A Poem on Nature In Imitation of Lucretius. To which is Added, A Description of the Foetus in the Womb, In a Letter to the late Duke of Buckinghamshire, on his Dutchess being declar'd Pregnant. By the late Bevill Higgons |
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 | A Poem on Nature |  |
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A POEM on NATURE.
O muse,
who Chief of the Castalian Choir
Vouchsaf'd the great Lucretius to inspire;
Attend my Voice, while in his Steps I tread,
And Nature humbly follow as he lead.
His noble Diction, and his Genius give,
To make this Verse, like his, immortal live;
His Soul, tho' not his Sentiments inspire,
And with his Rage my panting Bosom fire.
Vouchsaf'd the great Lucretius to inspire;
Attend my Voice, while in his Steps I tread,
And Nature humbly follow as he lead.
His noble Diction, and his Genius give,
To make this Verse, like his, immortal live;
His Soul, tho' not his Sentiments inspire,
And with his Rage my panting Bosom fire.
When Roman Breasts glow'd with thy generous Heat,
The Men and Empire equally were great:
We have no Memmius in this little Isle;
No great Mæcenas on thy Song to smile;
No noble Varus in thy Front to shine;
Or Name to Phœbus grateful and the Nine.
Then unsupported mount, and bravely scorn
To court the Great, and Worthless to adorn,
Succeeding Ages melting with thy Flame
Shall blush to think from what a Race they came;
So cheap the Muse, so treated with Disdain,
When W--- govern'd in a B--- Reign.
The Men and Empire equally were great:
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No great Mæcenas on thy Song to smile;
No noble Varus in thy Front to shine;
Or Name to Phœbus grateful and the Nine.
Then unsupported mount, and bravely scorn
To court the Great, and Worthless to adorn,
Succeeding Ages melting with thy Flame
Shall blush to think from what a Race they came;
So cheap the Muse, so treated with Disdain,
When W--- govern'd in a B--- Reign.
Then sing, my Muse, what Power on Matter wrought,
And sluggish Atoms first to Motion brought;
For undisturb'd those Seeds, by nothing prest,
Had slept for ever in a State of Rest.
Since all to Inactivity inclin'd,
And without Mover nothing mov'd we find;
How grossly err'd thy Sage, O Greece, who taught
How blended Matter to due Order brought;
Without Design fortuitously hurl'd,
This System made, and form'd the beauteous World.
Now grant it true, that Chance had made this Frame;
That very Chance wou'd have destroy'd the same,
Without some Law the Universe to bind,
The wise Result of an unerring Mind.
Whether new Matter this first Mover made,
Or took the Ruins of some World decay'd;
For all created must have mortal Date,
And this wide Frame submit to Time and Fate.
For, as before the Crust, on which we stand,
Compacted grew, and clos'd to solid Land;
Some previous World Almighty Power employ'd,
Which as he built, he at his Time destroy'd:
So when this Earth in her own Ruins lies
A younger World shall from her Chaos rise.
Howe're --- --- ---
Through the vast Void, and infinite Immense,
No less beyond the Reach of Thought, than Sense;
The scatter'd Seeds lay jumbled here and there,
Earth mixt with Water, Water mixt with Air:
While Dense and Rare, the Humid and the Dry
Together blended in Confusion lie.
To bring the Mass from this Chaotick State,
He gave two Laws, immutable as Fate;
To Parts Cohesion, and to Matter Weight.
Without this FIAT of the Voice divine,
The whole wou'd jarr, and Nature's self disjoyn:
By this alone, the Universe subsists;
Each Atom takes its Place, and all exists.
Prone to their Centres, pressing Bodies tend,
The Light more slow, the Heavy swift descend.
This Power of Weight, which Gravity we name,
In every Thing and every Place the same;
Through Nature spread, by Nature's Author giv'n;
Is immechanick, and the Will of Heaven.
By this each Body on each Body acts,
And every Part attracted, and attracts.
