The Poetical Works of John Langhorne ... To which are prefixed, Memoirs of the Author by his Son the Rev. J. T. Langhorne ... In Two Volumes |
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INSCRIPTION
IN
A TEMPLE OF SOCIETY. |
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 | The Poetical Works of John Langhorne |  |
141
INSCRIPTION IN A TEMPLE OF SOCIETY.
Sacred rise these walls to thee,
Blithe-eyed nymph, Society!
In whose dwelling, free and fair,
Converse smoothes the brow of care.
Who, when waggish Wit betray'd
To his arms a sylvan maid,
All beneath a myrtle tree,
In some vale of Arcady,
Sprung, I ween, from such embrace,
The lovely contrast in her face.
Blithe-eyed nymph, Society!
In whose dwelling, free and fair,
Converse smoothes the brow of care.
Who, when waggish Wit betray'd
To his arms a sylvan maid,
All beneath a myrtle tree,
In some vale of Arcady,
Sprung, I ween, from such embrace,
The lovely contrast in her face.
Perchance, the Muses as they stray'd,
Seeking other spring, or shade,
On the sweet child cast an eye
In some vale of Arcady;
And blithest of the sisters three,
Gave her to Euphrosyne.
Seeking other spring, or shade,
On the sweet child cast an eye
In some vale of Arcady;
And blithest of the sisters three,
Gave her to Euphrosyne.
The grace, delighted, taught her care
The cordial smile, the placid air;
How to chase, and how restrain
All the fleet, ideal train;
How with apt words well-combin'd,
To dress each image of the mind—
Taught her how they disagree,
Awkward fear and modesty,
And freedom and rusticity.
True politeness how to know
From the superficial shew;
From the coxcomb's shallow grace,
And the many-modell'd face:
That Nature's unaffected ease
More than studied forms would please—
When to check the sportive vein;
When to Fancy yield the rein;
On the subject when to be
Grave or gay, reserv'd or free:
The speaking air, th' impassion'd eye,
The living soul of symmetry;
And that soft sympathy which binds
In magic chains congenial minds.
The cordial smile, the placid air;
142
All the fleet, ideal train;
How with apt words well-combin'd,
To dress each image of the mind—
Taught her how they disagree,
Awkward fear and modesty,
And freedom and rusticity.
True politeness how to know
From the superficial shew;
From the coxcomb's shallow grace,
And the many-modell'd face:
That Nature's unaffected ease
More than studied forms would please—
When to check the sportive vein;
When to Fancy yield the rein;
On the subject when to be
Grave or gay, reserv'd or free:
The speaking air, th' impassion'd eye,
The living soul of symmetry;
And that soft sympathy which binds
In magic chains congenial minds.
| The Poetical Works of John Langhorne | |