 | An essay on reason |  |
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AN ESSAY ON REASON.
From Time's vast Length, eternal and unknown,
Essence of God, coeval Reason shone;—
Part of Herself in Eden's pair she saw,
Where Virtue was but practice, Nature law:
Where Truth was almost felt as well as seen,
(Perception half) and scarce a mist between:
Where homage strove in praise and pray'r t'adore,
By one to honour, and by one implore;
While Temp'rance cropt the herb, and mixt the bowl,
And health warm'd sense, and sense sublim'd the soul.
Essence of God, coeval Reason shone;—
Part of Herself in Eden's pair she saw,
Where Virtue was but practice, Nature law:
Where Truth was almost felt as well as seen,
(Perception half) and scarce a mist between:
Where homage strove in praise and pray'r t'adore,
By one to honour, and by one implore;
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And health warm'd sense, and sense sublim'd the soul.
Fear was not then; nor malady, nor age;
Nor publick hatred, nor domestic rage;—
No fancy'd want, no lust of taste decreed
The honest oxe to groan, the lamb to bleed:
No earth-born Pride had snatch'd th'Almighty's rod,
O'erturn'd the balance, or blasphem'd the God;
No Vice, (for vice is only truth deny'd)
Nurs'd Ignorance, or Nature's Voice bely'd.
Nor publick hatred, nor domestic rage;—
No fancy'd want, no lust of taste decreed
The honest oxe to groan, the lamb to bleed:
No earth-born Pride had snatch'd th'Almighty's rod,
O'erturn'd the balance, or blasphem'd the God;
No Vice, (for vice is only truth deny'd)
Nurs'd Ignorance, or Nature's Voice bely'd.
Hail blissful pair! whose sense if farther wrought,
Had weaken'd, stretch'd, and agoniz'd the thought:
Created both to know and to possess
What we, unhappy, can but barely guess;
Truth to survey in clearest lights arrang'd,
'Ere frauds were form'd to rules, or words were chang'd,
'Ere ev'ry act a double aspect bore,
Or doubts, intending well, perplext us more.
Had weaken'd, stretch'd, and agoniz'd the thought:
Created both to know and to possess
What we, unhappy, can but barely guess;
Truth to survey in clearest lights arrang'd,
'Ere frauds were form'd to rules, or words were chang'd,
'Ere ev'ry act a double aspect bore,
Or doubts, intending well, perplext us more.
You saw the Source of actions and the End:
Why things are opposite, and why they blend;
How from eternal causes good and ill
Subsist; how mingle, yet are diff'rent still.
How Modes unnumber'd soften and unite;
How strength of falshood glares, and strength of light.
Why things are opposite, and why they blend;
How from eternal causes good and ill
Subsist; how mingle, yet are diff'rent still.
How Modes unnumber'd soften and unite;
How strength of falshood glares, and strength of light.
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The God Himself came open to your view:
You hail'd his presence, and his voice you knew:
That God, whose light is Truth, whose vast extent
Of pleasure, Good—self-form'd and self-content!
Unhurt by years, unlimited by place,
At once o'erflowing Time, and Thought, and Space!
You hail'd his presence, and his voice you knew:
That God, whose light is Truth, whose vast extent
Of pleasure, Good—self-form'd and self-content!
Unhurt by years, unlimited by place,
At once o'erflowing Time, and Thought, and Space!
By knowing him, you knew him to be Best:
(For the first Attribute infers the rest,)
Knew from his Mind why boundless Virtue rose,
Why his unerring Will that virtue chose,
Not something sep'rate, (as the Deist dreams)
To circumscribe his pow'r, contract his schemes;—
For Reason, tho' it binds th'immortal will,
Is but the Nature of the Godhead still;
This learn, ye Wits, by sacred myst'ry aw'd,
And know, that God is only guide to God!
(For the first Attribute infers the rest,)
Knew from his Mind why boundless Virtue rose,
Why his unerring Will that virtue chose,
Not something sep'rate, (as the Deist dreams)
To circumscribe his pow'r, contract his schemes;—
For Reason, tho' it binds th'immortal will,
Is but the Nature of the Godhead still;
This learn, ye Wits, by sacred myst'ry aw'd,
And know, that God is only guide to God!
This the First knew, their heart, their knowledge clear,
Their reason perfect, as their frame could bear;
Till lust of change and more than mortal pride
Infring'd the law, the penalty defy'd:
Curst by themselves in Eden's blest abodes,
Possessing all, yet raging to be Gods:
Thence Sin unnerv'd the sense, obscur'd the soul,
And still encreas'd, like rivers as they roll:
For Nature once deprav'd, like motion crost,
Ne'er of her self can gain the pow'rs she lost.
Their reason perfect, as their frame could bear;
Till lust of change and more than mortal pride
Infring'd the law, the penalty defy'd:
Curst by themselves in Eden's blest abodes,
Possessing all, yet raging to be Gods:
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And still encreas'd, like rivers as they roll:
For Nature once deprav'd, like motion crost,
Ne'er of her self can gain the pow'rs she lost.
But here the moderns eagerly dispute,—
“Why in a state of knowledge absolute,
“(Where unmixt truth came naked to the view,
“And the first glance cou'd pierce all nature thro':)
“God should an Edict positive decree
“And guard so strict th'inviolable Tree?
“This were, for trifles, sagely to contend,
“To barter truth for show, for means the end.
“Why in a state of knowledge absolute,
“(Where unmixt truth came naked to the view,
“And the first glance cou'd pierce all nature thro':)
“God should an Edict positive decree
“And guard so strict th'inviolable Tree?
“This were, for trifles, sagely to contend,
“To barter truth for show, for means the end.
So They; But first our mighty sect shou'd prove
God has no title, to our faith or love:
To awe submissive, reverential fear,
To hope, to homage, to the grateful tear;
That truth omniscient may sometimes deceive,
That all-wise bounty knows not what to give;
First let the Critics of the Godhead make
Such Theorems clear, and then this Answer take.
God has no title, to our faith or love:
To awe submissive, reverential fear,
To hope, to homage, to the grateful tear;
That truth omniscient may sometimes deceive,
That all-wise bounty knows not what to give;
First let the Critics of the Godhead make
Such Theorems clear, and then this Answer take.
