111:00,000@@@@@| <Gould, Robert: The Works (1709)>
111:00,000['  ]| <VOLUME the FIRST. (POEMS).>
111:00,000['  ]| <EPISTLES From the Country.>
111:01,000['  ]| <To my Lord of Abingdon at his Country House.>
111:01,001[A  ]| Happy the Man that from the Town retires,
111:01,002[A  ]| And with it quits all vain and loose Desires;
111:01,003[A  ]| That, born for Peace, the Country's soft Repose
111:01,004[A  ]| Does early love, and but with Life will lose!
111:01,005[A  ]| This Man, my Lord, like You his Hours does spend,
111:01,006[A  ]| Such You began, and such You'll surely end:
111:01,007[A  ]| Peace You enjoy, and Peace around You give,
111:01,008[A  ]| Such is Your Life, and such the Shepherds live.
111:01,009[A  ]| Prudence your Mind, and Plenty fills your Board,
111:01,010[A  ]| And every Day does equal Stores afford.
111:01,011[A  ]| Thus Circulating Pleasures round You move,
111:01,012[A  ]| All Sports of River, Mountain, Field and Grove;
111:01,013[A  ]| O Pleasure but to be excelled above!
111:01,014[A  ]| How blest am I, unworthily your Care,
111:01,015[A  ]| Called from the Town and placed in Safety here,
111:01,016[A  ]| Free from the Ills that did surround me there:
111:01,017[A  ]| The Flatterer's Smiles, and the false Friend's Embrace,
111:01,018[A  ]| (Ah why are Minds not written on the Face!)
111:01,019[A  ]| From Tradesmen's Cheats, and Blockhead's Doggerel Rhymes,
111:01,020[A  ]| Which now are grown the Grievance of the Times:
111:01,021[A  ]| To this we'll add what more our Peace does wrong,
111:01,022[A  ]| The Harlot's Tail ~~ and worse, the Lawyer's Tongue.
111:01,023[A  ]| The Lawyer, born to be a Friend to none,
111:01,024[A  ]| False to our Interest, falser to their own;
111:01,025[A  ]| For if a Future Doom their Errors wait,
111:01,026[A  ]| Where is that One will pass the Narrow Gate?
111:01,027[A  ]| The Text that says a Camel may as well
111:01,028[A  ]| Go through a Needle, as the Rich escape Hell,
111:01,029[A  ]| Was meant of Lawyers: ~~ the ill-gotten Store
111:01,030[A  ]| That makes one Rich, has made three Nations Poor.
111:01,031[A  ]| Had I a thousand Sons, e'er one should be
111:01,032[A  ]| A Member of that vile Society,
111:01,033[A  ]| I'd in the Temple hang him up; nay boil
111:01,034[A  ]| His Quarters, as a Traitor's are, in Oil,
111:01,035[A  ]| To fright all Future Villains from the Soil.
111:01,036[A  ]| Freed from all this, and pleased she now is there
111:01,037[A  ]| Where the fresh Seasons breathe their vital Air,
111:01,038[A  ]| The Muse (that has in Town been long confined,)
111:01,039[A  ]| And doomed to Business where she least inclined,)
111:01,040[A  ]| Does now again her wonted Spright resume,
111:01,041[A  ]| And with gay Feathers deck her airy Plume;
111:01,042[A  ]| Ranging the Country round for Subject where
111:01,043[A  ]| To employ her utmost Skill, and kindliest Care,
111:01,044[A  ]| Some noble Theme! that she may towering rise,
111:01,045[A  ]| And bear the Joyful Accents to the Skies.
111:01,046[A  ]| So the glad Lark after a stormy Night,
111:01,047[A  ]| (The Cloudless Morning smiling on her Flight)
111:01,048[A  ]| Pruned for the airy Journey, tries her Wings;
111:01,049[A  ]| Then with unlessening Vigour upward springs,
111:01,050[A  ]| To Heaven her Note she sends, or thence her Note she brings!
111:01,051[A  ]| But long she need not look, her Game's in view;
111:01,052[A  ]| Her best, her noblest, dearest Theme is YOU!
111:01,053[A  ]| Not Soldiers when they plunge into the Fight,
111:01,054[A  ]| Wish more for Conquest, or the Blind for Sight;
111:01,055[A  ]| Not Morning Brides long more for Night to prove
111:01,056[A  ]| The mutual Sweets of undissembled Love;
111:01,057[A  ]| Nor the Ambitious more Delight in Fame,
111:01,058[A  ]| Than she in Rural Cells to sound your Name.
111:01,059[A  ]| To bless your Choice that here set up your Rest
111:01,060[A  ]| Where Innocence and Honesty's professed.
111:01,061[A  ]| No Courtier's Promise here our Hope beguiles,
111:01,062[A  ]| No Villain's Art, or Woman's subtler Wiles,
111:01,063[A  ]| All Falsehood, though she weep, or frown, or smiles.
111:01,064[A  ]| Securely here the Natives pass their Days,
111:01,065[A  ]| Securely here you meet unenvied Praise.
111:01,066[A  ]| Let Statesmen on their Country's Ruin rise,
111:01,067[A  ]| And Priests be only Atheists in Disguise;
111:01,068[A  ]| Let costly Whores sit at the Helm of State,
111:01,069[A  ]| Pull down our Patriots, and make Panders Great;
111:01,070[A  ]| Let fluttering Coxcombs lewdly waste their Days
111:01,071[A  ]| In nauseous Converse, or more nauseous Plays;
111:01,072[A  ]| Let, like Contagion, Vice the City seize,
111:01,073[A  ]| Run through all Sexes, Ages, and Degrees,
111:01,074[A  ]| And the Physician side with the Disease.
111:01,075[A  ]| In vain it yet your Virtue would attack,
111:01,076[A  ]| You do but frown and drive the Siren back:
111:01,077[A  ]| The General Post, untainted you've withstood,
111:01,078[A  ]| And think it truly Noble to be truly Good.
111:01,079[A  ]| Proud of their Titles, Equipage and Clothes,
111:01,080[A  ]| Some Men never mention God but in their Oaths:
111:01,081[A  ]| Religion they believe beneath their Race,
111:01,082[A  ]| And only Poor Plebeians fit for Grace:
111:01,083[A  ]| Their Wickedness is all their Proof for Wit,
111:01,084[A  ]| And that of Honesty to keep in Debt.
111:01,085[A  ]| O Stain to Quality! O Age accurst!
111:01,086[A  ]| When the best-born are in their Practice worst.
111:01,087[A  ]| Yet such (though only Virtue should be Great)
111:01,088[A  ]| Are trusted at the Helm, and steer the State.
111:01,089[A  ]| How strangely do these Legislators run
111:01,090[A  ]| From their own Acts? Make Laws, but practise none,
111:01,091[A  ]| Neither of those in Scripture, nor their Own.
111:01,092[A  ]| Edicts to keep the Sabbath more severe
111:01,093[A  ]| Are issued out, when nothing's less their Care;
111:01,094[A  ]| So much forgetting, commonly, the Day,
111:01,095[A  ]| They've missed the Church and driven to the Play:
111:01,096[A  ]| There lies their Main Devotion: ~~ And yet wise
111:01,097[A  ]| They must be thought; but all their Learning Lies
111:01,098[A  ]| In Votes, Gazettes, and reading Ladies' Eyes:
111:01,099[A  ]| Where if they meet with Virtue, (which is rare)
111:01,100[A  ]| They but admire that they may next ensnare.
111:01,101[A  ]| So Schismatics on Scripture show their Art,
111:01,102[A  ]| And Texts not for them wickedly pervert.
111:01,103[A  ]| But you, my Lord, more wisely place aright
111:01,104[A  ]| In Nobler Authors your sublime Delight;
111:01,105[A  ]| Authors that don't the less attract the Eye,
111:01,106[A  ]| Because their Themes are Truth and Piety.
111:01,107[A  ]| The Writers in their Notions more abstruse,
111:01,108[A  ]| You, in their Way, to like Advantage use:
111:01,109[A  ]| These with sure Judgement and a reaching Eye
111:01,110[A  ]| You search, and into hidden Causes pry,
111:01,111[A  ]| Look Nature through make all their Roughness plain;
111:01,112[A  ]| And find what Men well Learned have sought in vain.
111:01,113[A  ]| Ah! would the Atheist seriously incline,
111:01,114[A  ]| Like YOU, to ponder things that are Divine;
111:01,115[A  ]| Observe how GOD's high Wisdom does disperse
111:01,116[A  ]| His quickening Influence through the Universe;
111:01,117[A  ]| How orderly Sun, Moon and Stars advance,
111:01,118[A  ]| Create the Seasons in their Various Dance,
111:01,119[A  ]| And show their Essence not the Work of Chance;
111:01,120[A  ]| But that the Almighty made, and is the Soul
111:01,121[A  ]| That actuates and maintains the Mighty Whole.
