The Works of the Reverend and Learned Isaac Watts, D. D. Containing, besides his Sermons, and Essays on miscellaneous subjects, several additional pieces, Selected from his Manuscripts by the Rev. Dr. Jennings, and the Rev. Dr. Doddridge, in 1753: to which are prefixed, memoirs of the life of the author, compiled by the Rev. George Burder. In six volumes |
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 | The Works of the Reverend and Learned Isaac Watts, D. D. |  |
482
TO MITIO, MY FRIEND.
An Epistle.
[_]
Forgive me, Mitio, that there should be any mortifying lines in the following Poems inscribed to you, so soon after your entrance into that state which was designed for the completest happiness on earth: But you will quickly discover, that the muse in the first poem only represents the shades and dark colours that melancholy throws upon love, and the social life. In the second, perhaps she indulges her own bright ideas a little. Yet if the accounts are but well balanced at last, and things set in a due light, I hope there is no ground for censure. Here you will find an attempt made to talk of one of the most important concerns of human nature in verse, and that with a solemnity becoming the argument. I have banished grimace and ridicule, that persons of the most serious character may read without offence. What was written several years ago to yourself is now permitted to entertain the world; but you may assume it to yourself as a private entertainment still, while you lie concealed behind a feigned name.
I. [THE FIRST PART: OR,]
The Mourning Piece.
Life's a long tragedy: This globe the stage,
Well fix'd and well adorn'd with strong machines,
Gay fields, and skies, and seas: The actors many:
The plot immense: A flight of dæmons sit
On every sailing cloud with fatal purpose;
And shoot across the scenes ten thousand arrows
Perpetual and unseen, headed with pain,
With sorrow, infamy, disease and death.
The pointed plagues fly silent thro' the air,
Nor twangs the bow, yet sure and deep the wound.
Well fix'd and well adorn'd with strong machines,
Gay fields, and skies, and seas: The actors many:
The plot immense: A flight of dæmons sit
On every sailing cloud with fatal purpose;
And shoot across the scenes ten thousand arrows
Perpetual and unseen, headed with pain,
With sorrow, infamy, disease and death.
The pointed plagues fly silent thro' the air,
Nor twangs the bow, yet sure and deep the wound.
Dianthe acts her little part alone,
Nor wishes an associate. Lo she glides
Single thro' all the storm, and more secure;
Less are her dangers, and her breast receives
The fewest darts. ‘But, O my lov'd Marilla,
‘My sister, once my friend,’ Dianthe cries,
‘How much art thou expos'd! Thy growing soul
‘Doubled in wedlock, multiply'd in children,
‘Stands but the broader mark for all the mischiefs
‘That rove promiscuous o'er the mortal stage:
‘Children, those dear young limbs, those tenderest pieces
‘Of your own flesh, those little other selves,
‘How they dilate the heart to wide dimensions,
‘And soften every fibre to improve
‘The mother's sad capacity of pain!
‘I mourn Fidelio too; tho' heaven has chose
‘A favourite mate for him, of all her sex
‘The pride and flower: How blest the lovely pair,
‘Beyond expression, if well-mingled loves
‘And woes well-mingled could improve our bliss!
‘Amidst the rugged cares of life behold
‘The father and the husband; flatt'ring names,
‘That spread his title, and enlarge his share
‘Of common wretchedness. He fondly hopes
‘To multiply his joys, but every hour
‘Renews the disappointment and the smart.
‘There not a wound afflicts the meanest joint
‘Of his fair partner, or her infant train,
‘(Sweet babes!) but pierces to his inmost soul.
‘Strange is thy pow'r, O love! What num'rous veins,
‘And arteries, and arms, and hands, and eyes,
‘Are link'd and fasten'd to a lover's heart,
‘By strong but secret strings! With vain attempt
‘We put the Stoic on, in vain we try
‘To break the ties of nature and of blood;
‘Those hidden threads maintain the dear communion
‘Inviolably firm: Their thrilling motions
‘Reciprocal give endless sympathy
‘In all the bitters and the sweets of life.
‘Thrice happy man, if pleasure only knew
‘These avenues of love to reach our souls,
‘And pain had never found 'em!’
