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A Glance at the Glories of SACRED FRIENDSHIP.

By E. B. Esq.

THE ADDRESS.

Where's Friendships Residence? To what unknown
New Planet-World is That rare Phœnix flown?
Great, and Good GOD! Who did'st so low descend,
As to become, ev'n to Thy Foes, a Friend,
My Genius so inspire, that what I sing,
Glory to THEE, Good-Will to Men may bring!
So may these Lines the Depths of Friendship sound,
As Love, being sunk, may rise more practis'd, more renown'd.
The World's a Lott'ry, which does comprehend
A thousand Blanks for One choice Prize—A FRIEND.

THE PÖEME.

I

Friendship! thy sacred Feet ne're tread the Path
Of vap'ring Gallants, or the Sonnes of Wrath:
Nor sitt'st Thou thron'd in Beauties wanton Eyes;
Such short-liv'd Page'antry as Fondlings prize:
(Thy inner Glory, Vertues brighter Grace,
Shines in the Soules, not in the Bodies Face:)
Nor on Thy nobler Score may be allow'd
Th'Inconstant, Envious, Covetous, or Proud;
Nor the Suspicious: for, when such rude Swine
Root up Thy thriving Fence, who'l trust them with Loves Vine?

II

Should Friendship ask, or grant, or act what's Ill,
It would (like Saturn in Conjunction) still
Sad Influence send: If Guile might plead Loves Rites,
It were The COVENANT then of Hypocrites.
No; but It's Way (like Innocence) should be
The Via Lactea of Sinceritie.
'T is so divine, as not to be exprest
With what the Braine produces, but the Breast:
'T is such an Eminence of Minde, as tends
To Inexpressibles, ev'n All that's Good of Friends.

III

It is the Marriage of Affections, so
Of Fortunes, Interests, and Counsels too.
It is Loves golden Chain, and doth imply
Delight, Respect, Care, Prudence, Constancy.
It is Loves Unison, where Two agree
In well-tun'd Mindes, Angel-like Harmonie.
It is infus'd by Heav'n, by Vertue fed,
Preserv'd by Merit, by sweet Nature spred.
It is begun with Iudgement, does persever
With Grace, and shall conclude with Glory; so, with Never.

IV

Down from on High It's Radiations beam.
'T is the Realitie of Iacobs Dream:
The Scale of Intellectuall Heav'n, which hath,
For two chief Luminaries, Truth and Faith:
Whose Orb is blest with each benigner Star:
Humility and Worth it's Gemini are.
As Spheares in Spheares, so harmonize, so move
Hearts on (those Poles of Friendship) Peace & Love.
To whose sweet Consort other Musick's flat.
Think such a Thought as none but Friends can think; 't is That.

V

Great Pow'r of Friendship! with what active Fire
Inflam'st Thou first, then crown'st each high Desire?
Were't not for Thee, thick Darkness would be hurl'd,
As a black Veile, over the broad-fac'd World:
For, if eclipsed were Thy gracious Light,
Though thousand Suns did shine, it still were Night.
As fragrant Fumes from Coales of Incense rise;
So, by ascending, Thou perfum'st Allies;
That Thou may'st freely to thy Friends dispense
Thy Magazins of Wealth, Art, Nature, Excellence.

VI

In These Olympicks 't is the maine Contest,
Who shall ore-come by loving Most, and Best.
Thou, when Deaths Harbinger accosts thy Friend,
Thy Bodies and Soules Faculties dost lend.
Thus Turtles are, by Friendships Union,
Although in Bodies two, in Love but one.
Thus holy Fire, like That on Altars, should
Perpetually be cherisht, to uphold
The sacred Flames of Friendship; which regards
More to deserve, and give, than to receive Rewards.

VII

Reciprocall Beneficence yet makes
Loves Helix, and a cheerfull Giver takes
With GOD and Men: Obligements give Extent
To growing Zeal, and banish Complement.
When from the warmer, or the temperate Zone,
Bad Times may drive a Friend to th'frozen One;
Then, one reviving Smile of Friendships Shine
Makes that Yce Water, and that Water Wine.
Such spritely Flavour of a sparkling Minde
Can sooner cease to be, than it can be unkinde.

VIII

How rarely Brethren to This Height ascend!
More, than in Brother, is imply'd in Friend:
Fraternitie but in Cognation lyes
Of Bodies; Friendship hath sublimer Tyes:
Which, by their innate Energie, bring forth
Seed, Buds, and Fruit of Soul-inriching Worth:
As free from all Antipodes of Love,
As is the Lamb from Guile, from Gall the Dove.
Thus can the Bosome of a Friend afford
A fruitfull Paradise, without a flaming Sword.