111:01,122[A  ]| Would he but faithfully on this reflect,
111:01,123[A  ]| With just Confusion he'd his Crimes reject;
111:01,124[A  ]| And, when unprejudiced, by Reason see
111:01,125[A  ]| In the least Spire of Grass the Deity.
111:01,126[A  ]| But such you rather pity than deride,
111:01,127[A  ]| Seduced by Luxury, and confirmed by Pride.
111:01,128[A  ]| To call them Fools they think a gross Abuse;
111:01,129[A  ]| And if they've Sense, they can have no Excuse
111:01,130[A  ]| For putting such a Gift to such an Use.
111:01,131[A  ]| Than Beasts why are we Nobler, but to know
111:01,132[A  ]| And Contemplate the Power that made us so?
111:01,133[A  ]| Though, Living, these let bold Expressions fly,
111:01,134[A  ]| Droll on a Future State, and Heaven defy,
111:01,135[A  ]| They're sordid Cowards when they come to Die;
111:01,136[A  ]| When for that Endless Station they embark,
111:01,137[A  ]| Which Hobbs would call a Leap into the Dark:
111:01,138[A  ]| The Dark, indeed! his Portion must be Night,
111:01,139[A  ]| That shuts his Eyes against so clear a Light,
111:01,140[A  ]| And laughs at Scripture that would guide him Right.
111:01,141[A  ]| Happy the Man that to be Virtuous strives,
111:01,142[A  ]| And is prepared when the black Hour arrives:
111:01,143[A  ]| Ten thousand Fears he daily does eschew,
111:01,144[A  ]| That in wild Shapes the guilty Wretch pursue:
111:01,145[A  ]| His smooth paced Hours unmurmuring glide away,
111:01,146[A  ]| His Troubles vanish, and his Comforts stay.
111:01,147[A  ]| Of all the Good with which Mankind is blest,
111:01,148[A  ]| That of a Conscience free from Guile is best.
111:01,149[A  ]| Thus all your Words, and all your Actions, show
111:01,150[A  ]| The Fountain's Purity from whence they flow.
111:01,151[A  ]| For who the Top of Honour would attain,
111:01,152[A  ]| Must never do nothing mean, or lewd, or vain:
111:01,153[A  ]| How e'er that Term by Fops is understood,
111:01,154[A  ]| 'Twas Virtue first that did distinguish Blood.
111:01,155[A  ]| What signifies it though one boast he brings
111:01,156[A  ]| His Pedigree from Conquerors and Kings;
111:01,157[A  ]| If by ill Actions he debase his Birth,
111:01,158[A  ]| And grow the Public Scorn, or Public Mirth?
111:01,159[A  ]| In vain his high Descent and Ancient Stem,
111:01,160[A  ]| There is more Honour in a Dog than Him;
111:01,161[A  ]| Who taught by Instinct, and to Instinct true,
111:01,162[A  ]| The proper End he's made for does pursue:
111:01,163[A  ]| While Coxcombs ridicule Shape, Face and Mind,
111:01,164[A  ]| And will be that for which they're not designed.
111:01,165[A  ]| Cowards in Scarf and Scarlet will appear,
111:01,166[A  ]| The Foul pursue the Favour of the Fair;
111:01,167[A  ]| Fools, that should most be silent, most will prate,
111:01,168[A  ]| And your bribed Member thinks he props the State:
111:01,169[A  ]| If to another Age like this we live,
111:01,170[A  ]| Our Property will all resolve into Prerogative.
111:01,171[A  ]| 'Tis he alone has an Intrepid Soul
111:01,172[A  ]| Whom Malice can't corrupt, or Fear control;
111:01,173[A  ]| That makes the British Glory still his Care,
111:01,174[A  ]| Its Ornament in Peace, and Thunderbolt in War;
111:01,175[A  ]| That sternly to the Beard opposes Pride,
111:01,176[A  ]| And in all Strifes assists the Rightful Side:
111:01,177[A  ]| Flattery he scorns, so never falsely smiles,
111:01,178[A  ]| No Scripture ridicules, or Church reviles:
111:01,179[A  ]| In Posts of Trust all By-Regards he hates,
111:01,180[A  ]| Nor from the Public Misery drains Estates:
111:01,181[A  ]| Merit he does encourage all he can,
111:01,182[A  ]| His Age continues what his Youth began;
111:01,183[A  ]| This only is the Honourable Man.
111:01,184[A  ]| In this old English Path you bravely show
111:01,185[A  ]| How far a true Heroic Soul may go:
111:01,186[A  ]| And then (a Blessing we but seldom find)
111:01,187[A  ]| Your high Extractions mated to your Mind,
111:01,188[A  ]| The brighter both when with each other joined:
111:01,189[A  ]| There's none so Great but he may Greater grow,
111:01,190[A  ]| If with his Noble Birth he's Virtuous too:
111:01,191[A  ]| Honour does then with double Glory shine,
111:01,192[A  ]| Ennobled, and Ennobling of the Line:
111:01,193[A  ]| Such Men are raised above the World's distrust,
111:01,194[A  ]| They will not, dare not, cannot be unjust,
111:01,195[A  ]| Nor basely side with Arbitrary Lust.
111:01,196[A  ]| Thus, Justice we in all your Actions see,
111:01,197[A  ]| Without which there were no Humanity:
111:01,198[A  ]| The Christian Name preposterously he bears,
111:01,199[A  ]| That uses his own Fellow Creatures worse than Brutes do theirs.
111:01,200[A  ]| But who can here omit (what ought to be
111:01,201[A  ]| Admired and Praised by all) your Charity?
111:01,202[A  ]| On those that love the Poor what Joys attend!
111:01,203[A  ]| But chiefly this ~~ he makes his GOD his Friend.
111:01,204[A  ]| Who with this Virtue ever was a Slave?
111:01,205[A  ]| Or who e'er wanted the Relief he gave?
111:01,206[A  ]| Let those (ye Powers!) be poor themselves that take
111:01,207[A  ]| No Care of those in Want, but rather Poorer make;
111:01,208[A  ]| Let not one Soul be softened with their Cries,
111:01,209[A  ]| That they may feel the Misery they despise.
111:01,210[A  ]| And, to be plain, what Mercy can they e'er
111:01,211[A  ]| Expect from Heaven that not one Debtor spare?
111:01,212[A  ]| That leave not on their naked Limbs a Thread,
111:01,213[A  ]| And from the Labourer force his daily Bread ~~
111:01,214[A  ]| Has the Rich Man a Greater GOD than they?
111:01,215[A  ]| Or can he boast he's made of finer Clay?
111:01,216[A  ]| Or will he have more Favour on the Judgement Day?
111:01,217[A  ]| 'Twas Charity redeemed us from the Sin
111:01,218[A  ]| Which our first Parents' Fall had plunged us in;
111:01,219[A  ]| And, with the dearest Love that e'er was shown,
111:01,220[A  ]| To raise us thither, sent a SAVIOUR down;
111:01,221[A  ]| Who all that they had Lost, Regained: ~~ and can
111:01,222[A  ]| We do no more at his Command that did so much for Man ~~
111:01,223[A  ]| But such as these who can despise, like YOU,
111:01,224[A  ]| And by the ill Example better grow;
111:01,225[A  ]| That Greatness can't corrupt, or Courts entice,
111:01,226[A  ]| Those Antic Schools of fashionable Vice;
111:01,227[A  ]| That in his Heart prefers his Country Seat,
111:01,228[A  ]| And relishes the Sweets of his Retreat;
111:01,229[A  ]| Thinks it a Blessing London cannot give,
111:01,230[A  ]| So lives, nay more, and so designs to live;
111:01,231[A  ]| Whose piercing Eye the Flatterer can't escape,
111:01,232[A  ]| Found and despised in his most softening Shape;
111:01,233[A  ]| That Counter-weighs against an Age's Crimes,
111:01,234[A  ]| And is a good Man in the worst of Times;
111:01,235[A  ]| 'Tis there the mighty Nine their Voice should raise,
111:01,236[A  ]| And to the Vaults of Heaven resound his Praise;
111:01,237[A  ]| Along with Abingdon's the Name should roll,
111:01,238[A  ]| And, driving, Echo on from Pole to Pole.
111:01,239[A  ]| Pardon, my Lord, that I have here so long
111:01,240[A  ]| Done both your Virtue and your Patience wrong:
111:01,241[A  ]| On this I have entrenched, but blame my Fault;
111:01,242[A  ]| Nor have described the other as I ought:
111:01,243[A  ]| Yet since you condescend to indulge the Muse,
111:01,244[A  ]| What you encourage you'll, perhaps, excuse:
111:01,245[A  ]| Kindly you still on her Endeavours smile,
111:01,246[A  ]| And with a bounteous Hand reward her Toil.
111:01,247[A  ]| O had I Strength to Balance my Desire,
111:01,248[A  ]| Or would the God Heroic Thoughts inspire,
111:01,249[A  ]| To your high Worth a Lasting Fame I'd give ~~
111:01,250[A  ]| Nor shall it Die if what I write does Live.
