The Triumph of Benevolence A Poem. Occasioned by the National Design of Erecting a Monument to John Howard, Esq. A New Edition, Corrected and Enlarged; To which are added, Stanzas on the Death of Jonas Hanway [by S. J. Pratt] |
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 | The Triumph of Benevolence |  |
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THE Triumph of Benevolence;
A POEM. OCCASIONED BY THE NATIONAL DESIGN OF ERECTING A MONUMENT TO JOHN HOWARD, Esq.
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What lofty sound through echoing Albion rings!
What raptur'd notes as if by Angels giv'n!
What thrilling airs, as from cœlestial strings,
Pour in full tide the harmonies of Heaven!
What raptur'd notes as if by Angels giv'n!
What thrilling airs, as from cœlestial strings,
Pour in full tide the harmonies of Heaven!
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From Public Gratitude the notes arise,
To honour virtuous Howard, yet on earth;
While Providence yet spares him from the skies,
Th' enduring Statue shall attest his worth.
To honour virtuous Howard, yet on earth;
While Providence yet spares him from the skies,
Th' enduring Statue shall attest his worth.
Lo, Albion's ardent sons the deed approve,
Wide o'er the realm to spread the generous flame,
A spirit like his own begins to move,
And all the Virtues kindle at his name.
Wide o'er the realm to spread the generous flame,
A spirit like his own begins to move,
And all the Virtues kindle at his name.
This, this the moment, Britons, ye should chuse,
While the fair act no modest blush can raise:
The good man's absence shall our love excuse,
And give the god-like luxury of praise.
While the fair act no modest blush can raise:
The good man's absence shall our love excuse,
And give the god-like luxury of praise.
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By Heaven commission'd, now our Patriot flies
Where Nature scourges with her worst disease,
Where Turkey's plague-devoted victim lies,
And spotted Deaths load every tainted breeze.
Where Nature scourges with her worst disease,
Where Turkey's plague-devoted victim lies,
And spotted Deaths load every tainted breeze.
With love unbounded, love that knows not fear,
Wherever pain or sorrow dwells he goes,
Kindly as dew, and bounteous as the sphere,
His social heart no poor distinction knows.
Wherever pain or sorrow dwells he goes,
Kindly as dew, and bounteous as the sphere,
His social heart no poor distinction knows.
Ah, what is friend or foe to Him, whose soul,
Girding creation in one warm embrace,
Extends the saviour arm from pole to pole,
And feels akin to all the human race!
Girding creation in one warm embrace,
Extends the saviour arm from pole to pole,
And feels akin to all the human race!
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To all the human! all the brutal too;
Bird, beast, and insect, bless his gentle power,
From the worn steed reposing in his view,
To the tame red-breast warbling in his bower.
Bird, beast, and insect, bless his gentle power,
From the worn steed reposing in his view,
To the tame red-breast warbling in his bower.
Well may the Spirit of the Isle arise,
With loud accord its best good man to grace;
Well may the Statue point to yonder skies,
And call on Cherubin to guard the place.
With loud accord its best good man to grace;
Well may the Statue point to yonder skies,
And call on Cherubin to guard the place.
Ye pomps of Egypt, moulder fast away;
Ye Roman vanities, your arches hide;
Ye Gallic pageantries, profusely gay,
Ye tombs, ye triumphs, here resign your pride.
Ye Roman vanities, your arches hide;
Ye Gallic pageantries, profusely gay,
Ye tombs, ye triumphs, here resign your pride.
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For not to Grandeur towers our destin'd bust:
We bribe no Muse a sordid wreath to twine
Round the frail urn of Infamy in dust;
Nor bid our incense deck a villain's shrine.
We bribe no Muse a sordid wreath to twine
Round the frail urn of Infamy in dust;
Nor bid our incense deck a villain's shrine.
Nor yet to Pride the venal Statue raise,
Preserving ashes Virtue had forgot:
We bid no trumpet sound a bad man's praise,
Nor memory restore what time should rot.
Preserving ashes Virtue had forgot:
We bid no trumpet sound a bad man's praise,
Nor memory restore what time should rot.
