Creation A Philosophical Poem. Demonstrating the Existence and Providence of a God. In Seven Books. By Sir Richard Blackmore. The Second Edition |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. | BOOK VII. |
 | Creation |  |
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BOOK VII.
The ARGUMENT.
The Introduction, in Imitation of King Solomon's
Ironical Concessions to the Libertine.
The Creator asserted from the Contemplation
of Animals. Of their Sense of Hearing,
Tasting, Smelling, and especially of Seeing.
Of the nobler Operations of Animals commonly
call'd Instincts. The Creator demonstrated
farther from the Contemplation of Human
Understanding, and the Perfections of the
Mind. The Vigour and Swiftness of Thought
Simple Perception. Reflexion. Of the Mind's
Power of Abstracting, Uniting, and Separating
Idæas. Of the Faculty of Reasoning, or
deducing one Proposition from two others. The
Power of human Understanding in inventing
skilful Works, and in other Instances. The
Mind's self-determining Power, or Freedom of
Choice. Her Power of electing an End, and
chusing Means to attain that End. Of controling
our Appetites, rejecting Pleasures, and
chusing Pain, Want, and Death it self, in
hopes of Happiness in a distant unknown State
of Life. The Conclusion, being a short Recapitulation
of the Whole; with a Hymn to the
Creator of the World.
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While rosie Youth its perfect Bloom maintains,
Thoughtless of Age, and ignorant of Pains;
While from the Heart rich Streams with Vigour spring,
Bound thro' their Roads, and dance their Vital Ring;
And Spirits, swift as Sun-beams thro' the Skies,
Dart thro' thy Nerves, and sparkle in thy Eyes;
While Nature with full Strength thy Sinews arms,
Glows in thy Cheeks, and triumphs in her Charms,
Indulge thy Instincts, and intent on Ease
With ravishing Delight thy Senses please.
Thoughtless of Age, and ignorant of Pains;
While from the Heart rich Streams with Vigour spring,
Bound thro' their Roads, and dance their Vital Ring;
And Spirits, swift as Sun-beams thro' the Skies,
Dart thro' thy Nerves, and sparkle in thy Eyes;
While Nature with full Strength thy Sinews arms,
Glows in thy Cheeks, and triumphs in her Charms,
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With ravishing Delight thy Senses please.
Since no black Clouds dishonour now the Sky,
No Winds, but balmy genial Zephirs, fly,
Eager embark, and to th' inviting Gale
Thy Pendants loose, and spread thy Silken Sail;
Sportive advance on Pleasure's wanton Tide
Thro' flow'ry Scenes, diffus'd on either Side.
No Winds, but balmy genial Zephirs, fly,
Eager embark, and to th' inviting Gale
Thy Pendants loose, and spread thy Silken Sail;
Sportive advance on Pleasure's wanton Tide
Thro' flow'ry Scenes, diffus'd on either Side.
See how the Hours their painted Wings display,
And draw, like harness'd Doves, the smiling Day!
Shall this glad Spring, when active Ferments climb,
These Months, the fairest Progeny of Time,
The brightest Parts in all Duration's Train,
Ask thee to seize thy Bliss, and ask in vain?
To their prevailing Smiles thy Heart resign,
And wisely make the proferr'd Blessings thine.
And draw, like harness'd Doves, the smiling Day!
Shall this glad Spring, when active Ferments climb,
These Months, the fairest Progeny of Time,
The brightest Parts in all Duration's Train,
Ask thee to seize thy Bliss, and ask in vain?
To their prevailing Smiles thy Heart resign,
And wisely make the proferr'd Blessings thine.
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Near some fair River, on reclining Land,
Midst Groves and Fountains let thy Palace stand.
Let Parian Walls unrivall'd Pomp display,
And gilded Tow'rs repel augmented Day.
Let Prophyry Pillars in high Rows uphold
The azure Roof enrich'd with Veins of Gold;
And the fair Creatures of the Sculptor's Art
Part grace thy Palace, and thy Garden Part.
Here let the scentful Spoils of opening Flow'rs
Breath from thy Citron Walks, and Jesmine Bow'rs.
Hesperian Blossoms in thy Bosom smell;
Let all Arabia in thy Garments dwell.
Midst Groves and Fountains let thy Palace stand.
Let Parian Walls unrivall'd Pomp display,
And gilded Tow'rs repel augmented Day.
Let Prophyry Pillars in high Rows uphold
The azure Roof enrich'd with Veins of Gold;
And the fair Creatures of the Sculptor's Art
Part grace thy Palace, and thy Garden Part.
Here let the scentful Spoils of opening Flow'rs
Breath from thy Citron Walks, and Jesmine Bow'rs.
Hesperian Blossoms in thy Bosom smell;
Let all Arabia in thy Garments dwell.
That costly Banquets and delicious Feasts
May crown thy Table to regale thy Guests,
Ransack the Hills, and ev'ry Park and Wood,
The Lake unpeople, and despoil the Flood.
Procure each feather'd Luxury, that beats
Its native Air, or from its Clime retreats,
And by alternate Transmigration flies
O'er interposing Seas, and changes Skies:
Let artful Cooks to raise their Relish strive,
With all the spicy Tastes the Indies give:
May crown thy Table to regale thy Guests,
Ransack the Hills, and ev'ry Park and Wood,
The Lake unpeople, and despoil the Flood.
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Its native Air, or from its Clime retreats,
And by alternate Transmigration flies
O'er interposing Seas, and changes Skies:
Let artful Cooks to raise their Relish strive,
With all the spicy Tastes the Indies give:
While Wreaths of Roses round thy Temples twine,
Enjoy the sparkling Blessings of the Vine;
Let the warm Nectar all thy Veins inspire,
Solace thy Heart, and raise the Vital Fire.
Enjoy the sparkling Blessings of the Vine;
Let the warm Nectar all thy Veins inspire,
Solace thy Heart, and raise the Vital Fire.
Next let the Charms of heav'nly Musick cheer
Thy Soul with Rapture list'ning in thy Ear.
Let tuneful Chiefs exert their Skill, to show
What artful Joys from manag'd Sound can flow:
Now hear the melting Voice and trembling String,
Let Pepuch touch the Lyre, and Margarita sing.
Thy Soul with Rapture list'ning in thy Ear.
Let tuneful Chiefs exert their Skill, to show
What artful Joys from manag'd Sound can flow:
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Let Pepuch touch the Lyre, and Margarita sing.
While wanton Ferments swell thy glowing Veins,
To the warm Passion give the slacken'd Reins.
Thy gazing Eyes with blooming Beauty feast,
Receive its Dart, and hug it in thy Breast.
From Fair to Fair with gay Inconstance rove,
Taste ev'ry Sweet, and cloy thy Soul with Love.
To the warm Passion give the slacken'd Reins.
Thy gazing Eyes with blooming Beauty feast,
Receive its Dart, and hug it in thy Breast.
From Fair to Fair with gay Inconstance rove,
Taste ev'ry Sweet, and cloy thy Soul with Love.
But midst thy boundless Joys, unbridled Youth,
Remember still this sad, but certain Truth,
That thou at last severely must account;
To what will thy congested Guilt amount!
Remember still this sad, but certain Truth,
That thou at last severely must account;
To what will thy congested Guilt amount!
Allow a God; he must our Deeds regard;
A Righteous Judge must punish and reward:
Yet that he reers no high Tribunal here
Impartial Justice to dispense, is clear.
His Sword unpunish'd Criminals defie,
Nor by his Thunder does the Tyrant die:
While Heav'ns Adorers, prest with Want and Pain,
Their unrewarded Innocence maintain.
See his Right Hand he unextended keeps,
Tho' long provok'd, th' unactive Vengeance sleeps.
A Righteous Judge must punish and reward:
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Impartial Justice to dispense, is clear.
His Sword unpunish'd Criminals defie,
Nor by his Thunder does the Tyrant die:
While Heav'ns Adorers, prest with Want and Pain,
Their unrewarded Innocence maintain.
See his Right Hand he unextended keeps,
Tho' long provok'd, th' unactive Vengeance sleeps.
Hence we a World succeeding this infer,
Where he his Justice will assert; prepare
To stand arraign'd before his awful Bar.
Where wilt thou hide thy ignominious Head?