That Adam, tho' all Moral truth he saw,
Yet scarce a Motive had t'infringe that Law:
How could he honour other Gods than One;
—So clearly taught him, and so lately known?—
How change a spirit into sculptur'd stone?
How, the first morning Life inform'd his frame,
Durst he profane his Maker's sacred name!
How without Parents could intemp'rate rage
Spurn the hoar head, or mock the tears of age?
Why should he covet? when supremely blest—
Or why defraud? When all things he possest—
The bridal Bed for whom should he deceive?
Or whom assassin, but his much-lov'd Eve?—
Hence 'twas that man by Positives was try'd;
And hence behold the Godhead justify'd.
Yet scarce a Motive had t'infringe that Law:
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—So clearly taught him, and so lately known?—
How change a spirit into sculptur'd stone?
How, the first morning Life inform'd his frame,
Durst he profane his Maker's sacred name!
How without Parents could intemp'rate rage
Spurn the hoar head, or mock the tears of age?
Why should he covet? when supremely blest—
Or why defraud? When all things he possest—
The bridal Bed for whom should he deceive?
Or whom assassin, but his much-lov'd Eve?—
Hence 'twas that man by Positives was try'd;
And hence behold the Godhead justify'd.
The gradual Reasoning Faculty of man
Serv'd not as now, when Adam first began:
Much tho' he saw, yet little had he try'd,
Nor known Experience, Nature's second guide:
See then, a previous cause and reason giv'n
Why a Reveal'd Instinct should come from heav'n,
Which op'd at once the natures and the pow'rs
Of earth, air, sea, beasts, reptiles, fruits, and flow'rs.—
Serv'd not as now, when Adam first began:
Much tho' he saw, yet little had he try'd,
Nor known Experience, Nature's second guide:
See then, a previous cause and reason giv'n
Why a Reveal'd Instinct should come from heav'n,
Which op'd at once the natures and the pow'rs
Of earth, air, sea, beasts, reptiles, fruits, and flow'rs.—
Effects, as yet un-caus'd, thence Adam knew,
The rage of poisons, and the balms of dew:
Smil'd when the gen'rous courser paw'd the plains,
Yet shun'd the tygress, and her beauteous stains:
Nurst the soft dove that slumber'd on his breast,
Nor touch'd the Dipsas' poison-flaming crest.
The rage of poisons, and the balms of dew:
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Yet shun'd the tygress, and her beauteous stains:
Nurst the soft dove that slumber'd on his breast,
Nor touch'd the Dipsas' poison-flaming crest.
How had he trembled in that blest abode,
Had not his Sov'reignty been taught by God?
Or how, unlicen'd, durst he wanton, tread
Ev'n the green Insect in its herbal bed?
For Life, like Property, is no man's slave,
And only He can reassume, that gave.
Had not his Sov'reignty been taught by God?
Or how, unlicen'd, durst he wanton, tread
Ev'n the green Insect in its herbal bed?
For Life, like Property, is no man's slave,
And only He can reassume, that gave.
[This by the way:] The history of the Fall,
And how the first-form'd loins contain'd us all,
Dread points; which none explain, and few conceive,
We wave for ever, Critics, by your leave.
Ethnics and Christians a Corruption grant;
The Manner How, still wicked Wits may want.
So, if they doubt what, Sound, or Vision be?
Thence let 'em prove we cannot hear, nor see!—
And how the first-form'd loins contain'd us all,
Dread points; which none explain, and few conceive,
We wave for ever, Critics, by your leave.
Ethnics and Christians a Corruption grant;
The Manner How, still wicked Wits may want.
So, if they doubt what, Sound, or Vision be?
Thence let 'em prove we cannot hear, nor see!—
'Spite of their Mock'ry also, plain is this,
That no man had a plea to Adam's bliss.
Grant that the Parent wastes a vast Estate—
Is he for that, just object of our hate,
Provided all remains that Use requires,
Or Need can crave, for Ends and for Desires?
To point out Evil, Virtue's heights to reach,
This life to soften, or the next to teach?
That no man had a plea to Adam's bliss.
Grant that the Parent wastes a vast Estate—
Is he for that, just object of our hate,
Provided all remains that Use requires,
Or Need can crave, for Ends and for Desires?
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This life to soften, or the next to teach?
Shall Man, because he wants a Seraph's flame,
Not taste the Joys proportion'd to his frame?
Knowledge enough for Use, for Pride is giv'n;
Strong, but not Sensitive as truth in heav'n;
Clear, yet adapted to the mental Sight;
For too much truth o'erpow'rs, as too much light.
Not taste the Joys proportion'd to his frame?
Knowledge enough for Use, for Pride is giv'n;
Strong, but not Sensitive as truth in heav'n;
Clear, yet adapted to the mental Sight;
For too much truth o'erpow'rs, as too much light.
Reason, like Virtue, in a Medium lies;
A hairs-breadth more might make us mad not wise,
Out-know Man's Knowledge, out-refine his Art,
Till Newton drops down giddy—a Descartes!
For Reason like a King who thirsts for Pow'r,
Leaves Realms unpeopled, while it conquers more—
Admit our eye-sight, as the Lynx's, clear;
T'attain the distant, we o'ershoot the near.
Hence Nature, like Alcides, saw 'twas fit
To fix the extremest stretch of human Wit:
Wit, like an Insect clamb'ring up a ball,
Mounts to one point, and then of course must fall,
No wiser, if its pains proceed, than end,
And all its Journey only to descend!
A hairs-breadth more might make us mad not wise,
Out-know Man's Knowledge, out-refine his Art,
Till Newton drops down giddy—a Descartes!
For Reason like a King who thirsts for Pow'r,
Leaves Realms unpeopled, while it conquers more—
Admit our eye-sight, as the Lynx's, clear;
T'attain the distant, we o'ershoot the near.
Hence Nature, like Alcides, saw 'twas fit
To fix the extremest stretch of human Wit:
Wit, like an Insect clamb'ring up a ball,
Mounts to one point, and then of course must fall,
No wiser, if its pains proceed, than end,
And all its Journey only to descend!
The Question is not therefore, how much light
God's Wisdom gives us, but t'exert it right:
Enough remains for ev'ry social End,
For practice, theory, self, neighbour, friend:
Then call not Knowledge narrow, Heav'n unkind,
One Curse there is, 'tis Wantonness of Mind—
No human Plummets can Abysses sound;
Agreed; yet rocks they reach and shelving ground;
Thus Reason, where 'tis dang'rous, steers us right,
And then dissolves amidst th'Abyss of light.
