 | Poems on several occasions |  |
xxxvi
To Stephen Duck: Occasion'd by his Poem on Friendship.
No fancied Muse, nor Heliconian Stream,
Inspires my Verse, but thy well-chosen Theme;
Well-chosen, well-express'd, while, void of Art,
Thou speak'st the Dictates of an honest Heart.
Truth needs no specious Gloss; but, ever bright,
Shines, like the Sun, with pure unborrow'd Light;
And such thy pleasing Strains: No pompous Phrase
Bribes the Unworthy with unhallow'd Praise;
No servile Flattery, nor dull Design,
Creeps, with soft Accent, thro' the fawning Line;
Nor jealous Envy rears its hateful Head,
To sting the Living, or revile the Dead;
Nor Malice, nor Caprice hast thou, like those,
Whose pointed Satire dares a thousand Foes:
(Not but, if Fops lay Snares for Ridicule,
And Smartlings think it Wit to play the Fool,
Indignant Satire has a just Pretence,
With all her Whips to lash them into Sense)
To please, and only please, thy Nature tends,
And, Friend to all Men, makes them all thy Friends.
Inspires my Verse, but thy well-chosen Theme;
Well-chosen, well-express'd, while, void of Art,
Thou speak'st the Dictates of an honest Heart.
Truth needs no specious Gloss; but, ever bright,
Shines, like the Sun, with pure unborrow'd Light;
And such thy pleasing Strains: No pompous Phrase
Bribes the Unworthy with unhallow'd Praise;
No servile Flattery, nor dull Design,
Creeps, with soft Accent, thro' the fawning Line;
Nor jealous Envy rears its hateful Head,
To sting the Living, or revile the Dead;
xxxvii
Whose pointed Satire dares a thousand Foes:
(Not but, if Fops lay Snares for Ridicule,
And Smartlings think it Wit to play the Fool,
Indignant Satire has a just Pretence,
With all her Whips to lash them into Sense)
To please, and only please, thy Nature tends,
And, Friend to all Men, makes them all thy Friends.
With double Transport therefore I peruse
The genuine Truths of your untutor'd Muse;
While thus you teach us Friendship's sacred Law,
And are yourself the faithful Friend you draw.
So to those Priests we glad Attention give,
Whose Precepts Sanction from their Lives receive.
The genuine Truths of your untutor'd Muse;
While thus you teach us Friendship's sacred Law,
And are yourself the faithful Friend you draw.
So to those Priests we glad Attention give,
Whose Precepts Sanction from their Lives receive.
'Twas this that rais'd thee from thy lowly Seat,
'Tis this shall make thy Happiness complete;
A Soul sincere, to Gratitude inclin'd,
An Heart untainted, and an humble Mind.
Inspir'd by these, write on, and charm the Age,
Nor dread the envious Critic's idle Rage:
For who the snarling Zoilus regards,
When Spence approves, and Caroline rewards?
'Tis this shall make thy Happiness complete;
xxxviii
An Heart untainted, and an humble Mind.
Inspir'd by these, write on, and charm the Age,
Nor dread the envious Critic's idle Rage:
For who the snarling Zoilus regards,
When Spence approves, and Caroline rewards?
T. Morell.
| Poems on several occasions | |