A Collection of Poems Occasionally Writ On Several Subjects. By Isaac Thompson |
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| II. |
A Night-Contemplation, |
 | A Collection of Poems |  |
116
A Night-Contemplation,
In Imitation of Milton's Stile.
------ Deum namque ire per omnes
Terrasque, trastusque maris, cœlumque profundum.
Virgil.
Terrasque, trastusque maris, cœlumque profundum.
Virgil.
Upon the gentle rising of a Hill,
Beset with lofty Trees, whose darksome Boughs
Wav'd slow, and to the Fan of rustling Airs
Gave tender Voice, such as might lull to rest
The wearied Mind, or lift the studious Soul
To Thoughts sublime, and Contemplations high,
A Sage, for Wisdom fam'd, his private walk
Selected, while the Works of Nature call'd
Thro' the still Eve, for Meditations deep.
Beset with lofty Trees, whose darksome Boughs
Wav'd slow, and to the Fan of rustling Airs
Gave tender Voice, such as might lull to rest
The wearied Mind, or lift the studious Soul
To Thoughts sublime, and Contemplations high,
A Sage, for Wisdom fam'd, his private walk
Selected, while the Works of Nature call'd
117
First on the setting Sun he darts his Eye,
Whose Rays refracted thro' the dusky Wreaths
Of humid Clouds, with richest Colours paint,
And spread o'er all the West a various Dye.
'Till Night began to wrap the Face of Things
In gentle Gloom, and with her shadowy Cone
Mount on the eastern Quarter of the Skies.
Then first the Stars, of Magnitude the Prime,
And rolling Planets, lighted up their Fires;
More numerous still, 'till all the Firmament
Shone forth with Myriads, a stupendious Glow!
While the bright Galaxy, with shining white
Girt the wide Concave, as the Belt of Heaven.
But now the Moon, in clouded Majesty
Past o'er th' Horizon, and with Silver Ray
Disclos'd again, the Face of this Terrene,
And mixing with the pervious Shades of Night,
Call'd Nature forth, in softest Lights to shine.
Whose Rays refracted thro' the dusky Wreaths
Of humid Clouds, with richest Colours paint,
And spread o'er all the West a various Dye.
'Till Night began to wrap the Face of Things
In gentle Gloom, and with her shadowy Cone
Mount on the eastern Quarter of the Skies.
Then first the Stars, of Magnitude the Prime,
And rolling Planets, lighted up their Fires;
More numerous still, 'till all the Firmament
Shone forth with Myriads, a stupendious Glow!
While the bright Galaxy, with shining white
Girt the wide Concave, as the Belt of Heaven.
But now the Moon, in clouded Majesty
Past o'er th' Horizon, and with Silver Ray
Disclos'd again, the Face of this Terrene,
And mixing with the pervious Shades of Night,
Call'd Nature forth, in softest Lights to shine.
This, when the ravish'd Sage attentive view'd,
In the stretch'd Ken of deep Philosophy,
Thus he began t'exclaim in sacred Phrase.
In the stretch'd Ken of deep Philosophy,
118
O great Creator!
when I meditate
These Heav'ns, the Work of thy Almighty Hands,
The Moon resplendent, and her Train of Stars,
By thee enlighten'd, and by thee ordain'd;
Ah what is Man, that thou should'st mindful be
Of him? Can Mankind merit thy regard?
Maker of this extended Universe!
Compar'd with which, how small an Atom seems
Ev'n our whole System, tho' a Sun and Worlds,
In it, have spacious Liberty to roll!
While thou by secret Laws their Motion guid'st,
Thro' unresisting Æther, rarely purg'd;
And by Projection and Attraction, bind'st
To destin'd Orbits, each revolving Sphere;
Harmonious and delectable, the Whole.
The Whole, how vast! how spacious! yet how small,
When to yon fixed Firmament of Light,
I lift my soaring Thought, and ev'ry Star
Swells to a Sun immense, around whose Orb,
New Planets dance, and other Systems turn?
Stupendious Range of rolling Worlds and Suns!
More num'rous than are Sands or Atoms here.
These Heav'ns, the Work of thy Almighty Hands,
The Moon resplendent, and her Train of Stars,
By thee enlighten'd, and by thee ordain'd;
Ah what is Man, that thou should'st mindful be
Of him? Can Mankind merit thy regard?
