 | Poems of Freneau |  |
PREFATORY LINES TO A PERIODICAL PUBLICATION.
Wherever this volume may chance to be read
For the feast of good humor a table I spread;
Here are dishes by dozens; whoever will eat
Will have no just cause to complain of the treat.
For the feast of good humor a table I spread;
Here are dishes by dozens; whoever will eat
Will have no just cause to complain of the treat.
If the best of the market is not to be had
I'll help you to nothing that's seriously bad;
To sense and to candor no place I refuse,
Pick here and pick there, and wherever you choose.
I'll help you to nothing that's seriously bad;
To sense and to candor no place I refuse,
Pick here and pick there, and wherever you choose.
If I give you a frolic I hope for no fray;
My style I adapt to the taste of the day,
The feast of amusement we draw from all climes,
The best we can give in a run of hard times.
My style I adapt to the taste of the day,
The feast of amusement we draw from all climes,
The best we can give in a run of hard times.
The guest, whom the pepper of satire may bite
Is wrong, very wrong, if he shows us his spite;
Should a fit of resentment be-ruffle his mind,
Sit still, I would tell him, be calm and resign'd.
Is wrong, very wrong, if he shows us his spite;
Should a fit of resentment be-ruffle his mind,
Sit still, I would tell him, be calm and resign'd.
In the service of freedom forever prepared,
We have done our endeavor the goddess to guard;
This idol, whom reason should only adore,
And banish'd from Europe, to dwell on our shore.
We have done our endeavor the goddess to guard;
143
And banish'd from Europe, to dwell on our shore.
In a country like this, exalted by fame,
The trade of an author importance may claim
Which monarchs would never permit them to find,
Whose views are to chain and be-darken the mind.
The trade of an author importance may claim
Which monarchs would never permit them to find,
Whose views are to chain and be-darken the mind.
Ye sons of Columbia! our efforts befriend;
To you all the tyrants of Europe shall bend
Till reason at length shall illume the ball
And man from his state of debasement recall.
To you all the tyrants of Europe shall bend
Till reason at length shall illume the ball
And man from his state of debasement recall.
Republics of old, that are sunk in the dust,
Could once like our own, of their liberty boast;
Both virtue and wisdom in Athens appear'd,
Each eye saw their charms, and all bosoms revered.
Could once like our own, of their liberty boast;
Both virtue and wisdom in Athens appear'd,
Each eye saw their charms, and all bosoms revered.
But as virtue and morals fell into disgrace
Pride, splendour, and folly stept into their place;
Where virtues domestic no longer were known,
Simplicity lost, and frugality flown.
Pride, splendour, and folly stept into their place;
Where virtues domestic no longer were known,
Simplicity lost, and frugality flown.
Where virtues, that always a republic adorn,
Were held in contempt, or were laugh'd into scorn,
There, tyrants and slaves were the speedy effect
Of virtue dishonor'd or fall'n to neglect:
Were held in contempt, or were laugh'd into scorn,
There, tyrants and slaves were the speedy effect
Of virtue dishonor'd or fall'n to neglect:
Then tyrants and slaves, the worst plagues of this earth,
From the lapse of good manners were hatch'd into birth;
And soon the base maxim all popular grew,
And allowed, that the many were made for the few.
From the lapse of good manners were hatch'd into birth;
And soon the base maxim all popular grew,
And allowed, that the many were made for the few.
From the fate of republics, or Athens, or Rome,
'Tis time we should learn a sad lesson at home—
From their faults and their errors a warning receive,
And steer from the shoals where they both found a grave.
'Tis time we should learn a sad lesson at home—
From their faults and their errors a warning receive,
And steer from the shoals where they both found a grave.
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Columbians! forever may freedom remain,
And virtue for ever that freedom maintain;
To these, all attracting, all views should submit
All labors of learning, all essays of wit.
And virtue for ever that freedom maintain;
To these, all attracting, all views should submit
All labors of learning, all essays of wit.
'Tis time a new system of things was embraced
To prevail on a planet so often debased;
As here, with our freedom, that system began,
Here, at least keep it pure—for the honor of man.
To prevail on a planet so often debased;
As here, with our freedom, that system began,
Here, at least keep it pure—for the honor of man.
1797
| Poems of Freneau | |