Nor wishes an associate. Lo she glides
Single thro' all the storm, and more secure;
Less are her dangers, and her breast receives
The fewest darts. ‘But, O my lov'd Marilla,
‘My sister, once my friend,’ Dianthe cries,
‘How much art thou expos'd! Thy growing soul
‘Doubled in wedlock, multiply'd in children,
‘Stands but the broader mark for all the mischiefs
‘That rove promiscuous o'er the mortal stage:
‘Children, those dear young limbs, those tenderest pieces
‘Of your own flesh, those little other selves,
‘How they dilate the heart to wide dimensions,
‘And soften every fibre to improve
‘The mother's sad capacity of pain!
‘I mourn Fidelio too; tho' heaven has chose
‘A favourite mate for him, of all her sex
‘The pride and flower: How blest the lovely pair,
‘Beyond expression, if well-mingled loves
‘And woes well-mingled could improve our bliss!
‘Amidst the rugged cares of life behold
‘The father and the husband; flatt'ring names,
‘That spread his title, and enlarge his share
‘Of common wretchedness. He fondly hopes
‘To multiply his joys, but every hour
‘Renews the disappointment and the smart.
‘There not a wound afflicts the meanest joint
‘Of his fair partner, or her infant train,
‘(Sweet babes!) but pierces to his inmost soul.
‘Strange is thy pow'r, O love! What num'rous veins,
‘And arteries, and arms, and hands, and eyes,
‘Are link'd and fasten'd to a lover's heart,
‘By strong but secret strings! With vain attempt
‘We put the Stoic on, in vain we try
‘To break the ties of nature and of blood;
‘Those hidden threads maintain the dear communion
‘Inviolably firm: Their thrilling motions
‘Reciprocal give endless sympathy
‘In all the bitters and the sweets of life.
‘Thrice happy man, if pleasure only knew
‘These avenues of love to reach our souls,
‘And pain had never found 'em!’
Thus sang the tuneful maid, fearful to try
The bold experiment. Oft Daphnis came,
And oft Narcissus, rivals of her heart,
Luring her eyes with trifles dipt in gold,
And the gay silken bondage. Firm she stood,
And bold repuls'd the bright temptation still,
Nor put the chains on; dangerous to try,
And hard to be dissolv'd. Yet rising tears
Sat on her eye-lids, while her numbers flow'd
Harmonious sorrow; and the pitying drops
Stole down her cheeks, to mourn the hapless state
Of mortal love. Love, thou best blessing sent
To soften life, and make our iron cares
Easy: But thy own cares of softer kind
Give sharper wounds: They lodge too near the heart,
Beat, like the pulse, perpetual, and create
A strange uneasy sense, a tempting pain.
The bold experiment. Oft Daphnis came,
And oft Narcissus, rivals of her heart,
Luring her eyes with trifles dipt in gold,
And the gay silken bondage. Firm she stood,
And bold repuls'd the bright temptation still,
Nor put the chains on; dangerous to try,
And hard to be dissolv'd. Yet rising tears
Sat on her eye-lids, while her numbers flow'd
Harmonious sorrow; and the pitying drops
483
Of mortal love. Love, thou best blessing sent
To soften life, and make our iron cares
Easy: But thy own cares of softer kind
Give sharper wounds: They lodge too near the heart,
Beat, like the pulse, perpetual, and create
A strange uneasy sense, a tempting pain.
Say, my companion Mitio, speak sincere,
(For thou art learned now) what anxious thoughts,
What kind perplexities tumultuous rise,
If but the absence of a day divide
Thee from thy fair beloved! Vainly smiles
The cheerful sun, and night with radiant eyes
Twinkles in vain: The region of thy soul
Is darkness, till thy better star appear.
Tell me, what toil, what torment to sustain
The rolling burden of the tedious hours?
The tedious hours are ages. Fancy roves
Restless in fond enquiry, nor believes
Charissa safe: Charissa, in whose life
Thy life consists, and in her comfort thine.
Fear and surmise put on a thousand forms
Of dear disquietude, and round thine ears
Whisper ten thousand dangers, endless woes,
Till thy frame shudders at her fancy'd death;
Then dies my Mitio, and his blood creeps cold
Thro' every vein. Speak, does the stranger-muse
Cast happy guesses at the unknown passion,
Or has she fabled all? Inform me, friend,
Are half thy joys sincere? Thy hopes fulfill'd,
Or frustrate? Here commit thy secret griefs
To faithful ears, and be they bury'd here
In friendship and oblivion; lest they spoil
Thy new-born pleasures with distasteful gall.