And sluggish Atoms first to Motion brought;
For undisturb'd those Seeds, by nothing prest,
Had slept for ever in a State of Rest.
Since all to Inactivity inclin'd,
And without Mover nothing mov'd we find;
How grossly err'd thy Sage, O Greece, who taught
How blended Matter to due Order brought;
Without Design fortuitously hurl'd,
This System made, and form'd the beauteous World.
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That very Chance wou'd have destroy'd the same,
Without some Law the Universe to bind,
The wise Result of an unerring Mind.
Whether new Matter this first Mover made,
Or took the Ruins of some World decay'd;
For all created must have mortal Date,
And this wide Frame submit to Time and Fate.
For, as before the Crust, on which we stand,
Compacted grew, and clos'd to solid Land;
Some previous World Almighty Power employ'd,
Which as he built, he at his Time destroy'd:
So when this Earth in her own Ruins lies
A younger World shall from her Chaos rise.
Howe're --- --- ---
Through the vast Void, and infinite Immense,
No less beyond the Reach of Thought, than Sense;
The scatter'd Seeds lay jumbled here and there,
Earth mixt with Water, Water mixt with Air:
While Dense and Rare, the Humid and the Dry
Together blended in Confusion lie.
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He gave two Laws, immutable as Fate;
To Parts Cohesion, and to Matter Weight.
Without this FIAT of the Voice divine,
The whole wou'd jarr, and Nature's self disjoyn:
By this alone, the Universe subsists;
Each Atom takes its Place, and all exists.
Prone to their Centres, pressing Bodies tend,
The Light more slow, the Heavy swift descend.
This Power of Weight, which Gravity we name,
In every Thing and every Place the same;
Through Nature spread, by Nature's Author giv'n;
Is immechanick, and the Will of Heaven.
By this each Body on each Body acts,
And every Part attracted, and attracts.
Soon as the Universe receiv'd this Law,
Each Particle began the next to draw;
And where the greatest Heap of Matter prest,
There fixt the Centre, and drew all the rest.
To this one Point the hast'ning Atoms tend,
While all around the Showers of Dust descend;
And, as alike from every Part they fall,
They give the Spherick Shape, and form the Ball;
In which each Part so equally is prest
To make the whole unmov'd for ever rest.
But, where by Chance the taller Columns fell,
Above the Convex rising Mountains swell;
O're various Climes their rocky Arms extend,
While through the Clouds their airy Heads ascend.
Altho' their Use the Theorist deny'd
(Carthusian Burnet) with dogmatick Pride;
These Heaps of Ruin we shall wisely find
To noble Ends by Providence assign'd.
To them their Rise the Silver Fountains owe,
While from their Heights they find Descent to flow;
To equal Use their chilly Summits tend,
Condense the Vapours which in Rains descend.
Soon as the Mountains rear'd their hoary Heads,
The gushing Rivers shap'd their winding Beds;
Then from Cold Scythia's Hills the Ganges ran,
And his long Course to Indian Seas began.
From the Moon Mountains Nile and Niger roll'd,
Form'd their Rich Banks and bath'd their Dust of Gold;
To Rhætian Alpes the Rhine and Ister owe
Their plenteous Sources swell'd with Mountain Snow.
The Muses Darling, by the Muses sung,
Then from Glovernia's Hills blew Isis sprung,
And gently gliding met her well lov'd Tame;
She mixt her Waters and she mixt her Name.
The Social Streams, in endless Union joyn'd,
Through verdant Meads in sportive Reaches wind,
Those Banks to visit, and auspicious Strand,
Where proud Augusta was ordain'd to stand.
To Hills we Mines and various Fossils owe;
In their Rich Wombs the noblest Metals grow;
On them peculiar Animals are found,
Their Heights with Plants to Vales unknown abound.
From piercing Winds impregn'd with nitrous Snow,
They guard and Shelter the warm Vales below;
Of rapid Rivers break the headlong Force,
Repell their Torrents, and divert their Course;
To Beasts and Men pursu'd they give Retreat,
And proud Designs of Conquerours defeat;
Are Nature's Ramparts and defensive Mounds,
Give Nations Limits, and Ambition Bounds.
