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'Repeat the fearch, and mend your pace,
'The capture fhall reward the chace.
Let ev'ry minute, as it fprings,
Convey freth knowledge on its wings;
Let ev'ry minute, as it flics,
Record thee good, as well as wife.
While fuch purfuits your thoughts engage,
In a few years you 'I live an age.
Who meafures life by rolling years?
Fools measure by revolving fpheres.
Go thou, and fetch th' unerring rule
From Virtue's and from Wisdom's school.
Who well improves life's fhorteft day
Will fcarce regret its fetting ray;
'Contented with his fhare of light,
'Nor fear nor with th' approach of night:
And when difeafe affaults the heart,

‹ When sickness triumphs over art,
Reflection on a life well paft

'Shall prove a cordial to the last :

This med'cine fhall the foul fuftain,
And foften or fufpend her pain;

Shall break Death's fell tyrannic pow'r,
And calm the troubled dying hour.'
Bleft rules of cool prudential age!
I liften'd and rever'd the fage.
When, lo a forin divinely bright
Defcends, and burfts upon my fight;
A feraph of illuftrious birth
{Religion was her name on earth);
Supremely fweet her radiant face,
And blooming with celestial grace!
Three fhining cherubs form'd her train,

War'd their light wings, and reach'd the plain;
Faith, with fublime and piercing eye,
And pinions flutt ring for the fky;
Here Hope, that fmiling angel, stands,
And golden anchors grace her hands;
There Charity in robes of white,
Fairest and fav'rite maid of light!

The feraph fpake-'Tis reafon's part
To govern and to guard the heart;
'To lull the wayward foul to rest,
When hopes and fears diftract the breast :
Reafon may claim this doubtful ftrife,
And fteer thy bark thro' various life.
But when the ftorms of Death are nigh,
And midnight darkness veils the sky,
'Shall reafon then direct thy fail,
Difperfe the clouds, or fink the gale?
Stranger, this fkill alone is mine,
Skill that tranfcends his fcanty line.
That hoary fage has counself'd right:
Be wife, nor fcorn his friendly light.
Revere thyfelf-thou 'rt near allied
'To angels on thy better fide.

How various e'er their ranks or kinds,
Angels are but unbodied minds:
'When the partition walls decay,
'Men emerge angels from their clay;

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Yes, when the frailer body dies,

The foul afferts her kindred skies;

But minds, tho' fprung from heavenly race, Muft first be tutor'd for the place

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(The joys above are understood And relish'd only by the good). Who fhall affume this guardian care? Who fhali fecure their birthright there? Souls are my charge-to me 'tis given To train them for their native heaven. Know, then-Who bow the early knee, And give the willing heart, to me; Who wifely, when temptation waits, Elude her frauds, and fpurn her baits; Who dare to own my injur'd caufe, 'Tho' fools deride my facred laws; 'Or foorn to deviate to the wrong, Tho' Perfecution lifts her thong; Tho' all the fons of hell confpire To raise the stake, and light the fircKnow, that for fuch fuperior fouls There lies a blifs beyond the poles; Where fpirits fhine with purer ray, And brighten to meridian day;

Where Love, where boundlefs Friendship rules, (No friends that change, no love that cools!) Where rifing floods of knowledge roll,

And pour, and pour upon the foul!'

But where's the paffage to the fkies?''The road thro' Death's black valley lies. Nay, do not fhudder at m y tale;

Tho' dark the fhades, yet fafe the vale.
This path the best of men have trod,
And who 'd decline the road to God?
Oh!tis a glorious boon to die!
This favour can't be priz'd too high.'
While thus fhe fpake, my looks exprefs'd
The raptures kindling in my breaft:
My foul a fix'd attention gave;
When the ftern monarch of the grave
With haughty ftrides approach'd-amaz'd

I ftood, and trembled as I gaz'd.
The feraph calmn'd each anxious fear,
And kindly wip'd the falling tear;
Then haften'd with expanded wing
To meet the pale, terrific king.
But now what milder fcenes arife!
The tyrant drops his hoftile guife:
He feems a youth divinely fair;
In graceful ringlets waves his hair;
His wings their whit'ning plumes display,
His burnifh'd plumes reflect the day;
Light flows his fhining azure veft,
And all the angel ftands confeft.

I view'd the change with sweet furprise,
And, oh! I panted for the fkies;
Thank'd Heaven that e'er I drew my breath,
And triumph'd in the thoughts of Death.