Shudd'ring with Horror what hast thou to plead?
Despairing Wretch, he'll frown thee from his Throne,
And by his Wrath will make his Being known.
Where he his Justice will assert; prepare
To stand arraign'd before his awful Bar.
Where wilt thou hide thy ignominious Head?
Shudd'ring with Horror what hast thou to plead?
Despairing Wretch, he'll frown thee from his Throne,
And by his Wrath will make his Being known.
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Yet more Religion's Empire to support,
To push the Foe, and make our last Effort;
Let Beings with Attention be review'd,
Which, not alone with vital Power endu'd,
Can move themselves, can Organiz'd perceive
The various Strokes, which various Objects give.
By Laws Mechanic can Lucretius tell
How living Creatures see, or hear, or smell?
How is the Image to the Sense convey'd?
On the tun'd Organ how the Impulse made?
How, and by which more noble Part the Brain
Perceives th'Idea, can their Schools explain?
'Tis clear, in that Superior Seat alone
The Judge of Objects has her secret Throne.
Since, a Limb sever'd by the wounding Steel,
We still may Pain, as in that Member, feel.
To push the Foe, and make our last Effort;
Let Beings with Attention be review'd,
Which, not alone with vital Power endu'd,
Can move themselves, can Organiz'd perceive
The various Strokes, which various Objects give.
By Laws Mechanic can Lucretius tell
How living Creatures see, or hear, or smell?
How is the Image to the Sense convey'd?
On the tun'd Organ how the Impulse made?
How, and by which more noble Part the Brain
Perceives th'Idea, can their Schools explain?
'Tis clear, in that Superior Seat alone
The Judge of Objects has her secret Throne.
Since, a Limb sever'd by the wounding Steel,
We still may Pain, as in that Member, feel.
Mark how the Spirits watchful in the Ear
Seize undulating Sounds, and catch the vocal Air.
Observe how others, that the Tongue possess,
Which Salts of various Shape and Size impress,
From their affected Fibres upward dart,
And diff'rent Tastes by diff'rent Strokes impart.
Remark, how those, which in the Nostril dwell,
That artful Organ destin'd for the Smell,
By Vapours mov'd their Passage upward take,
And Scents unpleasant or delightful make.
Seize undulating Sounds, and catch the vocal Air.
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Which Salts of various Shape and Size impress,
From their affected Fibres upward dart,
And diff'rent Tastes by diff'rent Strokes impart.
Remark, how those, which in the Nostril dwell,
That artful Organ destin'd for the Smell,
By Vapours mov'd their Passage upward take,
And Scents unpleasant or delightful make.
If in the Tongue, the Nostril and the Ear,
No Skill, no Wisdom, no Design appear,
Lucretians, next regard the Curious Eye,
Can you no Art, no Prudence there descry?
By your Mechanic Principles in vain
The Sense of Sight you labour to explain.
You say, from all the Objects of the Eye,
Thin colour'd Shapes uninterrupted fly:
As wandring Ghosts, so ancient Poets feign,
Skim thro' the Air, and sweep th' Infernal Plain,
So these light Figures roam by Day and Night,
But undiscover'd, 'till betray'd by Light.
No Skill, no Wisdom, no Design appear,
Lucretians, next regard the Curious Eye,
Can you no Art, no Prudence there descry?
By your Mechanic Principles in vain
The Sense of Sight you labour to explain.
You say, from all the Objects of the Eye,
Thin colour'd Shapes uninterrupted fly:
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Skim thro' the Air, and sweep th' Infernal Plain,
So these light Figures roam by Day and Night,
But undiscover'd, 'till betray'd by Light.
But can corporeal Forms with so much Ease
Meet in their Flight a thousand Images,
And yet no Conflict, no Collisive Force
Break their thin Texture, and disturb their Course?
What fix'd their Parts, and made them so cohere,
That they the Picture of the Object wear?
What is the Shape, that from a Body flies?
What moves, what propagates, what multiplies
And paints one Image in a thousand Eyes?
When to the Eye the crowding Figures pass
How in a Point can all possess a Place,
And lye distinguish'd in such narrow Space?
Since all Perception in the Brain is made,
(Tho' where and how was never yet display'd)
And since so great a distance lies between
The Eye-ball, and the Seat of Sense within,
While in the Eye th'arrested Object stays,
Tell what th' Idea to the Brain conveys?
Meet in their Flight a thousand Images,
And yet no Conflict, no Collisive Force
Break their thin Texture, and disturb their Course?
What fix'd their Parts, and made them so cohere,
That they the Picture of the Object wear?
What is the Shape, that from a Body flies?
What moves, what propagates, what multiplies
And paints one Image in a thousand Eyes?
When to the Eye the crowding Figures pass
How in a Point can all possess a Place,
And lye distinguish'd in such narrow Space?
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(Tho' where and how was never yet display'd)
And since so great a distance lies between
The Eye-ball, and the Seat of Sense within,
While in the Eye th'arrested Object stays,
Tell what th' Idea to the Brain conveys?
You say, the Spirits in the Optick Nerve,
Mov'd by the intercepted Image, serve
To bear th' Impression to the Brain, and give
The Stroke, by which the Object we perceive.
Mov'd by the intercepted Image, serve
To bear th' Impression to the Brain, and give
The Stroke, by which the Object we perceive.
How does the Brain touch'd with a diff'rent Stroke
The Whale distinguish from the Marble Rock;
Pronounce This Tree a Cedar, That an Oak?
Can Spirits weak or stronger Blows express,
One Body Greater, and another Less?
How do they make us Space and Distance know?
At once distinct a thousand Objects show?
The Whale distinguish from the Marble Rock;
Pronounce This Tree a Cedar, That an Oak?
Can Spirits weak or stronger Blows express,
One Body Greater, and another Less?
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At once distinct a thousand Objects show?
Lucretians, now proceed; contemplate all
The nobler Actions of the Animal,
Which Instinct some, some lower Reason call.
Say, what Contexture did by Chance arrive,
Which to Brute Creatures did that Instinct give
Whence they at Sight discern and dread their Foe,
Their Food distinguish, and their Physick know?
By which the Lyon learns to hunt his Prey,
And the weak Herd to fear and fly away;
The Birds contrive Inimitable Nests,
And Dens are haunted by the Forest Beasts;
Whence some in Subterranean Dwellings hide,
These in the Rocks, and those in Woods abide;
Whence tim'rous Beasts thro' Hills and Lawns pursu'd,
By artful Shifts the rav'ning Foe elude.
The nobler Actions of the Animal,
Which Instinct some, some lower Reason call.
Say, what Contexture did by Chance arrive,
Which to Brute Creatures did that Instinct give
Whence they at Sight discern and dread their Foe,
Their Food distinguish, and their Physick know?
By which the Lyon learns to hunt his Prey,
And the weak Herd to fear and fly away;
The Birds contrive Inimitable Nests,
And Dens are haunted by the Forest Beasts;
Whence some in Subterranean Dwellings hide,
These in the Rocks, and those in Woods abide;
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By artful Shifts the rav'ning Foe elude.
What various Wonders may Observers see
In a small Insect, the sagacious Bee!
Mark, how the little untaught Builders square
Their Rooms, and in the Dark their Lodgings reer!
Nature's Mechanicks they unwearied strive,
And fill with curious Labyrinths the Hive.
See, what bright Strokes of Architecture shine
Thro' the whole Frame, what Beauty, what Design!
Each odoriferous Cell, and waxen Tow'r,
The yellow Pillage of the rifled Flow'r,
Has twice three Sides, the only Figure fit
To which the Lab'rers may their Stores commit
Without the Loss of Matter, or of Room,
In all the wondrous Structure of the Comb.
Next view, Spectator, with admiring Eyes,
In what just Order all th' Apartments rise!
So regular their equal Sides cohere,
Th' adapted Angles so each other bear,
That by Mechanic Rules refin'd and bold
They are at once upheld, at once uphold.
Does not this Skill ev'n vye with Reason's Reach?
Can Euclid more, can more Palladio teach?
Each verdant Hill th' industrious Chymists climb,
Extract the Riches of the blooming Thyme,
And provident of Winter long before,
They stock their Caves, and hoard their flowry Store.
In Peace they rule their State with prudent Care,
Wisely defend, or wage offensive War.
Maro, these Wonders offer'd to his Thought,
Felt his known Ardor, and the Rapture caught;
Then rais'd his Voice, and in Immortal Lays
Did, high as Heav'n, the Insect Nation raise.
In a small Insect, the sagacious Bee!
Mark, how the little untaught Builders square
Their Rooms, and in the Dark their Lodgings reer!
Nature's Mechanicks they unwearied strive,
And fill with curious Labyrinths the Hive.
See, what bright Strokes of Architecture shine
Thro' the whole Frame, what Beauty, what Design!
Each odoriferous Cell, and waxen Tow'r,
The yellow Pillage of the rifled Flow'r,
Has twice three Sides, the only Figure fit
To which the Lab'rers may their Stores commit
Without the Loss of Matter, or of Room,
In all the wondrous Structure of the Comb.
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In what just Order all th' Apartments rise!
So regular their equal Sides cohere,
Th' adapted Angles so each other bear,
That by Mechanic Rules refin'd and bold
They are at once upheld, at once uphold.
Does not this Skill ev'n vye with Reason's Reach?
Can Euclid more, can more Palladio teach?
Each verdant Hill th' industrious Chymists climb,
Extract the Riches of the blooming Thyme,
And provident of Winter long before,
They stock their Caves, and hoard their flowry Store.
In Peace they rule their State with prudent Care,
Wisely defend, or wage offensive War.
Maro, these Wonders offer'd to his Thought,
Felt his known Ardor, and the Rapture caught;
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Did, high as Heav'n, the Insect Nation raise.
If, Epicurus, this whole artful Frame
Does not a wise Creator's Hand proclaim;
To view the Intellectual World advance;
Is this the Creature too of Fate or Chance?
Turn on it self thy God-like Reason's Ray,
Thy Mind contemplate, and its Powers survey.
Does not a wise Creator's Hand proclaim;
To view the Intellectual World advance;
Is this the Creature too of Fate or Chance?
Turn on it self thy God-like Reason's Ray,
Thy Mind contemplate, and its Powers survey.
What high Perfections grace the human Mind,
In Flesh imprison'd, and to Earth confin'd!
What Vigour has she? What a piercing Sight?
Strong as the Winds, and sprightly as the Light?
She moves unweary'd, as the active Fire,
And, like the Flame, her Flights to Heav'n aspire.
By Day her Thoughts in never-ceasing Streams
Flow clear, by Night they strive in troubled Dreams.
She draws ten thousand Landschapes in the Brain,
Dresses of airy Forms an endless Train,
Which all her Intellectual Scenes prepare,
Enter by turns the Stage, and disappear.
To the remoter Regions of the Sky
Her swift-wing'd Thought can in a Moment fly;
Climb to the Heights of Heav'n, to be employ'd
In viewing thence th'Interminable Void.
Can look beyond the Stream of Time, to see
The stagnant Ocean of Eternity.
Thoughts in an Instant thro' the Zodiack run,
A Year's long Journey for the lab'ring Sun:
Then down they shoot, as swift as darting Light,
Nor can opposing Clouds retard their Flight:
Thro' Subterranean Vaults with Ease they sweep,
And search the hidden Wonders of the Deep.
In Flesh imprison'd, and to Earth confin'd!
What Vigour has she? What a piercing Sight?
Strong as the Winds, and sprightly as the Light?
She moves unweary'd, as the active Fire,
And, like the Flame, her Flights to Heav'n aspire.
By Day her Thoughts in never-ceasing Streams
Flow clear, by Night they strive in troubled Dreams.
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Dresses of airy Forms an endless Train,
Which all her Intellectual Scenes prepare,
Enter by turns the Stage, and disappear.
To the remoter Regions of the Sky
Her swift-wing'd Thought can in a Moment fly;
Climb to the Heights of Heav'n, to be employ'd
In viewing thence th'Interminable Void.
Can look beyond the Stream of Time, to see
The stagnant Ocean of Eternity.
Thoughts in an Instant thro' the Zodiack run,
A Year's long Journey for the lab'ring Sun:
Then down they shoot, as swift as darting Light,
Nor can opposing Clouds retard their Flight:
Thro' Subterranean Vaults with Ease they sweep,
And search the hidden Wonders of the Deep.
When Man with Reason dignify'd is born,
No Images his naked Mind adorn:
No Sciences or Arts enrich his Brain,
Nor Fancy yet displays her pictur'd Train.
He no Innate Ideas can discern
Of Knowledge destitute, tho' apt to learn.
Our Intellectual, like the Body's Eye,
Whilst in the Womb, no Object can descry;
Yet is dispos'd to entertain the Light,
And judge of Things when offer'd to the Sight.
When Objects thro' the Senses Passage gain,
And fill with various Imag'ry the Brain,
Th' Ideas, which the Mind does thence perceive,
To Think and Know the first Occasion give.
Did she not use the Senses Ministry,
Nor ever Taste, or Smell, or Hear, or See,
Cou'd she possest of Pow'r perceptive be?
Wretches, who sightless into Being came,
Of Light or Colour no Idea frame.
Then grant a Man his Being did commence,
Deny'd by Nature each external Sense,
These Ports unopen'd, diffident we guess,
Th' unconscious Soul no Image could possess.
Tho' what in such a State the restless Train
Of Spirits would produce, we ask in vain.
The Mind proceeds, and to Reflection goes,
Perceives she does Perceive, and knows she Knows.
Reviews her Acts, and does from thence conclude
She is with Reason and with Choice endu'd.
No Images his naked Mind adorn:
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Nor Fancy yet displays her pictur'd Train.
He no Innate Ideas can discern
Of Knowledge destitute, tho' apt to learn.
Our Intellectual, like the Body's Eye,
Whilst in the Womb, no Object can descry;
Yet is dispos'd to entertain the Light,
And judge of Things when offer'd to the Sight.
When Objects thro' the Senses Passage gain,
And fill with various Imag'ry the Brain,
Th' Ideas, which the Mind does thence perceive,
To Think and Know the first Occasion give.
Did she not use the Senses Ministry,
Nor ever Taste, or Smell, or Hear, or See,
Cou'd she possest of Pow'r perceptive be?
Wretches, who sightless into Being came,
Of Light or Colour no Idea frame.
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Deny'd by Nature each external Sense,
These Ports unopen'd, diffident we guess,
Th' unconscious Soul no Image could possess.
Tho' what in such a State the restless Train
Of Spirits would produce, we ask in vain.
The Mind proceeds, and to Reflection goes,
Perceives she does Perceive, and knows she Knows.
Reviews her Acts, and does from thence conclude
She is with Reason and with Choice endu'd.
From Individuals of distinguish'd Kind,
By her abstracting Faculty, the Mind
Precisely General Natures can conceive,
And Birth to Notions Universal give.
The various Modes of Things distinctly shows,
A pure Respect, a nice Relation knows,
And sees whence each Respect and each Relation flows.
By her abstracting Pow'r in Pieces takes
The Mixt and Compound Whole, which Nature makes.
On Objects of the Senses she refines,
Beings by Nature separated joyns,
And severs Qualities, which that combines.
The Mind from Things repugnant, some Respects
In which their Natures are alike, selects,
And can some Difference and Unlikeness see,
In Things, which seem entirely to agree;
She does Distinguish here, and there Unite,
The Mark of Judgment That, and This of Wit.
By her abstracting Faculty, the Mind
Precisely General Natures can conceive,
And Birth to Notions Universal give.
The various Modes of Things distinctly shows,
A pure Respect, a nice Relation knows,
And sees whence each Respect and each Relation flows.
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The Mixt and Compound Whole, which Nature makes.
On Objects of the Senses she refines,
Beings by Nature separated joyns,
And severs Qualities, which that combines.
The Mind from Things repugnant, some Respects
In which their Natures are alike, selects,
And can some Difference and Unlikeness see,
In Things, which seem entirely to agree;
She does Distinguish here, and there Unite,
The Mark of Judgment That, and This of Wit.
As she can reckon, sep'rate and compare,
Conceive what Order, Rule, Proportion are,
So from one Thought she still can more infer.
Maxim from Maxim can by force express,
And make discover'd Truths associate Truths confess:
On plain Foundations, which our Reason lays,
She can stupendous Frames of Science raise:
Notion on Notion built will tow'ring rise,
Till th' Intellectual Fabricks reach the Skies.
The Mathematic Axioms, which appear
By Scientific Demonstration clear,
The Master Builders on two Pillars reer.
From two plain Problems by laborious Thought
Is all the wondrous Superstructure wrought.
Conceive what Order, Rule, Proportion are,
So from one Thought she still can more infer.
Maxim from Maxim can by force express,
And make discover'd Truths associate Truths confess:
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She can stupendous Frames of Science raise:
Notion on Notion built will tow'ring rise,
Till th' Intellectual Fabricks reach the Skies.
The Mathematic Axioms, which appear
By Scientific Demonstration clear,
The Master Builders on two Pillars reer.
From two plain Problems by laborious Thought
Is all the wondrous Superstructure wrought.
The Soul, as mention'd, can her self inspect,
By Acts reflex can view her Acts direct;
A Task too hard for Sense, for tho' the Eye
Its own reflected Image can descry,
Yet it ne'er saw the Sight, by which it sees,
Vision can shew no colour'd Images.
By Acts reflex can view her Acts direct;
A Task too hard for Sense, for tho' the Eye
Its own reflected Image can descry,
Yet it ne'er saw the Sight, by which it sees,
Vision can shew no colour'd Images.
The Mind's Tribunal can Reports reject
Made by the Senses, and their Faults correct.
The Magnitude of distant Stars it knows,
Which erring Sense, as twinkling Tapers, shows.
Crooked the Shape our cheated Eye believes,
Which thro' a double Medium it receives;
Superior Mind does a right Judgment make,
Declares it strait, and mends the Eye's Mistake.
Made by the Senses, and their Faults correct.
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Which erring Sense, as twinkling Tapers, shows.
Crooked the Shape our cheated Eye believes,
Which thro' a double Medium it receives;
Superior Mind does a right Judgment make,
Declares it strait, and mends the Eye's Mistake.
Where dwells this Sovereign Arbitrary Soul,
Which does the human Animal controul,
Inform each Part, and agitate the whole?
O'er Ministerial Senses does preside,
To all their various Provinces divide,
Each Member move, and ev'ry Motion guide.
Which by her secret uncontested Nod
Her Messengers the Spirits sends abroad,
Thro' ev'ry nervous Pass, and ev'ry vital Road.
To fetch from ev'ry distant Part a Train,
Of outward Objects to enrich the Brain.
Where sits this bright Intelligence enthron'd,
With numberless Ideas pour'd around?
Where Wisdom, Prudence, Contemplation stand,
And busie Fantoms watch her high Command:
Where Sciences and Arts in order wait,
And Truths Divine compose her Godlike State.
Can the dissecting Steel the Brain display,
And the august Apartment open lay,
Where this great Queen still chuses to reside
In Intellectual Pomp, and bright Ideal Pride?
Or can the Eye assisted by the Glass
Discern the strait, but hospitable Place,
In which ten thousand Images remain,
Without Confusion, and their Rank maintain?
Which does the human Animal controul,
Inform each Part, and agitate the whole?
O'er Ministerial Senses does preside,
To all their various Provinces divide,
Each Member move, and ev'ry Motion guide.
Which by her secret uncontested Nod
Her Messengers the Spirits sends abroad,
Thro' ev'ry nervous Pass, and ev'ry vital Road.
To fetch from ev'ry distant Part a Train,
Of outward Objects to enrich the Brain.
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With numberless Ideas pour'd around?
Where Wisdom, Prudence, Contemplation stand,
And busie Fantoms watch her high Command:
Where Sciences and Arts in order wait,
And Truths Divine compose her Godlike State.
Can the dissecting Steel the Brain display,
And the august Apartment open lay,
Where this great Queen still chuses to reside
In Intellectual Pomp, and bright Ideal Pride?
Or can the Eye assisted by the Glass
Discern the strait, but hospitable Place,
In which ten thousand Images remain,
Without Confusion, and their Rank maintain?
How does this wondrous Principle of Thought
Perceive the Object by the Senses brought?
What Philosophic Builder will essay
By Rules Mechanic to unfold the way
How a Machine must be dispos'd to think,
Ideas how to frame, and how to link?
Tell us, Lucretius, Epicurus, tell,
And you in Wit unrival'd shall excel,
How thro' the outward Sense the Object flies,
How in the Soul her Images arise.
What Thinking, what Perception is, explain;
What all the airy Creatures of the Brain;
How to the Mind a Thought reflected goes,
And how the conscious Engine knows it Knows.
Perceive the Object by the Senses brought?
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By Rules Mechanic to unfold the way
How a Machine must be dispos'd to think,
Ideas how to frame, and how to link?
Tell us, Lucretius, Epicurus, tell,
And you in Wit unrival'd shall excel,
How thro' the outward Sense the Object flies,
How in the Soul her Images arise.
What Thinking, what Perception is, explain;
What all the airy Creatures of the Brain;
How to the Mind a Thought reflected goes,
And how the conscious Engine knows it Knows.
The Mind a thousand skilful Works can frame,
Can form deep Projects to procure her Aim.
Merchants for Eastern Pearl and Golden Oar
To cross the Main, and reach the Indian Shore,
Prepare the floating Ship, and spread the Sail,
To catch the Impulse of the breathing Gale.
Warriors in framing Schemes their Wisdom show,
To disappoint, or circumvent the Foe.
Th' ambitious Statesman labours dark Designs,
Now open Force employs, now undermines:
By Paths direct his End he now pursues,
By side approaches now, and slanting views.
Can form deep Projects to procure her Aim.
Merchants for Eastern Pearl and Golden Oar
To cross the Main, and reach the Indian Shore,
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To catch the Impulse of the breathing Gale.
Warriors in framing Schemes their Wisdom show,
To disappoint, or circumvent the Foe.
Th' ambitious Statesman labours dark Designs,
Now open Force employs, now undermines:
By Paths direct his End he now pursues,
By side approaches now, and slanting views.
See, how resistless Orators perswade,
Draw out their Forces, and the Heart invade:
Touch ev'ry Spring and Movement of the Soul,
This Appetite excite, and That controul.
Their pow'rful Voice can flying Troops arrest,
Confirm the weak, and melt th' obdurate Breast;
Chace from the sad their melancholly Air,
Sooth Discontent, and solace anxious Care.
When threat'ning Tides of Rage and Anger rise,
Usurp the Throne, and Reason's Sway despise,
When in the Seats of Life this Tempest reigns,
Beats thro' the Heart, and drives along the Veins,
See, Eloquence with Force perswasive binds
The restless Waves, and charms the warring Winds:
Resistless bids tumultuous Uproar cease,
Recals the Calm, and gives the Bosom Peace.
Draw out their Forces, and the Heart invade:
Touch ev'ry Spring and Movement of the Soul,
This Appetite excite, and That controul.
Their pow'rful Voice can flying Troops arrest,
Confirm the weak, and melt th' obdurate Breast;
Chace from the sad their melancholly Air,
Sooth Discontent, and solace anxious Care.
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Usurp the Throne, and Reason's Sway despise,
When in the Seats of Life this Tempest reigns,
Beats thro' the Heart, and drives along the Veins,
See, Eloquence with Force perswasive binds
The restless Waves, and charms the warring Winds:
Resistless bids tumultuous Uproar cease,
Recals the Calm, and gives the Bosom Peace.
Did not the Mind, on heav'nly Joy intent,
The various Kinds of Harmony invent?
She the Theorbo, she the Viol found,
And all the moving Melody of Sound.
She gave to breathing Tubes a Pow'r unknown,
To speak inspir'd with Accents not their own.
Taught tuneful Sons of Music how to sing,
How by Vibrations of th' extended String,
And manag'd Impulse on the suff'ring Air,
T' extort the Rapture, and delight the Ear.
The various Kinds of Harmony invent?
She the Theorbo, she the Viol found,
And all the moving Melody of Sound.
She gave to breathing Tubes a Pow'r unknown,
To speak inspir'd with Accents not their own.
Taught tuneful Sons of Music how to sing,
How by Vibrations of th' extended String,
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T' extort the Rapture, and delight the Ear.
See, how Celestial Reason does command
The ready Pencil in the Painter's Hand;
Whose Strokes affect with Nature's self to vy,
And with false Life amuse the doubtful Eye.
Behold the strong Emotions of the Mind
Exerted in the Eyes, and in the Face design'd.
Such is the Artist's wondrous Pow'r, that we
Ev'n pictur'd Souls, and colour'd Passions see,
Where without Words (peculiar Eloquence)
The busie Figures speak their various Sense.
What living Face does more Distress or Woe,
More finish'd Shame, Confusion, Horror know,
Than what the Masters of the Pencil show?
The ready Pencil in the Painter's Hand;
Whose Strokes affect with Nature's self to vy,
And with false Life amuse the doubtful Eye.
Behold the strong Emotions of the Mind
Exerted in the Eyes, and in the Face design'd.
Such is the Artist's wondrous Pow'r, that we
Ev'n pictur'd Souls, and colour'd Passions see,
Where without Words (peculiar Eloquence)
The busie Figures speak their various Sense.
What living Face does more Distress or Woe,
More finish'd Shame, Confusion, Horror know,
Than what the Masters of the Pencil show?
Mean time the Chizel with the Pencil vies;
The Sister Arts dispute the doubtful Prize.
Are human Limbs, ev'n in their vital State,
More just and strong, more free and delicate,
Than Bounorota's curious Tools create?
He to the Rock can vital Instincts give,
Which thus transform'd can rage, rejoice or grieve.
His skilful Hand does Marble Veins inspire
Now with the Lover's, now the Hero's Fire.
So well th' imagin'd Actors play their Part,
The silent Hypocrites such Pow'r exert,
That Passions, which they feel not, they bestow,
Afright us with their Fear, and melt us with their Woe.
There Niobe leans weeping on her Arm,
How her sad Looks, and beauteous Sorrow charm?
See, here a Venus soft in Parian Stone,
A Pallas there to ancient Fables known;
That from the Rock arose, not from the Main,
This not from Jove's, but from the Sculptor's Brain.
The Sister Arts dispute the doubtful Prize.
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More just and strong, more free and delicate,
Than Bounorota's curious Tools create?
He to the Rock can vital Instincts give,
Which thus transform'd can rage, rejoice or grieve.
His skilful Hand does Marble Veins inspire
Now with the Lover's, now the Hero's Fire.
So well th' imagin'd Actors play their Part,
The silent Hypocrites such Pow'r exert,
That Passions, which they feel not, they bestow,
Afright us with their Fear, and melt us with their Woe.
There Niobe leans weeping on her Arm,
How her sad Looks, and beauteous Sorrow charm?
See, here a Venus soft in Parian Stone,
A Pallas there to ancient Fables known;
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This not from Jove's, but from the Sculptor's Brain.
Admire the Carver's fertile Energy,
With ravish'd Eyes his happy Off-spring see.
What beauteous Figures by th' unrival'd Art
Of British Gibbons from the Cedar start?
He makes that Tree unnative Charms assume,
Usurp gay Honours, and another's Bloom.
The various Fruits, which different Climates bear,
And all the Pride the Fields and Gardens wear:
While from unjuicy Limbs without a Root
New Buds devis'd, and leafy Branches shoot.
With ravish'd Eyes his happy Off-spring see.
What beauteous Figures by th' unrival'd Art
Of British Gibbons from the Cedar start?
He makes that Tree unnative Charms assume,
Usurp gay Honours, and another's Bloom.
The various Fruits, which different Climates bear,
And all the Pride the Fields and Gardens wear:
While from unjuicy Limbs without a Root
New Buds devis'd, and leafy Branches shoot.
As human Kind can by an Act direct
Perceive and Know, then Reason and Reflect:
So the Self-moving Spring has Power to Chuse,
These Methods to reject, and Those to use.
She can design and prosecute an End,
Exert her Vigour, or her Act suspend.
Free from the Insults of all foreign Power,
She does her Godlike Liberty secure:
Her Right and high Prerogative maintains,
Impatient of the Yoke, and scorns coercive Chains.
She can her airy Train of Forms disband,
And makes new Levées at her own Command.
O'er her Ideas Sovereign she presides,
At Pleasure These unites, and Those divides.
Perceive and Know, then Reason and Reflect:
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These Methods to reject, and Those to use.
She can design and prosecute an End,
Exert her Vigour, or her Act suspend.
Free from the Insults of all foreign Power,
She does her Godlike Liberty secure:
Her Right and high Prerogative maintains,
Impatient of the Yoke, and scorns coercive Chains.
She can her airy Train of Forms disband,
And makes new Levées at her own Command.
O'er her Ideas Sovereign she presides,
At Pleasure These unites, and Those divides.
The ready Phantomes at her Nod advance,
And form the busie Intellectual Dance:
While her fair Scenes to vary, or supply,
She singles out fit Images, that lye
In Memory's Records, which faithful hold
Objects immense in secret Marks inroll'd,
The sleeping Forms at her Command awake,
And now return, and now their Cells forsake;
On active Fancy's crowded Theater,
As she directs, they rise or disappear.
And form the busie Intellectual Dance:
While her fair Scenes to vary, or supply,
She singles out fit Images, that lye
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Objects immense in secret Marks inroll'd,
The sleeping Forms at her Command awake,
And now return, and now their Cells forsake;
On active Fancy's crowded Theater,
As she directs, they rise or disappear.
Objects, which thro' the Senses make their Way,
And just Impressions to the Soul convey,
Give her Occasion first her self to move,
And to exert her Hatred, or her Love.
Ideas, which to some impulsive seem,
Act not upon the Mind, but That on them.
When she to foreign Objects Audience gives,
Their Strokes and Motions in the Brain perceives,
As these Perceptions we Ideas name,
From her own Pow'r and active Nature came,
So when discern'd by Intellectual Light,
Her self her various Passions does excite,
To Ill her Hate, to Good her Appetite:
To shun the first, the latter to procure,
She chuses Means by free Elective Pow'r.
She can their various Habitudes survey,
Debate their Fitness, and their Merit weigh,
And while the Means suggested she compares,
She to the Rivals This or That prefers.
And just Impressions to the Soul convey,
Give her Occasion first her self to move,
And to exert her Hatred, or her Love.
Ideas, which to some impulsive seem,
Act not upon the Mind, but That on them.
When she to foreign Objects Audience gives,
Their Strokes and Motions in the Brain perceives,
As these Perceptions we Ideas name,
From her own Pow'r and active Nature came,
339
Her self her various Passions does excite,
To Ill her Hate, to Good her Appetite:
To shun the first, the latter to procure,
She chuses Means by free Elective Pow'r.
She can their various Habitudes survey,
Debate their Fitness, and their Merit weigh,
And while the Means suggested she compares,
She to the Rivals This or That prefers.
By her superior Pow'r the Reas'ning Soul
Can each reluctant Appetite controul:
Can ev'ry Passion rule, and ev'ry Sense,
Change Nature's Course, and with her Laws dispense:
Our Breathing to prevent, she can arrest
Th'Extension, or Contraction of the Breast:
When pain'd with Hunger we can Food refuse,
And wholesome Abstinence, or Famine chuse.
Can the wild Beast his Instinct disobey,
And from his Jaws release the Captive Prey?
Or hungry Herds on verdant Pastures lye
Mindless to eat, and resolute to die?
With Heat expiring, can the panting Hart
Patient of Thirst from the cool Stream depart?
Can Brutes at Will imprison'd Breath detain?
Torment prefer to Ease, and Life disdain?
Can each reluctant Appetite controul:
Can ev'ry Passion rule, and ev'ry Sense,
Change Nature's Course, and with her Laws dispense:
Our Breathing to prevent, she can arrest
Th'Extension, or Contraction of the Breast:
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And wholesome Abstinence, or Famine chuse.
Can the wild Beast his Instinct disobey,
And from his Jaws release the Captive Prey?
Or hungry Herds on verdant Pastures lye
Mindless to eat, and resolute to die?
With Heat expiring, can the panting Hart
Patient of Thirst from the cool Stream depart?
Can Brutes at Will imprison'd Breath detain?
Torment prefer to Ease, and Life disdain?