Each Particle began the next to draw;
And where the greatest Heap of Matter prest,
There fixt the Centre, and drew all the rest.
To this one Point the hast'ning Atoms tend,
While all around the Showers of Dust descend;
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They give the Spherick Shape, and form the Ball;
In which each Part so equally is prest
To make the whole unmov'd for ever rest.
But, where by Chance the taller Columns fell,
Above the Convex rising Mountains swell;
O're various Climes their rocky Arms extend,
While through the Clouds their airy Heads ascend.
Altho' their Use the Theorist deny'd
(Carthusian Burnet) with dogmatick Pride;
These Heaps of Ruin we shall wisely find
To noble Ends by Providence assign'd.
To them their Rise the Silver Fountains owe,
While from their Heights they find Descent to flow;
To equal Use their chilly Summits tend,
Condense the Vapours which in Rains descend.
Soon as the Mountains rear'd their hoary Heads,
The gushing Rivers shap'd their winding Beds;
Then from Cold Scythia's Hills the Ganges ran,
And his long Course to Indian Seas began.
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Form'd their Rich Banks and bath'd their Dust of Gold;
To Rhætian Alpes the Rhine and Ister owe
Their plenteous Sources swell'd with Mountain Snow.
The Muses Darling, by the Muses sung,
Then from Glovernia's Hills blew Isis sprung,
And gently gliding met her well lov'd Tame;
She mixt her Waters and she mixt her Name.
The Social Streams, in endless Union joyn'd,
Through verdant Meads in sportive Reaches wind,
Those Banks to visit, and auspicious Strand,
Where proud Augusta was ordain'd to stand.
To Hills we Mines and various Fossils owe;
In their Rich Wombs the noblest Metals grow;
On them peculiar Animals are found,
Their Heights with Plants to Vales unknown abound.
From piercing Winds impregn'd with nitrous Snow,
They guard and Shelter the warm Vales below;
Of rapid Rivers break the headlong Force,
Repell their Torrents, and divert their Course;
To Beasts and Men pursu'd they give Retreat,
And proud Designs of Conquerours defeat;
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Give Nations Limits, and Ambition Bounds.
Thus the new Earth in various Forms was drest,
With Mountains swelling, and with Vales deprest;
Her upper Mold, of lighter Parts, design'd
To bear each Plant and vegetable Kind:
While the more heavy sink, and lower tend,
By Weight specifick to their Centre bend.
With Mountains swelling, and with Vales deprest;
Her upper Mold, of lighter Parts, design'd
To bear each Plant and vegetable Kind:
While the more heavy sink, and lower tend,
By Weight specifick to their Centre bend.
Next, Crystal Water thinner Seeds produce,
A noble Fluid of diffusive Use:
Small bubling Springs the winding Valley yields,
Which met, in Streams, enrich the smiling Fields:
Inundant Rivers wash the larger Plain,
While deeper Hollows standing Lakes contain:
In vaster Basons swelling Oceans roar,
Embrace the Coasts and overlook the Shore;
On their wide Bosoms Albion's Streamers spread,
Command the Seas, and fill the World with Dread;
The sooty Black, and sallow Indian fear,
While potent Kings the Georgian Cross revere:
To that proud Ensign Nations Homage pay,
The Distant tremble, and the Near obey.
This Belgia found, when, hurried by her Fate,
She brav'd those Arms, which sav'd her sinking State:
Then glorious York flew to his Country's Aid,
Her Honour rescu'd, and retriev'd her Trade;
His conqu'ring Sword made the Batavian yield,
And Britain Mistress of the watry Field.
Unhappy York! abandon'd and betray'd,
The Fate of Heroes to be ill repaid:
Retire my Muse, nor farther dare to name
Britannia's Glory, and Britannia's Shame.
