 | Poems on Affairs of State |  |
The Vision.
1.
I had an easy Dose of Wine o'er Night,Neither too heavy, nor too light,
But just enough to make me sleep;
Without which I too certain Vigils keep.
Strange Force of Custom that can tame
The Rash, or set the Wise on flame!
But long I did not rest,
E'er Fumes dispel'd gave place
To painful Thoughts which were by them suppress'd,
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Death's kind Resemblance did deface,
Making Night's quiet Minutes anxious as the Days,
And with more Terror pass.
2.
I dreamt, O Horror to repeat!And yet I waking see't;
The miserable Image of Mankind
Still haunts my Mind,
E'er since that fatal Night it first appear'd;
When with a Visage pale and thin,
Joints loose, and Nerves remiss,
Eyes fixt and dull, and ev'ry Member out of frame,
To my Bed-side it came,
And did begin
Sadly to utter this
With low and hollow Voice scarce to be heard.
3.
Least of my Care, give ear,And tremble at the words you hear;
Alas! I faint, I'll come more near.
My Words too much do on my Spirits prey;
I must obey
My Weakness, and sit down,
Till I recover Breath.
He said no more,
But slowly bending with an uneasy Frown
Moan'd, while my Fears had almost brought my Death,
But that with them a superstitious Zeal increas'd,
To Heaven I my self address'd;
Till he began a little louder than before.
4.
I am, said he,The Genius of Mankind, Humanity.
For that to the deplorable Estate,
By a sad Fate,
By the Rebellion of each part,
My erring Feet pretending to give Laws
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Each Member is by Contradiction led.
My Tongue does dictate to my Heart,
My Eyes are in vast Prospects lost,
My wand'ring Thoughts are tost
From this to that, yet cannot find the Cause.
5.
Discord does ev'ry where preside,And giddy factious Pride
Usurps the Government of all.
This his Opinion would on that impose,
A third the contrary erects;
Hence such Misfortune grows,
That each intends his own, and publick Good neglects.
Thus I at last must miserably fall,
But no longer can discourse
On things so painful to my Thought:
My Griefs are of too great a force,
These Truths thou shalt another way be taught.
Look round about thee from this Hill,
And see the World grow madder still.
6.
I look'd methought, and did with Wonder gazeTo find my self on such a lofty Place,
Where all the World did seem
Lower than Valleys do appear,
To Men that stand on the usurping Ground.
Then I began afresh to fear
Lest he would throw me headlong down;
But then again I thought 'twas but a Dream.
Then strait he thus began;
Fear not, O Man!
But with a piteous Eye,
Behold Mankind's unhappy Tragedy,
Behold thy own as well as others Misery.
7.
Then looking down,I saw the Earth turn round,
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As if the Motion of the Globe infected him.
But Oh!
Drunk with Opinion of himself,
His Vessel on the Ocean tost,
He split upon the fatal Shelf
Of his own Pride, whence all his Sorrows grow:
Or else to Sea by Ignorance set out
Is miserably lost,
And sunk in vent'ring to swim.
O Ignorance profound!
Deeper than are the Seas in which the Vessel drown'd.
8.
But now a horrid and confused CryStrikes my Ear and draws my Eye
Another way; and there, alas!
Malice above all other Passions does prevail,
Men by each other die:
The bloody Grass
Bears witness of the foolish Guilt.
How weak, how frail
Is Man, that merely for another's Fame,
Or his own ambitious Aim,
Prostrates his Blood thus to be spilt!
Forgotten in the Grave,
With a cold Epitaph,
O valiant! or O brave!
Now whether shall I weep or laugh?
9.
Here by his Brother one is kill'd;A Father here to his own Son does yield,
Kneels, and intreats a Life for that he gave.
The Viper does refuse;
And O eternal Shame!
Tears out the Bowels whence he came.
And neither will his Parent, nor his Virtue save;
But deaf to both, does both abuse,
And in that monstrous Act does all Mankind accuse.
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A little Gold for all that Blood and Guilt has paid.
Thus, merely thus for Gold
Man is bought and sold,
His Life expos'd for that, for that betray'd.
10.
And now the fighting Fools retire,Their Rage consum'd in its own Fire;
Now on both sides are given
Prayers and Thanks for Victory to Heaven:
Heav'n that favour'd neither side,
But did them both deride,
Made both its Sport;
As Men to see the Bulls, and Bears, and other Creatures fight, resort.
Poor wretched Man! from whom are hid
The things he most does court:
Desire of Knowledg is his Punishment,
Never content,
Still searching after hidden Light,
And lost in darkest Shades of Night.
11.
Thus I reflected, till at last,Turning my Head, I saw a Throng
Of zealous and religious Fools;
Some on the Ground were prostrate cast,
Speaking more with Looks than Tongue,
And Gestures learnt from godly Schools.
Here one with Arms expanded, on his Knees
Strives t'embrace th'Ideas of his Faith;
Courting in hope the better Life, his Death,
And greedily of Hope th'imperfect Pleasures sees,
Till Heat of Zeal and Fancy fails, and lets him freeze.
Others to Dress Religion would confine,
And think the plainest Men the most Divine.
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Ty'd to their own Opinion, that with Joy they give
Themselves to hasty Death, disdaining then to live,
When living, they to Heav'n must give Offence.
O fond Belief! O Death to be desir'd
Before the Joys of Life, or ought that's here admir'd!
| Poems on Affairs of State | |