From all Restraint, from all Compulsion free,
Unforc'd, and unnecessitated, we
Our selves determine, and our Freedom prove,
When This we fly, and to That Object move.
Had not the Mind a Pow'r to will and chuse,
One Object to embrace, and one refuse;
Could she not act, or not her Act suspend,
As it obstructed, or advanc'd her End;
Virtue and Vice were Names without a Cause,
This would not Hate deserve, nor That Applause.
Justice in vain has high Tribunals reer'd,
Whom can her Sentence punish, whom reward?
If impious Children should their Father kill,
Can they be wicked, when they cannot Will;
When only Causes foreign and unseen
Strike with resistless Force the Springs within,
Whence in the Engine Man all Motion must begin.
Unforc'd, and unnecessitated, we
Our selves determine, and our Freedom prove,
When This we fly, and to That Object move.
Had not the Mind a Pow'r to will and chuse,
One Object to embrace, and one refuse;
341
As it obstructed, or advanc'd her End;
Virtue and Vice were Names without a Cause,
This would not Hate deserve, nor That Applause.
Justice in vain has high Tribunals reer'd,
Whom can her Sentence punish, whom reward?
If impious Children should their Father kill,
Can they be wicked, when they cannot Will;
When only Causes foreign and unseen
Strike with resistless Force the Springs within,
Whence in the Engine Man all Motion must begin.
Are Vapours guilty, which the Vintage blast?
Are Storms proscrib'd, which lay the Forest waste?
Why lies the Wretch then tortur'd on the Wheel,
If forc'd to Treason, or compell'd to steal?
Why does the Warrior, by auspicious Fate
With Laurels crown'd, and clad in Robes of State,
In Triumph ride amidst the gazing Throng
Deaf with Applauses, and the Poet's Song;
If the Victorious, but the Brute Machine
Did only Wreaths Inevitable win;
And no wise Choice or Vigilance has shown,
Mov'd by a fatal Impulse, not his own?
Are Storms proscrib'd, which lay the Forest waste?
Why lies the Wretch then tortur'd on the Wheel,
If forc'd to Treason, or compell'd to steal?
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With Laurels crown'd, and clad in Robes of State,
In Triumph ride amidst the gazing Throng
Deaf with Applauses, and the Poet's Song;
If the Victorious, but the Brute Machine
Did only Wreaths Inevitable win;
And no wise Choice or Vigilance has shown,
Mov'd by a fatal Impulse, not his own?
Should Trains of Atomes human Sense impel,
Tho' not so fierce, so strong, so visible
As Soldiers arm'd, and do not Men arrest
With Clubs upheld and Daggers at their Breast,
Yet Means Compulsive are not plainer shown,
When Ruffians drive, or Conqu'rors drag us on:
As much we're forc'd, when by an Atome's Sway
Controul'd, as when a Tyrant we obey:
And by whatever Cause constrain'd to act,
We merit no Reward, no Guilt contract.
Tho' not so fierce, so strong, so visible
As Soldiers arm'd, and do not Men arrest
With Clubs upheld and Daggers at their Breast,
Yet Means Compulsive are not plainer shown,
When Ruffians drive, or Conqu'rors drag us on:
As much we're forc'd, when by an Atome's Sway
Controul'd, as when a Tyrant we obey:
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We merit no Reward, no Guilt contract.
Our Mind of Rulers feels a conscious Awe,
Reveres their Justice, and regards their Law.
She Rectitude, and Deviation knows,
That Vice from one, from one that Virtue flows.
Of these she feels unlike Effects within,
From Virtue Pleasure, and Remorse from Sin.
Hopes of a just Reward by That are fed,
By This of Wrath Vindictive secret Dread.
The Mind, which thus can Rules of Duty learn,
Can Right from Wrong, and Good from Ill discern,
Which the sharp Stroke of Justice to prevent
Can Shame express, can grieve, reflect, repent;
From Fate or Chance her Rise can never draw,
Those Causes know not Virtue, Vice, or Law.
Reveres their Justice, and regards their Law.
She Rectitude, and Deviation knows,
That Vice from one, from one that Virtue flows.
Of these she feels unlike Effects within,
From Virtue Pleasure, and Remorse from Sin.
Hopes of a just Reward by That are fed,
By This of Wrath Vindictive secret Dread.
The Mind, which thus can Rules of Duty learn,
Can Right from Wrong, and Good from Ill discern,
Which the sharp Stroke of Justice to prevent
Can Shame express, can grieve, reflect, repent;
From Fate or Chance her Rise can never draw,
Those Causes know not Virtue, Vice, or Law.
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She can a Life succeeding this conceive,
Of Bliss or Woe an endless State believe.
Dreading the just and universal Doom,
And aw'd by Fears of Punishment to come,
By Hopes excited of a glorious Crown,
And certain Pleasures in a World unknown;
She can the fond Desires of Sense restrain,
Renounce Delight, and chuse Distress and Pain:
Can rush on Danger, can Destruction face,
Joyful relinquish Life, and Death embrace.
She to afflicted Virtue can adhere,
And Chains and Want to prosp'rous Guilt prefer;
Unmov'd these wild tempestuous Seats survey,
And view serene this restless rolling Sea.
In vain the Monsters, which the Coast infest,
Spend all their Rage to interrupt her Rest:
Her charming Song the Syren sings in vain,
She can the tuneful Hypocrite disdain:
Fix'd and unchang'd the faithless World behold,
Deaf to its Threats, and to its Favour cold.
Of Bliss or Woe an endless State believe.
Dreading the just and universal Doom,
And aw'd by Fears of Punishment to come,
By Hopes excited of a glorious Crown,
And certain Pleasures in a World unknown;
She can the fond Desires of Sense restrain,
Renounce Delight, and chuse Distress and Pain:
Can rush on Danger, can Destruction face,
Joyful relinquish Life, and Death embrace.
She to afflicted Virtue can adhere,
And Chains and Want to prosp'rous Guilt prefer;
Unmov'd these wild tempestuous Seats survey,
And view serene this restless rolling Sea.
In vain the Monsters, which the Coast infest,
Spend all their Rage to interrupt her Rest:
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She can the tuneful Hypocrite disdain:
Fix'd and unchang'd the faithless World behold,
Deaf to its Threats, and to its Favour cold.
Sages remark, we labour not to show
The Will is free, but that the Man is so.
For what inlighten'd Reas'ner can declare
What Human Will and Understanding are?
What Science from those Objects can we frame
Of which we little know, besides the Name?
The Learned, who with Anatomic Art
Dissect the Mind, and thinking Substance part,
And various Pow'rs and Faculties assert;
Perhaps by such Abstraction of the Mind
Divide the Things, that are in Nature joyn'd.
What Masters of the Schools can make it clear
Those Faculties, which Two to them appear,
Are not residing in the Soul the same,
And not distinct, but by a diff'rent Name?
The Will is free, but that the Man is so.
For what inlighten'd Reas'ner can declare
What Human Will and Understanding are?
What Science from those Objects can we frame
Of which we little know, besides the Name?
The Learned, who with Anatomic Art
Dissect the Mind, and thinking Substance part,
And various Pow'rs and Faculties assert;
Perhaps by such Abstraction of the Mind
Divide the Things, that are in Nature joyn'd.
What Masters of the Schools can make it clear
Those Faculties, which Two to them appear,
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And not distinct, but by a diff'rent Name?
Thus has the Muse pursu'd her hardy Theme,
And sung the Wonders of this artful Frame.
E'er yet one Subterranean Arch was made,
One Cavern vaulted, or one Girder laid:
E'er the high Rocks did o'er the Shores arise,
Or snowy Mountains tower'd amidst the Skies;
Before the watry Troop fil'd off from Land,
And lay amidst the Rocks entrench'd in Sand;
Before the Air its Bosom did unfold,
Or burnish'd Orbs in blue Expansion roll'd;
She sung how Nature then in Embryo lay,
And did the Secrets of her Birth display.
And sung the Wonders of this artful Frame.
E'er yet one Subterranean Arch was made,
One Cavern vaulted, or one Girder laid:
E'er the high Rocks did o'er the Shores arise,
Or snowy Mountains tower'd amidst the Skies;
Before the watry Troop fil'd off from Land,
And lay amidst the Rocks entrench'd in Sand;
Before the Air its Bosom did unfold,
Or burnish'd Orbs in blue Expansion roll'd;
She sung how Nature then in Embryo lay,
And did the Secrets of her Birth display.
