Pia Desideria or, Divine Addresses, In Three Books. Illustrated with XLVII. Copper-Plates. Written in Latin by Herm. Hugo. Englished by Edm. Arwaker ... The Fourth Edition, Corrected |
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| II. | II. |
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| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| 2. |
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| IX. |
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| XIII. |
| XIV. |
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| II. |
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 | Pia Desideria |  |
11
II.
O God, thou knowest my simplicity, and my faults are not hid from thee,
Psal. lxix. 5.
If thou our childish Follies can'st not bear,
Thou, who do'st all things by wise Counsels steer;
Who can accepted, who can pardon'd be,
Since none from Folly, none from Faults are free?
Nor scapes, alas, the most exalted Mind
This Poyson, of so subtil, strange a kind:
All whirl'd about by the same giddy Wind.
'Tis vain to hide our Faults, we've all been frail;
Folly's our Birth-right by a long Entail.
Since our first Parents went themselves astray,
And taught us too to fool our Bliss away:
They for an Apple all Mankind betray'd;
Was e'er a more imprudent Bargain made?
Nor Esau's Folly has its Parallel,
Who, Wretch! devour'd his Birth-right at a Meal.
Ev'n He, —
Whom Sheba's Queen for Wisdom did prefer,
(Strange Weakness! acted Folly ev'n with Her;
Which proves that King's Oracl'ous Sentence true,
Who says, that Fools are num'rous, Wise-men few.
Nor was the prudent Moses's Wish in vain,
When he of Man's destruction did complain:
“O that unthinking Mortals wou'd be wise,
“And place their End before their heedful Eyes!
“Then Sins short Pleasures they wou'd soon despise,
“Nor yield, like Wax, to ev'ry Stamp of Vice.
Thou, who do'st all things by wise Counsels steer;
Who can accepted, who can pardon'd be,
Since none from Folly, none from Faults are free?
Nor scapes, alas, the most exalted Mind
This Poyson, of so subtil, strange a kind:
All whirl'd about by the same giddy Wind.
'Tis vain to hide our Faults, we've all been frail;
Folly's our Birth-right by a long Entail.
Since our first Parents went themselves astray,
And taught us too to fool our Bliss away:
They for an Apple all Mankind betray'd;
Was e'er a more imprudent Bargain made?
Nor Esau's Folly has its Parallel,
Who, Wretch! devour'd his Birth-right at a Meal.
Ev'n He, —
Whom Sheba's Queen for Wisdom did prefer,
(Strange Weakness! acted Folly ev'n with Her;
12
Who says, that Fools are num'rous, Wise-men few.
Nor was the prudent Moses's Wish in vain,
When he of Man's destruction did complain:
“O that unthinking Mortals wou'd be wise,
“And place their End before their heedful Eyes!
“Then Sins short Pleasures they wou'd soon despise,
“Nor yield, like Wax, to ev'ry Stamp of Vice.
Wou'd any but a strange besotted Rout,
Th'Existence of a God deny, or doubt?
These, that in Sin they may uncheck'd go on,
Perswade themselves to a Belief of None.
Our very Crimes t'improve our Folly tend,
And we're infatuate, e'er we dare offend;
Nor does the growing frenzy here give o'er,
But from this Ill runs headlong on to more:
We Castles build in this inferiour Air,
As if to have Eternal Beings here:
But when unthought-of Death shall snatch us hence,
We then shall own the fond Improvidence.
With endless and unprofitable toil
We strive t'enrich and beautify the Soil;
This Soil, which we must leave at last behind
To those for whom our Pains were ne'er design'd.
Th'Existence of a God deny, or doubt?
These, that in Sin they may uncheck'd go on,
Perswade themselves to a Belief of None.
Our very Crimes t'improve our Folly tend,
And we're infatuate, e'er we dare offend;
Nor does the growing frenzy here give o'er,
But from this Ill runs headlong on to more:
We Castles build in this inferiour Air,
As if to have Eternal Beings here:
But when unthought-of Death shall snatch us hence,
We then shall own the fond Improvidence.
With endless and unprofitable toil
We strive t'enrich and beautify the Soil;
This Soil, which we must leave at last behind
To those for whom our Pains were ne'er design'd.
13
How does our toil resemble Childrens play,
When they erect an Edifice of Clay?
How idly busy and imploy'd they are?
Here, some bring Straw; there, others Sticks prepare;
This loads his Cart with Dirt; that in a Shell
Brings Water, that it may be temper'd well;
And in their Work themselves they fondly pride,
While Age the childish Fabrick does deride:
So on our Work Heav'n with contempt looks down,
And with a breath our Babel-Tow'r's o'rethrown.
When they erect an Edifice of Clay?
How idly busy and imploy'd they are?
Here, some bring Straw; there, others Sticks prepare;
This loads his Cart with Dirt; that in a Shell
Brings Water, that it may be temper'd well;
And in their Work themselves they fondly pride,
While Age the childish Fabrick does deride:
So on our Work Heav'n with contempt looks down,
And with a breath our Babel-Tow'r's o'rethrown.
What strange desire of Gems, what thirst of Gold,
Those, drops of Rain congeal'd; that, ripned Mold!
Yet these so much Mens nobler Souls debase,
That they their Bliss in such mean trifles place.
Ah! foolish Ign'rants! can your Choice approve,
No more exalted Objects of your love,
That all your time in their pursuit you spend,
As if Salvation did on them depend?
Heav'n may be purchas'd at an easy rate;
But, oh! how few bid any thing for That!
Unthinking Men! who Earth to Heav'n prefer,
And fading Joys to endless Glory there!
The Crime of such an inconsid'rate Choice
Ought not pretend to Pardon, ev'n in Boys;
For They from Counters current Money know,
Almost as soon as they have learnt to go:
But Men (oh shame) prize counterfeit Delights
Before the Joys to which kind Heav'n invites.
Those, drops of Rain congeal'd; that, ripned Mold!
Yet these so much Mens nobler Souls debase,
That they their Bliss in such mean trifles place.
Ah! foolish Ign'rants! can your Choice approve,
No more exalted Objects of your love,
That all your time in their pursuit you spend,
As if Salvation did on them depend?
Heav'n may be purchas'd at an easy rate;
But, oh! how few bid any thing for That!
Unthinking Men! who Earth to Heav'n prefer,
And fading Joys to endless Glory there!
The Crime of such an inconsid'rate Choice
Ought not pretend to Pardon, ev'n in Boys;
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Almost as soon as they have learnt to go:
But Men (oh shame) prize counterfeit Delights
Before the Joys to which kind Heav'n invites.
Oh! for some Artist to retrieve their sense,
E're more degrees of Folly they commence!
E're more degrees of Folly they commence!
But by Heav'ns piercing Eye we are descry'd,
Which does our Sins with Follies Mantle hide.
He's pleas'd to wink at Errors too in me,
And seeing seems as tho' he did not see.
He knows I've but a slender stock of Wit,
And want a Guardian too to manage it,
O then, some kind Protection, Lord, assign
This Ideot Soul! But 'twill be best in Thine.
Which does our Sins with Follies Mantle hide.
He's pleas'd to wink at Errors too in me,
And seeing seems as tho' he did not see.
He knows I've but a slender stock of Wit,
And want a Guardian too to manage it,
O then, some kind Protection, Lord, assign
This Ideot Soul! But 'twill be best in Thine.
15
They are no better than Fools, who are ever, as it were, dreaming of earthly things, and of short continuance.
Chrysost. in Joann. Hom. 4.
| Pia Desideria | |