God's Wisdom gives us, but t'exert it right:
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For practice, theory, self, neighbour, friend:
Then call not Knowledge narrow, Heav'n unkind,
One Curse there is, 'tis Wantonness of Mind—
No human Plummets can Abysses sound;
Agreed; yet rocks they reach and shelving ground;
Thus Reason, where 'tis dang'rous, steers us right,
And then dissolves amidst th'Abyss of light.
'Tis Reason finds th'Horizon's glimm'ring line
Where realms of Truth, and realms of Error join:
Views its own Hemisphere with thankful eyes,
Thinks Nature good in that which she denies;
While Pride amidst the vast abrupt must soar—
Alas, to fathom God is to be more!
Where realms of Truth, and realms of Error join:
Views its own Hemisphere with thankful eyes,
Thinks Nature good in that which she denies;
While Pride amidst the vast abrupt must soar—
Alas, to fathom God is to be more!
Then dare be wise, into thy self descend,
Sage to some purpose, studious to some end;
Search thy own heart, the Well where knowledge lies;
Thence (not from higher earth) we catch the skies;
Leave Myst'ry to the Seraph's purer thought
Which takes in Truth, as forms by streams are caught;
Leave Lust to brutes whose unhurt sense is such,
That ten-fold transport thrills at ev'ry touch:
Holding the middle sphere where Reason lies,
Than these more temp'rate, as than those less wise.
Each pow'r of Animals in each degree,
Ev'n double Instinct, Knowledge is to thee:
Th'effect as certain, tho' the birth more slow,
For like the Rose it must expand and blow:
Time must call forth the manhood of the mind;
By study strengthen'd, and by taste refin'd:
Its Action open, as its Purpose true,
Slow to resolve, but constant to pursue;
Weeded from passion, prejudice, and pride,
Mod'rate to all, yet steady to one side,
Such once was Knight: In word, in action clear;
Ev'n in the last recess of thought sincere;
Great without Titles, Virtuous without Show,
Learn'd without Pride, and Just without a Foe;
Alike Humane, to pity, or impart;
The coolest head, and yet the warmest heart.
O early lost! With ev'ry Grace adorn'd!
By me, (so Hea'vn ordains it) always mourn'd;
In Life's full joy, and Virtue's fairest bloom
Untimely check'd, and hurry'd to the Tomb:
Torn ev'n from Her whom all the world approv'd!
More Blest than man, and more than man Belov'd!
Sage to some purpose, studious to some end;
Search thy own heart, the Well where knowledge lies;
Thence (not from higher earth) we catch the skies;
Leave Myst'ry to the Seraph's purer thought
Which takes in Truth, as forms by streams are caught;
Leave Lust to brutes whose unhurt sense is such,
That ten-fold transport thrills at ev'ry touch:
Holding the middle sphere where Reason lies,
Than these more temp'rate, as than those less wise.
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Ev'n double Instinct, Knowledge is to thee:
Th'effect as certain, tho' the birth more slow,
For like the Rose it must expand and blow:
Time must call forth the manhood of the mind;
By study strengthen'd, and by taste refin'd:
Its Action open, as its Purpose true,
Slow to resolve, but constant to pursue;
Weeded from passion, prejudice, and pride,
Mod'rate to all, yet steady to one side,
Such once was Knight: In word, in action clear;
Ev'n in the last recess of thought sincere;
Great without Titles, Virtuous without Show,
Learn'd without Pride, and Just without a Foe;
Alike Humane, to pity, or impart;
The coolest head, and yet the warmest heart.
O early lost! With ev'ry Grace adorn'd!
By me, (so Hea'vn ordains it) always mourn'd;
In Life's full joy, and Virtue's fairest bloom
Untimely check'd, and hurry'd to the Tomb:
Torn ev'n from Her whom all the world approv'd!
More Blest than man, and more than man Belov'd!
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How few, like thee, truth's arduous paths can tread,
Trace her slow streams, and taste them at their head?
See how scarft sages, and pale schoolmen roam
From Art to Art, their Mind a Void at home.
For oft our understanding apes our eyes,
Forgets itself, tho' all things it descries.
Minds like true Pictures are by distance prov'd,
And Objects proper, only as remov'd.—
Trace her slow streams, and taste them at their head?
See how scarft sages, and pale schoolmen roam
From Art to Art, their Mind a Void at home.
For oft our understanding apes our eyes,
Forgets itself, tho' all things it descries.
Minds like true Pictures are by distance prov'd,
And Objects proper, only as remov'd.—
Yet Reason has a fund of charms t'engage,
Our early Youth, our manhood, and our age:
Beauty, which must the Slave, the Monarch strike,
Homage, which paid not injures both alike;
Virtue at once to please and to befriend,
(Great Nature's clue, observant of its end)
Such were the paths the rubric Antients trod,
The friends of Virtue, and the friends of God.
Our early Youth, our manhood, and our age:
Beauty, which must the Slave, the Monarch strike,
Homage, which paid not injures both alike;
Virtue at once to please and to befriend,
(Great Nature's clue, observant of its end)
Such were the paths the rubric Antients trod,
The friends of Virtue, and the friends of God.
Science like this, important and divine,
The good man offers Reason, at thy shrine.
Sees Thee, Truth, Nature, (well explain'd) the same:
Not chang'd when thought on, varying but in name;
Sees whence each aptitude, each diff'rence springs,
How thought ev'n acts and meaning lives in things:
Or else examines at less studious hours
The Thinking Faculty, its source, its pow'rs:
How, stretch'd like Kneller's canvas first it lies,
'Ere the soft tints awake, or outlines rise:
How, till the Finishing of thrice sev'n years,
The Master-Figure Reason scarce appears:
Sighs to survey a Realm by right its own,
While Passion, [fierce co-heir] usurps the throne;
A second Nero, turbulent in sway,
His Pleasure, Noise; his Life one stormy Day;
Headstrong in love, and headstrong too in hate,
Resolv'd t'enslave the Mob, or sink the State;
Sad farce of pow'r, sad anarchy of things,
Where brutes are subjects, and where tyrants kings.
The good man offers Reason, at thy shrine.
Sees Thee, Truth, Nature, (well explain'd) the same:
Not chang'd when thought on, varying but in name;
Sees whence each aptitude, each diff'rence springs,
How thought ev'n acts and meaning lives in things:
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The Thinking Faculty, its source, its pow'rs:
How, stretch'd like Kneller's canvas first it lies,
'Ere the soft tints awake, or outlines rise:
How, till the Finishing of thrice sev'n years,
The Master-Figure Reason scarce appears:
Sighs to survey a Realm by right its own,
While Passion, [fierce co-heir] usurps the throne;
A second Nero, turbulent in sway,
His Pleasure, Noise; his Life one stormy Day;
Headstrong in love, and headstrong too in hate,
Resolv'd t'enslave the Mob, or sink the State;
Sad farce of pow'r, sad anarchy of things,
Where brutes are subjects, and where tyrants kings.
Yet in this infant state, by stealth, by chance,
Th'increasing mind still feels a slow advance,
Thro' the dark Void ev'n gleams of Truth can shoot,
And love of Liberty upheave at root.
No more the tender seeds unquicken'd lie,
But stretch their form and wait for wings to fly:
Sensation first, the groundwork of the whole,
Deals ray by ray each image to the soul:
Perception true to ev'ry nerve receives
The various impulse, now exults, now grieves;
Thought works and ends, and dares afresh begin,
So whirpools pour out Streams, and suck them in;
That Thought romantic Memory detains
In unknown cells and in aereal chains;
Imagination thence her flow'rs translates,
And Fancy emulous of God, creates:
Experience slowly moving next appears,
Wise but by habit, judging but from years;
Till Knowledge comes, a wise and gen'rous heir,
And opes the Reservoir averse to spare:
And, Reason rises, the Newtonian Sun,
Moves all, guides all, and all sustains in one.
Th'increasing mind still feels a slow advance,
Thro' the dark Void ev'n gleams of Truth can shoot,
And love of Liberty upheave at root.
No more the tender seeds unquicken'd lie,
But stretch their form and wait for wings to fly:
Sensation first, the groundwork of the whole,
Deals ray by ray each image to the soul:
Perception true to ev'ry nerve receives
The various impulse, now exults, now grieves;
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So whirpools pour out Streams, and suck them in;
That Thought romantic Memory detains
In unknown cells and in aereal chains;
Imagination thence her flow'rs translates,
And Fancy emulous of God, creates:
Experience slowly moving next appears,
Wise but by habit, judging but from years;
Till Knowledge comes, a wise and gen'rous heir,
And opes the Reservoir averse to spare:
And, Reason rises, the Newtonian Sun,
Moves all, guides all, and all sustains in one.
Bright Emanation of the Godhead hail,
Fountain of living lustre, ne'er to fail;
As none deceiving, so of none deceiv'd:
Beheld, and in the act of Sight believ'd,
In Truth, in Strength, in Majesty array'd,
No Change to turn thee, and no Cloud to shade!
Fountain of living lustre, ne'er to fail;
As none deceiving, so of none deceiv'd:
Beheld, and in the act of Sight believ'd,
In Truth, in Strength, in Majesty array'd,
No Change to turn thee, and no Cloud to shade!
Such in her self is Reason—: Deist say,
What hast thou here t'object, t'explain away?
Think'st thou thy Reason this unerring Rule?
Then live a madman—and yet die a fool!
God gave us Reason as the Stars were giv'n,
Not to discard the Sun, but mark out Heav'n;
At once a Rule of Faith, if well imploy'd,
A Source of Pleasure, if arright enjoy'd,
And Point, round which th'eternal error lies
Of fools too credulous, and wits too wise;
A faithful guide to comfort and to save,
Till the mind floats, like Peter on the wave:
Then bright-ey'd Hope descends, of heav'nly birth,
And Faith, our Immortality on Earth,
A Saviour speaks! lo darkness low'rs no more,
And the husht billows sleep against the shore.
If This be hardship let the dying heir
Spurn back his father's aid, and curse his care?
If this be cruel, partial, or unwise,
Then perish infidel, and God despise!
What hast thou here t'object, t'explain away?
Think'st thou thy Reason this unerring Rule?
Then live a madman—and yet die a fool!
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Not to discard the Sun, but mark out Heav'n;
At once a Rule of Faith, if well imploy'd,
A Source of Pleasure, if arright enjoy'd,
And Point, round which th'eternal error lies
Of fools too credulous, and wits too wise;
A faithful guide to comfort and to save,
Till the mind floats, like Peter on the wave:
Then bright-ey'd Hope descends, of heav'nly birth,
And Faith, our Immortality on Earth,
A Saviour speaks! lo darkness low'rs no more,
And the husht billows sleep against the shore.
If This be hardship let the dying heir
Spurn back his father's aid, and curse his care?
If this be cruel, partial, or unwise,
Then perish infidel, and God despise!
Nor flows it hence, that Revelation's force
Chains Reason down, or thwarts it in its course:
Since Obligation, first of Moral ties
Binds thus, and yet no Tyranny implies:
We grant that men th'eternal motive see,
Yet motive, where there's choice, still leaves them free:
True Liberty was ne'er by License gain'd,
Nor are Liege-subjects Slaves because restrain'd;
Restriction shows the check, but none creates;
So Prescience finds, but not necessitates.
Chains Reason down, or thwarts it in its course:
Since Obligation, first of Moral ties
Binds thus, and yet no Tyranny implies:
We grant that men th'eternal motive see,
Yet motive, where there's choice, still leaves them free:
True Liberty was ne'er by License gain'd,
Nor are Liege-subjects Slaves because restrain'd;
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So Prescience finds, but not necessitates.
Yet still the Wits with partial Voice exclaim,
“What art thou Truth? what Knowledge? but a name.
“In short, are Mortals free, or are they bound?
“Tell us, is Reason something, or a sound.”
“What art thou Truth? what Knowledge? but a name.
“In short, are Mortals free, or are they bound?
“Tell us, is Reason something, or a sound.”
Friends 'tis agreed: Behold the gen'rous part,
My soul at once unfolded, and my heart;
Too brave to be by Superstition aw'd,
And yet too modest to confront the God;
Chain'd to no int'rest, bigot to no cause,
Slave of no hope, preferment, or applause!
For those who cleave to Truth for Virtue's sake,
Enjoy all Party-good, yet nothing stake.
