 | Poems on several occasions |  |
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INDUSTRY AND SLOTH.
A DIALOGUE.
SLOTH.Whence Industry this haste? come rest awhile,
And see how joy and pleasure round me smile.
Lay by the irksome spade and toiling plough,
Nor strive to aid th'inventive workman's brow;
I long to see thy back from labour bend,
To taste my harmless joys, my much-lov'd friend.
INDUSTRY.
Oh Sloth! thy wiles, tho' many as the sands,
Can't gain me to thy peace-destroying bands.
Are not thy offspring careless Negligence,
Supineness lazy, and dull Indolence?
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To Industry the kindness of a friend.
SLOTH.
Thy kindred I well know are active Speed,
Lively Alertness, and compelling Need;
But then Content is near ally'd to me,
Embrace my charms, lo! her I'll give to thee.
INDUSTRY.
How dare you claim that lovely fair as thine,
For sweet Content can ne'er with thee combine?
To chearful Labour long has she been wed,
And Industry's the produce of her bed.
SLOTH.
What Labour wed Content? I thought her mine.
INDUSTRY.
Rather let Dissipation own thy line:
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And how far distant from Content's pure name.
SLOTH.
Thy busy hands procure the sweating brow;
While mine both joy and pleasure me allow.
My parent Ease protects me from Care's sting;
Where lies the bliss that flows from Labour's spring?
INDUSTRY.
Tho' Ease and Dissipation scatter Care,
Alas! how soon flies each revolving year;
Like bubbles rise and fall thy gleams of joy,
But mine are pleasures which can never cloy!
SLOTH.
Do not thy works abound with anxious Care,
Wealth's produce, and the prostitute of Fear?
91
My works are such as keep the mind employ'd,
Thought-working toil fills up the empty void.
SLOTH.
Once as I saunter'd thro' the mazy grove,
Lo! there I spy'd the first-born of thy love,
Whose name was Skill, he, by Invention join'd,
Against my orders instantly combin'd:
By them thus brav'd, their cunning to withstand,
Forthwith I sent, endow'd with full command,
My downy chief, ev'n Indolence, to bear
Fair Slumber to me thro' the breezy air:
She came, I wrapt her in the lov'd disguise
Of lulling Rest; when lo! their active eyes
Sunk in their orbs; o'ercome with shame they fell,
And I the glorious deed enraptur'd tell!
INDUSTRY.
Sol had not op'd the chambers of the day,
When Diligence, next morn, thee to repay,
Awak'd my Skill from his delusive dream,
And bid Invention raise my drooping fame:
Thus fir'd they flew, arm'd with the wings of Speed,
To recompence thy treach'rous drowsy deed.
Assiduous thus, they came into my fields,
Renown'd for all which Nature grateful yields
To Cultivation: didst thou then beguile
My favour'd race, while Diligence with smile
Led bravely on? No; near high noon you came,
With base design, to stem their arduous flame:
But how you strove to introduce Deceit,
And how then foil'd, with triumph I'll relate!
When Diligence, next morn, thee to repay,
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And bid Invention raise my drooping fame:
Thus fir'd they flew, arm'd with the wings of Speed,
To recompence thy treach'rous drowsy deed.
Assiduous thus, they came into my fields,
Renown'd for all which Nature grateful yields
To Cultivation: didst thou then beguile
My favour'd race, while Diligence with smile
Led bravely on? No; near high noon you came,
With base design, to stem their arduous flame:
But how you strove to introduce Deceit,
And how then foil'd, with triumph I'll relate!
When as the noon-tide bid Refreshment cheer
My toiling sons, then all thy train drew near;
But chiefly Indolence, with gaping mien,
Hover'd around, while on the turfy green
The heroes sat, and, with a yawning grace,
Would have receiv'd them to her loath'd embrace;
Alertness this beheld, and straitway flew,
With hasty Speed, the conflict to renew.
Unequal combat; all thy sleepy train
Were quickly banish'd from the lovely plain.
E'er since confin'd to yonder wretched grounds,
Where curse primæval ev'ry where abounds;
Lo! there they sit, 'midst briars and foul thorn,
While noxious weeds thy very courts adorn.
There wretched Indigence does on thee wait,
With idle Rumour, to distend their hate
On me and mine; and, ah! that thoughtless thou,
Shouldst strive to bind the shadow of each vow.
My toiling sons, then all thy train drew near;
But chiefly Indolence, with gaping mien,
Hover'd around, while on the turfy green
The heroes sat, and, with a yawning grace,
Would have receiv'd them to her loath'd embrace;
Alertness this beheld, and straitway flew,
With hasty Speed, the conflict to renew.
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Were quickly banish'd from the lovely plain.
E'er since confin'd to yonder wretched grounds,
Where curse primæval ev'ry where abounds;
Lo! there they sit, 'midst briars and foul thorn,
While noxious weeds thy very courts adorn.
There wretched Indigence does on thee wait,
With idle Rumour, to distend their hate
On me and mine; and, ah! that thoughtless thou,
Shouldst strive to bind the shadow of each vow.
SLOTH.
Am not I absolute; my vot'ries free;
And is not Indigence ally'd to thee?
For Negligence receiv'd thy Skill's embrace,
And brought for Indigence as our joint race.
Then, as we're close ally'd, let Hatred go
From Industry, nor brand me as thy foe.
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An humble poverty, with will resign'd,
Oft brings forth virtues of the brightest kind.
To see man conquer, when by odds opprest,
A scene discovers worthy of the blest:
But when with Sloth sad Poverty is found,
When nought but rags and laziness abound,
Her I disown, nor will assistance give,
While she with thy vile train attempts to live.
Cease then these useless wiles to gain thy ends,
For Industry and Sloth can ne'er be friends.
| Poems on several occasions | |