State Tracts Containing Many Necessary Observations and Reflections on the State of our Affairs at Home and Abroad; With some Secret Memoirs. By the Author of the Examiner [i.e. William Oldisworth] |
 | I. |
|
|
THE RETIREMENT. |
 | State Tracts |  |
169
THE RETIREMENT.
Hail my delight! All Hail thou happy Shade!
Under whose Branches once fam'd Cowley laid.
Hail ye Cherfean Groves! All Hail ye Woods!
And Silver Swans! All Hail ye Nymphs and Floods!
Who e'er near Thames have their abodes
The sweet Retirement both of Men and Gods;
Hail ev'ry happy Mortal seated there,
So near to Bus'ness, and so far from care.
Under whose Branches once fam'd Cowley laid.
Hail ye Cherfean Groves! All Hail ye Woods!
And Silver Swans! All Hail ye Nymphs and Floods!
Who e'er near Thames have their abodes
The sweet Retirement both of Men and Gods;
Hail ev'ry happy Mortal seated there,
So near to Bus'ness, and so far from care.
Blest with th'Enjoyment that full Plenty yields
In Nature's Garden the luxurious Fields,
Where soft Contentment rears its verdant Head
On ev'ry humble Plant and ev'ry mossy Bed,
There stretch'd at ease true Satisfaction lies,
That all the Noise and Heat of London flies;
Like Slaves Men Toil in that tumultuous Town
And only Free-men are when here laid down,
They can their Labour at their leisure Crown.
Under an Elm or Walnut's Branches rest,
And be all Day with Peace and Pleasure blest;
With all things decent for a Rural State,
To make Men Happy, not to make them great;
For Nature here has in Perfection shown
The Pride and Grandure of a Pompous Town,
Which Folly makes Men Mimick but in vain,
No Tyrian Dye can give the Violet stain,
Or Rose or Julyflow'r be dy'd in Grain:
The beauteous Green the homely Holly wears
Lasts her without repair some Hundred Years,
Such frugal Ways Nature instructs the Hind,
And with wise Lessons Cultivates his Mind;
He must be Happy that her Laws pursue,
For what she dictates, is what we shou'd do.
In Nature's Garden the luxurious Fields,
Where soft Contentment rears its verdant Head
On ev'ry humble Plant and ev'ry mossy Bed,
170
That all the Noise and Heat of London flies;
Like Slaves Men Toil in that tumultuous Town
And only Free-men are when here laid down,
They can their Labour at their leisure Crown.
Under an Elm or Walnut's Branches rest,
And be all Day with Peace and Pleasure blest;
With all things decent for a Rural State,
To make Men Happy, not to make them great;
For Nature here has in Perfection shown
The Pride and Grandure of a Pompous Town,
Which Folly makes Men Mimick but in vain,
No Tyrian Dye can give the Violet stain,
Or Rose or Julyflow'r be dy'd in Grain:
The beauteous Green the homely Holly wears
Lasts her without repair some Hundred Years,
Such frugal Ways Nature instructs the Hind,
And with wise Lessons Cultivates his Mind;
He must be Happy that her Laws pursue,
For what she dictates, is what we shou'd do.
Oh happy State of happy Man first made!
E'er of himself or Solitude afraid;
But of the Joys of Life cou'd take his fill,
Nor wanted ought to do it but his Will;
He saw Delight and had it at Command,
Pleasure and Appetite went Hand in Hand.
But what is Eden if it cannot please,
For with his Garden 'twas he lost his Ease.
Oh sad exchange! From such a cool Retreat,
To mix with Crowds and Bustle in the Heat,
To gain the Bread of Life with Care and Sweat.
E'er of himself or Solitude afraid;
171
Nor wanted ought to do it but his Will;
He saw Delight and had it at Command,
Pleasure and Appetite went Hand in Hand.
But what is Eden if it cannot please,
For with his Garden 'twas he lost his Ease.
Oh sad exchange! From such a cool Retreat,
To mix with Crowds and Bustle in the Heat,
To gain the Bread of Life with Care and Sweat.
How unconcern'd does that Man live, how free,
Like the first State of Native Liberty,
That sates himself in his own little Store,
Nor hoards up Wealth, nor wishes to have more;
But looks with chearful Pleasure on his own,
And Smiles at the false Gems that fill a Crown.
Round his own Grounds can take the wholesome Air,
And finds his Satisfaction in his fare.
When having lopt his Trees, or prun'd his Vine,
On coarse clean Linnen can be pleas'd to Dine,
Or Roast, or Boil'd, without Ragou's, or Wine.
This plain Content is all Heav'n can bestow
To wretched Man, while he remains below.
Like the first State of Native Liberty,
That sates himself in his own little Store,
Nor hoards up Wealth, nor wishes to have more;
But looks with chearful Pleasure on his own,
And Smiles at the false Gems that fill a Crown.
Round his own Grounds can take the wholesome Air,
And finds his Satisfaction in his fare.
When having lopt his Trees, or prun'd his Vine,
On coarse clean Linnen can be pleas'd to Dine,
Or Roast, or Boil'd, without Ragou's, or Wine.
172
To wretched Man, while he remains below.
| State Tracts | |