My soul at once unfolded, and my heart;
Too brave to be by Superstition aw'd,
And yet too modest to confront the God;
Chain'd to no int'rest, bigot to no cause,
Slave of no hope, preferment, or applause!
For those who cleave to Truth for Virtue's sake,
Enjoy all Party-good, yet nothing stake.
Thou then, O Source of uncreated Light,
Hallow my lips, and guide me whilst I write!
Hallow my lips, and guide me whilst I write!
First in that Pow'r [to whose eternal thought
No outward object e'er one image brought,
The part, the whole, the see-er and the seen,
No distance, inference, or act between:]
Reason presides, diffusing thence abroad
Thro' truth, thro' things—the Test, the Point of God.
No outward object e'er one image brought,
The part, the whole, the see-er and the seen,
No distance, inference, or act between:]
Reason presides, diffusing thence abroad
Thro' truth, thro' things—the Test, the Point of God.
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As perfect Reason from the Godhead springs,
(And still unchang'd if perfect;) so from Things,
Truths, Actions—in their kind and their degree
Starts real meaning, difference, harmony.
These all imply a Reason, Reason still
A Duty, good if sought, if sought not, ill;
Hence in the chain of causes, Virtue, Vice,
And thence Religion, take their gen'ral rise.
(And still unchang'd if perfect;) so from Things,
Truths, Actions—in their kind and their degree
Starts real meaning, difference, harmony.
These all imply a Reason, Reason still
A Duty, good if sought, if sought not, ill;
Hence in the chain of causes, Virtue, Vice,
And thence Religion, take their gen'ral rise.
God first creates, the ref'rence, nature, force
Of things created must result of course;
As well might Sense its evidence disclaim,
Or Chance sketch out Earth's, Heav'ns stupendous frame,
As well might Motion to be Rest consent,
As well might Matter fill without extent,
As Things (instead of being what they ought,)
Sink into hazard, whim, caprice, or nought.
Of things created must result of course;
As well might Sense its evidence disclaim,
Or Chance sketch out Earth's, Heav'ns stupendous frame,
As well might Motion to be Rest consent,
As well might Matter fill without extent,
As Things (instead of being what they ought,)
Sink into hazard, whim, caprice, or nought.
Hence in each art the Great, the Glorious warms,
For Science only copies Moral Charms;
To nobler beauty thence the Mind proceeds,
The union, colouring, and force of deeds;
Swells in the hero's cause with vast esteem,
Pants for the Patriot, and would more than seem.
Labours with Brutus in the stern Decree,
Yet whispers 'midst his tears, O Rome be free!
Envies at Utica the stoic sword,
Or bleeds at Carthage, Martyr to its word!
For Science only copies Moral Charms;
16
The union, colouring, and force of deeds;
Swells in the hero's cause with vast esteem,
Pants for the Patriot, and would more than seem.
Labours with Brutus in the stern Decree,
Yet whispers 'midst his tears, O Rome be free!
Envies at Utica the stoic sword,
Or bleeds at Carthage, Martyr to its word!
These truths congenial, nor devis'd tho' found,
Live in each age, and shoot from ev'ry ground;
Bloom or on Albion's, or on India's coast,
'Midst Abissinia's flames, or Zembla's frost.
Live in each age, and shoot from ev'ry ground;
Bloom or on Albion's, or on India's coast,
'Midst Abissinia's flames, or Zembla's frost.
“Yet still the Wits and Moralists exclaim
“That Virtue's casual oft, and oft a name:
“At Esperanza's Cape (or Jesuits lie)
“Their Baptism's Urine, and their God a Fly;
“Old Cato sagely vers'd in Stoic Laws,
“Still hackney'd out his Wife to serve the Cause,
“And Incest, for th'Advantage of a Nation
“Was sacred made by Spartan Toleration:
“Midst Tartary's Desarts, and Cathaya's Sands,
“In their Horse-soop the natives wash their hands,
“One drop of urine in their chamber spilt
“Is certain death, inexpiable guilt!
“For a huge Whore, see Heroes, Kings at strife;
“But never Virgin there was made a Wife.”
“That Virtue's casual oft, and oft a name:
“At Esperanza's Cape (or Jesuits lie)
“Their Baptism's Urine, and their God a Fly;
“Old Cato sagely vers'd in Stoic Laws,
“Still hackney'd out his Wife to serve the Cause,
“And Incest, for th'Advantage of a Nation
“Was sacred made by Spartan Toleration:
“Midst Tartary's Desarts, and Cathaya's Sands,
“In their Horse-soop the natives wash their hands,
17
“Is certain death, inexpiable guilt!
“For a huge Whore, see Heroes, Kings at strife;
“But never Virgin there was made a Wife.”
Of all Assertions, these indeed are chief
T'excite compassion, tho' not shake belief:
Since from an agent's want of taste or skill,
It flows not that the rule must needs be ill;
For Truth exists abstracted from the mind,
And Nature's Laws are Laws, tho' man be blind.
T'excite compassion, tho' not shake belief:
Since from an agent's want of taste or skill,
It flows not that the rule must needs be ill;
For Truth exists abstracted from the mind,
And Nature's Laws are Laws, tho' man be blind.
Reason at most, but imitates the Sun,
To each is various, and to All is one:
Perfect consider'd in its self 'tis true,
And yet imperfect as exerted too:
The Mental Pow'r eternal, equal, fixt,
The human act unequal, casual, mixt—
And if such dormant Reason bears no fruit,
Dead in the branch, tho' real at the root,
Defect and actual Ignorance are one,
For useless Talents are the same as none;
All men may catch the lights of truth 'tis true,
But the great Question is, if all men do?
To each is various, and to All is one:
Perfect consider'd in its self 'tis true,
And yet imperfect as exerted too:
The Mental Pow'r eternal, equal, fixt,
The human act unequal, casual, mixt—
And if such dormant Reason bears no fruit,
Dead in the branch, tho' real at the root,
Defect and actual Ignorance are one,
For useless Talents are the same as none;
All men may catch the lights of truth 'tis true,
But the great Question is, if all men do?
“Oh but, says one, if Reason comes from heav'n,
“Nature, or God must deal the Blessing ev'n:
Agreed: and in a prior sense they do;
But still t'improve the gift devolves on you:
Reason in this respect I boldly say,
(And so do thousands, school-men, church-men, lay-)
No more is natural and inly-born
Than love, or lust, or pride, or hate, or scorn:
'Tis man's t'exert, exalt, subject, impart;
Here lies the Honesty and here the Art.