Nor let thine eye too greedily drink in
The frightful prospect, when untimely death
Shall make wild inroads on a parent's heart,
And his dear offspring to the cruel grave
Are dragg'd in sad succession; while his soul
Is torn away piece-meal: Thus dies the wretch
A various death, and frequent, ere he quit
The theatre, and make his exit final.
(For thou art learned now) what anxious thoughts,
What kind perplexities tumultuous rise,
If but the absence of a day divide
Thee from thy fair beloved! Vainly smiles
The cheerful sun, and night with radiant eyes
Twinkles in vain: The region of thy soul
Is darkness, till thy better star appear.
Tell me, what toil, what torment to sustain
The rolling burden of the tedious hours?
The tedious hours are ages. Fancy roves
Restless in fond enquiry, nor believes
Charissa safe: Charissa, in whose life
Thy life consists, and in her comfort thine.
Fear and surmise put on a thousand forms
Of dear disquietude, and round thine ears
Whisper ten thousand dangers, endless woes,
Till thy frame shudders at her fancy'd death;
Then dies my Mitio, and his blood creeps cold
Thro' every vein. Speak, does the stranger-muse
Cast happy guesses at the unknown passion,
Or has she fabled all? Inform me, friend,
Are half thy joys sincere? Thy hopes fulfill'd,
Or frustrate? Here commit thy secret griefs
To faithful ears, and be they bury'd here
In friendship and oblivion; lest they spoil
Thy new-born pleasures with distasteful gall.
Nor let thine eye too greedily drink in
The frightful prospect, when untimely death
Shall make wild inroads on a parent's heart,
And his dear offspring to the cruel grave
Are dragg'd in sad succession; while his soul
Is torn away piece-meal: Thus dies the wretch
A various death, and frequent, ere he quit
The theatre, and make his exit final.
But if his dearest half, his faithful mate
Survive, and in the sweetest saddest airs
Of love and grief, approach with trembling hand
To close his swimming eyes, what double pangs,
What racks, what twinges rend his heart-strings off
From the fair bosom of that fellow-dove
He leaves behind to mourn? What jealous cares
Hang on his parting soul, to think his love
Expos'd to wild oppression, and the herd
Of savage men? So parts the dying turtle
With sobbing accents, with such sad regret
Leaves his kind feather'd mate: The widow bird
Wanders in lonesome shades, forgets her food,
Forgets her life; or falls a speedier prey
To talon'd falcons, and the crooked beak
Of hawks athirst for blood—
Survive, and in the sweetest saddest airs
Of love and grief, approach with trembling hand
To close his swimming eyes, what double pangs,
What racks, what twinges rend his heart-strings off
From the fair bosom of that fellow-dove
He leaves behind to mourn? What jealous cares
Hang on his parting soul, to think his love
Expos'd to wild oppression, and the herd
Of savage men? So parts the dying turtle
With sobbing accents, with such sad regret
Leaves his kind feather'd mate: The widow bird
Wanders in lonesome shades, forgets her food,
Forgets her life; or falls a speedier prey
To talon'd falcons, and the crooked beak
Of hawks athirst for blood—
II. THE SECOND PART: OR,
The bright Vision.
Thus far the muse, in unaccustom'd mood,
And strains unpleasing to a lover's ear,
Indulg'd a gloom of thought; and thus she sang
Partial; for melancholy's hateful form
Stood by in sable robe: The pensive muse
Survey'd the darksome scenes of life, and sought
Some bright relieving glimpse, some cordial ray
In the fair world of love: But while she gaz'd
Delightful on the state of twin-born souls
United, bless'd, the cruel shade apply'd
A dark long tube, and a false tinctur'd glass
Deceitful; blending love and life at once
In darkness, chaos, and the common mass
Of misery: Now Urania feels the cheat,
And breaks the hated optic in disdain.
Swift vanishes the sullen form, and lo
The scene shines bright with bliss: Behold the place
Where mischiefs never fly, cares never come
With wrinkled brow, nor anguish, nor disease,
Nor malice forky-tongu'd. On this dear spot,
Mitio, my love would fix and plant thy station,
To act thy part of life, serene and blest
With the fair consort fitted to thy heart.
And strains unpleasing to a lover's ear,
Indulg'd a gloom of thought; and thus she sang
Partial; for melancholy's hateful form
Stood by in sable robe: The pensive muse
Survey'd the darksome scenes of life, and sought
Some bright relieving glimpse, some cordial ray
In the fair world of love: But while she gaz'd
Delightful on the state of twin-born souls
United, bless'd, the cruel shade apply'd
A dark long tube, and a false tinctur'd glass
Deceitful; blending love and life at once
In darkness, chaos, and the common mass
Of misery: Now Urania feels the cheat,
And breaks the hated optic in disdain.
Swift vanishes the sullen form, and lo
The scene shines bright with bliss: Behold the place
Where mischiefs never fly, cares never come
With wrinkled brow, nor anguish, nor disease,
Nor malice forky-tongu'd. On this dear spot,
Mitio, my love would fix and plant thy station,
To act thy part of life, serene and blest
With the fair consort fitted to thy heart.
Sure 'tis a vision of that happy grove
Where the first authors of our mournful race
Liv'd in sweet partnership! One hour they liv'd,
But chang'd the tasted bliss (imprudent pair!)
For sin, and shame, and this waste wilderness
Of briers, and nine hundred years of pain.
The wishing muse new dresses the fair garden
Amid this desart world, with budding bliss,
And ever-greens, and balms, and flow'ry beauties
Without one dang'rous tree; there heav'nly dews
Nightly descending shall impearl the grass
And verdant herbage; drops of fragrancy
Sit trembling on the spires: The spicy vapours
Rise with the dawn, and thro' the air diffus'd
Salute your waking senses with perfume:
While vital fruits with their ambrosial juice
Renew life's purple flood and fountain, pure
From vicious taint; and with your innocence
Immortalise the structure of your clay.
On this new paradise the cloudless skies
Shall smile perpetual, while the lamp of day
With flames unsully'd, (as the fabled torch
Of Hymen) measures out your golden hours
Along his azure road. The nuptial moon
In milder rays serene, should nightly rise
Full orb'd (if heaven and nature will indulge
So fair an emblem) big with silver joys,
And still forget her wane. The feather'd choir
Warbling their Maker's praise on early wing,
Or perch'd on evening-bough, shall join your worship,
Join your sweet vespers, and the morning song.
Where the first authors of our mournful race
Liv'd in sweet partnership! One hour they liv'd,
But chang'd the tasted bliss (imprudent pair!)
For sin, and shame, and this waste wilderness
Of briers, and nine hundred years of pain.
The wishing muse new dresses the fair garden
Amid this desart world, with budding bliss,
And ever-greens, and balms, and flow'ry beauties
Without one dang'rous tree; there heav'nly dews
Nightly descending shall impearl the grass
And verdant herbage; drops of fragrancy
Sit trembling on the spires: The spicy vapours
Rise with the dawn, and thro' the air diffus'd
Salute your waking senses with perfume:
While vital fruits with their ambrosial juice
Renew life's purple flood and fountain, pure
From vicious taint; and with your innocence
Immortalise the structure of your clay.
On this new paradise the cloudless skies
Shall smile perpetual, while the lamp of day
With flames unsully'd, (as the fabled torch
Of Hymen) measures out your golden hours
Along his azure road. The nuptial moon
In milder rays serene, should nightly rise
484
So fair an emblem) big with silver joys,
And still forget her wane. The feather'd choir
Warbling their Maker's praise on early wing,
Or perch'd on evening-bough, shall join your worship,
Join your sweet vespers, and the morning song.
O sacred symphony! Hark, thro' the grove
I hear the sound divine! I'm all attention,
All ear, all ecstasy; unknown delight!
And the fair muse proclaims the heav'n below.
I hear the sound divine! I'm all attention,
All ear, all ecstasy; unknown delight!
And the fair muse proclaims the heav'n below.
Not the seraphic minds of high degree
Disdain converse with men: Again returning
I see the ethereal host on downward wing.
Lo, at the eastern gate young cherubs stand
Guardians, commission'd to convey their joys
To earthly lovers. Go, ye happy pair,
Go taste their banquet, learn the nobler pleasures
Supernal, and from brutal dregs refin'd.
Raphael shall teach thee, friend, exalted thoughts
And intellectual bliss. 'Twas Raphael taught
The patriarch of our progeny the affairs
Of heaven! (So Milton sings, enlight'ned bard!