A noble Fluid of diffusive Use:
Small bubling Springs the winding Valley yields,
Which met, in Streams, enrich the smiling Fields:
Inundant Rivers wash the larger Plain,
While deeper Hollows standing Lakes contain:
In vaster Basons swelling Oceans roar,
Embrace the Coasts and overlook the Shore;
On their wide Bosoms Albion's Streamers spread,
Command the Seas, and fill the World with Dread;
The sooty Black, and sallow Indian fear,
While potent Kings the Georgian Cross revere:
10
The Distant tremble, and the Near obey.
This Belgia found, when, hurried by her Fate,
She brav'd those Arms, which sav'd her sinking State:
Then glorious York flew to his Country's Aid,
Her Honour rescu'd, and retriev'd her Trade;
His conqu'ring Sword made the Batavian yield,
And Britain Mistress of the watry Field.
Unhappy York! abandon'd and betray'd,
The Fate of Heroes to be ill repaid:
Retire my Muse, nor farther dare to name
Britannia's Glory, and Britannia's Shame.
By Laws of Weight, what next succeeds, is Air;
Than Water lighter, and of Parts more rare:
Subtil and Thin for Penetration made,
And every Pore of Nature to pervade.
The feather'd Tribe thro' this soft Fluid stray,
Supported float, and cut their liquid Way.
See Jove's fierce Bird affect the Blew and Clear,
Sail on his Wings, and with his Rudder steer.
To Air we Breath and Respiration owe,
While purple Streams in blew Meanders flow.
Depriv'd of Air no Being longer lives,
It's Weight compresses, and Pulsation gives;
Thro' every Duct impells the Blood to glide,
By Motion warms, then fans the glowing Tide.
Than Water lighter, and of Parts more rare:
Subtil and Thin for Penetration made,
And every Pore of Nature to pervade.
The feather'd Tribe thro' this soft Fluid stray,
Supported float, and cut their liquid Way.
See Jove's fierce Bird affect the Blew and Clear,
Sail on his Wings, and with his Rudder steer.
To Air we Breath and Respiration owe,
While purple Streams in blew Meanders flow.
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It's Weight compresses, and Pulsation gives;
Thro' every Duct impells the Blood to glide,
By Motion warms, then fans the glowing Tide.
For various Use this Atmosphere design'd,
Shews the wise Foresight of th' Eternal Mind:
To this surrounding Air we Twilight owe,
And seem to see the Sun, when he's below;
Else, he wou'd setting plunge at once in Night,
And rising blind with instantaneous Light.
The first to cure, the Atmosphere supplies
His dying Rays, and brightens all the Skies;
While Beams reflected by the Air remain,
Retard the Darkness, and the Light retain.
And left the Day too soon succeed the Night,
Aurora blushing first prepares the Sight;
With gaudy Pomp displays her checker'd Grey,
While strong Reflections make a weaker Day;
With Streaks of Gold yon azure Roof adorn,
And all the Beauties of the rosy Morn.
The Face of Evening gives no less Surprize,
He sets as glorious as he seems to rise:
Enamel'd Clouds with Wonder we survey,
Pleas'd with the Landskips of departing Day;
While Forms Grotesque the Shepherd often fright,
And fill at once with Terror and Delight;
Distemper'd Fancy sees the War's Array,
The Battles seem to join, and Horses neigh.
Such wild Portents the Roman World alarm'd,
When Cæsar drew his Sword, and Pompey arm'd;
The Squadrons clash, and Blood the Heavens bestains,
Before they met on the Pharsalian Plains.
Shews the wise Foresight of th' Eternal Mind:
To this surrounding Air we Twilight owe,
And seem to see the Sun, when he's below;
Else, he wou'd setting plunge at once in Night,
And rising blind with instantaneous Light.
The first to cure, the Atmosphere supplies
His dying Rays, and brightens all the Skies;
While Beams reflected by the Air remain,
Retard the Darkness, and the Light retain.