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Unvex'd with all the cares of gain; His head was filver'd o'er with age, And long experience made him fage;

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In

In fummer's heat, and winter's cold,
He fed his flock, and penn'd the fold;
His hours in cheerful labour flew,
Nor envy nor ambition knew:
His wifdom and his honeft fame
Through all the country rais'd his name.
A deep Philofopher (whofe rules
Of moral life were drawn from schools)
The thepherd's homely cottage fought,
And thus explor'd his reach of thought:
Whence is the learning? Hath thy toil
O'er books confum'd the midnight oil?
Haft thou old Greece and Rome furvey'd,
And the vaft fenfe of Plato weigh'd?
Hath Socrates thy foul refin'd

And haft thou fathom'd Tully's mind?
Or, like the wife Ulyffes, thrown
By various fates on realms unknown,
Haft thou through many cities tray'd,
Their cuftoms, laws, and manners weigh'd?
The thepherd modeftly replied:
I ne'er the paths of icarning tried;
Nor have I roam'd in foreign parts,
To read mankind, their laws, and arts;
For man is practis'd in difguife,
He cheats the most difcerning cycs;
Who by that fearch fhall wifer grow,
When we ourfulves can never know?
The little knowledge I have gain'd,
Was all from fimple nature drain'd;
Hence my life's maxims took their rife,
Hence grew my fettled hate to vice.
The daily labours of the bee
Awake my foul to industry.
Who can obferve the careful ant,
And not provide for future want?
My dog (the trufticft of his kind)
With gratitude inflames my mind.
I mark his true, his faithful way,
And in my service copy Tray.
In conftancy and nuptial love,
I learn my duty from the dove.
The hen, who from the chilly air
With pious wing protects her care,
And every fowl that flies at large,
Inftructs me in a parent's charge.

From nature too I take my rule,
To thun contempt and ridicule :
I never, with important air,
In converfation overbear.
Can grave and formal pafs for wife,
When men the folemn owl defpife?
My tongue within any lips I rein,
For who talks much muit talk in vain;
We from the wordy torrent fly;
Who listens to the chatt'ring pve ?
Nor would I, with felonious fight,
By stealth invade my neighbour's right;
Rapacious animals we hate:

Kites, hawks, and wolves, deferve their fate.
Do not we juft abhorrence find
Against the toad and ferpent kind?
But envy, calumny, and spite,

Bear ftronger venom in their bite,

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ACCEPT, young prince, the moral lay,
And in thefe tales mankind furvey;
With early virtues plant your breast,
The fpecious arts of vice deteft.

Princes, like beauties, from their youth
Are ftrangers to the voice of truth:
Learn to contemn all praife betimes;
For flattery's the nurfe of crimes.
Friendfhip by fwect reproof is shown
(A virtue never near a throne);
In courts fuch freedom must offend,
There none prefumes to be a friend.
To thofe of your exalted ftation
Each courtier is a dedication.
Muft I too flatter like the reft,
And tuin my morals to a jeft?
The mufe difdains to fteal from thofe
Who thrive in courts by fulfome proie.
But fhall I hide your real praife,
Or tell you what a nation fays?
They in your infant bolom trace
The virtues of your royal race,
In the fair dawning of your
mind
Difcern you genious, mild, and kind;
They fee you grieve to hear diftrefs,
And pant already to redrefs.
Go on, the height of good attain,
Nor let a nation hope in vain ;
For hence we justly may prefage
The virtues, of a riper age.
True courage hall your bofom fire,
And future actions own your fire.
Cowards are cruel, but the brave
Love mercy, and delight to fave.

A Tiger roaming for his prey, Sprung on a Trav'ller in the way The proftrate game a Lion fpies, And on the greedy tyrant flics: With mingled roar refounds the wood, Their teeth, their claws, diftil with blood; Till, vanquifh'd by the Lion's ftrength, The fpotted fce extends his length. The Man befought the fhaggy lord, And on his knees for life implor'd; His life the gen'rous hero gave: Together walking to his case,

The

The lion thus bespoke his gueft: What hardy beaft fhall dare conteft My matchlefs ftrength? You faw the fight, And must atteft my pow'r and right. Forc'd to forego their native home, My ftarving flaves at diftance roam; Within thefe woods I reign alone, The boundless foreft is my own. Bears, wolves, and all the favage brood, Have dyed the regal dea with blood. Thefe carcafes on either hand,

Thofe bones that whiten all the land,
My former deeds and triumphs tell,
Beneath thefe jaws what numbers fell.
True, fays the man, the strength 1 faw
Might well the brutal nation awe:
But fhall a monarch, brave like you,
Place glory in fo false a view?

