Poems on Various Subjects with some Essays in Prose, Letters to Correspondents, &c. and A Treatise on Health. By Samuel Bowden |
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THE DIE in CAPTIVITY. |
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 | Poems on Various Subjects |  |
180
THE DIE in CAPTIVITY.
INSCRIB'D TO Thomas Carew, Esq; of Crocomb, ON HIS Promoting the Laws for the Suppression of Gaming. Occasion'd by Seeing A compleat DIE inclos'd in an Ivory-Ball, by the ingenious Mr. James Clark, of Frome.
Long did the enchanting power of dice
Decoy the fickle youth to vice.
Fortune, and freedom, friends, and fame,
Fell martyrs to the darling game;
Even life and health become a prey
To the capricious chance of play;
'Till penal laws the vice restrain'd,
And th' epidemic madness chain'd.
Decoy the fickle youth to vice.
Fortune, and freedom, friends, and fame,
Fell martyrs to the darling game;
Even life and health become a prey
To the capricious chance of play;
'Till penal laws the vice restrain'd,
And th' epidemic madness chain'd.
181
Peace to that breast whose honest zeal,
Glow'd fervent for the public weal:
Who with unbiass'd, generous mind,
The spreading malady confin'd.
Glow'd fervent for the public weal:
Who with unbiass'd, generous mind,
The spreading malady confin'd.
This little emblematic sphere,
Is a just symbol of your care.
Within this hollow globe immur'd,
The fatal Die here lies secur'd.
Th' ingenious hand does here impart
The wonders of mechanic art.
By mathematic skill profound,
The hydra view in durance bound.
Beneath this ball imprison'd deep,
Thus sulphurs in their strata sleep;
Smooth carpets on the surface grow,
While mortal vapors lurk below.
Is a just symbol of your care.
Within this hollow globe immur'd,
The fatal Die here lies secur'd.
Th' ingenious hand does here impart
The wonders of mechanic art.
By mathematic skill profound,
The hydra view in durance bound.
Beneath this ball imprison'd deep,
Thus sulphurs in their strata sleep;
Smooth carpets on the surface grow,
While mortal vapors lurk below.
Six little windows let in day,
Thro' which you see the monster play;
But harmless here he plays in vain,
And only struggles with his chain,
As felons lock'd in Newgate's cell,
Peep thro' the lattice where they dwell.
So thro' its avenues of light,
The tyrant grins, but cannot bite,
Like Bajazet in iron cage,
In vain is all the captive's rage.
Venus, and Mars were thus beset,
And caught in Vulcan's wond'rous net.
Thus fevers, famine, plague and pox,
Lay hid within Pandora's box;
'Till Pyrrha's sire the engine burst,
And all mankind with evils curst.
Thro' which you see the monster play;
But harmless here he plays in vain,
And only struggles with his chain,
As felons lock'd in Newgate's cell,
Peep thro' the lattice where they dwell.
182
The tyrant grins, but cannot bite,
Like Bajazet in iron cage,
In vain is all the captive's rage.
Venus, and Mars were thus beset,
And caught in Vulcan's wond'rous net.
Thus fevers, famine, plague and pox,
Lay hid within Pandora's box;
'Till Pyrrha's sire the engine burst,
And all mankind with evils curst.
Long may the Die lie fetter'd here,
And never break the ivory sphere.
'Till the great globe with all its frame
Shall perish in the final flame.
And never break the ivory sphere.
'Till the great globe with all its frame
Shall perish in the final flame.
| Poems on Various Subjects | |