111:02,000@@@@@| 
111:02,000['  ]| <Gould, Robert: The Works (1709)>
111:02,000['  ]| <VOLUME the FIRST. (POEMS).>
111:02,000['  ]| <Miscellanies.>
111:02,000['  ]| <To my Lord Chamberlain at Bath.>
111:02,001[A  ]| This healing Stream, this Aesculapian spring,
111:02,002[A  ]| That from all Parts does such a Confluence bring,
111:02,003[A  ]| Of Lame and Blind, of Sound and Sick and Sore,
111:02,004[A  ]| Of Knave and Fool, and worse, of Bawd and Whore;
111:02,005[A  ]| Though Wonders it is sometimes said to do,
111:02,006[A  ]| Does yet confine those Wonders to a few:
111:02,007[A  ]| Yet vainly all expect to have a Share,
111:02,008[A  ]| The Rotten would be sound, the Foul be fair;
111:02,009[A  ]| The wrinkled Beldam would new Pleasure prove,
111:02,010[A  ]| And, like a Punk of Twenty, chatters Love.
111:02,011[A  ]| The stale debilitated Lover here
111:02,012[A  ]| Expects Relief, and gazing on the Fair,
111:02,013[A  ]| Feels Heat return; but 'tis so false a Fire,
111:02,014[A  ]| It never reaches further than Desire.
111:02,015[A  ]| How madly does that Man his Hours employ
111:02,016[A  ]| That still does wish and never can enjoy ~~
111:02,017[A  ]| That past the Fact, is yet not past the Fault,
111:02,018[A  ]| And damns himself by being lewd in Thought ~~
111:02,019[A  ]| Then for the Coxcombs (not to name their Clothes,
111:02,020[A  ]| Their Dancing, Raffling, Drinking, Noise and Oaths)
111:02,021[A  ]| Their Treats and Entertainments make it plain,
111:02,022[A  ]| They come alike to be relieved in vain.
111:02,023[A  ]| It never was presumed that bathing yet
111:02,024[A  ]| Reformed a Fool, and made him grow a Wit.
111:02,025[A  ]| Though Thousands have been eased of Cramps and Pains,
111:02,026[A  ]| Of Palsies, Itches, Botches, Scurfs and Blains,
111:02,027[A  ]| It fails when the Distemper's in the Brains.
111:02,028[A  ]| But though the Fops are thus deceived we find
111:02,029[A  ]| The fruitful Stream to youthful Ladies kind;
111:02,030[A  ]| Who with their open Breasts and swimming Bowls,
111:02,031[A  ]| (As others Angle Gudgeons) fish for Fools;
111:02,032[A  ]| Here still at Hand, and careless of their Fate,
111:02,033[A  ]| You'll find a Hundred biting at a Bait:
111:02,034[A  ]| And oft indeed, the Bait is not so small,
111:02,035[A  ]| But there's enough to satisfy them all.
111:02,036[A  ]| This for the Glory of the WATER makes,
111:02,037[A  ]| Which hence its kind prolific Nature takes.
111:02,038[A  ]| Oft has the Lady (her good Man at Home,
111:02,039[A  ]| Invoking Heaven to unseal her sterile Womb)
111:02,040[A  ]| Here first conceived; then to her Husband flown
111:02,041[A  ]| With hast, to keep the Theft from being known,
111:02,042[A  ]| While he thought all was well, and all his own.
111:02,043[A  ]| A Fortnight's time in reckoning breaks no Squares,
111:02,044[A  ]| Or, if it should, 'twere a bad Day for Heirs.
111:02,045[A  ]| But now some Lady, that's adored the most,
111:02,046[A  ]| Is chosen out to be that Morning's Toast:
111:02,047[A  ]| For her the Music plays; the Healths go round
111:02,048[A  ]| The Toast! the Toast! ~~ and stun us with the sound:
111:02,049[A  ]| She all the while, kind Nymph, the Gallery plies,
111:02,050[A  ]| And with admiring meets admiring Eyes;
111:02,051[A  ]| Proud of the Honour thus to rule the Roast
111:02,052[A  ]| She swims along the Bath ~~ the Toast, the Toast!
111:02,053[A  ]| Pity they would not one step higher go,
111:02,054[A  ]| And drink the Liquor it was soaked in too.
111:02,055[A  ]| Who would comply with such a nauseous Fashion,
111:02,056[A  ]| And rather not, with Lear, call out in Passion
111:02,057[A  ]| For Civet to refresh the Imagination?
111:02,058[A  ]| But while my Mind thus freely I express,
111:02,059[A  ]| I have forgot to whom I make Address.
111:02,060[A  ]| Pardon, my Lord, that thus I entertain
111:02,061[A  ]| Your Ears with things ridiculous and vain,
111:02,062[A  ]| And idly tread the Satire's thorny Ways,
111:02,063[A  ]| When Dorset was so just a Theme for Praise.
111:03,000@@@@@| 
111:03,000['  ]| <Gould, Robert: The Works (1709)>
111:03,000['  ]| <VOLUME the SECOND. (SATYRS).>
111:03,000['  ]| <Pindarick Poems.>
111:03,000['  ]| <To the Society of the Beaux Esprits.>
111:03,000['  ]| <ODE.>
111:03,000['  ]| <I.>
111:03,001[A  ]| If Poets when they undertake
111:03,002[A  ]| Some happy glorious Theme,
111:03,003[A  ]| That does their Hero's Worth Immortal make
111:03,004[A  ]| And settle in the foremost Rank of Fame;
111:03,005[A  ]| If they invoke some GOD to be
111:03,006[A  ]| Propitious, and infuse
111:03,007[A  ]| Life, Spirit, Warmth and Vigour in the Muse,
111:03,008[A  ]| Such as may Animate the whole Design,
111:03,009[A  ]| And show they're guided by a Hand Divine;
111:03,010[A  ]| What Power? What Deity
111:03,011[A  ]| (You learned Society)
111:03,012[A  ]| Must be invoked by Me?
111:03,013[A  ]| 'Tis YOU, Great Souls, and only YOU
111:03,014[A  ]| Whose Fame I sing must aid me too:
111:03,015[A  ]| If you assist, the Work will shine
111:03,016[A  ]| With something Heavenly every Line;
111:03,017[A  ]| But all must fail, if all be Mine.
111:03,000['  ]| <II.>
111:03,018[A  ]| No tedious Ways You've taken to your Fame,
111:03,019[A  ]| No vain Meanders traced,
111:03,020[A  ]| At something certain you direct your Aim;
111:03,021[A  ]| While those that obstinately go astray,
111:03,022[A  ]| And walk by Guess when there's a Beaten Way,
111:03,023[A  ]| Are but the more remarkably disgraced.
111:03,024[A  ]| So the dull Chemist with much Toil and Pain,
111:03,025[A  ]| And equal Loss of Time and Brain,
111:03,026[A  ]| Preposterously wears out his wretched Days
111:03,027[A  ]| In solid Vanity and empty Praise;
111:03,028[A  ]| And all to find (such Notions does he start)
111:03,029[A  ]| What neither is in Nature, or in Art.
111:03,030[A  ]| In vain they strive that pass-less Rock to explore,
111:03,031[A  ]| Where they have seen so many split before,
111:03,032[A  ]| And lost on the inhospitable Shore;
111:03,033[A  ]| Castles erecting fondly in the Air;
111:03,034[A  ]| Rapt with the Bliss
111:03,035[A  ]| They shall possess
111:03,036[A  ]| In their new Golden Worlds ~~ the Lord knows where!
111:03,037[A  ]| But after all, we see,
111:03,038[A  ]| (And they themselves at last as well as we)
111:03,039[A  ]| When their whole Lives are in expectance gone,
111:03,040[A  ]| (Betrayed by Hope, and led deluded on)
111:03,041[A  ]| Instead of the famed Stone, so much their Care,
111:03,042[A  ]| There's nothing left Existing but Despair,
111:03,043[A  ]| A Dismal Prospect of their Folly past,
111:03,044[A  ]| Their Treasure's vanished, and their Want's to last.
111:03,000['  ]| <III.>
111:03,045[A  ]| When first you did your Forces join,
111:03,046[A  ]| When first you did your Mingled Lustre twine
111:03,047[A  ]| In that Bright Orb where now you shine,
111:03,048[A  ]| Making, in what you Spoke and Writ,
111:03,049[A  ]| A Perfect Galaxy of Wit,
111:03,050[A  ]| Stretched all across the Muse's Sky,
111:03,051[A  ]| As truly Great, and as sublimely high:
111:03,052[A  ]| That you might still remain the same,
111:03,053[A  ]| And carry on a Deathless Name,
111:03,054[A  ]| You none among you would admit,
111:03,055[A  ]| Though never so Powerful, Rich, or Great,
111:03,056[A  ]| That set up Blasphemy for Wit.
111:03,057[A  ]| Nor those that with as small Excuse,
111:03,058[A  ]| Run into Bawdry and Abuse.
111:03,059[A  ]| Nor yet the Coxcombs who have no Pretence
111:03,060[A  ]| But Titles to be Men of Sense.
111:03,061[A  ]| No Scribblers, whose flagitious Rhymes
111:03,062[A  ]| Confirm the Vicious in their Crimes.
111:03,063[A  ]| No Fools enamoured of their Lungs,
111:03,064[A  ]| With Souls transfused into their Songs:
111:03,065[A  ]| That gargling Revel-rout that Durf---y rules;
111:03,066[A  ]| The Captain-General of the Phyllis-Fools.
111:03,067[A  ]| To none
111:03,068[A  ]| Was the great Blessing shown
111:03,069[A  ]| But who brought equal Merit of their own;
111:03,070[A  ]| Such as were Worthy, and believed
111:03,071[A  ]| The Honour Worthy they received:
111:03,072[A  ]| That loathed the crying Vices of the Age,
111:03,073[A  ]| And the loose Scenes of the declining Stage.
111:03,000['  ]| <IV.>
111:03,074[A  ]| Thus Constituted you your Race began,
111:03,075[A  ]| And at the Goal already are arrived;
111:03,076[A  ]| Unlike the Greshamites, who slower run,
111:03,077[A  ]| And have their Fame survived.
111:03,078[A  ]| Then, that you still may know Content,
111:03,079[A  ]| You give no sharp Invectives vent,
111:03,080[A  ]| Especially on Government:
111:03,081[A  ]| What ever a Race of Malcontents have writ,
111:03,082[A  ]| While on the Kingly Power they Brooding sit,
111:03,083[A  ]| The Loyal Man is much the Nobler Wit.
111:03,084[A  ]| Nor do you take Delight to pry
111:03,085[A  ]| Into the Dark-wrought Snares of Policy;
111:03,086[A  ]| Made intricate by Juggling Elves,
111:03,087[A  ]| And often proves a Maze to lose themselves.
111:03,088[A  ]| Never vex, or wonder at the prosperous Fate
111:03,089[A  ]| That does on Fools and Villains wait,
111:03,090[A  ]| And to the highest Grandeur raise;
111:03,091[A  ]| Where they like Meteors blaze,
111:03,092[A  ]| With all the lavish Poets wanton in their Praise:
111:03,093[A  ]| This styles them Noble, and that calls them Just,
111:03,094[A  ]| And tells how well they have discharged their Trust;
111:03,095[A  ]| Though they raised all their Store
111:03,096[A  ]| By peeling of the Public and the Poor;
111:03,097[A  ]| As by Estates, soon got, we're sure they must:
111:03,098[A  ]| Gain, only Gain their whole Intent;
111:03,099[A  ]| Forgetting what the Scriptures teach,
111:03,100[A  ]| That He that's hasty to be Rich
111:03,101[A  ]| Shall not be Innocent.
111:03,102[A  ]| Another does their Eloquence approve,
111:03,103[A  ]| As if their Tongues were tuned above,
111:03,104[A  ]| And swears like Orpheus's Harp, they make the Forests move:
111:03,105[A  ]| Though to the Man that nicely marks,
111:03,106[A  ]| A Dog keeps more Coherence when he barks.
111:03,107[A  ]| Thus for a while they flourish ~~ but anon
111:03,108[A  ]| Some sudden Storm of State comes pouring on;
111:03,109[A  ]| Nor will it give them time to breathe:
111:03,110[A  ]| Seized! Tried! Convicted! ~~ then they sadly see
111:03,111[A  ]| How much a guilty Wealth's beneath
111:03,112[A  ]| An Honest Poverty.
111:03,000['  ]| <V.>
111:03,113[A  ]| Nor is your precious Time misspent
111:03,114[A  ]| In the vile Clamours of the Bar;
111:03,115[A  ]| Where the loud Tough-Lunged Tribe, on Gain intent,
111:03,116[A  ]| Wage an Eternal War.
111:03,117[A  ]| The Cause now opening, either Side
111:03,118[A  ]| Draw up and for Defence provide:
111:03,119[A  ]| These first the Desperate Onset give,
111:03,120[A  ]| And those as Desperately receive.
111:03,121[A  ]| Meanwhile the Auxiliary Band
111:03,122[A  ]| That the Defendant Chiefs Command,
111:03,123[A  ]| The Swiss that Swear on either Side for Pay,
111:03,124[A  ]| March boldly up and plunge into the Fray.
111:03,125[A  ]| And now the Plaintiff Squadrons seem to yield,
111:03,126[A  ]| And wild Disorder covers all the Field:
111:03,127[A  ]| When, of a Sudden, Lo! the vanquished War
111:03,128[A  ]| Rallies afresh, and threatens from afar:
111:03,129[A  ]| Their Heroes of the Post they now display,
111:03,130[A  ]| Which they behind had closely laid,
111:03,131[A  ]| For a Reserve, in Ambuscade,
111:03,132[A  ]| And by clear Dint of Perjury turn the Day.
111:03,133[A  ]| And now the Battle hangs in Even Scale,
111:03,134[A  ]| Nor those can Conquer, nor can these prevail.
111:03,135[A  ]| Meanwhile, upon this Poise of Fate,
111:03,136[A  ]| The Chiefs again renew the dire Debate,
111:03,137[A  ]| With Din enough to deafen Billingsgate.
111:03,138[A  ]| This is the Issue of a hungry Clown,
111:03,139[A  ]| And wore his Leathern Breeches up to Town.
111:03,140[A  ]| That has a Conscience steeled, and this a Face
111:03,141[A  ]| Of right Corinthian Brass;
111:03,142[A  ]| And he that Brays so loudly is an Ass.
111:03,143[A  ]| But when the Pleading's at an End,
111:03,144[A  ]| They have no further to contend:
111:03,145[A  ]| Then all their Animosity and Strife
111:03,146[A  ]| Is how to make the Cause as long as Life;
111:03,147[A  ]| And, in large brimming Bowls,
111:03,148[A  ]| To quaff in Burgundy the Spoil of Fools.
111:03,000['  ]| <VI.>
111:03,149[A  ]| O Madness! Madness to the last Excess!
111:03,150[A  ]| Nor can the Frenzy well be less,
111:03,151[A  ]| While thus we're Goaded on to Wickedness:
111:03,152[A  ]| Envy and Hatred would of Course expire,
111:03,153[A  ]| Were not the Lawyer by to feed the Fire.
111:03,154[A  ]| Their packing Juries too we can't forbear,
111:03,155[A  ]| The Harvest rises plenteous there.
111:03,156[A  ]| Four Crops at least in the most Barren Year.
111:03,157[A  ]| By them in Trials we're absolved, or doomed,
111:03,158[A  ]| The Judge but as a Cypher stands;
111:03,159[A  ]| For though the Evidence be rightly summed,
111:03,160[A  ]| The main Decision falls of Course to other Hands.
111:03,161[A  ]| Even in the best of Times we can't deny
111:03,162[A  ]| "The Jury passing on the Prisoner's Life
111:03,163[A  ]| "In the sworn Twelve may have a Thief
111:03,164[A  ]| "Guiltier than him they try:
111:03,165[A  ]| But now the Lawyer does much deeper strike,
111:03,166[A  ]| And all the Impanelled List are Rogues alike:
111:03,167[A  ]| In vain they half are Challenged; still we find
111:03,168[A  ]| Though Bad's Excepted, worse is left behind.
111:03,169[A  ]| Break Houses up, let Blood be spilt,
111:03,170[A  ]| The Bribery will not find the Guilt.
111:03,171[A  ]| Buy an Estate without one Farthing's Aid,
111:03,172[A  ]| Owe Thousands to the Men of Trade,
111:03,173[A  ]| The Attorney palms the Jury ~~ and 'tis paid.
111:03,174[A  ]| None better know the Law was meant
111:03,175[A  ]| Injustice to redress,
111:03,176[A  ]| To free the Poor and Innocent,
111:03,177[A  ]| And make Oppression less;
111:03,178[A  ]| None better know ~~ but here's the Curse,
111:03,179[A  ]| No Men employ that Knowledge worse:
111:03,180[A  ]| Not Devils clothed in Flesh and Blood
111:03,181[A  ]| Could more delight in Gain, or fly so fast from Good.
111:03,182[A  ]| How could Gray's-Inn or how the Temple rise
111:03,183[A  ]| (Such Pompous Piles as even out-brave the Skies,
111:03,184[A  ]| And seem a Dwelling fit for Deities)
111:03,185[A  ]| If all the Cash that such a Charge sustained,
111:03,186[A  ]| Had only been by honest Pleading gained ~~
111:03,187[A  ]| As bad as now we count the Times,
111:03,188[A  ]| With all its Villainies and Crimes,
111:03,189[A  ]| Yet this in its Defence we have;
111:03,190[A  ]| That no Man ever saw
111:03,191[A  ]| A thorough, finished, Total Knave
111:03,192[A  ]| But what was bred to Law.
111:03,000['  ]| <VII.>
111:03,193[A  ]| But as you justly fix your Hate
111:03,194[A  ]| Upon these Vermin of the State,
111:03,195[A  ]| That Ravage on the Spring just as they please,
111:03,196[A  ]| And leave the Barren After-Crop to other Sciences;
111:03,197[A  ]| So you as much the Fools expose
111:03,198[A  ]| (For they deserve the sharpest Scorn)
111:03,199[A  ]| That run by Choice into the Dangerous Noose ~~
111:03,200[A  ]| But Asses are for Slavery born.
111:03,201[A  ]| The Needy from their Doors they chase
111:03,202[A  ]| As they were not of Human Race,
111:03,203[A  ]| Nor will from Thousands spare a Mite,
111:03,204[A  ]| Yet waste Estates to propagate their Spite:
111:03,205[A  ]| Will give a Million without Grutch,
111:03,206[A  ]| Just only for the bare Delight
111:03,207[A  ]| To make another Rascal spend as much:
111:03,208[A  ]| Not once considering what will, last, befall,
111:03,209[A  ]| Or who stands waiting by to sweep up all.
111:03,210[A  ]| At the Groom-Porters, so,
111:03,211[A  ]| I've seen the Fops, Impatient for the Throw,
111:03,212[A  ]| Win their Three Hands and gladly pay
111:03,213[A  ]| Persisting in the flattering Play,
111:03,214[A  ]| 'Till, between what was won and lost,
111:03,215[A  ]| Wise Neal has half the Cash engrossed:
111:03,216[A  ]| Still they push on, nor mind the Impending Ill,
111:03,217[A  ]| The Purse will empty as the Box does fill.
111:03,218[A  ]| And so too have I read
111:03,219[A  ]| In Living Lines, though the famed Author's dead,
111:03,220[A  ]| The Frog and Mouse were once at Mortal Strife,
111:03,221[A  ]| And each in equal Hazard of his Life;
111:03,222[A  ]| The Kite, who from on high the Feud did view,
111:03,223[A  ]| To show how vainly Fools contend,
111:03,224[A  ]| Devoured both Plaintiff and Defendant too;
111:03,225[A  ]| And brought the Senseless Quarrel to an End.
111:03,000['  ]| <VIII.>
111:03,226[A  ]| Nor stop you here: the more flagitious Quack,
111:03,227[A  ]| That wears a Leash of Lives upon his Back,
111:03,228[A  ]| Feels your Resentment like the rest,
111:03,229[A  ]| For him a like Disdain expressed:
111:03,230[A  ]| Nor can his Blasphemy, or Wit,
111:03,231[A  ]| Preserve him from the Notion of a Cheat
111:03,232[A  ]| That grows by purging, and by poisoning, Great.
111:03,233[A  ]| How very Negligent they are
111:03,234[A  ]| Too fatally we see;
111:03,235[A  ]| Nor need they make our Lives their Care,
111:03,236[A  ]| That both ways, live or die, will have their Fee.
111:03,237[A  ]| By Indirection thus they raise their Store,
111:03,238[A  ]| Keep Coaches, Lackeys; Drink, and Game, and Whore;
111:03,239[A  ]| And Quality itself can do no more.
111:03,240[A  ]| Religion either they detest,
111:03,241[A  ]| Or, which is equal, make a Jest;
111:03,242[A  ]| Askance, like Fiends, they all its Precepts view;
111:03,243[A  ]| With the same Poison they their Spawn endue,
111:03,244[A  ]| And taint the Apothecary too,
111:03,245[A  ]| With Lucre and Profaneness through and through:
111:03,246[A  ]| Who close, like Leeches, to their Patients cleave,
111:03,247[A  ]| And with their damned unconscionable Bills
111:03,248[A  ]| No Cash to pay for future Illness leave;
111:03,249[A  ]| The Pounds just equal to the Tale of Pills.
111:03,250[A  ]| Thus Fool with Villains wilfully complying,
111:03,251[A  ]| Are made to pay even for their Dying:
111:03,252[A  ]| Nay some have left them Legacies by Will,
111:03,253[A  ]| And even in Death admired their Murderer's Skill.
111:03,000['  ]| <IX.>
111:03,254[A  ]| Unhappy foolish, wilful Man,
111:03,255[A  ]| Preposterous! from thy self thy Woes began.
111:03,256[A  ]| Of all Created Things none are so cursed as Thee,
111:03,257[A  ]| So cursed by an acquired Simplicity.
111:03,258[A  ]| The feathered and four-footed Kind,
111:03,259[A  ]| Without those Helps we boast to find,
111:03,260[A  ]| Endure Heaven's Wrath, Excessive Heat and Cold,
111:03,261[A  ]| Yet grow, according to their Natures old:
111:03,262[A  ]| Nor are among themselves at strife
111:03,263[A  ]| How to abridge the Little Span of Life;
111:03,264[A  ]| Which of itself, alas! is quickly gone,
111:03,265[A  ]| And flies too fast to be pushed faster on:
111:03,266[A  ]| But Man, vain Man has found a thousand Keys
111:03,267[A  ]| To open that one Lock that ends his Days:
111:03,268[A  ]| Or if Sword, Fire, the Plague, and Famine fail,
111:03,269[A  ]| They're not Physician Proof ~~ he'll certainly prevail.
111:03,270[A  ]| O for a Western Wind that may
111:03,271[A  ]| To the Red Ocean, far away,
111:03,272[A  ]| These numerous Locusts bear,
111:03,273[A  ]| A greater Curse than those of Egypt were;
111:03,274[A  ]| They but a while brought Desolation;
111:03,275[A  ]| But these are fixed a standing Plague to scourge the sinful Nation.
111:03,000['  ]| <X.>
111:03,276[A  ]| With these you equally despise
111:03,277[A  ]| The Sots that pore upon the Skies,
111:03,278[A  ]| Egregiously to Calculate
111:03,279[A  ]| The Good or Evil Fate
111:03,280[A  ]| Of Fools' ~~ and worse ~~ of Women's Destinies.
111:03,281[A  ]| When such a One may escape being hanged, or drowned,
111:03,282[A  ]| To which he's wickedly presumed
111:03,283[A  ]| By Heavenly Influence to be doomed;
111:03,284[A  ]| And had the untimely End without their warning found.
111:03,285[A  ]| When a lost Lover will again return,
111:03,286[A  ]| By Incantations read, and Sigils worn,
111:03,287[A  ]| And humbly at the Virgin's Feet his past Presumption mourn.
111:03,288[A  ]| If Marriage will disastrous grow,
111:03,289[A  ]| And sink into Domestic Jars;
111:03,290[A  ]| When the most common Fool may know,
111:03,291[A  ]| Without the Assistance of the Stars,
111:03,292[A  ]| 'Twill certainly do so.
111:03,293[A  ]| When Comets hang aloft in Air,
111:03,294[A  ]| With swinging Tails and blazing Hair,
111:03,295[A  ]| To what Part of the threatened World
111:03,296[A  ]| The fatal Influence will be hurled
111:03,297[A  ]| In Schism, Faction, Famine, Plague and War.
111:03,298[A  ]| When Moles appear upon the Skin,
111:03,299[A  ]| How all the Passions may, within,
111:03,300[A  ]| Be through the Sable Mirrors seen;
111:03,301[A  ]| Whether the Bearer's Prudent, Brave, or Just,
111:03,302[A  ]| The Friend of Bacchus, or the Child of Lust.
111:03,303[A  ]| What all our Senseless Dreams import,
111:03,304[A  ]| Dressed in a Thousand various Shapes,
111:03,305[A  ]| Centaurs, Chimeras, Bulls and Apes,
111:03,306[A  ]| When Fancy is disposed her Airyship to Sport.
111:03,000['  ]| <XI.>
111:03,307[A  ]| Thus with their Aspects, Houses, Signs,
111:03,308[A  ]| And all that Ignorance with them joins
111:03,309[A  ]| To furnish out their Planetary Schemes,
111:03,310[A  ]| They run to more Ridiculous Extremes
111:03,311[A  ]| Than Poets, Fools, and Madmen in their Dreams.
111:03,312[A  ]| How can another's Fate be known
111:03,313[A  ]| By Him that's Ignorant of his Own?
111:03,314[A  ]| Or how can he foresee the Intrigues of Rome,
111:03,315[A  ]| Or which way France will play their Game,
111:03,316[A  ]| A Stranger to our Policy at Home? 
111:03,317[A  ]| If it of late deserves the Name.
111:03,318[A  ]| The wisest Man that ever was presumes
111:03,319[A  ]| That none can know the Future till it comes.
111:03,320[A  ]| To tell what Time will bring to Light
111:03,321[A  ]| How dare the rash Predictor boast,
111:03,322[A  ]| That can't retrieve, though never so slight,
111:03,323[A  ]| One Thought that Memory has lost ~~
111:03,324[A  ]| The Stars, alas! but little show
111:03,325[A  ]| Of what will happen here below,
111:03,326[A  ]| And less the Gazers on them know.
