lost, the corse returns to dust.
Great is our ruler; all his ways are just.
With rapture, and compute's his future weight.
The limbs he measures with desiring eyes,
Impatient to transmute the bulky prize.
229
But soon with joy the breathless corse survey'd.
Then, big with hope, the potent med'cine brought,
And the rich drops pour'd, trembling, down his throat.
Already the rich drops their virtues prove;
And half the dose impell'd the limbs to move.
Up-rose the body, with a sudden bound,
And dash'd the shiver'd chrystal on the ground.
Th' elixir lost, the corse returns to dust.
Great is our ruler; all his ways are just.
Thus holy Faustus ends the wond'rous tale,
And all the great Basilius' fate bewail,
Cursing his race, degenerate: then repair,
Regardful of the day, to fervent pray'r.
And all the great Basilius' fate bewail,
Cursing his race, degenerate: then repair,
Regardful of the day, to fervent pray'r.
Scriblerus now a crucible provides,
And spreads the glowing heat around it's sides.
Then, placed within, the fatal root calcines;
And soon his hospitable friends rejoins.
And spreads the glowing heat around it's sides.
Then, placed within, the fatal root calcines;
And soon his hospitable friends rejoins.
Unwitting Faustus to his guest declares
What great designs employ their present cares.
Then leads him where in solemn order sate
Th' assembled sages of th' hermetic state.
What great designs employ their present cares.
Then leads him where in solemn order sate
Th' assembled sages of th' hermetic state.
Up-rose the learned Paracelsus' heir,
And, pious, first preferr'd his solemn pray'r.
When thus: My friends, on this auspicious day,
Let each with confidence his art essay.
Nor shall your last attempt your art controul,
For sure some pow'r prophetic tells my soul,
That long ere Hesper's radiant lamp shall glow,
Yon mass impure in genuine gold will flow.
He said: and straitway to the furnace past,
And on the molten lead his powders cast.
No change, alas! their fancied pow'rs impart,
The boaster mourns his ineffectual art.
Again, in turn, advance the learned train
Their art to try, they try their art in vain.
And, pious, first preferr'd his solemn pray'r.
When thus: My friends, on this auspicious day,
Let each with confidence his art essay.
230
For sure some pow'r prophetic tells my soul,
That long ere Hesper's radiant lamp shall glow,
Yon mass impure in genuine gold will flow.
He said: and straitway to the furnace past,
And on the molten lead his powders cast.
No change, alas! their fancied pow'rs impart,
The boaster mourns his ineffectual art.
Again, in turn, advance the learned train
Their art to try, they try their art in vain.
When thus Scriblerus to the chiefs addrest
The secret thoughts long-lab'ring in his breast:
Ye great Adepts, thrice-honour'd Sages, hear,
And chief O! Faustus, lend a fav'ring ear.
And O! forgive that 'till this destin'd hour,
Th' unutter'd secret in my breast I bore.
Great Plutus, patron of th' hermetic art,
To me has deign'd th' elixir to impart.
Has giv'n me to possess the sacred flow'r,
Whose root alone can boast th' aurific pow'r:
Alone transmute yon mass impure and base,
And vindicate our science from disgrace.
The secret thoughts long-lab'ring in his breast:
Ye great Adepts, thrice-honour'd Sages, hear,
And chief O! Faustus, lend a fav'ring ear.
And O! forgive that 'till this destin'd hour,
Th' unutter'd secret in my breast I bore.
Great Plutus, patron of th' hermetic art,
To me has deign'd th' elixir to impart.
Has giv'n me to possess the sacred flow'r,
Whose root alone can boast th' aurific pow'r:
Alone transmute yon mass impure and base,
And vindicate our science from disgrace.
Th' Adepts in silence witness'd their surprize,
But scann'd his garments with contemptuous eyes:
Till Faustus rose, and in his arms embraced
The tatter'd sage, and near the furnace placed.
When thus the race of great Bombastus spoke;
His haughty frame indignant anger shook.
But scann'd his garments with contemptuous eyes:
Till Faustus rose, and in his arms embraced
The tatter'd sage, and near the furnace placed.
231
His haughty frame indignant anger shook.
O! thoughtless, shall yon mendicant engage
This arduous task which baffles ev'ry sage?
Shall hinds and beggars to that art aspire
Which foils th' attempts of Munster's learned choir?
But grant him with success and glory crown'd,
To us how grateful must his glories sound?
The voice of fame shall thus our honours stain.
“The learn'd Adepts their art essay'd in vain:
“In came a Stroller of th' empyric crew,
“And did what all those sages could not do.”
This arduous task which baffles ev'ry sage?
Shall hinds and beggars to that art aspire
Which foils th' attempts of Munster's learned choir?
