MINERVA, come, Celestial Maid! But not in mournful frowns array'd; Nor friend to vice, nor falsehood's prey; 'Twixt Sophiftry and Reason, mine. * That is, not the prey, neither, to fome imaginary virtue, which must be equally guarded against by MINERVA'S votary. This diftinction (at the commencement of, and as conductor to, all the following ones, and which the discriminating reader will fee therefore of abfolute neceffity) could not be marked in the above single verse; and it is manifest, that every moralift or fectary will tell you that his morality or fect is the only true one; the confecutive lines will however very much illuftrate and explain these. + Though the giving a note here may poffibly be rather affrontive to the fuperior reader, yet fo many, far from being of the most inferior class of readers, (while numbers of others, certainly fuperior ones, have by no means objected to the substitution of jewel for virtue) will call the paffage obfcure, as they have before done, a note has been refolved on to fay that Jewel is fubftituted here for Virtue; which Reason (through the light of Wisdom) is to distinguish from its false representative, even as the lapidary docs the true precious ftone 、、),。 Sup. Thy light! that fhews, with diff'ring name, Thy light! that equal gives to view, For, or against, ourselves,-the TRUE: And then,-yes then, great Wisdom's ray, (How far above the Solar day!) That illumes THOUGHT; and gives to know Whate'er can blefs that thought below, Tells you, with RECTITUDE your guide, Steady to keep your well-chose fide; But tells you too, ye half-born throng,* When wrong, to fee, nay fay, you're wrong: To re-illume, from black offence, The injur'd front of Innocence; 30 ftone from the false one. Let me join to this, (in order, if poffible, to fatisfy all forts of readers) that the epithet of fad here, as applied to fophiftry, means wretched, contemptible, mean, and not mournful or melancholy, which even feveral readers have applied the term to, however contrary to the character of sophistry, to glaring hue, and (to my apprehenfion) to common fenfe; but fuch is frequent,-yes, frequent criticifm! and thence imputation of obfcurity, &c. *This epithet, perhaps, requires apology, as rather hazardè; if, however, expreffive in this particular requifition of nature, it is hoped it will be excufed. We have half-witted, half-bred, half-begot, and might therefore, methinks, have had this half where the whole feems fo defirable, and is fo great in nature. One half is common enough, viz. to feel when we are wronged; the other, when we wrong others, is different. Me ne'er let CUNNING'S false pretence, Its object, single, near, and small, And then, perhaps, as fquinting too, 40 50 Deceit and lies it's only rule, Itself, at once, both knave and fool; Thus have I seen a squirrel put What though the mutual trick belong Honeft Difcernment's keener view Is keen, thou know'ft! from-being true.* T 60 70 * How difcernment is keen, from being true, (it is, I think, in general supposed that we A are keen from being falfe) will not, I fear, be obvious to every reader. I had vainly flattered myself through even fome years, (for many a one indeed has paffed since this part of the poem has been written) that the paffage and thought would be not only very L ་་་་ 1 clear, but poffibly deserve even a higher title; but more than one literary man, seemingly above par, that I have lately asked how he understood the paffage, has, I found, conceived so imperfect an idea of it, if any at all, that I will now defire whoever calls it obfcure, or fees little or nothing in the thought, to ask of whomsoever he esteems quite fuperior, for his conception of it; for it is impoffible for the writer of it to undertake the elucidation, though he does vainly hope it is not quite undeferving of it. CREDULITY, CREDULITY, with dupish eyes, Still grant me, Goddefs, to despise: Fallacious both; perhaps while you Or are (effect to you the fame) Disbeliev'd to lofs of your good name. -Thus, whether North or South-Pole ice Alike would kill you in a trice. 80 * These two opposite human qualities are, while fo baneful to Society, alas! so characteristic of it, that I could not forbear the noticing it, though perhaps not in the most eligible verfe. The qualities are fo univerfal through the common or vulgar world, that it feems impoffible to escape their malignity; but this I would remark, that when carried to a certain excess, they belong only to, or should belong only to, the low and uneducated part of mankind, our footmen, maid-servants, and trades-people, and may be called ungentlemanlike, as well as unenlightened mental failures. The writer confesses his not being quite free from perfonal motives, for thus dwelling on these wretched and disgraceful characteristics of our species, which are, while oppofite in title, even toto calo, precisely the fame in principle; as, who is credulous is incredulous, and vice verfa; they equally proceed from an illogical understanding, which can fatisfy itself with effects without their adequate causes. In truth, the art of believing may perhaps be called the first in the world: how far it goes, how wide it spreads, who fhall fay? |