Nor miss'd his eyes, when in sublimest strain
The angel's great narration he repeats
To Albion's sons high-favour'd.) Thou shalt learn
Celestial lessons from his awful tongue;
And with soft grace and interwoven loves
(Grateful digression) all his words rehearse
To thy Charissa's ear, and charm her soul.
Thus with divine discourse, in shady bowers
Of Eden, our first father entertain'd
Eve his sole auditress; and deep dispute
With conjugal caresses on her lip
Solv'd easy, and abstrusest thoughts reveal'd.
Disdain converse with men: Again returning
I see the ethereal host on downward wing.
Lo, at the eastern gate young cherubs stand
Guardians, commission'd to convey their joys
To earthly lovers. Go, ye happy pair,
Go taste their banquet, learn the nobler pleasures
Supernal, and from brutal dregs refin'd.
Raphael shall teach thee, friend, exalted thoughts
And intellectual bliss. 'Twas Raphael taught
The patriarch of our progeny the affairs
Of heaven! (So Milton sings, enlight'ned bard!
Nor miss'd his eyes, when in sublimest strain
The angel's great narration he repeats
To Albion's sons high-favour'd.) Thou shalt learn
Celestial lessons from his awful tongue;
And with soft grace and interwoven loves
(Grateful digression) all his words rehearse
To thy Charissa's ear, and charm her soul.
Thus with divine discourse, in shady bowers
Of Eden, our first father entertain'd
Eve his sole auditress; and deep dispute
With conjugal caresses on her lip
Solv'd easy, and abstrusest thoughts reveal'd.
Now the day wears apace, now Mitio comes
From his bright tutor, and finds out his mate.
Behold the dear associates seated low
On humble turf, with rose and myrtle strow'd:
But high their conference! How self-suffic'd
Lives their eternal Maker, girt around
With glories; arm'd with thunders; and his throne
Mortal access forbids, projecting far
Splendors unsufferable and radiant death.
With reverence and abasement deep they fall
Before his sovereign majesty, to pay
Due worship: Then his mercy on their souls
Smiles with a gentler ray, but sov'reign still;
And leads their meditation and discourse
Long ages backward, and across the seas
To Bethlehem of Judah: There the Son,
The filial godhead, character express
Of brightness inexpressible, laid by
His beamy robes, and made descent to earth.
Sprung from the sons of Adam he became
A second father, studious to regain
Lost paradise for men, and purchase heav'n.
From his bright tutor, and finds out his mate.
Behold the dear associates seated low
On humble turf, with rose and myrtle strow'd:
But high their conference! How self-suffic'd
Lives their eternal Maker, girt around
With glories; arm'd with thunders; and his throne
Mortal access forbids, projecting far
Splendors unsufferable and radiant death.
With reverence and abasement deep they fall
Before his sovereign majesty, to pay
Due worship: Then his mercy on their souls
Smiles with a gentler ray, but sov'reign still;
And leads their meditation and discourse
Long ages backward, and across the seas
To Bethlehem of Judah: There the Son,
The filial godhead, character express
Of brightness inexpressible, laid by
His beamy robes, and made descent to earth.
Sprung from the sons of Adam he became
A second father, studious to regain
Lost paradise for men, and purchase heav'n.
The Lovers with indearment mutual thus
Promiscuous talk'd, and questions intricate
His manly judgment still resolv'd, and still
Held her attention fix'd: She musing sat
On the sweet mention of incarnate love,
Till rapture wak'd her voice to softest strains.
‘She sang the Infant God; (mysterious theme)
‘How vile his birth-place, and his cradle vile!
‘The ox and ass his mean companions; there
‘Inhabit vile the shepherds flock around,
‘Saluting the great mother, and adore
‘Israel's anointed King, the appointed Heir
‘Of the creation. How debas'd he lies
‘Beneath his regal state; for thee, my Mitio,
‘Debas'd in servile form; but angels stood
‘Minist'ring round their charge with folded wings
‘Obsequious, tho' unseen; while lightsome hours
‘Fulfill'd the day, and the gray evening rose.
‘Then the fair guardians hov'ring o'er his head
‘Wakeful all night, drive the foul spirits far,
And with their fanning pinions purge the air
‘From busy phantoms, from infectious damps,
‘And impure taint; while their ambrosial plumes
‘A dewy slumber on his senses shed.
‘Alternate hymns the heav'nly watchers sung
‘Melodious, soothing the surrounding shades,
‘And kept the darkness chaste and holy. Then
‘Midnight was charm'd, and all her gazing eyes
‘Wonder'd to see their mighty Maker sleep.