Nor the Slave of Gold, though largely grac'd
With all that wealth on folly could bestow,
With all that Vanity on dust could waste;
Living and dead alike fair Virtue's foe.
With all that wealth on folly could bestow,
With all that Vanity on dust could waste;
Living and dead alike fair Virtue's foe.
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Nor yet for Thee, thou tyrant of the plain,
Illustrious scourge and butcher of mankind!
Whose murth'ring hands whole hecatombs have slain,
Thy glory gathering as it thins thy kind.
Illustrious scourge and butcher of mankind!
Whose murth'ring hands whole hecatombs have slain,
Thy glory gathering as it thins thy kind.
Nor ev'n to thee, O Frederic; though thy name,
Idol of Prussia! now is breath'd in sighs;
Though foremost in the list of sanguine fame,
Exulting Vict'ry claims thee in the skies.
Idol of Prussia! now is breath'd in sighs;
Though foremost in the list of sanguine fame,
Exulting Vict'ry claims thee in the skies.
Ah, no! the Monument our love would rear
Is to the Man of Peace, who may descend,
Ev'n at this moment, into dungeons drear,
The Prisoner's guardian, and the Mourner's friend.
Is to the Man of Peace, who may descend,
Ev'n at this moment, into dungeons drear,
The Prisoner's guardian, and the Mourner's friend.
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To noxious caverns and abhorrent caves,
Deep-scooped vaults and slow-consuming cells,
Where wretches pace alive around their graves,
And hollow Echoes ring their endless knells;
Deep-scooped vaults and slow-consuming cells,
Where wretches pace alive around their graves,
And hollow Echoes ring their endless knells;
To scenes where all th' Antipathies assail,
Which Instinct, Reason, Nature, most would shun,
Haunts of the filth-fed Toad and slimy Snail,
Behold the Friend of Man undaunted run.
Which Instinct, Reason, Nature, most would shun,
Haunts of the filth-fed Toad and slimy Snail,
Behold the Friend of Man undaunted run.
Ev'n now, perchance, he bears some Victim food,
Or leads him to the beams of long-lost day;
Or from the air where putrid vapours brood
Chaces the Spirit of the Pest away.
Or leads him to the beams of long-lost day;
Or from the air where putrid vapours brood
Chaces the Spirit of the Pest away.
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Where deadly Venom poisons now the gale,
May new-born Zephyrs soon be taught to blow!
Where the Heart sickens, genial Health prevail!
Where the lake stagnates, living waters flow!
May new-born Zephyrs soon be taught to blow!
Where the Heart sickens, genial Health prevail!
Where the lake stagnates, living waters flow!
For who, Benevolence, thy power shall bound?
Thy guide a God, of what should'st thou despair?
Let Vice still deal her desolation round,
Virtue shall rise, the ruin to repair.
Thy guide a God, of what should'st thou despair?
Let Vice still deal her desolation round,
Virtue shall rise, the ruin to repair.
That may destroy, but this was born to save:
And while the warrior lays a nation low,
While one proud Cæsar would the Earth enslave,
One humble Howard would an Heaven bestow.
And while the warrior lays a nation low,
While one proud Cæsar would the Earth enslave,
One humble Howard would an Heaven bestow.
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Lo, as by touch divine, before him flies
Fever, that seizes on the burning breath;
The Icy Power, that kills with shivering sighs,
And Thirst unquenchable, that drinks till death:
Fever, that seizes on the burning breath;
The Icy Power, that kills with shivering sighs,
And Thirst unquenchable, that drinks till death:
And Torpor, wrapt in his Lethean fold,
And swoln Convulsion, with his eye-balls strain'd;
And purple Tumor, loathsome to behold,
And plague-struck Phrenzy, foaming unrestrain'd.
And swoln Convulsion, with his eye-balls strain'd;
And purple Tumor, loathsome to behold,
And plague-struck Phrenzy, foaming unrestrain'd.
All these, defended by no Theban charm,
No mail, save that which Purity supplies,
Our Christian Hero meets without alarm,
And at each step some giant mischief dies.
No mail, save that which Purity supplies,
Our Christian Hero meets without alarm,
And at each step some giant mischief dies.
