The peripatetic or, Sketches of the heart, of nature and society; In a series of politico-sentimental journals, in verse and prose, of the eccentric excursions of Sylvanus Theophrastus; Supposed to be written by himself [by John Thelwall] |
 | [I]. |
[—Immortal Sages!] |
| II. |
| III. |
 | The peripatetic |  |
9
[—Immortal Sages!]
—Immortal Sages!
Ye noblest benefactors of mankind!
Unworthy as I am to lift my soul
To thoughts of your beatitude, or hope,
In this degenerate superstitious age,
To emulate your glories, and revive
Those awful traits of unassuming wisdom,
Those precepts, whose simplicity of thought
Evinc'd the true sublime! O! let me, yet,
Indulge my raptur'd fancy for a while
With your high converse; and the fond idea
Sate with the glorious vision, as I roam
Forgetful of the world, its systems vain,
And all the crude conceits of bigot Folly,
Whose rage embroils, and thins the human race!
Ye noblest benefactors of mankind!
Unworthy as I am to lift my soul
To thoughts of your beatitude, or hope,
In this degenerate superstitious age,
To emulate your glories, and revive
Those awful traits of unassuming wisdom,
Those precepts, whose simplicity of thought
Evinc'd the true sublime! O! let me, yet,
Indulge my raptur'd fancy for a while
With your high converse; and the fond idea
Sate with the glorious vision, as I roam
Forgetful of the world, its systems vain,
And all the crude conceits of bigot Folly,
Whose rage embroils, and thins the human race!
And thou, majestic Athens! thou blest nurse
Of Arts and Knowledge, Liberty and Taste!
Under whose free invigorating laws
The giant-soul of heav'n-enlighten'd man
(Uncramp'd by tyrant badges of distinction,
Which virtue own'd not, nor which merit claim'd.)
Swell'd, tow'ring swell'd, to due proportion'd strength,
And left the pigmy slaves of future courts
With base despair to wonder at its greatness,
And mourn their fall, degenerate!—Say wilt thou,
Glory of ancient Freedom! say wilt thou
Permit me, on this rustic theatre,
While bold “Imagination bodies forth”
The god-like actors, here to represent
(Myself and heaven spectators of the scene)
The awful drama of thy mental greatness.
Of Arts and Knowledge, Liberty and Taste!
Under whose free invigorating laws
The giant-soul of heav'n-enlighten'd man
10
Which virtue own'd not, nor which merit claim'd.)
Swell'd, tow'ring swell'd, to due proportion'd strength,
And left the pigmy slaves of future courts
With base despair to wonder at its greatness,
And mourn their fall, degenerate!—Say wilt thou,
Glory of ancient Freedom! say wilt thou
Permit me, on this rustic theatre,
While bold “Imagination bodies forth”
The god-like actors, here to represent
(Myself and heaven spectators of the scene)
The awful drama of thy mental greatness.
These fields, these hedge-rows, and this simple turf,
Shall form my Academus: through this vale,
(Ye hallow'd manes of the boasts of Greece!)
Thro' this low vale will I suppose ye walk'd
Pouring divine instruction, or, reclin'd
Upon these verdant hillocks, musing deep,
The silent energy of soul collected,
And soar'd, on Contemplation's awful wing,
Into the highest heaven. Plato here
His mystic visions, daringly sublime!
Perhaps might have reveal'd; the subtile soul
Of far-fam'd Aristotle, musing here,
Might pierce the mazy labyrinth, and unfold
Nature's mysterious laws: there Socrates—
Divine old man!—Wisdom's transcendent boast!
And Patriot Virtue's most undaunted guide!—
With strong, persuasive plainness might define
The source of morals, and the eternal laws
Of heav'n-descended Truth—best friend of man!
Or, soaring to the highest stretch of thought,
Reveal what'er dull sense can comprehend
Of worlds more blest—futurity—and GOD!
Shall form my Academus: through this vale,
(Ye hallow'd manes of the boasts of Greece!)
Thro' this low vale will I suppose ye walk'd
Pouring divine instruction, or, reclin'd
Upon these verdant hillocks, musing deep,
The silent energy of soul collected,
And soar'd, on Contemplation's awful wing,
Into the highest heaven. Plato here
His mystic visions, daringly sublime!
Perhaps might have reveal'd; the subtile soul
Of far-fam'd Aristotle, musing here,
Might pierce the mazy labyrinth, and unfold
Nature's mysterious laws: there Socrates—
Divine old man!—Wisdom's transcendent boast!
And Patriot Virtue's most undaunted guide!—
With strong, persuasive plainness might define
The source of morals, and the eternal laws
Of heav'n-descended Truth—best friend of man!
11
Reveal what'er dull sense can comprehend
Of worlds more blest—futurity—and GOD!
| The peripatetic | |