111:03,327[A  ]| He only that can Virtuous be
111:03,328[A  ]| Best understands Futurity.
111:03,329[A  ]| What ever Fools believe, and Villains prate,
111:03,330[A  ]| We make, our selves, our Good or Evil Fate.
111:03,000['  ]| <XII.>
111:03,331[A  ]| With these, in the same Wretched File,
111:03,332[A  ]| Our Virtuosos take their Place;
111:03,333[A  ]| A Class of Men so vain and vile,
111:03,334[A  ]| They scarce deserve the Grace.
111:03,335[A  ]| Who is it can with Patience see
111:03,336[A  ]| Their Magazines of Trumpery?
111:03,337[A  ]| Which, if we may believe the Voice of Fame
111:03,338[A  ]| Would take up a whole Century to name.
111:03,339[A  ]| Here one, that thinks he is no Ass,
111:03,340[A  ]| Does through his Magnifying Glass
111:03,341[A  ]| On some Minutest Insects pry
111:03,342[A  ]| With such a fixed and heedful Eye
111:03,343[A  ]| As if the World were to be made anew,
111:03,344[A  ]| Or Heaven itself depended on the View.
111:03,345[A  ]| Yet all the while shall have no other Aim
111:03,346[A  ]| Than just to see (O vain Design!
111:03,347[A  ]| And truly worthy of the Elves!)
111:03,348[A  ]| If any Vermin breed and feed on them,
111:03,349[A  ]| As Ticks on Horses, Dogs and Swine,
111:03,350[A  ]| And Lice upon themselves.
111:03,351[A  ]| Another does to Montpelier repair
111:03,352[A  ]| To bring home Bottled Air,
111:03,353[A  ]| Then generously uncorks it here;
111:03,354[A  ]| A Pint enough to purify a Shire.
111:03,355[A  ]| A Third will send for Water from the Rhine,
111:03,356[A  ]| Only to make comparison between
111:03,357[A  ]| The Thames and that, which of the Two's most light,
111:03,358[A  ]| And which will freeze the thickest in a Night.
111:03,359[A  ]| Others aver, the Mites in Cheese
111:03,360[A  ]| Live in a Monarchy like Bees;
111:03,361[A  ]| Have Civil Laws and Magistrates,
111:03,362[A  ]| Their Rise, Continuance, and their Fates,
111:03,363[A  ]| Like other Human Powers and States;
111:03,364[A  ]| And, by a strange Peculiar Art,
111:03,365[A  ]| Can hear them Sneeze, Discourse and F**rt:
111:03,366[A  ]| These Men, by Right, should be Astrologers,
111:03,367[A  ]| And hold Acquaintance with the Stars,
111:03,368[A  ]| Happy for doubting Man 'twould be;
111:03,369[A  ]| For they that have such Eyes, what is it they may not see!
111:03,000['  ]| <XIII.>
111:03,370[A  ]| Nor is Philosophy exempt
111:03,371[A  ]| From Censure, not to say contempt:
111:03,372[A  ]| 'Tis true its Excellencies are
111:03,373[A  ]| Above all other Science far,
111:03,374[A  ]| That but a Glow-worm, this a Star:
111:03,375[A  ]| And yet it does so many Errors share,
111:03,376[A  ]| As if they all at once existed there.
111:03,377[A  ]| How many vain Opinions have began,
111:03,378[A  ]| And been as vainly carried on
111:03,379[A  ]| By that most vain of all the Creatures, Man?
111:03,380[A  ]| All his Enquiries well express
111:03,381[A  ]| The best of them but speak by guess.
111:03,382[A  ]| Here one, the first and wisest, could not see
111:03,383[A  ]| But that this All was from Eternity;
111:03,384[A  ]| And did on its own Principles depend
111:03,385[A  ]| As self existent, and would never End,
111:03,386[A  ]| Another (as if rising from a Trance,
111:03,387[A  ]| And all the Atoms in their Antique Dance,
111:03,388[A  ]| Those Atoms which, all sorts of Union past,
111:03,389[A  ]| Leaped into Form and made a World at last)
111:03,390[A  ]| Asserts 'twill perish, as it came by Chance.
111:03,391[A  ]| A third the Earth is fixed and all above,
111:03,392[A  ]| Sun, Moon, and Stars, for ever round it move:
111:03,393[A  ]| The Opponent brings it all in doubt
111:03,394[A  ]| And says the Earth is whirled about,
111:03,395[A  ]| By a Finger and a Thumb at first set up,
111:03,396[A  ]| And slept ever since just like a School-boy's Top:
111:03,397[A  ]| While the Superior Orbs of Light
111:03,398[A  ]| Stand gazing on, and wonder at the Sight.
111:03,399[A  ]| Some that the Moon's a World; and add withal
111:03,400[A  ]| This Globe on which we tread, this ponderous Ball,
111:03,401[A  ]| Reflects a Light up to the Lunar Sphere,
111:03,402[A  ]| And is the very Luminary there,
111:03,403[A  ]| As that is with its borrowed Glory here;
111:03,404[A  ]| Has just as many Times its Monthly range,
111:03,405[A  ]| Its Full and New; its Waxing, Wane and Change.
111:03,000[A  ]| <XIV.>
111:03,406[A  ]| Quite as ridiculous and vain
111:03,407[A  ]| Is all the Tenets they maintain
111:03,408[A  ]| Of what below they call our Final Good;
111:03,409[A  ]| And quite as little understood.
111:03,410[A  ]| In Beauty some have fixed the Name,
111:03,411[A  ]| And some in Power, and some in Fame;
111:03,412[A  ]| In Riches some the flying Phantom place,
111:03,413[A  ]| And some in the Descent from Royal Race:
111:03,414[A  ]| Some in Ambition and in Battles won,
111:03,415[A  ]| In Cities sacked, and Neighbouring States undone;
111:03,416[A  ]| The way that now the Gallic Prince, through Blood
111:03,417[A  ]| And Ruin cuts to this Exalted Good:
111:03,418[A  ]| Whose ultimate Enjoyment is to be,
111:03,419[A  ]| By Persecution, Pride and Rage,
111:03,420[A  ]| The Curse and Horror of the Age,
111:03,421[A  ]| And carried down accursed to all Posterity.
111:03,422[A  ]| Others, Voluptuously inclined,
111:03,423[A  ]| And making Pleasure all their Bent,
111:03,424[A  ]| Think it is only they can find
111:03,425[A  ]| This Golden Indies of Content:
111:03,426[A  ]| But ill indeed would their Pretences bear,
111:03,427[A  ]| Though Man could reach his summum Bonum here
111:03,428[A  ]| From one Debauch they to another roll,
111:03,429[A  ]| Infect the Body and untune the Soul,
111:03,430[A  ]| And all they can by Pleasure gain
111:03,431[A  ]| Is but more sharp Returns of Pain.
111:03,432[A  ]| Even Death, the grisly Terror they would shun,
111:03,433[A  ]| In all their Bloom of Youth they hasten on,
111:03,434[A  ]| And lift, themselves, into his Ghastly Throne!
111:03,000['  ]| <XV.>
111:03,435[A  ]| Thus Happiness does human Search beguile;
111:03,436[A  ]| In vain we strive the Plant to rear,
111:03,437[A  ]| And vainlier think it Fruit will bear;
111:03,438[A  ]| 'Tis not the Growth of the Terrestrial Soil.
111:03,439[A  ]| No more than Air it does its Form display,
111:03,440[A  ]| No more than Water in our Hold 'twill stay,
111:03,441[A  ]| But slips from the deluded grasp away.
111:03,442[A  ]| Not Virtue can itself this Proteus bind,
111:03,443[A  ]| That most of all things might expect it kind:
111:03,444[A  ]| 'Tis true it will have Peace within,
111:03,445[A  ]| The conscious Joy of flying Sin,
111:03,446[A  ]| A Pleasure Man, nor Devils can efface;
111:03,447[A  ]| But by Extortion, Envy, Power or Pride,
111:03,448[A  ]| It shall be stripped of all beside,
111:03,449[A  ]| Brought to the last Distress
111:03,450[A  ]| Of Wants, and every outward Wretchedness.
111:03,451[A  ]| The only Wonder is to see
111:03,452[A  ]| How it can yet contented be
111:03,453[A  ]| In all this World calls Infelicity.
111:03,454[A  ]| 'Twas ever and will ever be the Case
111:03,455[A  ]| Of worthiest Men to suffer by the Base:
111:03,456[A  ]| Nor can the Needy from the Wealthy have
111:03,457[A  ]| The Offal Crumbs to shield them from the Grave;
111:03,458[A  ]| So truly Dives lives in all his Race.
111:03,000['  ]| <XVI.>
111:03,459[A  ]| Then for the SOUL, what that should be
111:03,460[A  ]| How wildly do they disagree!
111:03,461[A  ]| So hard their Notions to be solved,
111:03,462[A  ]| Or with so many Doubts involved,
111:03,463[A  ]| The more we unravel we're the less resolved.
111:03,464[A  ]| In vain we things, that Heaven conceals would view,
111:03,465[A  ]| In vain inextricable Paths pursue,
111:03,466[A  ]| Opinion is a Maze without a Clue.
111:03,467[A  ]| Some seat it in the Brain, from whence,
111:03,468[A  ]| They say it strangely does dispense
111:03,469[A  ]| The Intelligential Faculties to every distant Sense.
111:03,470[A  ]| Some think its Being in the Heart;
111:03,471[A  ]| And some that 'tis transfused, like Life through every Part.
111:03,472[A  ]| Some in the sanguine Tide its Essence place,
111:03,473[A  ]| And roll it round with that the circling Race:
111:03,474[A  ]| Because the Generative Desire
111:03,475[A  ]| Does thence derive its quickening Fire,
111:03,476[A  ]| They poorly think the Soul's descent as base.
111:03,477[A  ]| Some backward look into the Wilds of Fate,
111:03,478[A  ]| And argue for its pre-existing State.
111:03,479[A  ]| Others assert from Man to Beast it flies,
111:03,480[A  ]| Confined to Earth, and never mounts the Skies.
111:03,481[A  ]| Some argue with the Flesh its Doom it takes,
111:03,482[A  ]| And sleeps till with the general Call it wakes.
111:03,483[A  ]| Some that immediately in Death it goes
111:03,484[A  ]| To its eternal Misery or Repose.
111:03,485[A  ]| Yet more abstrusely some Debate;
111:03,486[A  ]| And tell us in its separate State
111:03,487[A  ]| 'Tis only the Remembrance there
111:03,488[A  ]| Of all our Thoughts and Actions here;
111:03,489[A  ]| A bare Existence of the Mind.
111:03,490[A  ]| When from the mortal Part disjoined;
111:03,491[A  ]| That though the Body by dissolving gains
111:03,492[A  ]| An End of all its Joys and Pains,
111:03,493[A  ]| The immaterial Consciousness remains;
111:03,494[A  ]| And as it has on Earth been given
111:03,495[A  ]| To Good or Ill, has thence its Hell or Heaven.
111:03,496[A  ]| Thus level all our Rabbins in the Dark,
111:03,497[A  ]| Or if they hit ~~ but vainly hit the Mark:
111:03,498[A  ]| For who can up to Heaven his Thoughts pursue?
111:03,499[A  ]| Or with Imagination go
111:03,500[A  ]| Into the gloomy Realms below,
111:03,501[A  ]| And in this Being, find his Notions true?
111:03,502[A  ]| From hence the Muse with conscious awe retires,
111:03,503[A  ]| And all she cannot comprehend, admires.
111:03,000[A  ]| <XVII.>
111:03,504[A  ]| Pardon me, generous Souls, I have digressed too long,
111:03,505[A  ]| But my Digression has not done you wrong;
111:03,506[A  ]| While I display the Follies you despise,
111:03,507[A  ]| Grown now to an enormous Size;
111:03,508[A  ]| While I the Lion's Skin displace,
111:03,509[A  ]| And show behind the numerous Race,
111:03,510[A  ]| For Laughter born, and Men to their Disgrace:
111:03,511[A  ]| (For to the everlasting Shame
111:03,512[A  ]| Of what Humanity we call,
111:03,513[A  ]| Like Homo, ASS is grown a common Name,
111:03,514[A  ]| And very nearly comprehends us all)
111:03,515[A  ]| While thus employed, the impartial Few will guess
111:03,516[A  ]| By the degenerate Paths you shun
111:03,517[A  ]| In what a Noble Track you run,
111:03,518[A  ]| And by the Vice you hate the Virtues you possess.
111:03,519[A  ]| Your Virtues which by me,
111:03,520[A  ]| If you assist, shall be
111:03,521[A  ]| Delivered down to all Posterity.
111:03,522[A  ]| Here therefore I again your Aid require,
111:03,523[A  ]| That with fresh Spirit you'd the Muse inspire,
111:03,524[A  ]| Nor cease, till she has fixed your Name
111:03,525[A  ]| Among the happiest Favourites of Fame;
111:03,526[A  ]| From her Records never to be razed
111:03,527[A  ]| Till the loud Trumpet's general Blast,
111:03,528[A  ]| And Nature, Death and Time have breathed their last.
111:03,000['  ]| <XVIII.>
111:03,529[A  ]| First, your Religion shall be shown;
111:03,530[A  ]| Not such as Schismatics would pass for one,
111:03,531[A  ]| For theirs is ~~ at the Bottom ~~ none.
111:03,532[A  ]| As Lawyers long Disputes maintain
111:03,533[A  ]| For Honesty, without a Grain;
111:03,534[A  ]| Or as ~~ Upon upon my Honour's ~~ grown
111:03,535[A  ]| A certain Cue to show there's none;
111:03,536[A  ]| So rueful Tones and wry Grimace
111:03,537[A  ]| Has still the least pretence to Grace,
111:03,538[A  ]| And is, at best, but Piety of Face.
111:03,539[A  ]| A Saviour in their Mouths they bear,
111:03,540[A  ]| But 'tis a Saviour only there;
111:03,541[A  ]| Their Souls, so much their Talk, the least of all their Care.
111:03,542[A  ]| When ever Subversion of the State's designed,
111:03,543[A  ]| Or Church, we always find
111:03,544[A  ]| The Schismatic and Atheist of a Mind;
111:03,545[A  ]| With Blood and Ruin carrying on the Work;
111:03,546[A  ]| Like the two Heathens now by Treaty Bound
111:03,547[A  ]| The Peace of Europe to Confound,
111:03,548[A  ]| The Turk more Christian, and the Christian Turk.
111:03,549[A  ]| No Tallies more exactly can agree
111:03,550[A  ]| Than open Vice and seeming Sanctity.
111:03,551[A  ]| From Interest Prejudice and Pride
111:03,552[A  ]| (Three rare Ingredients for a Guide)
111:03,553[A  ]| The Private Spirit Springs;
111:03,554[A  ]| The Atheist from the same Descent
111:03,555[A  ]| His Rancour, Hate and Evil-speaking brings
111:03,556[A  ]| Of Governor, and Government:
111:03,557[A  ]| This does a thousand Strifes create
111:03,558[A  ]| Over true Religion to preside;
111:03,559[A  ]| And after Fleece the Flock 'twould guide;
111:03,560[A  ]| And the other but pulls down the State
111:03,561[A  ]| To share the Spoils, and on the Ruins ride.
111:03,562[A  ]| Thus Monarchies they Common-Wealths would make,
111:03,563[A  ]| And Common-Wealths again for Gold forsake;
111:03,564[A  ]| Again another Rump they'd rear,
111:03,565[A  ]| Nay seat the Pope or Mufti there:
111:03,566[A  ]| Let them but have the God, their GAIN,
111:03,567[A  ]| They care not if the Devil reign.
111:03,000['  ]| <XIX.>
111:03,568[A  ]| Mean while You your Persuasion show
111:03,569[A  ]| In wronging none by Word or Deed;
111:03,570[A  ]| In paying all Men what you owe,
111:03,571[A  ]| And giving Merit still its Meed:
111:03,572[A  ]| Adhering fast to Scripture Rules,
111:03,573[A  ]| But not as they are taught by Fools;
111:03,574[A  ]| Who boasting true Illuminative Sight,
111:03,575[A  ]| Are lost in Darkness while they're bawling Light.
111:03,576[A  ]| Then for all Controversial Heat,
111:03,577[A  ]| You fly it as an Impious Cheat:
111:03,578[A  ]| But chiefly those Debates that tend
111:03,579[A  ]| This Faith to oppose, or that defend;
111:03,580[A  ]| For such can never have an End:
111:03,581[A  ]| With all the Expense of Brain and Purse,
111:03,582[A  ]| We're still but as we were, ~~ or worse.
111:03,583[A  ]| The Fool Invincible I pass,
111:03,584[A  ]| Because he's not by Choice an Ass:
111:03,585[A  ]| But who could ever yet convince
111:03,586[A  ]| With all the Force of Truth and Sense,
111:03,587[A  ]| A Man of Pen's perverting Craft, or Oates's Impudence?
111:03,588[A  ]| When ever the Church our Pilot's left,
111:03,589[A  ]| We madly by our Passions steer,
111:03,590[A  ]| Of all the Means to make the Port bereft;
111:03,591[A  ]| For where's the way to Heaven if 'tis not shown us there?
111:03,592[A  ]| This for our selves ~~ but then the various Sects,
111:03,593[A  ]| The Excrescences that out of Scripture grow,
111:03,594[A  ]| Think us the abandoned Race that Heaven rejects,
111:03,595[A  ]| And they the Chosen Few.
111:03,000['  ]| <XX.>
111:03,596[A  ]| And if such Men we would confute,
111:03,597[A  ]| The way's to Practice, not Dispute:
111:03,598[A  ]| If still the Teacher's doing good,
111:03,599[A  ]| That Doctrine still is understood:
111:03,600[A  ]| By that he'll sooner gain his Cause.
