 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
47
An Epistle to a Gentleman at Oxford.
Where
Cam in silver streams thro' meadows glides,
Far from Clorinda's sight your friend resides;
Far from the happy scenes, which once I knew
Till the mean wretch his poison'd arrows threw,
And banish'd me from Langton, Loveling, You;
Fiends have like him a licence to do ill,
But good is neither in their pow'r or will.
Far from Clorinda's sight your friend resides;
Far from the happy scenes, which once I knew
Till the mean wretch his poison'd arrows threw,
And banish'd me from Langton, Loveling, You;
Fiends have like him a licence to do ill,
But good is neither in their pow'r or will.
Emblem of human life your letter came
With news, which tears of grief and rapture claim;
What!—tho' my conscious heart her charms commend,
My sorrow's greater for so dear friend:
Beauty gives pleasure like a wanton dream,
But friendship guides us thro' life's troubled stream;
Fair nymphs like syrens fleeting joys impart,
But a friend's welfare reaches to the heart.
With news, which tears of grief and rapture claim;
What!—tho' my conscious heart her charms commend,
My sorrow's greater for so dear friend:
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But friendship guides us thro' life's troubled stream;
Fair nymphs like syrens fleeting joys impart,
But a friend's welfare reaches to the heart.
When stormy passions in our bosoms roll,
And dark despair quite desolates the soul,
The balm of friendship heals the wounded breast,
And lulls our sorrows to a state of rest.
And dark despair quite desolates the soul,
The balm of friendship heals the wounded breast,
And lulls our sorrows to a state of rest.
Here free from tyranny (in pedants phrase,
Good discipline to point out wisdom's ways)
Careful of ease, and negligent of fame,
I sacrifice no pleasure for a name;
Enjoy the liberty which nature gave,
Nor condescend to be to fools a slave:
Sometimes peruse great Edward's shining page,
Which casts reproach on this inglorious age:
Or read with rapture Pope's immortal line,
In whose strong page so many beauties shine;
Who, arm'd for virtue, holds it for a rule,
To spare no noble knave or wealthy fool;
Or else in midnight revels care beguile,
And taste tumultuous pleasure for a while;
Then consecrate a bumper to my toast,
The fairest nymph the British isle can boast;
None blush to fall a victim to her eyes,
For Dashwood's name all excellence implies.
Now nymphs descended of a noble race
Will court the judgment of the Highborlace
Who by so nice a choice their taste approve,
As shows their hearts susceptible of love.
Good discipline to point out wisdom's ways)
Careful of ease, and negligent of fame,
I sacrifice no pleasure for a name;
Enjoy the liberty which nature gave,
Nor condescend to be to fools a slave:
49
Which casts reproach on this inglorious age:
Or read with rapture Pope's immortal line,
In whose strong page so many beauties shine;
Who, arm'd for virtue, holds it for a rule,
To spare no noble knave or wealthy fool;
Or else in midnight revels care beguile,
And taste tumultuous pleasure for a while;
Then consecrate a bumper to my toast,
The fairest nymph the British isle can boast;
None blush to fall a victim to her eyes,
For Dashwood's name all excellence implies.
Now nymphs descended of a noble race
Will court the judgment of the Highborlace
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As shows their hearts susceptible of love.
Thus all her leisure hours he muse employs,
While fancy paints imaginary joys,
Lives o'er the gayer scene of pleasure past,
And owns such happiness too great to last.
But long epistles writ in rhime displease,
And the last sentence gives the reader ease;
So with a wish sincere, my friend adieu,
That all life's blessings may descend on you.
While fancy paints imaginary joys,
Lives o'er the gayer scene of pleasure past,
And owns such happiness too great to last.
But long epistles writ in rhime displease,
And the last sentence gives the reader ease;
So with a wish sincere, my friend adieu,
That all life's blessings may descend on you.
Peter-House, Cambridge, August 24, 1735.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |