Remember, if He guard thee and secure, Whoe'er assails thee; thy success is sure; 700 But if He leave thee, though the skill and pow'r Were all collected in thy single arm, And thou could'st laugh away the fear of harin, Say not, (and if the thought of such defence I know the warning song is sung in vain ; 705 710 715 720 That few will hear, and fewer heed the strain; 725 But if a sweeter voice, and one design'd A blessing to my country and mankind, Reclaim the wand'ring thousands, and bring home 730 HOPE. -doceas iter, et sacra ostea pandas. VIRG. En. 6. ASK what is human life-the sage replies, As fortune, vice, or folly may command; By which Heav'n rules the mix'd affairs of man ; The rich grow poor, the poor become purse-proud ; Business is labour, and man's weakness such, Through life's sad remnant, what no sighs restore : 8 5 10 15 20 Our years a fruitless race without a prize, Dangling his cane about, and taking snuff, O querulous and weak !-whose useless brain 25 • Once thought of nothing, and now thinks in vain; 30 Whose eye reverted weeps o'er all the past, Whose prospect shows thee a disheart'ning waste: To fling his glories o'er the robe she wears; 35 40 Banks cloth'd with flow'rs, groves fill'd with sprightly sounds, 45 The yellow tilth, green meads, rocks, rising grounds, Streams edg'd with osiers, fatt'ning ev'ry field, Where'er they flow, now seen, and now conceal'd; From the blue rim, where skies and mountains meet, Down to the very turf beneath thy feet, 50 Ten thousand charms, that only fools despise, Or Pride can look at with indiff'rent eyes, All speak one language, all with one sweet voice Man feels the spur of passions and desires; The wretch may pine, while to his smell, taste, sight, She holds a paradise of rich delight; 60 But gently to rebuke his awkward fear, To prove that what she gives, she gives sincere. To banish hesitation, and proclaim His happiness, her dear, her only aim. As youth or age persuades; and neither true. 70 So Flora's wreath through colour'd crystal seen, But still th' imputed tints are those alone The medium represents, and not their own. To rise at noon, sit slipshod and undress'd, 75 To read the news or fiddle as seems best, Till half the world comes rattling at his door, To fill the dull vacuity till four; And, just when ev'ning turns the blue vault gray, To spend two hours in dressing for the day: 80 Who bids him shine, or if he shine or not; Through mere necessity to close his eyes 85 Just when the larks and when the shepherds rise: Is such a life, so tediously the same, So void of all utility or aim, That poor Jonquil, with almost ev'ry breath, Sighs for his exit, vulgarly call'd death: 90 For he, with all his follies, has a mind But now and then perhaps a feeble ray Of distant wisdom shoots across his way; 95 Serves merely as a soil for discontent To thrive in; an incumbrance ere half spent. O weariness beyond what asses feel, That tread the circuit of the cistern wheel; 100 A dull rotation, never at a stay, To read wise lectures, vanity the text; 105 110 That remedy, not hid in deeps profound, Yet seldom sought where only to be found, While passion turns aside from its due scope Th' inquirer's aim, that remedy is hope. Life is his gift, from whom whate'er life needs, 115 With ev'ry good and perfect gift proceeds; 120 Its value what no thought can ascertain, 125 Nor all an angel's eloquence explain. Men deal with life as children with their play, Who first misuse, then cast their toys away; Live to no sober purpose, and contend 130 When God and man stand opposite in view, Man's disappointment must of course ensue. The just Creator condescends to write, His names of wisdom, goodness, pow'r, and love, 135 |