Poems on Several Occasions ... To which is added, the Plague of Wealth, Occasion'd By the Author's receiving fifty Pounds from his Excellency the Lord Carteret, for the foremention'd Ode. With several Poems not in the Dublin Edition. By Matthew Pilkington. Revised by the Reverend Dr. Swift |
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The INVITATION.
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| XXXIV. |
 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
41
The INVITATION.
To Dr. Delany at Delville, MDCCXXIX.
Excepto quod non simul esses, cætera lætus.
While you, dear Friend, exempt from Care,
Delight to breathe the rural Air,
Where Nature pours her best Perfumes
From fragrant Flow'rs, and op'ning Blooms,
While you, with Gardens, Groves and Plains,
And various Eye-bewitching Scenes,
Contrive politely how to please,
And charm the Soul a thousand Ways,
I wish—, nor let my Wish be vain,
To tempt you back to Town again.
Delight to breathe the rural Air,
Where Nature pours her best Perfumes
From fragrant Flow'rs, and op'ning Blooms,
While you, with Gardens, Groves and Plains,
And various Eye-bewitching Scenes,
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And charm the Soul a thousand Ways,
I wish—, nor let my Wish be vain,
To tempt you back to Town again.
'Twere Condescension great in thee
To quit such Joys to pleasure me,
For here no stately Dome have I,
No Scenes to charm the roving Eye,
No Gardens fair, no Fields to roam,
Nor half the Sweets you find at Home:
Yet if gay Ovid sings aright,
The Gods themselves wou'd oft delight,
Ev'n Hermes and Apollo too,
(Both rival'd in their Arts by you,
Whether in Lays sublime you shine,
Or act the Orator Divine:)
These Gods, I say, wou'd now and then
Descend, to visit humble Men.
To quit such Joys to pleasure me,
For here no stately Dome have I,
No Scenes to charm the roving Eye,
No Gardens fair, no Fields to roam,
Nor half the Sweets you find at Home:
Yet if gay Ovid sings aright,
The Gods themselves wou'd oft delight,
Ev'n Hermes and Apollo too,
(Both rival'd in their Arts by you,
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Or act the Orator Divine:)
These Gods, I say, wou'd now and then
Descend, to visit humble Men.
Oft is it pleasing to the Great
To live forgetful of their State,
To leave Abundance, and unbend
Their Minds with some inferior Friend,
Where blest with Health, and homely Fare,
They quaff Delight, and smile at Care,
And find that in an humble Cell,
Mirth, Innocence, and Peace can dwell.
To live forgetful of their State,
To leave Abundance, and unbend
Their Minds with some inferior Friend,
Where blest with Health, and homely Fare,
They quaff Delight, and smile at Care,
And find that in an humble Cell,
Mirth, Innocence, and Peace can dwell.
Oft in a Toyshop have you seen
A gawdy-painted, small Machine,
Where Man and Wife are plac'd together,
To tell by turns the Change of Weather;
No Simile could half so well
Describe the House in which I dwell.
A gawdy-painted, small Machine,
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To tell by turns the Change of Weather;
No Simile could half so well
Describe the House in which I dwell.
O! wou'd some Zephyr waft, with Care,
My House and Garden thro' the Air,
To Lands encircled by the Main,
Where Lilliputian Monarchs reign,
How wou'd it glad my Heart to see
Whole Nations—somewhat less than me?
My House wou'd then a Palace rise,
And Kings with Envy view my Size.
My House and Garden thro' the Air,
To Lands encircled by the Main,
Where Lilliputian Monarchs reign,
How wou'd it glad my Heart to see
Whole Nations—somewhat less than me?
My House wou'd then a Palace rise,
And Kings with Envy view my Size.
O thou, by ev'ry Muse inspir'd,
By ev'ry gen'rous Soul admir'd,
A while forsake the sylvan Scene,
And with the Graces in thy Train,
Descend to make my Joys compleat,
And with thy Presence bless my Seat:
For thy enliv'ning Converse lends
Abundant Rapture to thy Friends,
Thy Words, express'd with graceful Art,
Improve the Head, and mend the Heart.
By ev'ry gen'rous Soul admir'd,
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And with the Graces in thy Train,
Descend to make my Joys compleat,
And with thy Presence bless my Seat:
For thy enliv'ning Converse lends
Abundant Rapture to thy Friends,
Thy Words, express'd with graceful Art,
Improve the Head, and mend the Heart.
The more we know thee, still we find
Some new Perfections in thy Mind,
A rich, inestimable Store
Of Virtues, unperceiv'd before,
Some new Perfections in thy Mind,
A rich, inestimable Store
Of Virtues, unperceiv'd before,
Thus o'er the Vault of Heav'n by Night,
We see a thousand Orbs of Light,
But when with nicer View we trace
That bright, interminable Space,
New Worlds of Glory there we spy,
That 'scap'd at first the wond'ring Eye.
We see a thousand Orbs of Light,
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That bright, interminable Space,
New Worlds of Glory there we spy,
That 'scap'd at first the wond'ring Eye.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |