Poems on Several Occasions :: :: University of Virginia Library

Thy Pow'r, O brazen Impudence, I sing:
My Muse, audacious, stretch a steddy Wing,
To topmost Point of tow'ring Fame aspire,
As bold Prometheus rap'd the heav'nly Fire.

I feel, I feel the Catholick Virtue rise!
I dare, I soar above incumbent Skies!

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With Forehead proud, I scale the blest Abodes,
And rush, undaunted, midst immortal Gods!
Lo! at Jove's Table, I presume to sit,
And claim, unblushing, the Reward of Wit!
Round with the Nectar, ye cogenial Powers,
We only live—for Happiness is ours.
Thus high exalted o'er the vulgar Throng,
I challenge great Apollo's self, in Song!
Thou Hermes, God of Eloquence and Lays,
Resign thy bold Pretensions to the Bays.
Superior Virtues claim the foremost Place,
And I bear strong Credentials in my Face.

Hence, ye prophane, ye modest, bashful, Fools,
Ye Soul-less Sinners, ty'd to civil Rules—
Glory and Fortune were not made for you!
Ill are they relish'd, by an abject Crew.

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Grovel on Earth, from which your Beings came,
'Tis Catholick Brass, that makes its Way to Fame.

O Godlike Energy, that crowns Mankind!
In which, alone, we Inspiration find!
By whose sole Influence, Men appear divine!
What lordly Crowds, beneath thy Banners shine?
How shall I praise thy Usefulness, and Worth?
Invigorate me, to shew thy Virtues forth.

Rude was the World, till brave Ambition sprung,
And Impudence inspir'd the talking Tongue.
Men dully loll'd in Ignorance and Ease,
And sought Contentment in unactive Peace.
All were alike distinguish'd in the Crowd,
And inborn Merit mop'd beneath a Cloud.

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But, when they learnt Assurance to aspire,
Their frozen Spirits felt enlivening Fire.
Sudden each daring Genius forward prest,
And strove to shine conspicuous o'er the Rest.
Then Arts and Sciences began their Shine!
Thou, Brass, wast their Original Divine.

Zealots of humble, sneaking, sheepish, Thought!
Awake, and view the Wonders it has wrought.
What Miracles in Human Life are shown,
That owe their Birth to Impudence alone!
The Court, the Camp, the Church, the Bar, survey,
And mark, in each, the Powerful and the Gay;
Think how they first to high Preferment rose,
What first made strutting Heroes, Bishops, Beaus?
What Places, Pensions, Titles, and Renown,
Beneath auspicious Impudence have grown?

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How have its Heirs from humblest Stations sprung,
And to the Top of Fortune's Grandeur clung?
Brass, Catholick Brass, the fair Distinctions gave,
Polish'd the Clown, and spirited the Brave.

What glorious Actions are, by Brass, inspir'd?
Ye Sons of Mars, what else your Conduct fir'd?
What made the deathless Alexander great?
And what thy Conquests, Cæsar, so compleat?
Thou, Cromwell, thou its Excellency know'st,
Thy strange Success to Impudence thou ow'st!
And what, O Persian Rebel, now supports
Thy daring Soul, and awes the neighbouring Courts?

Turn we our Eyes amid the reasoning Herd,
For sage Orations thro' the World rever'd,

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Say, To what Source shall we their Virtues trace?
Brass'd were alike their Genius, Pen, and Face!
To Brass the great Demosthenes we owe!
From Brass did Tully's pow'rful Rhetorick flow!

What moving Sermons from the Pulpit drop?
What Folio's fill the Bibliopola's Shop?
Alike inspir'd—'twas Brass, that sent 'em forth,
Possest, or not, with true intrinsick Worth.
Sage Austin, Origen, Aquinas, Scot,
Ambrose and Gregory, were, on Brass, begot.
To Brass, the modern Hammond, Eachard, Mead,
Burnet, and Bentley, owe their being read.
Thou, Atterbury, thou Sacheverell, know'st
How much to holy Impudence thou ow'st.
'Twas that, which gave your Schemes and Conduct Birth,
And stock'd with rev'rend Lumber, half the Earth.

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But, if a perfect Character there be,
Consider Henley, and confess 'tis He!
In his egregious Conduct, Face, and Mind,
Antient and Modern Impudence are join'd!
Not thine, O Keyber, brazen-fronted Bard,
Can be with Henley's Virtues once compar'd!
Nor thine, O Curll, of infamous Renown,
The Bane and Scandal of the credulous Town!

From Personages solemn, let us pass,
And view what Service Love has had of Brass.
Coquets, and Prudes, by That, have oft been won,
And Ladies, lock'd up from the Sight of Sun.
When Sighs, and Prayers, and conquering Money, fail,
The Arts of pow'rful Impudence prevail.
O blest Hibernia! Source of dear Delights!
Whose Sons are doubly arm'd, for fierce venereal Fights.

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Survey the Court—But, Muse, thy Labour spare—
A Modest Man is deem'd a Monster there!
—As in a Market, There 'tis bought and sold,
And Brass meets Brass, as Gods met Gods, of old.
The Statesman, Soldier, Lawyer, Priest, and Whore,
Alike thy Aid, O Impudence, implore.
All jostle in the Crowd, and forward press,
And factious Parties this one Aim confess.

Gods! how accomplish'd looks the Man, who dares
Push home, and shew the Talents, that he wears!
How a convenient Stock deludes the Wise,
And makes 'em look on Fools with friendly Eyes!
How Men, are reckon'd learn'd, who nothing know!
How want of Sense is veil'd by pompous Show!
A very Bankrupt, by the Aid of Brass,
Preserves his Credit, and is sure to pass.

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Who wishes not, to have a moderate Share?
O had I sooner thought it worth my Care!

A Slave to dastard Modesty, too long,
I sacrific'd my Time, my Sense, and Song.
From Me, young Men, your proper Interest learn;
I write experienc'd, and the World forewarn.
Go boldly on, nor spend dull Time in Thought;
Thinking, and Breeding, now, avail but nought!
Wou'd you be Wise, Great, Rich, and reckon'd so?
Be Impudent, no better Means I know.
A Fool may hope to be a Peer by Brass;
And every Day the Cassock cloaths the Ass.

Man's great Concern in Living, is, to live,
(Ye Sons of Levi, if I err, forgive)

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And, to live well, 'tis Prudence to acquire
Whate'er contributes, to promote us high'r.
All human Souls ambitious are to rise,
And Impudence bids fairest for the Prize.