“Nature, or God must deal the Blessing ev'n:
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But still t'improve the gift devolves on you:
Reason in this respect I boldly say,
(And so do thousands, school-men, church-men, lay-)
No more is natural and inly-born
Than love, or lust, or pride, or hate, or scorn:
'Tis man's t'exert, exalt, subject, impart;
Here lies the Honesty and here the Art.
'Tis his, t'improve good sense, but none create,
Ty'd down to spend no more than his estate:
To strike no notion out, no truth deduce,
But just as nature sow'd the seeds for use.
Ty'd down to spend no more than his estate:
To strike no notion out, no truth deduce,
But just as nature sow'd the seeds for use.
This Instance urg'd and drawn from mental pow'rs,
Earth each day testifies in trees and flow'rs:
Culture with skill, and science join'd with Toil,
Teach Persia's peach to bloom in Albion's soil,
As truly nature's produce here, as there
In its own sunshine and its spicy air.—
For truth, like earth made barren by the fall,
Just as men labour, tribute pays to all:
Plain, if kind Heav'n two blessings shall impart,
A reasonable head, and upright heart:
For plainness rises in a giv'n degree
As men are honest, and as men can see;—
What's Ethic to the true pains-taking man,
Who never thinks and cheats but all he can?
What's Sh-ftsb-y's hairs-breadth morals at the Change?
Or Tindal's fitness at Philemon's Grange?
Or solid Reas'ning to the headstrong youth,
His Tutor, Pain, Experiment his Truth?
Earth each day testifies in trees and flow'rs:
Culture with skill, and science join'd with Toil,
Teach Persia's peach to bloom in Albion's soil,
As truly nature's produce here, as there
In its own sunshine and its spicy air.—
For truth, like earth made barren by the fall,
Just as men labour, tribute pays to all:
Plain, if kind Heav'n two blessings shall impart,
A reasonable head, and upright heart:
19
As men are honest, and as men can see;—
What's Ethic to the true pains-taking man,
Who never thinks and cheats but all he can?
What's Sh-ftsb-y's hairs-breadth morals at the Change?
Or Tindal's fitness at Philemon's Grange?
Or solid Reas'ning to the headstrong youth,
His Tutor, Pain, Experiment his Truth?
In short, one sentence may the whole discuss—
As we with Truth, Truth coincides with us:
This boults the matter fairly to the bran,
And nothing more wits, bards, deans, doctors can.
As we with Truth, Truth coincides with us:
This boults the matter fairly to the bran,
And nothing more wits, bards, deans, doctors can.
Nature like God, ne'er felt the least decay;
But human nature has, and oft she may:
Full in the child th'unsinew'd sire appears,
More weak by growth, more infantine by years;
And ductile vice each new impression takes,
Passive as air, which ev'ry motion shakes.
But human nature has, and oft she may:
Full in the child th'unsinew'd sire appears,
More weak by growth, more infantine by years;
And ductile vice each new impression takes,
Passive as air, which ev'ry motion shakes.
Like some true Roman Dome Mankind appears,
The pile impair'd, but not o'erwhelm'd by Years;
Ev'n the remains strength, beauty, use impart,
And, faint, or rough, are equal proofs of art:
Yet nothing but the first-creating hand
Shall fill the shadowy lines, or new command,
Bid the stretch'd roof to swell, the arch to bend,
The wings to widen, and the front extend!
Yet as true madmen, most their friends suspect;
So Wits for this, shall ev'n their God reject!
The pile impair'd, but not o'erwhelm'd by Years;
Ev'n the remains strength, beauty, use impart,
And, faint, or rough, are equal proofs of art:
Yet nothing but the first-creating hand
Shall fill the shadowy lines, or new command,
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The wings to widen, and the front extend!
Yet as true madmen, most their friends suspect;
So Wits for this, shall ev'n their God reject!
Not that my verse Right Reason would controll,
True Freedom limit, or contract the Soul;
Th'exchange were one to bigotry from pride,
A hairs-breath serves to join them, or divide;
Yet proper decencies must still be had,
Not meanly tim'rous we, nor vainly mad:
Reason, like Israel, Horeb's place descries,
But if she gazes wantonly, she dies:
If well-attemper'd, her ethereal light
Will fix our slippery steps, and gild our night:
Or else at most we run a rash career,
Or fare like pilots, who by meteors steer;
For, like a mark she's faithful to the view,
But just as distance, force, and aim are true:
Then guide, and judge, and guardian of our ways,
Test of our deeds, and umpire of our praise,
Source of our joy, and bound'ry of our grief,
Anchor of hope, and pilot of belief!
True to the clear, unbiast, humble soul,
Which trembling seeks her, as the steel its pole!
True Freedom limit, or contract the Soul;
Th'exchange were one to bigotry from pride,
A hairs-breath serves to join them, or divide;
Yet proper decencies must still be had,
Not meanly tim'rous we, nor vainly mad:
Reason, like Israel, Horeb's place descries,
But if she gazes wantonly, she dies:
If well-attemper'd, her ethereal light
Will fix our slippery steps, and gild our night:
Or else at most we run a rash career,
Or fare like pilots, who by meteors steer;
For, like a mark she's faithful to the view,
But just as distance, force, and aim are true:
Then guide, and judge, and guardian of our ways,
Test of our deeds, and umpire of our praise,
Source of our joy, and bound'ry of our grief,
Anchor of hope, and pilot of belief!
True to the clear, unbiast, humble soul,
Which trembling seeks her, as the steel its pole!
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Yet ah, how few ev'n antient times beheld,
(When Greece and Rome in arms and arts excel'd)
Who thro' life's maze the steps of Nature trod,
Reason their guide, and Truth their unknown God?
The Stagyrite, who bold to heav'n could soar,
Trembled at last to die, and be no more;
Gods, angels, glories op'd on Plato's view,
Yet judgment quench'd the flames which rapture blew:
Midst myriads, who but Socrates appears
The birth, pride, effort of three thousand years!
(When Greece and Rome in arms and arts excel'd)
Who thro' life's maze the steps of Nature trod,
Reason their guide, and Truth their unknown God?