And left the Day too soon succeed the Night,
Aurora blushing first prepares the Sight;
With gaudy Pomp displays her checker'd Grey,
While strong Reflections make a weaker Day;
With Streaks of Gold yon azure Roof adorn,
And all the Beauties of the rosy Morn.
The Face of Evening gives no less Surprize,
He sets as glorious as he seems to rise:
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Pleas'd with the Landskips of departing Day;
While Forms Grotesque the Shepherd often fright,
And fill at once with Terror and Delight;
Distemper'd Fancy sees the War's Array,
The Battles seem to join, and Horses neigh.
Such wild Portents the Roman World alarm'd,
When Cæsar drew his Sword, and Pompey arm'd;
The Squadrons clash, and Blood the Heavens bestains,
Before they met on the Pharsalian Plains.
And now the World lay wrapp'd in blackest Night,
With Air made pervious to transmit the Light;
When the Great Workman his chief Task begun,
His noblest Labour, to create a Sun:
Of scatter'd Fires He congregates the Rays,
And fixes all in one stupendous Blaze,
Whose genial Heat must animate the Whole,
And Nature actuate, as if Nature's Soul;
The sluggish Mass, which dull and torpid lay,
Feels the new Heat, and quickens with each Ray.
When this great Work Omnipotence had done,
The Wise Contriver! thus harangu'd his Sun:
“Six Earths
obsequious shall around Thee roll,
“O'er them we give Thee absolute Controll;
“Their Motions rule, their Harmony maintain,
“And by Attraction to their Orbs restrain:
“On them thy Influence shed, make all Things live,
“Their Creatures cherish, and their Plants revive.”
With Air made pervious to transmit the Light;
When the Great Workman his chief Task begun,
His noblest Labour, to create a Sun:
Of scatter'd Fires He congregates the Rays,
And fixes all in one stupendous Blaze,
Whose genial Heat must animate the Whole,
And Nature actuate, as if Nature's Soul;
The sluggish Mass, which dull and torpid lay,
Feels the new Heat, and quickens with each Ray.
When this great Work Omnipotence had done,
The Wise Contriver! thus harangu'd his Sun:
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“O'er them we give Thee absolute Controll;
“Their Motions rule, their Harmony maintain,
“And by Attraction to their Orbs restrain:
“On them thy Influence shed, make all Things live,
“Their Creatures cherish, and their Plants revive.”
The Artist, thus well pleas'd, his Work survey'd,
And found all good his potent Hand had made:
And now for Motion form'd by nicest Art
(When the same Hand that Motion should impart)
The Planet lay, in Equipoise the Whole,
Prepar'd to turn and on her Ax to roll;
To make the Change of Darkness and of Light,
The Day for Labour, and for Rest the Night;
By turns to cool, and with fresh Dews allay,
The scorching Heats of the preceding Day.
Another Motion from the Voice Divine
Was wanting still to finish the Design:
In various Seasons to divide the Year,
The floating Globe a longer Course must steer.
With equal Share of Light to bless the Whole,
And chear with Warmth alternately each Pole,
He turn'd her Ax oblique, then bad her run
Her Annual Orbit, and attend the Sun.
Then from th' Equator starting she began
That constant Round, which ever since she ran;
By Force projectile push'd directly strait,
And drawn to Curve by the Impulse of Weight.
So justly ballanc'd these two Powers stand
As mutually each other to command:
For, shou'd the first the least increase in Force,
The wand'ring Earth, diverted from her Course,
Thro' the vast Void wou'd infinitely run;
And, were it less, wou'd drop into the Sun.
And found all good his potent Hand had made:
And now for Motion form'd by nicest Art
(When the same Hand that Motion should impart)
The Planet lay, in Equipoise the Whole,
Prepar'd to turn and on her Ax to roll;
To make the Change of Darkness and of Light,
The Day for Labour, and for Rest the Night;
By turns to cool, and with fresh Dews allay,
The scorching Heats of the preceding Day.
14
Was wanting still to finish the Design:
In various Seasons to divide the Year,
The floating Globe a longer Course must steer.