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Quit, Prussia, quit thy Frederic's crimson shrine,
With olive garlands join our white-rob'd band:
At Howard's statue (how unlike to thine!)
Full many a saintly form shall duteous stand.
With olive garlands join our white-rob'd band:
At Howard's statue (how unlike to thine!)
Full many a saintly form shall duteous stand.
At Thine, perchance, shall loftier trophies rise,
The regal banner, and the blazing car;
Sculpture more gorgeous emblems may devise,
And Adulation gaudier rites prepare.
The regal banner, and the blazing car;
Sculpture more gorgeous emblems may devise,
And Adulation gaudier rites prepare.
High o'er the tomb the storied war shall glow,
The black'ning siege, and desolated tower;
The victor's carnage redden all below,
To mark the blood-tracks of ungovern'd power.
The black'ning siege, and desolated tower;
The victor's carnage redden all below,
To mark the blood-tracks of ungovern'd power.
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Rage, Glory, Havock,—all the soldier train,
Their spears inverted, shall in marble frown;
Unnumber'd captives clank the brazen chain,
And Death himself embrace a Favourite's urn.
Their spears inverted, shall in marble frown;
Unnumber'd captives clank the brazen chain,
And Death himself embrace a Favourite's urn.
Then, as in martial pomp the youths pass by,
The monument shall kindle hostile fire;
To arms! To arms! each madd'ning chief shall cry,
And Frederic's ashes future wars inspire.
The monument shall kindle hostile fire;
To arms! To arms! each madd'ning chief shall cry,
And Frederic's ashes future wars inspire.
Yet, ah! not laurell'd youths, or chiefs, alone
To Frederic's sanguinary shrine shall go;
There many an execrating sire shall groan,
And many an orphan melt with filial woe.
To Frederic's sanguinary shrine shall go;
There many an execrating sire shall groan,
And many an orphan melt with filial woe.
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There shall the Virgin, with affliction wild,
At dead of night explore the Monarch's tomb;
The wailing Matron claim her murther'd child,
Whose ghost shall rise, to meet her in the gloom.
At dead of night explore the Monarch's tomb;
The wailing Matron claim her murther'd child,
Whose ghost shall rise, to meet her in the gloom.
There the pale shade shall join her deep despair,
And fill with loud complaints the sounding aile;
Fierce from the vault the pageant trophies tear,
Conquest deplore, and spurn th' accursed spoil.
And fill with loud complaints the sounding aile;
Fierce from the vault the pageant trophies tear,
Conquest deplore, and spurn th' accursed spoil.
Welcome, thrice welcome, Prussia, to the pride
The mould'ring honours of the grave afford;
Britain from these indignant turns aside,
Wooes private worth, and leaves the scepter'd lord.
The mould'ring honours of the grave afford;
Britain from these indignant turns aside,
Wooes private worth, and leaves the scepter'd lord.
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No vain idolater, the Muse disdains,
Proud of her trust, to prostitute her fires;
Let others waste on power their meteor strains,
Till flattery nauseates, and till echo tires.
Proud of her trust, to prostitute her fires;
Let others waste on power their meteor strains,
Till flattery nauseates, and till echo tires.
The sweet memorial of one gentle deed,
One pang prevented, or one wrong redress'd,
A generous morsel at the poor man's need,
A sorrow soften'd, or a sigh repress'd;
One pang prevented, or one wrong redress'd,
A generous morsel at the poor man's need,
A sorrow soften'd, or a sigh repress'd;
One artless rhyme, a record small and dear,
That graves these virtues on the village stone,
Where love retires to shed th' unwitness'd tear;
Surpasses all that ever armies won.
That graves these virtues on the village stone,
Where love retires to shed th' unwitness'd tear;
Surpasses all that ever armies won.
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O Panegyric! if thy Frederic's name
One peaceful tribute has to memory given,
To that direct th' uplifted trump of Fame,
For that, when tombs are dust, shall mount to Heaven.
One peaceful tribute has to memory given,
To that direct th' uplifted trump of Fame,
For that, when tombs are dust, shall mount to Heaven.
And, ah! behold what visions of the skies,
Rob'd in the pure serenity of light,
To consecrate our Howard's Statue rise,
And mark the holy spot with fond delight!
