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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 | Pia Desideria |  |
181
VI.
Whom have I in Heaven but thee? And there is none upon Earth that I desire in comparison of thee,
Psal. lxxiii. 24.
What shall I seek, great God, in Heav'n above,
Or Earth, or Sea, whereon to fix my Love?
Tho' I shou'd ransack Heav'n, and Earth, and Sea,
All they can boast, is nothing without Thee.
Or Earth, or Sea, whereon to fix my Love?
Tho' I shou'd ransack Heav'n, and Earth, and Sea,
All they can boast, is nothing without Thee.
I know what mighty Joys in Heav'n abound,
What Treasures in the Earth and Sea are found;
Yet without Thee, my Love! t'enrich their Store,
All, all their Glories are but Mean and Poor.
O Heav'n! O Earth! O vast capacious Main!
Three famous Realms where Wealth and Plenty reign!
Tho' in one heap your triple Pleasures lay,
They were no Pleasures, were my Lord away.
My Thoughts, I own, have often rang'd the Deep,
Search'd Earth and Heav'n, and in no Bounds wou'd keep;
But when they wandred the Creation round,
No equal Object in the Whole they found.
Sometimes I thought to rip the pregnant Earth,
And give its rich and long-born Burthen Birth;
Gold, Silver, Brass, Seeds of the shining Vein,
And each bright Product of the fertile Mine:
For these we dig and tear our Mother's Womb,
Till for our boundless Treasures we want room:
To what advantage? Tho', o'ercharg'd with Gold,
Your bursting Coffers can't their Burthen hold;
Yet this can ne'er your troubled Mind appease,
Nor buy your Sorrows ev'n a Minutes ease.
What Treasures in the Earth and Sea are found;
Yet without Thee, my Love! t'enrich their Store,
All, all their Glories are but Mean and Poor.
O Heav'n! O Earth! O vast capacious Main!
Three famous Realms where Wealth and Plenty reign!
Tho' in one heap your triple Pleasures lay,
They were no Pleasures, were my Lord away.
My Thoughts, I own, have often rang'd the Deep,
Search'd Earth and Heav'n, and in no Bounds wou'd keep;
But when they wandred the Creation round,
No equal Object in the Whole they found.
182
And give its rich and long-born Burthen Birth;
Gold, Silver, Brass, Seeds of the shining Vein,
And each bright Product of the fertile Mine:
For these we dig and tear our Mother's Womb,
Till for our boundless Treasures we want room:
To what advantage? Tho', o'ercharg'd with Gold,
Your bursting Coffers can't their Burthen hold;
Yet this can ne'er your troubled Mind appease,
Nor buy your Sorrows ev'n a Minutes ease.
Here disappointed, to the Deep I go,
Whose secret Chambers dusky Indians know.
Pleas'd with its Gemmy store my Self to load,
I dive, and visit its conceal'd abode:
Then the scarce Burret seek, whose Bloods rich dye
Is the great Ornament of Majesty.
Then scatter'd Pearls I gather on the Shoar
Where rich Hydaspes casts his shining Oar.
Whose secret Chambers dusky Indians know.
Pleas'd with its Gemmy store my Self to load,
I dive, and visit its conceal'd abode:
Then the scarce Burret seek, whose Bloods rich dye
Is the great Ornament of Majesty.
Then scatter'd Pearls I gather on the Shoar
Where rich Hydaspes casts his shining Oar.
Alas! these Jewels brought from several Coasts
All that each River, or the Ocean boasts;
The Saphyr, Jasper, and the Chrysolite,
Can't quench my Thirst, or stay my Appetite.
Then, since the Earth and Sea content deny,
Heav'ns lofty Fabrick I resolve to try.
With wonder I the vast Machine survey,
With glorious Stars all studded, bright and gay:
Amaz'd their still unalter'd Course I view,
And how their daily Motions they renew.
But among all the Pensile-fires above,
None warm'd my Breast, none rais'd my Soul to Love:
But I beheld at distance from below;
Then farewel Earth, up to their Orbs I go.
Now less'ning Cities leave my distant Sight,
And now the Earths whole Globe is vanish'd quite;
Above the Sun and Planets I am born,
And their inferior Influences scorn.