With equal Share of Light to bless the Whole,
And chear with Warmth alternately each Pole,
He turn'd her Ax oblique, then bad her run
Her Annual Orbit, and attend the Sun.
Then from th' Equator starting she began
That constant Round, which ever since she ran;
By Force projectile push'd directly strait,
And drawn to Curve by the Impulse of Weight.
So justly ballanc'd these two Powers stand
As mutually each other to command:
For, shou'd the first the least increase in Force,
The wand'ring Earth, diverted from her Course,
Thro' the vast Void wou'd infinitely run;
And, were it less, wou'd drop into the Sun.
The Power divine on passive Matter prest
Thus Nature made; then bad her make the rest.
The Seeds prepar'd, productive of each Kind;
And proper Beds to every Growth assign'd:
When sinking Waters the firm Land disclos'd,
And the Rich Ooze to the young Sun expos'd;
The Plains, which Tigris and Euphrates trace,
Produc'd the Parent of the Hebrew Race;
His beauteous Mate clung to his panting Side,
He gaz'd, then smil'd, upon the blushing Bride.
From him Chinese derive their ancient Line;
From him the Brachmans feign their Stem divine;
And Indian Dames, whose Eyes their Gems outshine.
With Nimrod's Race, that long Assyrian Train
Of Eastern Kings, who fill'd with Swarms the Plain;
Who Empire rais'd, first Man to Bondage broke;
And vanquish'd Nations taught to bear the Yoke.
The Turk and Tartar Hordes his Lineage boast,
And Tawny Brood of Afric's Northern Coast;
The gallant Moor, for Tournament renown'd,
Who taught the sprightly Barb to prance and bound:
The wise Ægyptian, in deep Science skill'd,
Who first Mankind with Superstition fill'd.
To him Europa owes her warlike Breed,
The German, Gaul, Iberian, Dane and Swede:
The learned Greek, who taught the World when rude,
And Latium's Sons who half the Known subdu'd.
From him Britannia boasts her valiant Race,
And those bright Beauties who fair Albion grace:
From him descend Hibernia's faithful Bands,
In scatter'd Troops dispers'd thro' Foreign Lands;
From Native Seats expell'd and forc'd to roam,
Abroad victorious, tho' enslav'd at Home.
But different Salts, in Æthiope's Earth combin'd,
Produc'd a Species of a different Kind:
The Soil impregnate by the fatt'ning Flood
The Negroe Adam peep'd in Niger's Mud;
Crisp Woolly Locks his Origin express,
With Blood adust the nearer Sun confess.
Unhappy Race! doom'd to the Iron Rod,
That greater Brute, at his White Tyrants Nod:
By what Commission, human, or divine,
Can we in Chains these harmless Slaves confine:
For being Black must they their Right forgoe,
And to their Colour Loss of Freedom owe.
Despotick Man, to Lust of Empire prone,
No Rules of Justice but his Power will own;
All wou'd be Tyrants at their Neighbours Cost,
And they, who Force condemn, still Use it most:
To Heaven alone we can with safety trust,
For Man with Power will ever be unjust.
From him descended Sheba's Empress came
To Salem's Court, drawn by the Hebrew's Fame;
Nor was her Labour lost, or ill employ'd;
She heard the Prophet, and the King enjoy'd;
With double Gift return'd triumphant Home,
Her Mind instructed, and enrich'd her Womb.
From her his Stem the false nam'd Prester brings,
That sable Race of Abyssinian Kings.
On Shoulders borne, forgetful of his Birth,
Too Proud to tread, from whence he sprung, on Earth,
In Mountain Palace shut from vulgar Eyes,
With Eunuchs girt, the pompous Negroe lies:
The silent Crowd adore the Royal Drone,
While Ebon Monarch frowns on Iv'ry Throne.
Thus Nature made; then bad her make the rest.