Rob'd in the pure serenity of light,
To consecrate our Howard's Statue rise,
And mark the holy spot with fond delight!
Her lightest footsteps here shall Mercy bend,
Fearing to crush some harmless insect near;
Humanity her soft'ring wing extend,
With Pity, softly smiling through her tear.
Fearing to crush some harmless insect near;
Humanity her soft'ring wing extend,
With Pity, softly smiling through her tear.
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And Charity shall come with Seraph air,
And pleasing Melancholy pace around,
And warm Benevolence be ever there,
And Christian Meekness bless the hallow'd bound.
And pleasing Melancholy pace around,
And warm Benevolence be ever there,
And Christian Meekness bless the hallow'd bound.
Here, too, some mortal visitants—the Wife,
Parent and child restor'd, their joys shall tell:
Here sharp Remorse shall mourn a guilty life,
And hardness learn for human woe to feel.
Parent and child restor'd, their joys shall tell:
Here sharp Remorse shall mourn a guilty life,
And hardness learn for human woe to feel.
With pious offerings hither shall repair
What once was Want, Contagion, and Disease:
Restor'd to all the liberty of air,
Here shall they hail the renovating breeze.
What once was Want, Contagion, and Disease:
Restor'd to all the liberty of air,
Here shall they hail the renovating breeze.
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And Dissipation, as he passes here,
Abash'd that Vice has ravish'd all his store,
Conscious shall drop the penitential tear,
And spurn the follies which deny him more.
Abash'd that Vice has ravish'd all his store,
Conscious shall drop the penitential tear,
And spurn the follies which deny him more.
And Avarice too shall here suspend his art,
His bosom loosing from the sullen ore;
The Statue shall subdue his rugged heart,
And the rock gush in blessings to the poor.
His bosom loosing from the sullen ore;
The Statue shall subdue his rugged heart,
And the rock gush in blessings to the poor.
And Envy, devious from her wonted plan,
Taught by the Statue ev'n a foe to save,
Shall tell her snakes to spare one virtuous man,
And own his goodness ere he reach the grave.
Taught by the Statue ev'n a foe to save,
Shall tell her snakes to spare one virtuous man,
And own his goodness ere he reach the grave.
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But should some blood-polluted Hero come,
Flush'd with the crimson waste his sword has made,
Meek Howard's Statue on that sword shall gloom,
Till tears shall seem to trickle on the blade.
Flush'd with the crimson waste his sword has made,
Meek Howard's Statue on that sword shall gloom,
Till tears shall seem to trickle on the blade.
And many a wondering Traveller shall pause,
To hail the land that gave an Howard birth,
Till Jealousy itself aids Virtue's cause,
Prompting the spirit of congenial worth.
To hail the land that gave an Howard birth,
Till Jealousy itself aids Virtue's cause,
Prompting the spirit of congenial worth.
And here the willing Muse shall oft retire,
To breathe her vows in many a graceful line;
From the blest Statue catch sublimer fire,
Whilst Inspiration hovers o'er the shrine.
To breathe her vows in many a graceful line;
From the blest Statue catch sublimer fire,
Whilst Inspiration hovers o'er the shrine.
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Thou, to whose praise these honours gather round,
Receive this tribute from thy Country's hand;
Thou, who alike by Vice by Virtue crown'd,
Accept the homage of thy native land.
Receive this tribute from thy Country's hand;
Thou, who alike by Vice by Virtue crown'd,
Accept the homage of thy native land.
And though the mem'ry of thy deeds shall bloom,
When Sculpture's proudest boast shall be no more,
When urns, like what they guarded, meet their doom,
And Time o'er Adamant exerts his power;
When Sculpture's proudest boast shall be no more,
When urns, like what they guarded, meet their doom,
And Time o'er Adamant exerts his power;
And though thy modest goodness shuns its right,
Though it would blushing shrink from just applause,
Unseen would bless, like showers that fall by night,
And shew th' effect while it would hide the cause;
Though it would blushing shrink from just applause,
Unseen would bless, like showers that fall by night,
And shew th' effect while it would hide the cause;
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True to the awful charge by Justice giv'n,
Fame still will follow with her clarion high,
On Rapture's pinion bear the sound to Heav'n,
Nor suffer virtue such as thine to die:
Fame still will follow with her clarion high,
On Rapture's pinion bear the sound to Heav'n,
Nor suffer virtue such as thine to die:
And oh, that wond'rous virtue has been sung
In deathless lays by Briton's loftiest bard,
Hymn'd by a lyre that Seraphs might have strung,
For Hayley's Muse has giv'n her fair reward.