But grant him with success and glory crown'd,
To us how grateful must his glories sound?
The voice of fame shall thus our honours stain.
“The learn'd Adepts their art essay'd in vain:
“In came a Stroller of th' empyric crew,
“And did what all those sages could not do.”
The Hero now disclaims his base disguise,
And thus with conscious dignity replies:
Behold Scriblerus, no ignoble name:
Earth sounds my wisdom, and high heav'n my fame.
And thus with conscious dignity replies:
Behold Scriblerus, no ignoble name:
Earth sounds my wisdom, and high heav'n my fame.
So great a name amazed each hearer's breast,
A reverential awe their hearts possess'd.
Now on the Sage their eager eyes they bent;
And, all-suspended, wait the great event.
Thus as they stood around, Scriblerus spread
The pow'rful ashes on the molten lead.
Soon the dull mass assumed a nobler hue;
With sudden change the heighten'd colours grew.
Now Luna shines with pallid radiance bright,
Now Sol begins to dart his ruddy light;
Scriblerus' praise employ'd each raptured tongue,
And all around the loud applauses rung.
A reverential awe their hearts possess'd.
232
And, all-suspended, wait the great event.
Thus as they stood around, Scriblerus spread
The pow'rful ashes on the molten lead.
Soon the dull mass assumed a nobler hue;
With sudden change the heighten'd colours grew.
Now Luna shines with pallid radiance bright,
Now Sol begins to dart his ruddy light;
Scriblerus' praise employ'd each raptured tongue,
And all around the loud applauses rung.
Then thus the Sage the learn'd Adepts address'd:
As yet ye see but half my art express'd:
For know, this precious med'cine boasts the pow'r
The fleeting life, departed, to restore.
Tho' cold and breathless at my feet ye lay,
My potent art should animate your clay;
Nay more, to youth recall the drooping sire,
And in his nerves infuse their pristine fire.
O! would some Sage, th' elixir's force to try,
Here in the cause of science bravely die,
Science should soon restore his yielded breath,
And claim her martyr from the jaws of death.
Scarce had he spoke when all with eager strife,
Stretch their bare throats and pant to meet the knife.
As yet ye see but half my art express'd:
For know, this precious med'cine boasts the pow'r
The fleeting life, departed, to restore.
Tho' cold and breathless at my feet ye lay,
My potent art should animate your clay;
Nay more, to youth recall the drooping sire,
And in his nerves infuse their pristine fire.
O! would some Sage, th' elixir's force to try,
Here in the cause of science bravely die,
233
And claim her martyr from the jaws of death.
Scarce had he spoke when all with eager strife,
Stretch their bare throats and pant to meet the knife.
When lo! a casuist from the croud arose,
Their rash designs, by reas'ning to oppose.
With cited cases, points, quotations, saws,
Expounds what conscience wills, and what the laws.
If man shall murder man; the laws decide
The punishment decreed on homicide.
And this must follow, if the lawyers plead,
That tho' restor'd, the man in fact was dead.
If to your throats yourselves the weapon guide,
Th' indictment then will lie for suicide.
O! think how dreadful at the bar to stand,
For your own death by your own desp'rate hand!
What shame, what horror shall your bosoms shake
Condemn'd alive to feel the piercing stake!
Their rash designs, by reas'ning to oppose.
With cited cases, points, quotations, saws,
Expounds what conscience wills, and what the laws.
If man shall murder man; the laws decide
The punishment decreed on homicide.
And this must follow, if the lawyers plead,
That tho' restor'd, the man in fact was dead.
If to your throats yourselves the weapon guide,
Th' indictment then will lie for suicide.
O! think how dreadful at the bar to stand,
For your own death by your own desp'rate hand!
What shame, what horror shall your bosoms shake
Condemn'd alive to feel the piercing stake!
The casuist's words the stagger'd croud divide;
When calmly thus the thoughtful man reply'd:
On this blest day no human blood be shed,
This day to science and to mirth decreed.
No, rather let an aged cow be brought,
While, careful, I prepare the potent draught.
Unscrup'lous will we drain her torpid blood,
And soon renew the meliorated flood.
Long ere the sun completes his daily round,
A frisking calf shall o'er the meadows bound.
Thus pow'rful Colchis drench'd the feeble ram,
And from the cauldron leapt a wanton lamb.
When calmly thus the thoughtful man reply'd:
On this blest day no human blood be shed,
This day to science and to mirth decreed.
No, rather let an aged cow be brought,
While, careful, I prepare the potent draught.
234
And soon renew the meliorated flood.
Long ere the sun completes his daily round,
A frisking calf shall o'er the meadows bound.
Thus pow'rful Colchis drench'd the feeble ram,
And from the cauldron leapt a wanton lamb.
Now crown'd with wreaths an aged cow they bring,
While shouts of joy from every quarter ring.
Not in more pomp, with mystic garlands dress'd,
March'd Apis, usher'd by the Memphian priest.
While shouts of joy from every quarter ring.
Not in more pomp, with mystic garlands dress'd,
March'd Apis, usher'd by the Memphian priest.
Her aged veins, impatient, they divide,
And drain, at length, her slowly-ebbing tide.
They pour the med'cine, bind the weeping wound,
And leave her corse extended on the ground,
Confiding in the draught. Again they raise
Their voice in rapture to Scriblerus' praise.
And drain, at length, her slowly-ebbing tide.
They pour the med'cine, bind the weeping wound,
And leave her corse extended on the ground,
235
Their voice in rapture to Scriblerus' praise.
Then Bossius spake: Sure Heav'n my soul inspires,
And prompts me to excite th' electric fires.
Raise then, my friends, the well-constructed stage,
There, placed on high, beatify the Sage,
Stripp'd of these rags unseemly to the sight,
And cloath'd with radiance and celestial light.
And prompts me to excite th' electric fires.
Raise then, my friends, the well-constructed stage,
There, placed on high, beatify the Sage,
Stripp'd of these rags unseemly to the sight,
And cloath'd with radiance and celestial light.
He said. His words the pleased assembly caught,
Who soon, obedient to his dictates, brought
Of pitch and rosin an enormous mass:
Six ample globes, and six vast tubes of glass.
From these th' Adepts a mystic structure made;
And in the midst the great Scriblerus laid
In naked majesty, tremendous sight!
Then haste to execute the solemn rite.
Yet ere they fill the chorus of his praise,
Thus spake the man long versed in fortune's ways.
Who soon, obedient to his dictates, brought
Of pitch and rosin an enormous mass:
Six ample globes, and six vast tubes of glass.
From these th' Adepts a mystic structure made;
And in the midst the great Scriblerus laid
In naked majesty, tremendous sight!
Then haste to execute the solemn rite.
Yet ere they fill the chorus of his praise,
Thus spake the man long versed in fortune's ways.
Alas! my friends, forbear this rash design,
Nor crown a mortal with rewards divine.
I fear this premature, this thoughtless joy
Has raised a vice our triumphs to destroy.
Yes, I confess myself have felt its pow'r,
The hapless victim of this fatal hour.
I, whom in vain, Ambition strove to move,
And baffled Lust, beside yon conscious grove:
Whom not all-conqu'ring Luxury could gain,
Whom sordid Avarice assail'd in vain.
Nor crown a mortal with rewards divine.
I fear this premature, this thoughtless joy
Has raised a vice our triumphs to destroy.
236
The hapless victim of this fatal hour.
I, whom in vain, Ambition strove to move,
And baffled Lust, beside yon conscious grove:
Whom not all-conqu'ring Luxury could gain,
Whom sordid Avarice assail'd in vain.
O Vanity, thou fixt and ling'ring guest,
Thou last of vices in the noble breast!
Who like the worm within the specious rind,
Prey'st undiscover'd on the fairest mind—
Thou last of vices in the noble breast!
Who like the worm within the specious rind,
Prey'st undiscover'd on the fairest mind—
Thus spake the moral Sage; but thoughtless They
Whirl the loud wheel, and tune the lofty lay.
Impetuous zeal with wild unruly noise,
Breaks on his speech, and drowns his sapient voice.
Whirl the loud wheel, and tune the lofty lay.
Impetuous zeal with wild unruly noise,
Breaks on his speech, and drowns his sapient voice.
And now the glass by strong attrition urged,
First the foul atmosphere around him purged.
Then at the Hero's feet began to play
A flame more brilliant than the solar ray.
The golden beams ascending now embraced
Th' illustrious Sage, and circled round his waist.
Now fixt, and by encreased effluvia fed,
Diffused a glory from his awful head.
Thus as he darts around electric fire,
To vocal hymns they tune the sounding lyre;
His high atchievements in their songs relate,
And hail him Monarch of th' Hermetic State.
First the foul atmosphere around him purged.
Then at the Hero's feet began to play
A flame more brilliant than the solar ray.
The golden beams ascending now embraced
Th' illustrious Sage, and circled round his waist.
Now fixt, and by encreased effluvia fed,
Diffused a glory from his awful head.
Thus as he darts around electric fire,
To vocal hymns they tune the sounding lyre;
237
And hail him Monarch of th' Hermetic State.
Such honours Munster to her Hero paid;
And lambent flames around his temples play'd.
And lambent flames around his temples play'd.
238
THE END OF THE SIXTH AND LAST BOOK.
| The Works of Richard Owen Cambridge | |