The Seeds prepar'd, productive of each Kind;
And proper Beds to every Growth assign'd:
15
And the Rich Ooze to the young Sun expos'd;
The Plains, which Tigris and Euphrates trace,
Produc'd the Parent of the Hebrew Race;
His beauteous Mate clung to his panting Side,
He gaz'd, then smil'd, upon the blushing Bride.
From him Chinese derive their ancient Line;
From him the Brachmans feign their Stem divine;
And Indian Dames, whose Eyes their Gems outshine.
With Nimrod's Race, that long Assyrian Train
Of Eastern Kings, who fill'd with Swarms the Plain;
Who Empire rais'd, first Man to Bondage broke;
And vanquish'd Nations taught to bear the Yoke.
The Turk and Tartar Hordes his Lineage boast,
And Tawny Brood of Afric's Northern Coast;
The gallant Moor, for Tournament renown'd,
Who taught the sprightly Barb to prance and bound:
The wise Ægyptian, in deep Science skill'd,
Who first Mankind with Superstition fill'd.
To him Europa owes her warlike Breed,
The German, Gaul, Iberian, Dane and Swede:
The learned Greek, who taught the World when rude,
And Latium's Sons who half the Known subdu'd.
16
And those bright Beauties who fair Albion grace:
From him descend Hibernia's faithful Bands,
In scatter'd Troops dispers'd thro' Foreign Lands;
From Native Seats expell'd and forc'd to roam,
Abroad victorious, tho' enslav'd at Home.
But different Salts, in Æthiope's Earth combin'd,
Produc'd a Species of a different Kind:
The Soil impregnate by the fatt'ning Flood
The Negroe Adam peep'd in Niger's Mud;
Crisp Woolly Locks his Origin express,
With Blood adust the nearer Sun confess.
Unhappy Race! doom'd to the Iron Rod,
That greater Brute, at his White Tyrants Nod:
By what Commission, human, or divine,
Can we in Chains these harmless Slaves confine:
For being Black must they their Right forgoe,
And to their Colour Loss of Freedom owe.
Despotick Man, to Lust of Empire prone,
No Rules of Justice but his Power will own;
All wou'd be Tyrants at their Neighbours Cost,
And they, who Force condemn, still Use it most:
17
For Man with Power will ever be unjust.
From him descended Sheba's Empress came
To Salem's Court, drawn by the Hebrew's Fame;
Nor was her Labour lost, or ill employ'd;
She heard the Prophet, and the King enjoy'd;
With double Gift return'd triumphant Home,
Her Mind instructed, and enrich'd her Womb.
From her his Stem the false nam'd Prester brings,
That sable Race of Abyssinian Kings.
On Shoulders borne, forgetful of his Birth,
Too Proud to tread, from whence he sprung, on Earth,
In Mountain Palace shut from vulgar Eyes,
With Eunuchs girt, the pompous Negroe lies:
The silent Crowd adore the Royal Drone,
While Ebon Monarch frowns on Iv'ry Throne.
In that vast World, by the Ligurian found,
Whose Coasts unknown enormous Oceans bound:
Where Suns, departing hence, begin the Day,
To cool whose Beams, Eternal breezes play;
Where all Things bloom more beautiful and fair,
And balmy Groves perfume the fragrant Air;
Where Nature younger seems, and Phœbus shines,
With Rays direct, to ripe Peruvian Mines:
That generous Soil another Species bore;
A happy Race, till Spaniard touch'd the Shore:
Lords of that World by Nature made their own,
At once our Manners, and our Crimes unknown:
But fierce Iberian all their Rites o'erthrew,
Their Treasures plunder'd, and their Monarchs slew.
Vain the Surmise of those, who idly deem
This Indian Race of European Stem;
Or that from Asia, or from Afric's Coast,
Some, drove by Tempests, those wide Oceans crost.
