Page images
PDF
EPUB

Sect.

'CLXXXII. The Haunch of Venifon

Page.

Dr. Goldsmith 342

CLXXXIII. An Elegy written on the Plain of

Fontenoy Poetry of the World 346

CLXXXIV. To Dr. Johnson, Sir Joshua Rey

nolds, and other men of Genius

Dean of Derry 349

CLXXXV. On the Exercife of Humanity to

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

THE

ENGLISH PARNASSUS.

SECT. I.

THE GOLDEN VERSES OF PYTHAGORAS.

FIRST, the Supreme doth highest rev'rence claim;

Ufe with religious awe his facred name:

Affur'd he views thy ways, let nought controul
The oath thou once haft bound upon thy foul.
Next, to the heroes bear a grateful mind,
Whose glorious cares and toils have blest mankind.
Let juft refpect and decent rites be paid
To the immortal manes of the dead.
Honour thy parents, and thy next of kind;
And virtuous men wherever thou canst find,
In the fame bond of love let them be join'd.
Useful and steady let thy life proceed,
Mild ev'ry word, good-natur'd ev'ry deed;
Oh, never with the man thou lov'ft contend!
But bear a thousand frailties from thy friend.
Rafhly inflam'd, vain spleen, and flight furmise,
To real feuds, and endless difcords rife.

B

}

O'er

O'er luft, o'er anger, keep the ftri&test rein,
Subdue thy floth, thy appetite restrain.
With no vile action venture to comply,
Not, tho' unfeen by ev'ry mortal eye.
Above all witneffes thy confcience fear,
And more than all mankind thyself revere.

One way let all thy words and actions tend,
Reason their constant guide, and truth their end.
And ever mindful of thy mortal state,

How quick, how various are the turns of fate;
How here, how there, the tides of fortune roll;
How foon impending death concludes the whole,
Compofe thy mind, and free from anxious ftrife
Endure thy portion of the ills of life:

Tho' ftill the good man ftands fecure from harms,
Nor can misfortune wound, whom virtue arms.

Difcourfe in common converse, thou wilt find
Some to improve, and fome to taint the mind;
Grateful to that a due obfervance pay;
Beware left this entice thy thoughts aftray;
And bold untruths which thou art forc'd to hear,
Receive difcreetly with a patient ear.

Would't thou be justly rank'd among the wife,
Think ere thou doft, ere thou refolv'ft, advise.
Still let thy aims with fage experience fquare,
And plan thy conduct with fagacious care;
So fhalt thou all thy courfe with pleasure run,
Nor with an action of thy life undone.

Among the various ends of thy defires,
Tis no inferior place thy health requires.
Firmly for this from all excefs refrain,
Thy cups be mod'rate, and thy diet plain :

Nor

Nor yet unelegant thy board fupply,
But fhun the naufeous pomp of luxury.
Let fpleen by cheerful converse be withstood,
And honeft labours purify the blood.

Each night, ere needful slumber seals thy eyes,
Home to thy foul let these reflections rise :
How has this day my duty feen exprefs'd?
What have I done, omitted, or tranfgrefs'd?
Then grieve the moments thou haft idly spent :
The rest will yield thee comfort and content.

Be thefe good rules thy ftudy and delight,
Practife by day, and ponder them by night;
Thus all thy thoughts to virtue's height fhall rife,
And truth fhall ftand unveil'd before thy eyes.
Of beings the whole fyftem thou shalt fee,
Rang'd as they are in beauteous harmony,
Whilft all depend from one fuperior caufe,
And Nature works obedient to her laws.
Hence as thou labour'it with judicious care
To run the course allotted to thy share,
Wisdom refulgent with a heavenly ray,
Shall clear thy prospect, and direct thy way.
Then all around compaffionately view
The wretched ends which vain mankind purfue,
Tofs'd to and fro by each impetuous guft,
The rage of paflion, or the fire of luft,
No certain flay, no fafe retreat they know,
But blindly wander through a maze of woe.
Mean while congenial vilenefs works within,
And cuftom quite fubdues the foul to fin.
Save us from this diftrefs, Almighty Lord,
Our minds illumine, and thy aid afford!
B 2

But

But O! fecure from all thy life is led, Whofe feet the happy paths of virtue tread. Thou ftand'ft united to the race divine,' And the perfection of the fkies is thine. mperial reafon, free from all controul, Maintains her just dominion in thy foul.

Till purg'd at length from every finful stain,

When friendly death shall break the cumbrous chain, Loos'd from the body thou shalt take thy flight, And range immortal in the fields of light.

FITZGERALD.

SE C T. II.

THE WISE MAN'S PETITION.

NO glory I covet, no riches I want,

Ambition is nothing to me :

The one thing I beg of kind Heaven to grant,
Is a mind independent and free.

With paffion unruffled, untainted with pride,
By reafon my life let me fquare;

The wants of my nature are cheaply supplied,
And the reft is but folly and care.

The bleffings which Providence freely has lent
I'll juftly and gratefully prize,

Whilft fweet meditation and cheerful content,
Shall make me both healthy and wife.

In the pleasures the great man's poffeffions difplay,
Unenvy'd, I'll challenge my part;

For

« PreviousContinue »