Robbers invade their neighbours' right:
Be lov'd; let juftice bound your might.
Mean are ambitious heroes' boafts
Of waited lands and flaughtered hofts:
Pirates their pow'r by murders gain;
Wife kings by love and mercy reign.
To me your clemency hath fhown
The virtue worthy of a throne.
Heaven gives you pow'r above the reft,
Like Heaven to fuccour the diftreft.
The cafe is plain, the monarch faid;
Falfe glory hath my youth mifled;
For beafts of prey, a fervile train,
Have been the flatt'rers of my reign.
You reafon well. Yet tell me, friend,
Did ever you in courts attend?
For all my fawning rogues agree,
That human heroes rule like me.

A

122. FABLE 11. The Spaniel and the Cameleon.

SPANIEL, bred with all the care
That waits upon a fav'rite heir,
Ne'er felt correction's rigid hand:
Indulg'd to difobey command,

In pamper'd eafe his hours were spent ;
He never knew what learning meant.
Such forward airs, so pert, fo finart,
Were fure to win his lady's heart:
Each little mifchief gain'd him praise;
How pretty were his fawning ways!

The wind was fouth, the morning fair,
He ventures forth to take the air:
He ranges all the meadow round,
And rolls upon the foftcft ground;
When near him a Cameleon feen
Was fearce diftinguish'd from the green,
Dear emblem of the flatt ring hoft,
What live with clowns a genius loft!
To cities and the court repair,
A fortune cannot fail thee there;
Preferment fhall thy talents crown:
Believe me, friend; I know the town.
Sir, fays the fycophant, like you,
Of old, politer life I knew:
Like you, a courtier born and bred,
Kings lean'd an ear to what I faid.

My whifper always met fuccefs;
The ladies prais'd me for addrefs.
I knew to hit each courtier's paffion,
And flatter'd ev'ry vice in fathion.
But Jove, who hates the liar's ways,
At once cut fhort my profp'rous days;
And, fentenc'd to retain my nature,
Transform'd me to this crawling creature.
Doom'd to a life obfcure and mean,
I wander in this fylvan fcene.
For Jove the heart alone regards;
He punishes what man rewards.
How different is thy cafe and mine!
With men at leaft you fup and dine;
While I, condemn'd to thinneft fare,
Like thofe I flatter'd, feed on air.

123. FABLE II. The Mother, the Nurfe, and the Fairy.

GIVE me a fon.

The bleffing fent, Were ever parents more content? How partial are their doting eyes! No child is half fo fair and wife. Wak'd to the morning's pleafing care, The mother rofe, and fought her heir. She faw the Nurfe, like one poffeft With wringing hands, and fobbing breaft. Sure fome difafter has befel:

Speak, Nurfe! I hope the boy is wel!?

Dear Madam, think not me to blame;
Invifible the Fairy came:

Your precious babe is hence convey'd,
And in the place a changeling laid.
Where are the father's mouth and nofe,
The mother's eves, as black as floes?
See here, a fhocking awkward creature,
That fpeaks a fool in ev'ry feature.

The woman's blind, the mother cries; I fee wit fparkle in his eyes.

Lord, Madam, what a quinting leer! No doubt the Fairy hath been here.

Jutt as the fpoke, a pigmy Sprite Pops through the key-hole, fwift as light; Perch'd on the cradle's top he stands, And thus her folly reprimands:

Whence fprung the vain conceited lie, That we the world with fools fupply? What give our fprightly race away, For the dull helplefs fons of clay! Befides, by partial fondnefs fhewn, Like you, we doat upon our own. Where yet was ever found a mother, Who 'd give her booby for another? And fhould we change with human breed, Well might we pafs for fools indeed.

§ 1249 FABLE IV. The Eagle and the Affembly of Animals.

AS Jupiter's all-fecing eye

Survey'd the worlds beneath the sky, From this fall fpeck of earth were fent Murmurs and founds of difcontent;

For

For ev'ry thing alive complain'd
That he the hardeft life fuftain'd.
Jove calls his Eagle. At the word
Before him ftands the royal bird.

The bird, obedient, from heaven's height
Downward directs his rapid flight;
Then cited ev'ry living thing
To hear the mandates of his king.
Ungrateful creatures! whence arife
These murmurs which offend the fkies?
Why this diforder? fay the caufe;
For juft are Jove's eternal laws.
Let each his difcontent reveal;
Το yon four Dog I first appeal.

Hard is my lot, the Hound replies:
On what fleet nerves the Greyhound flics!
While I, with weary ftep and flow,
O'er plains, and vales, and mountains go.
The morning fees my chace begun,
Nor ends it till the fetting fun.