‘Behold the glooms disperse, the rosy morn
‘Smiles in the east with eye-lids opening fair,
‘But not so fair as thine; O I could fold thee,
‘My young Almighty, my creator-babe,
‘For ever in these arms! For ever dwell
‘Upon thy lovely form with gazing joy,
‘And every pulse should beat seraphic love!
‘Around my seat should crowding cherubs come
‘With swift ambition, zealous to attend
‘Their Prince, and form a heav'n below the sky.’
Promiscuous talk'd, and questions intricate
His manly judgment still resolv'd, and still
Held her attention fix'd: She musing sat
On the sweet mention of incarnate love,
Till rapture wak'd her voice to softest strains.
‘She sang the Infant God; (mysterious theme)
‘How vile his birth-place, and his cradle vile!
‘The ox and ass his mean companions; there
‘Inhabit vile the shepherds flock around,
‘Saluting the great mother, and adore
‘Israel's anointed King, the appointed Heir
‘Of the creation. How debas'd he lies
‘Beneath his regal state; for thee, my Mitio,
‘Debas'd in servile form; but angels stood
‘Minist'ring round their charge with folded wings
‘Obsequious, tho' unseen; while lightsome hours
‘Fulfill'd the day, and the gray evening rose.
‘Then the fair guardians hov'ring o'er his head
‘Wakeful all night, drive the foul spirits far,
And with their fanning pinions purge the air
‘From busy phantoms, from infectious damps,
‘And impure taint; while their ambrosial plumes
‘A dewy slumber on his senses shed.
‘Alternate hymns the heav'nly watchers sung
‘Melodious, soothing the surrounding shades,
‘And kept the darkness chaste and holy. Then
‘Midnight was charm'd, and all her gazing eyes
‘Wonder'd to see their mighty Maker sleep.
‘Behold the glooms disperse, the rosy morn
‘Smiles in the east with eye-lids opening fair,
‘But not so fair as thine; O I could fold thee,
‘My young Almighty, my creator-babe,
‘For ever in these arms! For ever dwell
‘Upon thy lovely form with gazing joy,
‘And every pulse should beat seraphic love!
‘Around my seat should crowding cherubs come
‘With swift ambition, zealous to attend
‘Their Prince, and form a heav'n below the sky.’
‘Forbear, Charissa, O forbear the thought
‘Of female-fondness, and forgive the man
‘That interrupts such melting harmony!’
Thus Mitio; and awakes her nobler powers
To pay just worship to the sacred King,
Jesus, the God; nor with devotion pure
Mix the caresses of her softer sex;
(Vain blandishment) ‘Come, turn thine eyes aside
‘From Bethle'em, and climb up the doleful steep
‘Of bloody Calvary, where naked sculls
‘Pave the sad road, and fright the traveller.
‘Can my beloved bear to trace the feet
‘Of her Redeemer panting up the hill
‘Hard-burden'd? Can thy heart attend his cross?
‘Nail'd to the cruel wood he groans, he dies,
‘For thee he dies. Beneath thy sins and mine
‘(Horrible load!) the sinful Saviour groans,
‘And in fierce anguish of his soul expires.
‘Adoring angels pry with bending head
‘Searching the deep contrivance, and admire
‘This infinite design. Here peace is made
‘'Twixt God the Sov'reign, and the rebel man:
‘Here Satan overthrown with all his hosts
‘In second ruin rages and despairs;
‘Malice itself despairs. The captive prey
‘Long held in slavery hopes a sweet release,
‘And Adam's ruin'd offspring shall revive
‘Thus ransom'd from the greedy jaws of death.’
‘Of female-fondness, and forgive the man
‘That interrupts such melting harmony!’
Thus Mitio; and awakes her nobler powers
To pay just worship to the sacred King,
Jesus, the God; nor with devotion pure
Mix the caresses of her softer sex;
(Vain blandishment) ‘Come, turn thine eyes aside
‘From Bethle'em, and climb up the doleful steep
‘Of bloody Calvary, where naked sculls
‘Pave the sad road, and fright the traveller.
‘Can my beloved bear to trace the feet
‘Of her Redeemer panting up the hill
‘Hard-burden'd? Can thy heart attend his cross?
