But for one piece they thought it hard
From the whole hog to be debarr'd;
And fet their wit at work to find
What joint the prophet had in mind.
Much controverfy ftrait arofe :
Thefe choose the back, the belly thofe ;
By fome 'tis confidently faid
He meant not to forbid the head;
While others at that doctrine rail,
And pioufly prefer the tail.
Thus, confcience freed from ev'ry clog,
Mahometans eat up the hog.
You laugh-'tis well-the tale apply'd
May make you laugh on t' other fide.
Renounce the world," the preacher cries:
"We do," a multitude replies.
While one as innocent regards
A fnug and friendly game at cards:
And one, whatever you may say,
Can fee no evil in a play;
Some love a concert, or a race,
And others, fhooting and the chafe.
Revil'd and lov'd, renounc'd and follow'd,
Thus bit by bit the world is fwallow'd;
Each thinks his neighbour makes too free,
Yet likes a flice as well as he :
With fophiftry their fauce they sweeten,
Till quite from tail to fnout 'tis eaten.
SECTION II.
On Friendship.
WHAT virtue, or what mental grace,
But men, unqualified and bafe,
Will boat it their profeffion?
Profufion apes the noble part
Of liberality of heart,
And dulnefs of difcretion.
If ev'ry polifh'd gem we find
Illuminating heart or mind
Provoke to imitation;
No wonder Friendship does the fame,
That jewel of the purest flame,
Or rather constellation.
No knave but boldly will pretend
The requifites that form a friend,
A real and a found one,
Nor any fool he would deceive,
But prove as ready to believe,
And dream that he has found one.
Candid, and generous, and juft,
Boys care but little whom they truft,
An error foon corrected-
For who but learns in riper years,
That man when fmootheft he appears
Is molt to be fufpected:
But here again a danger lies,
Left having mifemploy'd our eyes
And taken trafh for treasure,
We should unwarily conclude
Friendship a falfe ideal good,
A mere Utopian pleasure.
An acquifition rather rare,
Is yet no fubject of despair;
Nor is it wife complaining,
If either on forbidden ground,
Or where it was not to be found,
We fought without attaining.
No friendship will abide the teft
That ftands on fordid interest,
Or mean felf-love erected;
Nor fuch as may awhile fubfift
Between the fot and fenfualist,
For vicious ends connected.
Who feeks a friend, fhould come
T exhibit, in full bloom disclos'd,
The graces and the beauties,
That form the character he feeks,
For 'tis an union that befpeaks
Reciprocated duties.
Mutual attention is implied,
And equal truth on either fide,
And conftantly fupported;
'Tis fenfelefs arrogance t' accufe
Another of finifter views,
Our own as much distorted.
But will fincerity fuffice?
It is indeed above all price,
And must be made the bafis ;
But ev'ry virtue of the foul
Muft conftitute the charming whole,
All fhining in their places.
A fretful temper will divide
The closest knot that may be tied,
By careless fharp corrosion:
A temper paffionate and fierce
May fuddenly your joys difperfe
At one immenfe explofion.
In vain the talkative unite
In hopes of permanent delight-
The fecret juft committed,
Forgetting its important weight,
They drop through mere defire to prate,
And by themselves outwitted.
How bright foe'er the profpect seems,
All thoughts of friendship are but dreams.
If envy chance to creep in:
An envious man, if you fucceed,
May prove a dangerous foe indeed,
But not a friend worth keeping.
As Envy pines at good poffefs'd,
So Jealoufy looks forth diftrefs'd
On good that feems approaching:
And if fuccefs his fleps attend,
Difcerns a rival in a friend,
And hates him for encroaching.
Hence authors of illuftrious name,
Unless belied by common fame,
Are fadly prone to quarrel;
To deem the wit a friend difplays
A tax upon their own juft praise,
And pluck each other's laurel.
A man renown'd for repartee,
Will feldom fcruple to make free
With friendship's finest feeling;
Will thrust a dagger at your breaft,
And fay he wounded you in jest,
By way of balm for healing.
Whoever keeps an open ear
For tattlers, will be fure to hear
The trumpet of contention;
Afperfion is the babbler's trade;
To liften is to lend him aid,
And rush into diffenfion.
A friendship that in frequent fits
Of controverfial rage emits
The fparks of difputation,
Like hand in hand infurance plates,
Moft unavoidably creates
The thought of conflagration. Some fickle creatures boaft a foul True as the needle to the pole, Their humour yet fo variousThey manifeft, their whole life through, The needle's deviation too,
Their love is fo precarious.
The great and fmall but rarely meet
On terms of amity complete ;
Plebeians muft furrender,
And yield fo much to noble folk,
It is combining fire with fmoke,
Obfcurity, with fplendour.
Some are fo placid and ferene
(As Irish bogs are always green)
They fleep fecure from waking;
And are indeed a bog that bears
Your unparticipated cares,
Unmov'd and without quaking.
Courtier and patriot cannot mix
Their het'rogeneous politics,
Without an effervefcence,
Like that of falts with lemon juice,
Which does not yet like that produce
A friendly coalefcence.
Religion fhould extinguifh ftrife,
And make a calm of human life;
But friends that chance to differ
On points which God has left at large,
How fiercely will they meet and charge;
No combatants are fliffer !
To prove at laft my main intent,
Needs no expenfe of argument,
No cutting and contriving-
Seeking a real friend, we seem
T'adopt the chymift's golden dream,
With ftill lefs hope of thriving.
Sometimes the fault is all our own,
Some blemish in due time made known,
By trefpafs or omiffion;
Sometimes occafion brings to light
Our friend's defect, long hid from fight,
And even from fufpicion.
Then judge yourself, and prove your man
As circumfpectly as you can;
And having made election,
Beware no negligence of yours,
Such as a friend but ill endures,
Enfeeble his affection.
That fecrets are a facred trust,
That friends fhould be fincere and just,
That conftancy befits them,
Are obfervations on the cafe
That favour much of common place,
And all the world admits them.
But 'tis not timber, lead, and stone,
An architect requires alone,
To finith a fine building-
The palace were but half complete,
If he could poffibly forget
The carving and the gilding...
The man that hails you, Tom or Jack,
And proves by thumps upon your back,
How he esteems your merit,
Is fuch a friend, that one had need
Be very much his friend indeed,
To pardon or to bear it.
As fimilarity of mind,
Or fomething not to be defin'd,
First fixes our attention;
So manners decent and polite,
The fame we practis'd at firft fight,
Muft fave it from declenfion.
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