In deathless lays by Briton's loftiest bard,
Hymn'd by a lyre that Seraphs might have strung,
For Hayley's Muse has giv'n her fair reward.
But feeble all that mortal man can raise,
Feeble the trump that peals each honour'd name,
Feeble an Hayley's lyre, a nation's praise,
And all th' applausive notes of human fame.
Feeble the trump that peals each honour'd name,
Feeble an Hayley's lyre, a nation's praise,
And all th' applausive notes of human fame.
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Yet take our Pledge, though mix'd, alas, with earth:
Then hear the power that whispers in thy breast,
That voice from Heaven alone can speak thy worth;
A recompensing God will give the rest.
Then hear the power that whispers in thy breast,
That voice from Heaven alone can speak thy worth;
A recompensing God will give the rest.
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STANZAS On the DEATH of JONAS HANWAY, Esq.
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And thou, blest Hanway! long thy country's prayer,
Exulting now in kindred worlds above,
Coheir of Howard! deign the Muse to hear,
Though Angels greet thee with a Brother's love.
Exulting now in kindred worlds above,
Coheir of Howard! deign the Muse to hear,
Though Angels greet thee with a Brother's love.
Far though remov'd from this diminish'd earth,
A Crown of Glory beaming on thy brow,
The God who fix'd it there—to note thy worth,
Bids the rapt lyre with all thy spirit glow.
A Crown of Glory beaming on thy brow,
The God who fix'd it there—to note thy worth,
Bids the rapt lyre with all thy spirit glow.
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Warm in the way, behold what Myriads come,
While tears of extasy and anguish flow;
Their blended incense pouring on thy tomb,
To mark an Empire's joy, an Empire's woe.
While tears of extasy and anguish flow;
Their blended incense pouring on thy tomb,
To mark an Empire's joy, an Empire's woe.
Close to thy Howard—O congenial Shade!
On the pure Column shall thy bust be plac'd;
Though deep in ev'ry bosom is pourtray'd
Those holy records Time shall ne'er eraze.
On the pure Column shall thy bust be plac'd;
Though deep in ev'ry bosom is pourtray'd
Those holy records Time shall ne'er eraze.
The generous Plan that Public Virtue draws,
The fair Design that Charity imparts,
The Genius kindling in Religion's cause,
Cherish their Champion in our faithful hearts.
The fair Design that Charity imparts,
The Genius kindling in Religion's cause,
Cherish their Champion in our faithful hearts.
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At Hanway's bust the Magdalen shall kneel,
A chasten'd votary of Compassion's dome ,
With pious awe the holiest ardours feel,
And bless the Founder of her peaceful home.
A chasten'd votary of Compassion's dome ,
With pious awe the holiest ardours feel,
And bless the Founder of her peaceful home.
And oh, Philanthropy! thy heaven-rear'd fane
Shall oft avow the good man's zeal divine,
When bounty leads a poor and orphan train
To clasp their little arms round Hanway's shrine.
Shall oft avow the good man's zeal divine,
When bounty leads a poor and orphan train
To clasp their little arms round Hanway's shrine.
Transcendant energies of grace sublime,
Whose magic goodness work'd with double power,
Cradled the outcast babe who knew not crime,
And bade the sinner turn, and blush no more.
Whose magic goodness work'd with double power,
Cradled the outcast babe who knew not crime,
And bade the sinner turn, and blush no more.
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Ah, full of honours as of years, farewell!
Thus o'er thy ashes shall Britannia sigh;
Each age, each sex, thy excellence shall tell,
Which taught the young to live, the old to die!
Thus o'er thy ashes shall Britannia sigh;
Each age, each sex, thy excellence shall tell,
Which taught the young to live, the old to die!
| The Triumph of Benevolence | |