Whose Coasts unknown enormous Oceans bound:
Where Suns, departing hence, begin the Day,
To cool whose Beams, Eternal breezes play;
18
And balmy Groves perfume the fragrant Air;
Where Nature younger seems, and Phœbus shines,
With Rays direct, to ripe Peruvian Mines:
That generous Soil another Species bore;
A happy Race, till Spaniard touch'd the Shore:
Lords of that World by Nature made their own,
At once our Manners, and our Crimes unknown:
But fierce Iberian all their Rites o'erthrew,
Their Treasures plunder'd, and their Monarchs slew.
Vain the Surmise of those, who idly deem
This Indian Race of European Stem;
Or that from Asia, or from Afric's Coast,
Some, drove by Tempests, those wide Oceans crost.
Now grant, that Man by chance had reach'd this Shore;
Whence came the Lyon in those Woods to roar?
Or if some Argo, with Adventurers bold,
In search of this New World, had left the Old;
Wou'd they bring Wolves, with every noxious Kind,
And leave the Cow and useful Horse behind?
Nor is that foolish Tale of Streights more true;
Those Anian Streights, which Geography ne'er knew.
So near the Pole, where Frosts eternal reign,
No living Thing cou'd pass, and Life maintain:
Beside, here Birds and various Beasts abound,
Which ne'er on Triple Continent were found.
Whence came the Lyon in those Woods to roar?
Or if some Argo, with Adventurers bold,
In search of this New World, had left the Old;
Wou'd they bring Wolves, with every noxious Kind,
And leave the Cow and useful Horse behind?
19
Those Anian Streights, which Geography ne'er knew.
So near the Pole, where Frosts eternal reign,
No living Thing cou'd pass, and Life maintain:
Beside, here Birds and various Beasts abound,
Which ne'er on Triple Continent were found.
FINIS.
The Andes, reputed the highest Mountains in the World, run in one continued Chain above a Thousand Spanish Leagues.
Mercury, Venus, Terra, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn.
MORAL.
Thus the poor Man his Vanity deceives;The Priest has told him, and the Sot believes,
That yonder Stars, those scatter'd Points of Light,
Whose Distance hardly lends 'em to our Sight;
(Tho' in their Orbs they thousand Earths contain)
Were made to twinkle on the Wretch in vain:
A Cloud obscures them in a dusky Night;
And, when they shine, how useless is their Light?
Yet, like that Fool who thought the World his own,
He struts, and makes the Universe his Throne.
This Sov'raign Lord, and Master of the rest,
A Gnat will sting, and viler Flea molest:
His meanest Subjects disavow his Sway,
While nobler Beasts pursue him as their Prey.
When the Spaniards arriv'd in America, they found no Cow, Buffaloe, Horse, Ass, Camel, or any Beast of Draught or Burthen.
20
A Description of the Fœtus in the Womb.
In Nature's Dock hangs on the Stocks of Life,
At once the Pain, and Hope of teeming Wife;
In ambient Waters floating, safely rides,
Which guard from every Bruise his tender Sides;
Till nine Lunations the soft Form compleat,
In the tempestuous World his Fate to meet.
The Strings unty'd in the convulsive Strife,
He drops, and sprawls to the Frontiers of Life:
And while the Floods descend to help his Way,
Leaves his dark Cell, and launches into Day.
At once the Pain, and Hope of teeming Wife;
In ambient Waters floating, safely rides,
Which guard from every Bruise his tender Sides;
Till nine Lunations the soft Form compleat,
In the tempestuous World his Fate to meet.
The Strings unty'd in the convulsive Strife,
He drops, and sprawls to the Frontiers of Life:
And while the Floods descend to help his Way,
Leaves his dark Cell, and launches into Day.
MORAL.
Turn back, thou Fool, O whither wilt thou run?No sooner born, but doom'd to be undone!
If Honour's rugged Paths thou dar'st to tread,
A thousand Ills wait thy devoted Head:
Contempt and Poverty resolve to bear,
The common Lot which falls to Virtue's Share;
But if, to Vice and Luxury inclin'd,
Thou wilt the Penance in Enjoyment find.
A sad Account! When balanc'd, Loss and Gain,
Each Hour of Pleasure has its Day of Pain.
| A Poem on Nature | |