1

When (fays the Greyhound) I purfuc,
My game is loft, or caught in view;
Beyond my fight the prey 's fecure :
The Hound is flow, but always fure;
And had I his fagacious fcent,
Jove ne'er had heard my difcontent.

The Lion crav'd the Fox's art;
The Fox the Lion's force and heart;
The Cock implor'd the Pigeon's flight,
Whose wings were rapid, strong, and light;
The Pigeon ftrength of wing defpis'd,
And the Cock's matchlefs valour priz'd;
The Fishes with'd to graze the plain;
The Beafts to fkim beneath the main.
Thus, envious of another's state,
Each blam'd the partial hand of Fate.

The bird of Heaven then cried aloud:
Jove bids difperfe the murm'ring crowd;
The God rejects your
idle prayers,
Would
ye, rebellious mutineers,
Entirely change your name and nature,
And be the very envied creature?
What! filent all, and none confent?
Be happy then, and learn content:
Nor imitate the restless mind,

And proud ambition, of mankind.

Yet think us not of foul fo tame, Which no repeated wrongs inflame, Infenfible of ev'ry ill,

Because we want thy tufks to kill.
Know, thofe who violence purfue,
Give to themfelves the vengeance due;
For in thefe maffacres they find

The two chief plagues that waste mankind.
Our skin fupplies the wrangling bar;
It wakes their flumb'ring tons to war;
And well revenge may reft contented,
Since drums and parchment were invented.

$126. FABLE VI. The Mifer and Plutus.
THE wind was high, the window fhakes;
With fudden ftart the Mifer wakes;
Along the filent room he stalks;
Looks back, and trembles as he walks!
Each lock and ev'ry Lolt he tries,
In ev'ry creek and corner pries;
Then opes the cheft with treafure ftor'd,
And fands in rapture o'er his hoard.
But now, with fudden qualms poffeft,
He wrings his hands, he beats his breaft;
By confcience ftung, he widely ftares,
And thus his guilty foul declares :

Had the deep earth her ftores confin'd, This heart had known fweet peace of mind. But virtue's fold! Good gods what price Can recompenfe the pangs of vice?

O bane of good! feducing cheat!

Can man, weak man, thy pow'r defeat ?
Gold banish'd honour from the mind,
And only left the name behind;
Gold fow'd the world with ev'ry ill;
Gold taught the murderer's fword to kill;
'Twas gold inftructed coward hearts
In treachery's more pernicious arts.
Who can recount the mifchiefs o'er?
Virtue refides on earth no more!

He fpoke, and figh'd.. In angry mood,
Plutus, his god, before him stood.
The Mifer, trembling, lock'd his cheft;
The vifion frown'd, and thus addrefs'd:
Whence is this vile ungrateful rant,
Each fordid rafcal's daily cant?
Did 1, bafe wretch! corrupt mankind?

8125. FABLE V. The Wild Boar and the Ram. The fault 's in thy rapacious mind.

AGAINST an elm a fheep was tied,

The butcher's knife in blood was dyed;

The patient flock, in filent fright,
From far beheld the horrid fight:
A favage Boar, who near them stood,
Thus mock'd to fcorn the fleecy brood;
All cowards fhould be ferv'd like you.
See, fee, your murd'rer is in view!
With purple hands, and reeking knife,
He ftrips the skin yet warm with life:
Your quarter'd fires, your bleeding dams,
The dying bleat of harmless lambs,
Call for revenge, O ftupid race!
The heart that wants revenge is bafe.
I grant, an ancient Ram replies,
We bear no terror in our cyes:

Because my bleffings are abus'd,
Muft I be cenfur'd, curs'd, accus'd?
E'en virtue's felf by knaves is made
A cloak to carry on the trade;

And pow'r (when lodg'd in their poffeffion)
Grows tyranny, and rank oppreffion.
Thus, when the villain crams his chest,
Gold is the canker of the breaft;
'Tis av'rice, infolence, and pride,
And ev'ry fhocking vice befide:
But when to virtuous hands 'tis given,
It bleffes like the dews of heaven;
Like Heaven. it hears the orphan's cries,
And wipes the tears from widows' eyes.
Their crimes on gold fhall mifers lay,
Who pawn'd their fordid fouls for pay?

Let

Let bravoes then (when blood is spilt) Upbraid the paffive fword with guilt.

A

127. FABLE VII.

As Doris, at her toilet's duty,
Sat meditating on her beauty,
She now was penfive, now was gay,

The Lion, the Fox, and And loll'd the fultry hours away.

the Geefe.

