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. |  |
On the Death of an aged and honoured Relative, Mrs. M. W. July 13, 1693.
I.
I know the kindred mind. 'Tis she, 'tis she;Among the heav'nly forms I see
The kindred mind from fleshly bondage free;
O how unlike the thing was lately seen
Groaning and panting on the bed,
With ghastly air, and languish'd head,
Life on this side, there the dead,
While the delaying flesh lay shivering between!
II.
Long did the earthy house restrainIn toilsome slavery that ethereal guest;
Prison'd her round in walls of pain,
And twisted cramps and aches with her chain;
Till by the weight of num'rous days opprest
The earthy house began to reel,
The pillars trembled, and the building fell;
The captive soul became her own again:
Tir'd with the sorrows and the cares,
A tedious train of fourscore years,
The pris'ner smil'd to be releast,
She felt her fetters loose, and mounted to her rest.
III.
Gaze on, my soul, and let a perfect viewPaint her idea all anew;
Rase out those melancholy shapes of woe
That hang around thy memory, and becloud it so.
Come, Fancy, come, with essences refin'd,
With youthful green, and spotless white;
Deep be the tincture, and the colours bright
T'express the beauties of a naked mind.
Provide no glooms to form a shade;
All things above of vary'd light are made,
Nor can the heav'nly piece require a mortal aid.
But if the features too divine
Beyond the power of fancy shine,
Conceal th'inimitable strokes behind a graceful shrine.
IV.
Describe the saint from head to feet,Make all the lines in just proportion meet;
But let her posture be
Filling a chair of high degree;
Observe how near it stands to the almighty seat.
Paint the new graces of her eyes;
Fresh in her looks let sprightly youth arise,
And joys unknown below the skies.
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And to the breast confin'd,
Sits here triumphant on the brow,
And breaks with radiant glories through
The features of the mind.
Express her passion still the same,
But more divinely sweet;
Love has an everlasting flame,
And makes the work complete.
V.
The painter-muse with glancing eyeObserv'd a manly spirit nigh ,
That death had long disjoin'd:
‘In the fair tablet they shall stand
‘United by a happier band:’
She said, and fix'd her sight, and drew the manly mind,
Recount the years, my song, (a mournful round!)
Since he was seen on earth no more:
He fought in lower seas and drown'd;
But victory and peace he found
On the superior shore.
There now his tuneful breath in sacred songs
Employs the European and the Eastern tongues.
Let th'awful truncheon and the flute,
The pencil and the well-known lute,
Powerful numbers, charming wit
And every art and science meet,
And bring their laurels to his hand, or lay them at his feet.
VI.
'Tis done. What beams of glory fall(Rich varnish of immortal art)
To gild the bright Original!
'Tis done. The muse has now perform'd her part.
Bring down the piece, Urania, from above,
And let my honour and my love
Dress it with chains of gold to hang upon my heart.
| The Works of the Reverend and Learned Isaac Watts, D. D. | |