‘Nail'd to the cruel wood he groans, he dies,
‘For thee he dies. Beneath thy sins and mine
‘(Horrible load!) the sinful Saviour groans,
‘And in fierce anguish of his soul expires.
‘Adoring angels pry with bending head
485
‘This infinite design. Here peace is made
‘'Twixt God the Sov'reign, and the rebel man:
‘Here Satan overthrown with all his hosts
‘In second ruin rages and despairs;
‘Malice itself despairs. The captive prey
‘Long held in slavery hopes a sweet release,
‘And Adam's ruin'd offspring shall revive
‘Thus ransom'd from the greedy jaws of death.’
The fair disciple heard; her passions move
Harmonious to the great discourse, and breathe
Refin'd devotion: While new smiles of love
Repay her teacher. Both with bended knees
Read o'er the covenant of eternal life
Brought down to men; seal'd by the sacred Three
In heav'n; and seal'd on earth with God's own blood,
Here they unite their names again, and sign
Those peaceful articles. (Hail, blest co-heirs
Celestial! Ye shall grow to manly age,
And spite of earth and hell, in season due
Possess the fair inheritance above.)
With joyous admiration they survey
The gospel treasures infinite, unseen
By mortal eye, by mortal ear unheard,
And unconceiv'd by thought: Riches divine
And honours which the Almighty Father God
Pour'd with immense profusion on his Son,
High-Treasurer of heaven. The Son bestows
The life, the love, the blessing, and the joy
On bankrupt mortals who believe and love
His name. ‘Then, my Charissa, all is thine.’
‘And thine, my Mitio,’ the fair saint replies.
‘Life, death, the world below, and worlds on high,
‘And place, and time, are ours; and things to come,
‘And past, and present; for our interest stands
‘Firm in our mystic head, the title sure.
‘'Tis for our health and sweet refreshment (while
‘We sojourn strangers here) the fruitful earth
‘Bears plenteous; and revolving seasons still
‘Dress her vast globe in various ornament.
‘For us this cheerful sun and cheerful light
‘Diurnal shine. This blue expanse of sky
‘Hangs, a rich canopy above our heads
‘Covering our slumbers, all with starry gold
‘Inwrought, when night alternates her return.
‘For us time wears his wings out: Nature keeps
‘Her wheels in motion; and her fabric stands.
‘Glories beyond our ken of mortal sight
‘Are now preparing, and a mansion fair
‘Awaits us, where the saints unbody'd live.
‘Spirits releas'd from clay, and purg'd from sin:
‘Thither our hearts with most incessant wish
‘Panting aspire; when shall that dearest hour
‘Shine and release us hence, and bear us high,
‘Bear us at once unsever'd to our better home?’
Harmonious to the great discourse, and breathe
Refin'd devotion: While new smiles of love
Repay her teacher. Both with bended knees
Read o'er the covenant of eternal life
Brought down to men; seal'd by the sacred Three
In heav'n; and seal'd on earth with God's own blood,
Here they unite their names again, and sign
Those peaceful articles. (Hail, blest co-heirs
Celestial! Ye shall grow to manly age,
And spite of earth and hell, in season due
Possess the fair inheritance above.)
With joyous admiration they survey
The gospel treasures infinite, unseen
By mortal eye, by mortal ear unheard,
And unconceiv'd by thought: Riches divine
And honours which the Almighty Father God
Pour'd with immense profusion on his Son,
High-Treasurer of heaven. The Son bestows
The life, the love, the blessing, and the joy
On bankrupt mortals who believe and love
His name. ‘Then, my Charissa, all is thine.’
‘And thine, my Mitio,’ the fair saint replies.
‘Life, death, the world below, and worlds on high,
‘And place, and time, are ours; and things to come,
‘And past, and present; for our interest stands
‘Firm in our mystic head, the title sure.
‘'Tis for our health and sweet refreshment (while
‘We sojourn strangers here) the fruitful earth
‘Bears plenteous; and revolving seasons still
‘Dress her vast globe in various ornament.
‘For us this cheerful sun and cheerful light
‘Diurnal shine. This blue expanse of sky
‘Hangs, a rich canopy above our heads
‘Covering our slumbers, all with starry gold
‘Inwrought, when night alternates her return.
‘For us time wears his wings out: Nature keeps
‘Her wheels in motion; and her fabric stands.
‘Glories beyond our ken of mortal sight
‘Are now preparing, and a mansion fair
‘Awaits us, where the saints unbody'd live.
