Humanity, or the rights of nature, a poem in two books. By the author of sympathy [i.e. S. J. Pratt] |
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| I. |
| II. |
 | Humanity, or the rights of nature, a poem |  |
An awful Task! yet hope the Lyre shall string
And aid the Muse to spread the daring wing.
Ye silken Bards repose in beds of flowers,
And in soft sonnets court the sylvan powers,
Neptune, Diana, Wave, or Wood-nymph woo,
Bid Thrushes sweeter sing, Doves fonder coo,
The lazy Poppy nodding o'er your Brows,
While at your feet the languid water flows
Silent along, as if afraid to creep,
Lest its unguarded lapse should rouse from sleep,
Ah, sweetly slumber, undisturb'd by sense,
Then gently wake to tuneful Indolence,
Crop the pale shrub that e'en in plucking dies,
But leave the plant that blossoms in the skies:
Nor rash, nor diffident, the Muse shall sweep
From Clime to Clime, and dare the giddy steep;
Still to the Sun aspiring, try the height
Cleave the dense air and hope to gain the light.
And aid the Muse to spread the daring wing.
Ye silken Bards repose in beds of flowers,
And in soft sonnets court the sylvan powers,
Neptune, Diana, Wave, or Wood-nymph woo,
Bid Thrushes sweeter sing, Doves fonder coo,
The lazy Poppy nodding o'er your Brows,
While at your feet the languid water flows
Silent along, as if afraid to creep,
Lest its unguarded lapse should rouse from sleep,
Ah, sweetly slumber, undisturb'd by sense,
Then gently wake to tuneful Indolence,
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But leave the plant that blossoms in the skies:
Nor rash, nor diffident, the Muse shall sweep
From Clime to Clime, and dare the giddy steep;
Still to the Sun aspiring, try the height
Cleave the dense air and hope to gain the light.
| Humanity, or the rights of nature, a poem | |