Maker of this extended Universe!
Compar'd with which, how small an Atom seems
Ev'n our whole System, tho' a Sun and Worlds,
In it, have spacious Liberty to roll!
While thou by secret Laws their Motion guid'st,
Thro' unresisting Æther, rarely purg'd;
And by Projection and Attraction, bind'st
To destin'd Orbits, each revolving Sphere;
Harmonious and delectable, the Whole.
The Whole, how vast! how spacious! yet how small,
When to yon fixed Firmament of Light,
I lift my soaring Thought, and ev'ry Star
Swells to a Sun immense, around whose Orb,
New Planets dance, and other Systems turn?
Stupendious Range of rolling Worlds and Suns!
119
Thus, whilst Imagination swift, pervades
Creation's Womb, and flies from Globe to Globe,
Prodigious length, unutterable Space!
Beyond what Time or Number can express;
My drooping Fancy, flags her weary Wing,
While still (perhaps) th' immeasurable way,
She yet has pass'd, or all that Thought could pass
In twice ten thousand Ages, would but seem
A Point, compar'd with the whole Universe:
And still the Universe it self, thus large,
Is but a Point, O Deity! to thee.
Without Circumference, or Bound art thou,
Existing far beyond the Heaven of Heavens;
Full and compleat, eternal, infinite.
Creation's Womb, and flies from Globe to Globe,
Prodigious length, unutterable Space!
Beyond what Time or Number can express;
My drooping Fancy, flags her weary Wing,
While still (perhaps) th' immeasurable way,
She yet has pass'd, or all that Thought could pass
In twice ten thousand Ages, would but seem
A Point, compar'd with the whole Universe:
And still the Universe it self, thus large,
Is but a Point, O Deity! to thee.
Without Circumference, or Bound art thou,
Existing far beyond the Heaven of Heavens;
Full and compleat, eternal, infinite.
Ah, how shall Man, vain Particle of Being!
Begirt thy Throne, Inhabitant immense!
Within whose Sight, (as Pendent from thy Hand,)
The Sum of Things, (beyond all human Thought,
In long progressive Æras to pervade,)
Hangs trembling, but a Spec of Entity.
What Figure then must human Species form
Amongst th' Assemblage of created Worlds,
Low grov'ling on this dusky Spot of Earth?
But nothing can below thee lie conceal'd;
Minutest Essences escape not thee;
And great and little thou behold'st alike.
By thee the Frame indefinite, is mov'd;
By thee, these Suns are all replete with Light,
And emanate on all their circling Worlds;
Thou guid'st these Worlds, the whole is full of Thee.
Here, obvious on the Earth, thy Presence dwells:
The vegitable Kingdoms, and the Realms
Of Species that exist progressive, down
Thro' Matter still divided without End;
Beyond the nicest search of convex Glass,
Or Fancy's self to follow, there art thou
Existing intimately; while the Voice
Of Nature, from her darkest Cells, acclaims
Thy Power far echoing thro' the vast of Heaven.
Let Man then joyn this universal Choir,
To lift thy Glory, Men and Angels joyn!
To praise and to proclaim thee All in All.
Begirt thy Throne, Inhabitant immense!
Within whose Sight, (as Pendent from thy Hand,)
The Sum of Things, (beyond all human Thought,
In long progressive Æras to pervade,)
Hangs trembling, but a Spec of Entity.
What Figure then must human Species form
120
Low grov'ling on this dusky Spot of Earth?
But nothing can below thee lie conceal'd;
Minutest Essences escape not thee;
And great and little thou behold'st alike.
By thee the Frame indefinite, is mov'd;
By thee, these Suns are all replete with Light,
And emanate on all their circling Worlds;
Thou guid'st these Worlds, the whole is full of Thee.
Here, obvious on the Earth, thy Presence dwells:
The vegitable Kingdoms, and the Realms
Of Species that exist progressive, down
Thro' Matter still divided without End;
Beyond the nicest search of convex Glass,
Or Fancy's self to follow, there art thou
Existing intimately; while the Voice
Of Nature, from her darkest Cells, acclaims
Thy Power far echoing thro' the vast of Heaven.
Let Man then joyn this universal Choir,
To lift thy Glory, Men and Angels joyn!
To praise and to proclaim thee All in All.
| A Collection of Poems | |