‘Spirits releas'd from clay, and purg'd from sin:
‘Thither our hearts with most incessant wish
‘Panting aspire; when shall that dearest hour
‘Shine and release us hence, and bear us high,
‘Bear us at once unsever'd to our better home?’
O blest connubial state! O happy pair,
Envy'd by yet unsociated souls
Who seek their faithful twins! Your pleasures rise
Sweet as the morn, advancing as the day,
Fervent as glorious noon, serenely calm
As summer evenings. The vile sons of earth
Grov'ling in dust with all their noisy jars
Restless, shall interrupt your joys no more
Than barking animals affright the moon
Sublime, and riding in her midnight way.
Friendship and love shall undistinguish'd reign
O'er all your passions with unrival'd sway
Mutual and everlasting: Friendship knows
No property in good, but all things common
That each possesses, as the light or air
In which we breathe and live: There's not one thought
Can lurk in close reserve, no barriers fix'd,
But every passage open as the day
To one another's breast, and inmost mind.
Thus by communion your delight shall grow,
Thus streams of mingled bliss swell higher as they flow,
Thus angels mix their flames, and more divinely grow.
Envy'd by yet unsociated souls
Who seek their faithful twins! Your pleasures rise
Sweet as the morn, advancing as the day,
Fervent as glorious noon, serenely calm
As summer evenings. The vile sons of earth
Grov'ling in dust with all their noisy jars
Restless, shall interrupt your joys no more
Than barking animals affright the moon
Sublime, and riding in her midnight way.
Friendship and love shall undistinguish'd reign
O'er all your passions with unrival'd sway
Mutual and everlasting: Friendship knows
No property in good, but all things common
That each possesses, as the light or air
In which we breathe and live: There's not one thought
Can lurk in close reserve, no barriers fix'd,
But every passage open as the day
To one another's breast, and inmost mind.
Thus by communion your delight shall grow,
Thus streams of mingled bliss swell higher as they flow,
Thus angels mix their flames, and more divinely grow.
III. THE THIRD PART: OR,
The Account balanced.
I.
Should sov'reign love before me stand,With all his train of pomp and state,
And bid the daring muse relate
His comforts and his cares;
Mitio, I would not ask the sand
For metaphors t'express their weight,
Nor borrow numbers from the stars.
Thy cares and comforts, sov'reign love,
Vastly out-weigh the sand below,
And to a larger audit grow
Than all the stars above.
Thy mighty losses and thy gains
Are their own mutual measures;
Only the man that knows thy pains
Can reckon up thy pleasures.
II.
Say, Damon, say, how bright the scene,Damon is half-divinely blest,
Leaning his head on his Florella's breast,
Without a jealous thought, or busy care between:
Then the sweet passions mix and share;
Florella tells thee all her heart,
Nor can thy soul's remotest part
Conceal a thought or wish from the beloved fair.
Say, what a pitch thy pleasures fly,
When friendship all-sincere grows up to ecstasy
Nor self contracts the bliss, nor vice pollutes the joy,
While thy dear offspring round thee sit,
Or sporting innocently at thy feet
Thy kindest thoughts engage:
486
What pretty toys of youth they be,
And growing props of age!
III.
But short is earthly bliss! The changing windBlows from the sickly south, and brings
Malignant fevers on its sultry wings.
Relentless death sits close behind:
Now gasping infants, and a wife in tears,
With piercing groans salutes his ears,
Thro' every vein the thrilling torments roll:
While sweet and bitter are at strife
In those dear miseries of life,
Those tenderest pieces of his bleeding soul.
The pleasing sense of love awhile
Mixt with the heart-ache may the pain beguile,
And make a feeble fight:
Till sorrows like a gloomy deluge rise,
Then every smiling passion dies,
And hope alone with wakeful eyes
Darkling and solitary waits the slow-returning light.
IV.
Here then let my ambition rest,May I be moderately blest
When I the laws of love obey:
Let but my pleasure and my pain
In equal balance ever reign,
Or mount by turns and sink again,
And share just measures of alternate sway.
So Damon lives, and ne'er complains;
Scarce can we hope diviner scenes
On this dull stage of clay:
The tribes beneath the northern bear
Submit to darkness half the year,
Since half the year is day.
| The Works of the Reverend and Learned Isaac Watts, D. D. | |