The Stagyrite, who bold to heav'n could soar,
Trembled at last to die, and be no more;
Gods, angels, glories op'd on Plato's view,
Yet judgment quench'd the flames which rapture blew:
Midst myriads, who but Socrates appears
The birth, pride, effort of three thousand years!
Nothing the rest, or worse than nothing meant,
God was but Chance, and Virtue but Consent,
At best the Hero's was an impious name:
Free Patriots while they bled were slaves to fame;
Ev'n Hell was fable, and their blest abodes
Of Brutes a Synod, or a Mob of Gods!
God was but Chance, and Virtue but Consent,
At best the Hero's was an impious name:
Free Patriots while they bled were slaves to fame;
Ev'n Hell was fable, and their blest abodes
Of Brutes a Synod, or a Mob of Gods!
What Bramin yet, what Sage of Rome or Greece
'Ere form'd one moral System of a piece?
He therefore best infers who steers by fact,
And weighs not Reason's Pow'r, but Reason's Act:
'Ere form'd one moral System of a piece?
He therefore best infers who steers by fact,
And weighs not Reason's Pow'r, but Reason's Act:
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Which of those mighty antients ever drew
The Whole of Ethics justly round and true?
Had Mission or to prophecy or preach?
Sanction t'excite, Authority to teach?
Nay, ev'n their Rule of Morals and of Life
Was often wrong, oft various, oft at strife—
The Whole of Ethics justly round and true?
Had Mission or to prophecy or preach?
Sanction t'excite, Authority to teach?
Nay, ev'n their Rule of Morals and of Life
Was often wrong, oft various, oft at strife—
'Gainst State or Priest they little durst impart,
Their lips scarce breath'd the truths that scorch'd their heart:
Tho' modern Scriblers, dissolutely free,
Boast much of antient boundless liberty;
Hence Samos' Sage the current faith advis'd,
Hence Plato trim'd his Creeds, and temporiz'd,
And Greece for one man's head in holy rage,
[A strange example in that mod'rate age]
More Art employ'd, more Premiums issu'd forth,
Than all our modern Deists heads are worth.
Their lips scarce breath'd the truths that scorch'd their heart:
Tho' modern Scriblers, dissolutely free,
Boast much of antient boundless liberty;
Hence Samos' Sage the current faith advis'd,
Hence Plato trim'd his Creeds, and temporiz'd,
And Greece for one man's head in holy rage,
[A strange example in that mod'rate age]
More Art employ'd, more Premiums issu'd forth,
Than all our modern Deists heads are worth.
Nay half the source of most the antients knew,
From Noah they, as He from Eden drew:
Whence Truth in secret pipes to Memphis past,
Thence strain'd thro' Jewry, water'd Asia last.
So Nilus wanders mystic in its flow,
And Columns tost from Tempé feed the Po.
From Noah they, as He from Eden drew:
Whence Truth in secret pipes to Memphis past,
Thence strain'd thro' Jewry, water'd Asia last.
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And Columns tost from Tempé feed the Po.
Now too, Wit's Titans spite of all their boast,
But combat God with his own arms at most:
The truths they boast of, and the rules they know,
Seen not, or own'd not, first from Scripture flow.
So painters us'd to copy, seem t'invent,
Of aid unconscious, and in theft content.
Faith strikes the light, but pride assumes the fame,
Sure, like th'oblig'd t'efface her patron's name:
For as when vig'rous breezes drive a fleet,
Earth seems to stretch, and lab'rings floats to meet,
(Solid herself and fixt:) So here 'tis Thus;
Nor we to God, but God accedes to us.
But combat God with his own arms at most:
The truths they boast of, and the rules they know,
Seen not, or own'd not, first from Scripture flow.
So painters us'd to copy, seem t'invent,
Of aid unconscious, and in theft content.
Faith strikes the light, but pride assumes the fame,
Sure, like th'oblig'd t'efface her patron's name:
For as when vig'rous breezes drive a fleet,
Earth seems to stretch, and lab'rings floats to meet,
(Solid herself and fixt:) So here 'tis Thus;
Nor we to God, but God accedes to us.
For ah, ev'n here where life a journey runs,
Blest with new day-light and with nearer suns:
Virtue's dim lights by God's own hand supplied,
With Sanction strengthen'd, honour'd with a Guide,
How few (except instructed first and led)
Can thrid the Maze, or touch the Fountain's head?
Observe a Mean 'twixt Bigotry and Pride,
Hit the strait way, or err not in the wide?
Blest with new day-light and with nearer suns:
Virtue's dim lights by God's own hand supplied,
With Sanction strengthen'd, honour'd with a Guide,
How few (except instructed first and led)
Can thrid the Maze, or touch the Fountain's head?
Observe a Mean 'twixt Bigotry and Pride,
Hit the strait way, or err not in the wide?
24
If Reason then scarce finishes the Best,
Th'unbiast Few, how fares it with the rest?
Where Error holds at least a dubious sway,
Where all is warring Thought, and twilight Day;
Where Prepossession warps the ductile mind,
Where blindfold Education leads the blind:
Where Int'rest biasses, ill Customs guide,
And strong Desires pour on us like a tide;
Where Indolence is never at a loss,
But saunters on to Heav'n, a Saint in gross:
Where Wit must mince a Gnat (its throat so small:)
Where Ignorance an Ostrich gorges all:
Where Zeal her unknown vow of fury keeps,
And Superstition like an Idiot weeps,
Where Persecution lifts its iron rod,
Bad for good ends, the butcher of the God:
Where Pride still list'ning to herself appears,
New forms earth's orbit, and new rolls the spheres,
Holds ev'n th'Almighty in her airy chain,
Gives back his laws, well meant, but meant in vain:
Its bravery at best a blund'ring hit,
Its freedom treason, obloquy its wit;
Its vast request just purely to declaim,
And the dear little license—to blaspheme;—
Say, can cool Virtue here dissuade from ill?
Or exil'd Reason—Pandar to the Will?—
At most a Voice or Miracle may save,
And only Terrors snatch us from the grave!
Th'unbiast Few, how fares it with the rest?