When after, at th' Almighty's high Command,
Obedient Waves divided from the Land;
And Shades and lazy Mists were chas'd away,
While rosie Light diffus'd the tender Day:
When Uproar ceas'd, and wild Confusion fled,
And new-born Nature rais'd her beauteous Head;
She sung the Frame of this Terrestrial Pile,
The Hills, the Rocks, the Rivers and the Soil.
She view'd the sandy Frontiers, which restrain
The noisie Insults of th'imprison'd Main:
Rang'd o'er the wide Diffusion of the Waves,
The moist Cerulean Walks, and search'd the Coral Caves.
Obedient Waves divided from the Land;
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While rosie Light diffus'd the tender Day:
When Uproar ceas'd, and wild Confusion fled,
And new-born Nature rais'd her beauteous Head;
She sung the Frame of this Terrestrial Pile,
The Hills, the Rocks, the Rivers and the Soil.
She view'd the sandy Frontiers, which restrain
The noisie Insults of th'imprison'd Main:
Rang'd o'er the wide Diffusion of the Waves,
The moist Cerulean Walks, and search'd the Coral Caves.
She then survey'd the fluid Fields of Air,
And the crude Seeds of Meteors fashion'd there.
Then with continu'd Flight she sped her way,
Mounted, and bold pursu'd the Source of Day.
With Wonder of Celestial Motions sung,
How the pois'd Orbs are in the Vacant hung:
How the bright Sluces of Etherial Light
Now shut, defend the Empire of the Night,
And now drawn up with Wise alternate Care
Let Floods of Glory out, and spread with Day the Air.
And the crude Seeds of Meteors fashion'd there.
Then with continu'd Flight she sped her way,
Mounted, and bold pursu'd the Source of Day.
With Wonder of Celestial Motions sung,
How the pois'd Orbs are in the Vacant hung:
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Now shut, defend the Empire of the Night,
And now drawn up with Wise alternate Care
Let Floods of Glory out, and spread with Day the Air.
Then with a daring Wing she soar'd sublime,
From Realm to Realm, from Orb to Orb did climb.
Swift thro' the spacious Gulph she urg'd her Way,
At length emerg'd in Empyrean Day:
Where far, oh far, beyond what Mortals see,
In the void Districts of Immensity,
The Mind new Suns, new Planets can explore.
And yet beyond can still imagine more.
From Realm to Realm, from Orb to Orb did climb.
Swift thro' the spacious Gulph she urg'd her Way,
At length emerg'd in Empyrean Day:
Where far, oh far, beyond what Mortals see,
In the void Districts of Immensity,
The Mind new Suns, new Planets can explore.
And yet beyond can still imagine more.
Thus in bold Numbers did th' advent'rous Muse
To sing the lifeless Parts of Nature chuse,
And then advanc'd to Wonders yet behind,
Survey'd, and sung the Vegetable Kind.
Did lofty Woods, and humble Brakes review,
Along the Vally swept, and o'er the Mountains flew.
Then left the flowry Field and waving Grove,
And unfatigu'd with grateful Labour strove
To climb th' amazing heights of Sense, and sing
The Pow'r perceptive, and the inward Spring
Which agitates and guides each living Thing.
To sing the lifeless Parts of Nature chuse,
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Survey'd, and sung the Vegetable Kind.
Did lofty Woods, and humble Brakes review,
Along the Vally swept, and o'er the Mountains flew.
Then left the flowry Field and waving Grove,
And unfatigu'd with grateful Labour strove
To climb th' amazing heights of Sense, and sing
The Pow'r perceptive, and the inward Spring
Which agitates and guides each living Thing.
She next essay'd the Embryo's Rise to trace
From an unfashion'd, rude, unchannell'd Mass;
And sung how Spirits waken'd in the Brain
Exert their Force, and genial Toil maintain;
Erect the beating Heart, the Channels frame,
Unfold entangled Limbs, and kindle vital Flame.
How the small Pipes are in Meanders laid,
And bounding Life is to and fro convey'd.
How Spirits, which for Sense and Motion serve,
Unguided find the perforated Nerve.
Thro' ev'ry dark Recess pursue their Flight,
Unconscious of the Road and void of Sight,
Yet certain of the End still guide their Motions right.
From an unfashion'd, rude, unchannell'd Mass;
And sung how Spirits waken'd in the Brain
Exert their Force, and genial Toil maintain;
Erect the beating Heart, the Channels frame,
Unfold entangled Limbs, and kindle vital Flame.
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And bounding Life is to and fro convey'd.
How Spirits, which for Sense and Motion serve,
Unguided find the perforated Nerve.
Thro' ev'ry dark Recess pursue their Flight,
Unconscious of the Road and void of Sight,
Yet certain of the End still guide their Motions right.
From thence a nobler Flight she did essay,
The Mind's extended Empire to survey.
She sung the Godlike Principle of Thought,
And how from Objects by the Senses brought,
The Intellectual Imag'ry is wrought.
How she the Modes of Beings can discern,
A nice Respect, a meer Relation learn:
Can all the thin abstracted Notions reach
Which Grecian Wits, or, Britain, Thine can teach.
The Mind's extended Empire to survey.
She sung the Godlike Principle of Thought,
And how from Objects by the Senses brought,
The Intellectual Imag'ry is wrought.
How she the Modes of Beings can discern,
A nice Respect, a meer Relation learn:
Can all the thin abstracted Notions reach
Which Grecian Wits, or, Britain, Thine can teach.
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Still, vanquish'd Atheists, will you keep the Field,
And hard in Error still refuse to yield?
See, all your broken Arms lye spread around,
And ignominious Rout deforms the Ground.
Be Wise, and once admonish'd by a Foe,
Where lies your Strength, and where your Weakness know.
No more at Reason's solemn Bar appear,
Hardy no more Scholastic Weapons bear.
Disband your feeble Forces, and decline
The War, no more in Tinsel Armour shine;
Nor shake your Bullrush Spears, but swift repair
To your strong Place of Arms, the Scoffer's Chair;
And thence supported with a mocking Ring,
Sarcastic Darts and keen Invectives fling
Against your Foes, and scornful at your Feasts
Religion vanquish with decisive Jests:
Arm'd with resistless Laughter Heav'n assail,
Relinquish Reason, and let Mirth prevail.
And hard in Error still refuse to yield?
See, all your broken Arms lye spread around,
And ignominious Rout deforms the Ground.
Be Wise, and once admonish'd by a Foe,
Where lies your Strength, and where your Weakness know.
No more at Reason's solemn Bar appear,
Hardy no more Scholastic Weapons bear.
Disband your feeble Forces, and decline
The War, no more in Tinsel Armour shine;
Nor shake your Bullrush Spears, but swift repair
To your strong Place of Arms, the Scoffer's Chair;
And thence supported with a mocking Ring,
Sarcastic Darts and keen Invectives fling
352
Religion vanquish with decisive Jests:
Arm'd with resistless Laughter Heav'n assail,
Relinquish Reason, and let Mirth prevail.
Good Heav'n! that Men, who vaunt discerning Sight,
And arrogant from Wisdom's distant Height
Look down on vulgar Mortals, who revere
A Cause Supream, should their proud Building reer
Without one Prop the pondrous Pile to bear.
How much the Judge, who does in Heav'n preside
Remocks the Scoffer, and contemns his Pride!
Behold, the sad Unsufferable Hour
Advances near, which will his Error cure;
When he compell'd shall drink the wrathful Bowl,
And ruin'd feel Immortal Vengeance roll
Thro' all his Veins, and drench his inmost Soul.
And arrogant from Wisdom's distant Height
Look down on vulgar Mortals, who revere
A Cause Supream, should their proud Building reer
Without one Prop the pondrous Pile to bear.
How much the Judge, who does in Heav'n preside
Remocks the Scoffer, and contemns his Pride!
Behold, the sad Unsufferable Hour
Advances near, which will his Error cure;
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And ruin'd feel Immortal Vengeance roll
Thro' all his Veins, and drench his inmost Soul.
Hail King Supream! of Pow'r Immense Abyss!
Father of Light! Exhaustless Source of Bliss!
Thou Uncreated, Self-existent Cause,
Controul'd by no Superior Being's Laws;
E'er Infant Light essay'd to dart the Ray,
Smil'd heav'nly sweet, and try'd to kindle Day;
E'er the wide Fields of Ether were display'd,
Or Silver Stars Cerulean Spheres inlaid;
E'er yet the eldest Child of Time was born,
Or verdant Pride young Nature did adorn,
Thou Art; and didst Eternity employ
In unmolested Peace, in Plenitude of Joy.
Father of Light! Exhaustless Source of Bliss!
Thou Uncreated, Self-existent Cause,
Controul'd by no Superior Being's Laws;
E'er Infant Light essay'd to dart the Ray,
Smil'd heav'nly sweet, and try'd to kindle Day;
E'er the wide Fields of Ether were display'd,
Or Silver Stars Cerulean Spheres inlaid;
E'er yet the eldest Child of Time was born,
Or verdant Pride young Nature did adorn,
Thou Art; and didst Eternity employ
In unmolested Peace, in Plenitude of Joy.
354
In its Ideal Frame the World design'd
From Ages past lay finish'd in Thy Mind.
Conform to this Divine Imagin'd Plan,
With perfect Art th' amazing Work began
Thy Glance survey'd the Solitary Plains,
Where shapeless Shade inert and silent reigns;
Then in the dark and undistinguish'd Space,
Unfruitful, uninclos'd and wild of Face,
Thy Compass for the World mark'd out the destin'd Place.
Then didst Thou through the Fields of barren Night
Go forth, collected in Creating Might.
Where Thou Almighty Vigor didst exert,
Which Emicant did This and That Way dart
Thro' the black Bosom of the empty Space:
The Gulphs confess th' Omnipotent Embrace,
And pregnant grown with Elemental Seed
Unfinish'd Orbs, and Worlds in Embryo breed.
From the crude Mass, Omniscient Architect,
Thou for each Part Materials didst select,
And with a Master-hand Thy World erect.
Labour'd by Thee, the Globes, vast lucid Buoys,
By Thee uplifted float in liquid Skies.
By Thy cementing Word their Parts cohere,
And roll by Thy Impulsive Nod in Air.
Thou in the Vacant didst the Earth suspend,
Advance the Mountains, and the Vales extend;
People the Plains with Flocks, with Beasts the Wood,
And store with Scaly Colonies the Flood.
From Ages past lay finish'd in Thy Mind.
Conform to this Divine Imagin'd Plan,
With perfect Art th' amazing Work began
Thy Glance survey'd the Solitary Plains,
Where shapeless Shade inert and silent reigns;
Then in the dark and undistinguish'd Space,
Unfruitful, uninclos'd and wild of Face,
Thy Compass for the World mark'd out the destin'd Place.
Then didst Thou through the Fields of barren Night
Go forth, collected in Creating Might.
Where Thou Almighty Vigor didst exert,
Which Emicant did This and That Way dart
Thro' the black Bosom of the empty Space:
The Gulphs confess th' Omnipotent Embrace,
355
Unfinish'd Orbs, and Worlds in Embryo breed.
From the crude Mass, Omniscient Architect,
Thou for each Part Materials didst select,
And with a Master-hand Thy World erect.
Labour'd by Thee, the Globes, vast lucid Buoys,
By Thee uplifted float in liquid Skies.
By Thy cementing Word their Parts cohere,
And roll by Thy Impulsive Nod in Air.
Thou in the Vacant didst the Earth suspend,
Advance the Mountains, and the Vales extend;
People the Plains with Flocks, with Beasts the Wood,
And store with Scaly Colonies the Flood.
Next Man arose at Thy Creating Word,
Of Thy Terrestrial Realms Vicegerent Lord.
His Soul more artful Labour, more refin'd,
And Emulous of bright Seraphic Mind,
Ennobled by Thy Image spotless shone,
Prais'd Thee her Author, and ador'd Thy Throne:
Able to Know, Admire, Enjoy her God,
She did her high Felicity applaud.
Of Thy Terrestrial Realms Vicegerent Lord.
356
And Emulous of bright Seraphic Mind,
Ennobled by Thy Image spotless shone,
Prais'd Thee her Author, and ador'd Thy Throne:
Able to Know, Admire, Enjoy her God,
She did her high Felicity applaud.
Since Thou didst all the spacious Worlds display,
Homage to Thee let all Obedient pay.
Let glitt'ring Stars, that dance their destin'd Ring
Sublime in Sky, with Vocal Planets sing
Confed'rate Praise to Thee, O Great Creator King.
Let the thin Districts of the waving Air,
Conveyances of Sound, Thy Skill declare.
Let Winds, the Breathing Creatures of the Skies,
Call in each vig'rous Gale, that roving flies
By Land or Sea, then one loud Triumph raise,
And all their Blasts employ in Songs of Praise.
Homage to Thee let all Obedient pay.
Let glitt'ring Stars, that dance their destin'd Ring
Sublime in Sky, with Vocal Planets sing
Confed'rate Praise to Thee, O Great Creator King.
Let the thin Districts of the waving Air,
Conveyances of Sound, Thy Skill declare.
357
Call in each vig'rous Gale, that roving flies
By Land or Sea, then one loud Triumph raise,
And all their Blasts employ in Songs of Praise.
While painted Herald-Birds Thy Deeds proclaim,
And on their spreading Wings convey Thy Fame;
Let Eagles, which in Heav'ns Blue Concave soar,
Scornful of Earth superior Seats explore,
And rise with Breasts erect against the Sun,
Be Ministers to bear Thy bright Renown,
And carry ardent Praises to Thy Throne.
And on their spreading Wings convey Thy Fame;
Let Eagles, which in Heav'ns Blue Concave soar,
Scornful of Earth superior Seats explore,
And rise with Breasts erect against the Sun,
Be Ministers to bear Thy bright Renown,
And carry ardent Praises to Thy Throne.
Ye Fish assume a Voice, with Praises fill
The hollow Rock, and loud reactive Hill
Let Lions with their Roar their Thanks express,
With Acclamations shake the Wilderness.
Let Thunder Clouds, that float from Pole to Pole,
With Salvos loud salute Thee as they roll.
Ye Monsters of the Sea, ye noisie Waves
Strike with Applause the repercusive Caves.
Let Hail and Rain, let Meteors form'd of Fire
And lambent Flames in this blest Work conspire
Let the high Cedar and the Mountain Pine
Lowly to thee, Great King, their Heads incline
Let ev'ry spicy Odoriferous Tree
Present its Incense, and its Balm to Thee.
The hollow Rock, and loud reactive Hill
358
With Acclamations shake the Wilderness.
Let Thunder Clouds, that float from Pole to Pole,
With Salvos loud salute Thee as they roll.
Ye Monsters of the Sea, ye noisie Waves
Strike with Applause the repercusive Caves.
Let Hail and Rain, let Meteors form'd of Fire
And lambent Flames in this blest Work conspire
Let the high Cedar and the Mountain Pine
Lowly to thee, Great King, their Heads incline
Let ev'ry spicy Odoriferous Tree
Present its Incense, and its Balm to Thee.
And Thou, Heav'n's Viceroy o'er this World below,
In this blest Task Superior Ardor show:
To view thy Self inflect thy Reason's Ray,
Nature's replenish'd Theater survey.
Then all on Fire the Author's Skill adore,
And in loud Songs extol Creating Pow'r.
In this blest Task Superior Ardor show:
To view thy Self inflect thy Reason's Ray,
Nature's replenish'd Theater survey.
359
And in loud Songs extol Creating Pow'r.
Degenerate Minds in mazy Error lost
May combat Heav'n, and Impious Triumphs boast;
But while my Veins feel animating Fires,
And vital Air this breathing Breast inspires,
Grateful to Heav'n I'll stretch a pious Wing,
And sing his Praise, who gave me Pow'r to sing.
May combat Heav'n, and Impious Triumphs boast;
But while my Veins feel animating Fires,
And vital Air this breathing Breast inspires,
Grateful to Heav'n I'll stretch a pious Wing,
And sing his Praise, who gave me Pow'r to sing.
| Creation | |