IX

Securely plac'd, on High, to view below
How the cross Thunders of a Batail go;
Or, from a Promontory, to behold
Storm-lab'ring Ships, by Neptunes Trident rowl'd,
May please rough Mindes: Such bitter-sweets are toyes,
Ballanc'd with wel-fixt Amicitiall Joyes.
Brave Ionathan was Master in Loves Art,
(By Ovids wanton Muse profan'd) each Part
He Princely taught, who priz'd before his own
The Wel-fare of his Friend; That Friend before a Throne.

X

Phœnix of Princes! Thou did'st Friendship keep
Inviolate, when the King his Wrath did steep
In gall against Thee, and the fatall Starres
Sign'd thy Friends Rise in Peace, thy Fall in Warres.
Thy Second-self Thee 'bove Himself did raise:
His Tears proclaim'd Thy Love, his Tongue Thy Praise.
Twin-Souls! Who, like two glorious Cones of Light,
Rose up, and pointed in One, high, and bright.
O blest Conjunction This, where Spirits blend,
And Each is breath'd into his Other-Self, his Friend!

XI

Best Paire! what Union, what Communion, still,
With Eminence of Worth, and Strength of Will,
Were in the Center of Endearments met,
To make your Faith more firm, your Fame more great?
Like Needles toucht by the Magnetick Stone,
Both joyntly mov'd at the Remove of One.
Such Love-Sweets, rais'd on Vertues Interest,
Were Ante-past to Heav'ns Eternall Feast.
An Height, like This, no State of Mortals knowes:
The Worlds Stage, than such Friends, more Kings, more Emperors showes.

XII

Psalms, flow, when GRACE tunes Natures Harp, which hath
Intrinsick Quintessence, in-Heav'n'd by Faith.
Angels blesse GOD, because not only He
Crowns Them with Glory to Eternitie;
But, being the Source of Goodness, to Their KING
They Halleluiah, Halleluiahs sing!
His Greatness, Wisedome, Power, their Wonders be;
His GRATIOUSNESS wings Loves Activitie:
Their Wills to Each Above are cleer, and ev'n:
Love's the Resplendency of Friendships Region, Heav'n.

XIII

Friendship , the Sun in our Horizon, flies
Still through the Zodiack of the Good, and Wise;
Who have espous'd their Eagle-Thoughts to high
Engagements, and above what's mortall fly:
Who, when Aurora rides curl'd, brightly drest,
Perfum'd from her Star-Chamber in the East,
Spreading her Beames, her Glories, round the Ayre;
Their Souls then, twining Flames, court Heav'n in Prayer.
O, may We thus unload each burthen'd Soule
Of every Grief, & break our Mindes to keep them whole!

XIV

Sarza the Liver opens, Steel the Spleen,
Sulphur the Lungs, Castoreum's Vertue's seen
So on the Braine; but no Receit we finde,
Like a true Friend, for an obstructed Minde.
Crush into One all Sweets, receiving Birth
From the exhaustless teeming Womb of Earth:
Which done, extract, and oft distill from thence
It's most refined Spirit, and Quintessence;
Which turn to Nectar:—All's but Wormwoods juice,
Compar'd with what Soul-feeding Friendships Fruits produce.

XV

Then, could I, with That Belgick Floud, drink Towns;
Make the Earth tremble, rend Imperiall Crownes
From their just Owners Heads; proclaim bold Warres
With half the World, and tumble Emperors
Down to the State of Slaves;—Yet I, and This
Were more out-done by one rare Saint, that is
Still faithfull to his Soul, his Friend, his Time,
(A highly humble State, low and sublime)
Who cheerfully can share a Cross with me,
And swell the Womb of each new-breeding jubile.

XVI

In Vertues glorious Chariot Friendship rides,
With all the shining Graces by her Sides:
Who, though exalted in This high-wing'd Race,
Gives to the lowest Consort highest Place.
Thus, her attractive Power by secret Cause,
Heav'n down to Earth, Earth up to Heaven drawes.
This proves It Sweets Elixir; loftiest Pitch
Nature can mount to; 't is the Shrine in which
Blessings are treasur'd; That which Angels strive
To amplify; Joyes Haven; Heav'n in Perspective!

XVII

Then, were I Monarch of more Worlds than er'e
This World had Men; and to possess Them, were
Men in each World, for Number, more than all
The Sinnes committed since the first Mans Fall;
Yet, if in These I should not finde a Friend,
Surmounting all those Worlds, more in the End
Would be my Grief, than His, who triumph'd or'e
This World, and wept, because there were no more.
For, none is at the End of's Actions blest,
But He, whose End speakes not the Greatest, but the Best.

XVIII

Or, were I such an Alchymist, as could,
With one rare Stone, convert all Stones to Gold:
My first Essay might be on Egypts Spires,
Which now, though Piles of Stone, the World admires;
And, then, what Arguses, to view That Prize
Must plow the Seas with Cargazones of Eyes?
Next, all the Rocks around the spatious Shore
My Midas Soveraign Touch should turn to Ore.
Yet, ev'n the shadow of a reall Friend,
As Heav'n does Earth, would all their Gallantry transcend.
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