Where Error holds at least a dubious sway,
Where all is warring Thought, and twilight Day;
Where Prepossession warps the ductile mind,
Where blindfold Education leads the blind:
Where Int'rest biasses, ill Customs guide,
And strong Desires pour on us like a tide;
Where Indolence is never at a loss,
But saunters on to Heav'n, a Saint in gross:
Where Wit must mince a Gnat (its throat so small:)
Where Ignorance an Ostrich gorges all:
Where Zeal her unknown vow of fury keeps,
And Superstition like an Idiot weeps,
Where Persecution lifts its iron rod,
Bad for good ends, the butcher of the God:
Where Pride still list'ning to herself appears,
New forms earth's orbit, and new rolls the spheres,
Holds ev'n th'Almighty in her airy chain,
Gives back his laws, well meant, but meant in vain:
Its bravery at best a blund'ring hit,
Its freedom treason, obloquy its wit;
25
And the dear little license—to blaspheme;—
Say, can cool Virtue here dissuade from ill?
Or exil'd Reason—Pandar to the Will?—
At most a Voice or Miracle may save,
And only Terrors snatch us from the grave!
Suppose [tho' we disown it oft to be]
Man from these Errors and these Passions free;
Well taught by Art, by Nature well inclin'd,
Steady of Judgment, tractable of Mind,
The first step's his, (the giving folly o'er,)
The last, to practise truth, is ten times more.
Man from these Errors and these Passions free;
Well taught by Art, by Nature well inclin'd,
Steady of Judgment, tractable of Mind,
The first step's his, (the giving folly o'er,)
The last, to practise truth, is ten times more.
Ah me, what lengths of valley yet remain,
What hills to climb, 'ere Reason's height he gain?
What strength to toil, what labour to pursue,
Still out of reach and often out of view!
What hills to climb, 'ere Reason's height he gain?
What strength to toil, what labour to pursue,
Still out of reach and often out of view!
Then gracious God, how well dost thou provide
For erring Reason an unerring Guide!
To silence explanation [Mist'ry's foe,]
To lead the tim'rous, and exalt the low;
Ev'n to the best, [as all are oft perplext]
Instructive, as true Comments to a text.
For erring Reason an unerring Guide!
To silence explanation [Mist'ry's foe,]
To lead the tim'rous, and exalt the low;
Ev'n to the best, [as all are oft perplext]
Instructive, as true Comments to a text.
Then let each hour's new whim the Witlings swell,
Heav'n let 'em tutor, and extinguish hell:
Refuse to trust omniscience on its troth,
Yet take a lawyer's Word, or harlot's Oath;
Then Bigots, when 'gainst Bigots they complain,
And only singular, because they're vain.
Grant none but they the narrow Path can hit—
When will two Wits allow each other Wit?
Heav'n let 'em tutor, and extinguish hell:
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Yet take a lawyer's Word, or harlot's Oath;
Then Bigots, when 'gainst Bigots they complain,
And only singular, because they're vain.
Grant none but they the narrow Path can hit—
When will two Wits allow each other Wit?
Far other views the solid mind employ,
A bounded prospect, but a surer joy:—
True Knowledge when she conquers or abstains,
Like the true Hero, equal glory gains.
This, this is Science, sacred in its end,
True to the views of heav'n, one's self, and friend:
The earliest study, as the latest care,
The surest refuge and the only pray'r.
A bounded prospect, but a surer joy:—
True Knowledge when she conquers or abstains,
Like the true Hero, equal glory gains.
This, this is Science, sacred in its end,
True to the views of heav'n, one's self, and friend:
The earliest study, as the latest care,
The surest refuge and the only pray'r.
“O Thou, the God, who high in Heav'n presides,
“Whose eye o'ersees me, and whose wisdom guides,
“Deal me that Portion of Content and Rest,
“That unknown Health, and Peace, which suit me best:
“Save me from all the Guilt, and all the Pain,
“That lust of pleasure brings, and lust of gain;
“In Trial fix me, and in Peril shade,
“'Gainst Foes protect me, 'gainst my Passions aid;
“In Wealth my guardian, and in Want my guide,
“'Twixt a mean Flattery, and drunken Pride:
“With Life's more dear Sensations warm my heart,
“Transport to feel, Benevolence t'impart,
“Each homefelt Joy, each publick Duty send,
“Make me, and give me, all things in the Friend!
“Whose eye o'ersees me, and whose wisdom guides,
“Deal me that Portion of Content and Rest,
“That unknown Health, and Peace, which suit me best:
“Save me from all the Guilt, and all the Pain,
“That lust of pleasure brings, and lust of gain;
“In Trial fix me, and in Peril shade,
“'Gainst Foes protect me, 'gainst my Passions aid;
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“'Twixt a mean Flattery, and drunken Pride:
“With Life's more dear Sensations warm my heart,
“Transport to feel, Benevolence t'impart,
“Each homefelt Joy, each publick Duty send,
“Make me, and give me, all things in the Friend!
“But most protect and guard me in a Mind,
“Nor rashly bold, nor abjectly resign'd:
“And oh, when Interest ev'ry Virtue hides,
“When Error blinds, and Prejudice misguides,
“Alike thy Grace, alike thy Truth impart,
“Beam on my Soul, and triumph o'er my Heart!
“Nor rashly bold, nor abjectly resign'd:
“And oh, when Interest ev'ry Virtue hides,
“When Error blinds, and Prejudice misguides,
“Alike thy Grace, alike thy Truth impart,
“Beam on my Soul, and triumph o'er my Heart!
“Thus let me live unheard of, or forgot,
“My wealth Content, praise Silence, truth my Lot;
“Thy Word, O God! my Science and Delight,
“Task of my Day, Reflection of my Night:
“There taught, that he who suffers is but try'd,
“And he who wanders, still may find a guide,
“Sanction with Truth, Reward with Virtue join'd,
“Life without end, and Laws that reach the mind!
“Happy the Man, that such a Guide can take,
“Whose Attribute is, Never to Forsake!
“My wealth Content, praise Silence, truth my Lot;
“Thy Word, O God! my Science and Delight,
“Task of my Day, Reflection of my Night:
“There taught, that he who suffers is but try'd,
“And he who wanders, still may find a guide,
“Sanction with Truth, Reward with Virtue join'd,
“Life without end, and Laws that reach the mind!
“Happy the Man, that such a Guide can take,
“Whose Attribute is, Never to Forsake!
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Exupere ex animo Rationem, sed magis acri
Judicio perpende, & si tibi vera videtur
Dede manus, aut si falsa est, accingere contra.
Lucret. L. 2.
| An essay on reason | |