LION, tir'd with state affairs,

Quite fick of pomp, and worn with cares,
Refolv'd (remote from noife and ftrife)
In peace to pafs his latter life.

It was proclaim'd; the day was fet:
Behold the gen'ral council met.

The Fox was viceroy nam'd. The crowd
To the new Regent humbly bow'd.
Wolves, tears, and mighty tigers bend,
And frive who moft fhall condefcend.
He ftraight affumes a folemn grace,
Collects his wifdom in his face.
The crowd admire his wit, his sense;
Each word hath weight and consequence.
The flatt'rer all his art displays:
He who hath pow'r is fure of praife.
A fox ftepp'd forth before the reft,
And thus the fervile throng addrefs'd:
How vaft his talents, born to rule,
And train'd in virtue's honeft fchool!
What clemency his temper fways!
How uncorrupt are all his ways!
Beneath his conduct and command
Rapine fhall ceafe to waste the land.
His brain hath ftratagem and art;
Prudence and mercy rule his heart.
What bleffings must attend the nation
Under this good administration!

He faid. A Goofe, who diftant stood,
Harangu'd apart the cackling brood:
Whene'er I hear a knave commend,
He bids me fhun his worthy friend.
What praife! what mighty commendation!
But 'twas a Fox who spoke th' oration.
Foxes this government may prize,
As gentle, plentiful, and wife;
If they enjoy the sweets, 'tis plain,
We Geefe muft feel a tyrant reign.
What havoc now fhall thin our race,
When ev'ry petty clerk in place,
To prove his tafte, and feem polite,
Will feed on Geefe both noon and night!

128. FABLE VIII. The Lady and the Wafp. WHAT whifpers must the beauty bear!

What hourly nonfenfe haunts her ear!
Where'er her eyes difpenfe their charms,
Impertinence around her swarms.
Did not the tender nonfenfe ftrike,
Contempt and fcorn might foon diflike:
Forbidding airs might thin the place;
The flightest flap a fly can chase.
But who can drive the num'rous breed!
Chafe one, another will fucceed.

Who knows a fool, must know his brother;
One fop will recommend another:
And with this plague the's rightly curft,
Because the liften'd to the first,

As thus in indolence the lies,
A giddy wafp around her flies,
He now advances, now retires,
Now to her neck and cheek afpires.
Her fan in vain defends her charms;
Swift he returns again alarms;
For by repulfe he bolder grew,

Perch'd on her lip, and fipp'd the dew.

She frowns, the frets. Good gods! the cries, Protect me from thefe teafing flies!

Of all the plagues that Heaven hath fent,
A Wafp is moft impertinent.

The hov'ring infect thus complain'd:
Am I then flighted, fcorn'd, difdain'd?
Can fuch offence your anger wake?
'Twas beauty caus'd the bold mistake.
Thofe cherry lips that breathe perfume,
That cheek fo ripe with youthful bloom,
Made me with ftrong defire purfue
The fairest peach that ever grew.

Strike him not, Jenny, Doris cries,
Nor murder Wafps like vulgar flies:
For though he 's free, (to do him right)
The creature 's civil and polite.

In ecftafies away he posts;
Where'er he came the favour boasts;
Brags how her fweeteft tea he fips,
And fhews the fugar on his lips.

The hint alarm'd the forward crew;
Sure of fuccefs, away they flew.
They fhare the dainties of the day,
Round her with airy mufic play;
And now they flutter, now they reft,
Now foar again. and fkim her breaft.
Nor were they banish'd tili the found
That Wafps have ftings, and felt the wound.

$129. FABLE IX. The Bull and the Mafiff.
SEEK you to train your fav'rite boy?
Each caution, ev'ry care employ :
And ere you venture to confide,
Let his preceptor's heart be tried:
Weigh well his manners, life, and scope;
On thefe depends thy future hope.

As on a time, in peaceful reign,
A Bull enjoy'd the flow'ry plain,
A Maftiff pafs'd; inflam'd with ire,
His eye-balls fhot indignant fire;
He foam'd, he rag'd with thirft of blood,
Spurning the ground the monarch stood
And roar'd aloud-Sufpend the fight;
In a whole skin go fleep to-night:
Or tell me, ere the battle rage,
What wrongs provoke thee to engage?
Is it ambition fires thy breaft,
Or avarice, that ne'er can rest ?
From thefe alone unjustly springs
The world-deftroying wrath of kings.
The furly Maftiff thus returns:
Within my bofom glory burns.

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