Poems by the Late Reverend Dr. Thomas Blacklock Together with an Essay on the Education of the Blind. To Which is Prefixed A New Account of the Life and Writings of the Author |
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To a LADY, With HAMMOND's ELEGIES;
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Poems by the Late Reverend Dr. Thomas Blacklock | ||
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To a LADY, With HAMMOND's ELEGIES;
An Elegy.
O Form'd at once to feel and to inspire
The noblest passions of the human breast,
Attend the accent of love's fav'rite lyre,
And let thy soul its moving force attest.
The noblest passions of the human breast,
Attend the accent of love's fav'rite lyre,
And let thy soul its moving force attest.
Expressive passion, in each sound convey'd,
Shall all its joy disclose, and all its smart;
Reason to modest tenderness persuade,
Smooth ev'ry thought, and tranquilize the heart.
Shall all its joy disclose, and all its smart;
Reason to modest tenderness persuade,
Smooth ev'ry thought, and tranquilize the heart.
False is that wisdom, impotent and vain,
Which scorns the sphere by heav'n to men assign'd,
Which treats love's purest fires with mock disdain,
And, human, soars above the human kind.
Which scorns the sphere by heav'n to men assign'd,
Which treats love's purest fires with mock disdain,
And, human, soars above the human kind.
Silent the muse of elegy remain'd,
Her plaints untaught by nature to renew,
Whilst sportive art delusive sorrows feign'd,
With how much ease distinguish'd from the true!
Her plaints untaught by nature to renew,
Whilst sportive art delusive sorrows feign'd,
With how much ease distinguish'd from the true!
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Ev'n polish'd Waller mourns the constant scorn
Of Saccharissa, and his fate in vain:
With love his fancy, not his heart is torn;
We praise his wit, but cannot share his pain.
Of Saccharissa, and his fate in vain:
With love his fancy, not his heart is torn;
We praise his wit, but cannot share his pain.
Such force has nature, so supremely fair,
With charms maternal her productions shine;
The vivid grace and unaffected air,
Proclaim them all her own, and all divine.
With charms maternal her productions shine;
The vivid grace and unaffected air,
Proclaim them all her own, and all divine.
Should youthful merit in such strains implore,
Let beauty still vouchsafe a gentle tear.
What can the soul, with passion thrill'd, do more?
The song must prove the sentiment sincere.
Let beauty still vouchsafe a gentle tear.
What can the soul, with passion thrill'd, do more?
The song must prove the sentiment sincere.
Cold cunning ne'er, with animated strain,
To other breasts can warmth unfelt impart:
We see her labour with industrious pain,
And mock the turgid impotence of art.
To other breasts can warmth unfelt impart:
We see her labour with industrious pain,
And mock the turgid impotence of art.
Poems by the Late Reverend Dr. Thomas Blacklock | ||