The Poetical Works of The Rev. Samuel Bishop :: :: University of Virginia Library

Omnipotence had wrought!—An Universe stood
Center'd amidst the abyss—and all was good!
So will'd th' All-wise!—and there vouchsaf'd to lay
Th' eternal barriers of Creation's day:—
Then, to perpetuate the august design,
To Substance give it's laws; to Form it's line.

Yet tho' material essence know no change,
Ideal life suggested endless range.
From things that were, imagin'd Being grew,
And Genius fill'd th' out-lines Fancy drew.

Insatiate rage, gross strength, and brutal pride,
In fiction's world assum'd a Giant's stride:

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Fate had made men, but men;—the Poet's mind
Enlarg'd the mass, to express the savage kind;
Swung from Enormous Bulk th' oppressor's blow;
And made description's Monster, Nature's Foe.

Experience trac'd, and wisdom mourn'd to trace,
Insidious vice, degrading human race;
How passion warpt it; how desire inflam'd;
How indolence soften'd; how indulgence tam'd;
To check the havoc such delusion made,
The Sage's precept, sought the Poet's aid:
With all th' allurements of licentious joy
He deck'd the Syren; beauteous, to destroy:
He cloth'd with all the terrors guilt can dread
The Furies, hovering o'er the conscious head;
In combinations formidably new,
Embodying language, to the mental view.

Such purpose, first, the moral Muse inspir'd,
Till larger scope Inventive Wit requir'd:

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Then, Shapes Grotesque, by wanton whim array'd,
Imagination's random work betray'd;
Beast, bird, fish, man, in Fancy's frantic hours,
Gave, and receiv'd, promiscuous parts, and pow'rs:
Chimeras, Harpies, Satyrs, Tritons swarm'd;
And each new Bard, some animal medley form'd.

Yet polish'd Greece, ev'n here, avow'd applause;
Yet Homer, Nature's poet, broke her laws;
Yet Virgil's chaster sense th' infection caught;
And elegance grac'd, what inconsistence taught.
—What wonder then, if Nations less refin'd,
Figures absurd, in modes incongruous join'd;
Heard minstrels rude, o'er Indian wilds who trod,
Incorporate fifty Monsters in a God;
Tremendous Groupes of hideous Shapes adore;
And arm with Horror Him, whose Mercy they implore!
—What wonder, if traditionary rhymes,
Command th' attention of all lands and times;

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Obtrude each gossip's song, as positive proof;
Give Broomsticks wings, and cleave the Demon's hoof!
While midnight revels, imp-rid Wizards share;
And Hags turn'd cats, their noxious spells prepare!

Nor deem it strange, if while thus wild I rove,
I feel, myself, a kindred impulse move:
Methinks, poor poet as I am, ev'n I,
Should wish, for once, my scanty skill to try.
Suppose, for instance, in the self-same face,
Benevolence's smile, and Candor's grace,
The stedfast features Perseverance shows,
The warm concern, for general good that glows,
Beneath one compound Semblance should unite,
In verse;—such verse, at least, as I can write!
Suppose—“Hold! hold! young man,” Reflection cries,
“Would that be novelty here? Consult your eyes:
“The Friends, beneath whose care this Fabric rose,
“Have been for Ages, all you now suppose.”