Now the bright pavement of the Stars I tread,
Once the high cov'ring of my humble Head.
Now o'er the lofty flaming Wall I flie,
And Heav'ns bright Court lies open to my Eye.
Now curious Crowds of the Wing'd Quire above
Tow'rds the new Guest with dazling Splendor move:
Hymns well compos'd to Ayres Divine they Sing,
New tune their Harps, and scrue up ev'ry String;
Then in brisk Notes triumphant Anthems play,
While Heav'n resounds, as if 'twere Holy-day.
All that each River, or the Ocean boasts;
The Saphyr, Jasper, and the Chrysolite,
Can't quench my Thirst, or stay my Appetite.
Then, since the Earth and Sea content deny,
Heav'ns lofty Fabrick I resolve to try.
183
With glorious Stars all studded, bright and gay:
Amaz'd their still unalter'd Course I view,
And how their daily Motions they renew.
But among all the Pensile-fires above,
None warm'd my Breast, none rais'd my Soul to Love:
But I beheld at distance from below;
Then farewel Earth, up to their Orbs I go.
Now less'ning Cities leave my distant Sight,
And now the Earths whole Globe is vanish'd quite;
Above the Sun and Planets I am born,
And their inferior Influences scorn.
Now the bright pavement of the Stars I tread,
Once the high cov'ring of my humble Head.
Now o'er the lofty flaming Wall I flie,
And Heav'ns bright Court lies open to my Eye.
Now curious Crowds of the Wing'd Quire above
Tow'rds the new Guest with dazling Splendor move:
Hymns well compos'd to Ayres Divine they Sing,
New tune their Harps, and scrue up ev'ry String;
Then in brisk Notes triumphant Anthems play,
While Heav'n resounds, as if 'twere Holy-day.
O glorious Mansions fill'd with shining Fires!
O Courts fit only for your Starry Quires!
My ravish'd Soul's in strange Amazement lost;
Sure no Delight is wanting on this Coast.
Ah!—Said I no Delight was wanting here?
Yes, you want All; alas! you want my Dear.
Farewel you Stars, and you bright Forms adieu;
My Bus'ness here was with my Love, not You.
There's nothing good below without my Love,
Nor any thing worth a faint Wish above.
O Courts fit only for your Starry Quires!
184
Sure no Delight is wanting on this Coast.
Ah!—Said I no Delight was wanting here?
Yes, you want All; alas! you want my Dear.
Farewel you Stars, and you bright Forms adieu;
My Bus'ness here was with my Love, not You.
There's nothing good below without my Love,
Nor any thing worth a faint Wish above.
One World subdu'd, the Conqu'ror did deplore
That Niggard Fate had not allow'd him more:
My vaster Thoughts a thousand Worlds despise,
Nor lose one Wish on such a worthless Prize.
Not all the Universe from Pole to Pole,
Heav'n, Earth, and Sea, can fill my boundless Soul.
What neither Earth's wide Limits can contain,
Nor the large Empire of the spreading Main;
Nor Heav'n, whose vaster Globe does both inclose;
That's the sole Object my Ambition knows.
Till now, alas! my Soul at Shadows caught,
And always was deceiv'd in what it sought:
Thou, Lord, alone art Heav'n, Earth, Sea, to me:
Thou, Lord, art All, all nothing without Thee.
That Niggard Fate had not allow'd him more:
My vaster Thoughts a thousand Worlds despise,
Nor lose one Wish on such a worthless Prize.
Not all the Universe from Pole to Pole,
Heav'n, Earth, and Sea, can fill my boundless Soul.
What neither Earth's wide Limits can contain,
Nor the large Empire of the spreading Main;
Nor Heav'n, whose vaster Globe does both inclose;
That's the sole Object my Ambition knows.
Till now, alas! my Soul at Shadows caught,
And always was deceiv'd in what it sought:
Thou, Lord, alone art Heav'n, Earth, Sea, to me:
Thou, Lord, art All, all nothing without Thee.
185
Whatever is contained within the compass of Heaven, is beneath the Soul of Man, which was made to enjoy the chiefest Good above, in whose Possession alone it can be Happy.
Aug. Soliloq. cap. 20.
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