111:03,601[A  ]| Than by a Thousand Penal Laws.
111:03,602[A  ]| Not only Truth does firmer grow
111:03,603[A  ]| By Pressure, but even Error too:
111:03,604[A  ]| If wildest Beasts by Soothing may be tamed,
111:03,605[A  ]| The more provoked they'll be the more inflamed.
111:03,606[A  ]| What ever other Trophies Truth may boast:
111:03,607[A  ]| She in this Warfare still has lost:
111:03,608[A  ]| The clearest thread of Reasoning spun too fine,
111:03,609[A  ]| Does obviate oft its own Design;
111:03,610[A  ]| And Wrong and Right, like East and West
111:03,611[A  ]| On Mathematic Globes expressed,
111:03,612[A  ]| But by a Point disjoin.
111:03,613[A  ]| For though the Advantage Error gets is small,
111:03,614[A  ]| Three Foils, the Wrestler says, is equal to a fall.
111:03,615[A  ]| 'Tis this that makes the Atheist sneer and laugh,
111:03,616[A  ]| And equally at all Religion Scoff:
111:03,617[A  ]| For How, alas! (too speciously they say)
111:03,618[A  ]| How can we choose but go astray,
111:03,619[A  ]| When, even our Guides themselves take each a different way?
111:03,620[A  ]| And these damn those without Reprieve,
111:03,621[A  ]| For not believing what they can't believe?
111:03,000['  ]| <XXI.>
111:03,622[A  ]| But, you Illustrious Souls, see this,
111:03,623[A  ]| See all, and know that all's amiss;
111:03,624[A  ]| And very wisely trace
111:03,625[A  ]| The moderate Path, and keep the moderate Pace;
111:03,626[A  ]| Not claiming Heaven by Pride, or Passion,
111:03,627[A  ]| Or Works of Supererogation,
111:03,628[A  ]| As if there could be Arrogance in Grace.
111:03,629[A  ]| If there's a Chosen Few Elected, we
111:03,630[A  ]| The Marks may of their Calling see
111:03,631[A  ]| Without their Holy Spite, and Tub-Barbarity.
111:03,632[A  ]| Thus cheerfully you travel on,
111:03,633[A  ]| Yet not so slow to Mire,
111:03,634[A  ]| Nor yet so fast to tire,
111:03,635[A  ]| And the Extremes that so divide us shun;
111:03,636[A  ]| Arriving (yet e'er Life is half declined)
111:03,637[A  ]| To what the Wise can only find,
111:03,638[A  ]| Habitual Innocence and lasting Peace of Mind.
111:03,639[A  ]| Mean while the Zealots, in their rash Career,
111:03,640[A  ]| Miss all they hope, and meet with all they fear:
111:03,641[A  ]| Nor can they less expect to feel,
111:03,642[A  ]| Drawn by the Steeds of Pride and Zeal,
111:03,643[A  ]| And Rage the Charioteer:
111:03,644[A  ]| Disdaining Reason and Control,
111:03,645[A  ]| Lost and benighted, on they roll,
111:03,646[A  ]| As if 'twere only Madness saved the Soul.
111:03,000['  ]| <XXII.>
111:03,647[A  ]| But above all you most detest
111:03,648[A  ]| The Men that would our Holy Faith descry,
111:03,649[A  ]| And make it still their standing Jest
111:03,650[A  ]| To Ridicule all Christian Mystery.
111:03,651[A  ]| With them the Resurrection, Passion,
111:03,652[A  ]| Trinity, and Incarnation,
111:03,653[A  ]| Are but the Cobwebs of the Schools,
111:03,654[A  ]| The Gain of Knaves, and Dream of Fools;
111:03,655[A  ]| When at the self-same time the Senseless Elves
111:03,656[A  ]| Are quite throughout a Mystery to themselves.
111:03,657[A  ]| By what strange Magic does the outward SIGHT
111:03,658[A  ]| Amass together what it sees?
111:03,659[A  ]| And then, by a more strange Internal Light,
111:03,660[A  ]| Convey into the Mind the various Images?
111:03,661[A  ]| How does the TASTE its Quality receive?
111:03,662[A  ]| Whence fetch its nice discerning Power
111:03,663[A  ]| Of Salt and Fresh, and Sweet and Sour?
111:03,664[A  ]| How does the TOUCH such Transport give?
111:03,665[A  ]| That Lovers oft, but with a Chaste Embrace,
111:03,666[A  ]| Believe they're of Etherial Race,
111:03,667[A  ]| And feel a Joy that scarce will let them live!
111:03,668[A  ]| How through our EARS do Sounds our Cares control?
111:03,669[A  ]| What Passage is there thence into the Soul?
111:03,670[A  ]| The Soul! that does so well agree
111:03,671[A  ]| With Music, 'twill be once all Harmony!
111:03,672[A  ]| Here 'tis Immersed in Flesh, and clogged with Breath;
111:03,673[A  ]| Ah happy! when let loose to fly
111:03,674[A  ]| To the Celestial choir on high,
111:03,675[A  ]| And Life no more can be untuned by Death!
111:03,676[A  ]| How on the SMELL do weak Effluviums strike?
111:03,677[A  ]| Where does that delicate Sensation live?
111:03,678[A  ]| Or whence the Notices derive
111:03,679[A  ]| To approve, or to dislike?
111:03,680[A  ]| Feasting on every odoriferous Breath,
111:03,681[A  ]| And flying noxious Fumes impregnated with Death.
111:03,682[A  ]| Thus though we by our REASON know
111:03,683[A  ]| We hear and taste and feel and smell and see,
111:03,684[A  ]| The wondrous and unfathomed HOW
111:03,685[A  ]| Is still a Mystery!
111:03,000['  ]| <XXIII.>
111:03,686[A  ]| A thousand other Instances there are
111:03,687[A  ]| Of Wonders we about us bear
111:03,688[A  ]| The Unbelieving to convince,
111:03,689[A  ]| But needless to enumerate here,
111:03,690[A  ]| Convicted by our selves in every Sense.
111:03,691[A  ]| Then let us not our selves deceive,
111:03,692[A  ]| If we'll be blest we must believe.
111:03,693[A  ]| Nor is the Burden laid on us a Weight
111:03,694[A  ]| We have not Power to bear;
111:03,695[A  ]| We're only bid beside to be Sincere; ~~
111:03,696[A  ]| A perfect and unsinning State
111:03,697[A  ]| Is not Exacted, or Expected here.
111:03,698[A  ]| The Goal of Glory certainly he wins
111:03,699[A  ]| That does unfeignedly Repent,
111:03,700[A  ]| Believe a GOD, and own a SAVIOUR sent
111:03,701[A  ]| To save us from our Sins.
111:03,702[A  ]| Ah happy! truly happy Man
111:03,703[A  ]| That is as Virtuous as he can!
111:03,704[A  ]| A thousand Crimes will be renewed
111:03,705[A  ]| Both in our Passions and Desires
111:03,706[A  ]| Even while we're striving to be Good;
111:03,707[A  ]| But let us neither Doubt or Fear;
111:03,708[A  ]| If all our whole Endeavour's there,
111:03,709[A  ]| 'Tis ALL that Heaven requires.
111:03,000['  ]| <XXIV.>
111:03,710[A  ]| But here the Objection will be brought,
111:03,711[A  ]| What Man Endeavours as he ought?
111:03,712[A  ]| The Rules of Faith are owned but few;
111:03,713[A  ]| But who does practically show
111:03,714[A  ]| That from his Soul he thinks them true?
111:03,715[A  ]| If by our Lives our Faith is shown,
111:03,716[A  ]| The general Usage says there's none.
111:03,717[A  ]| Thus others we severely Doom,
111:03,718[A  ]| Regardless how it goes at Home.
111:03,719[A  ]| But let the Man that sees the Shelf
111:03,720[A  ]| Avoid the Splitting there himself.
111:03,721[A  ]| How ever the general Stream does run,
111:03,722[A  ]| The public Ills would soon be done,
111:03,723[A  ]| If every Individual strove to better one.
111:03,724[A  ]| Unjustly he does blame the Times,
111:03,725[A  ]| That takes his Measures from his Crimes:
111:03,726[A  ]| Self Love must there be understood,
111:03,727[A  ]| Or an inveterate Will;
111:03,728[A  ]| The Virtuous hope that all are Good,
111:03,729[A  ]| The Vicious tell you all are Ill.
111:03,730[A  ]| Thus different Ways the Tempter does deceive;
111:03,731[A  ]| For some will regularly live,
111:03,732[A  ]| Yet won't our holy Faith believe:
111:03,733[A  ]| Others just oppositely fall,
111:03,734[A  ]| And think a true Belief is all.
111:03,735[A  ]| But what ever System others frame,
111:03,736[A  ]| Show by your Works the Faith that you profess,
111:03,737[A  ]| And by your Faith your Works of Blessedness,
111:03,738[A  ]| With you (Illustrious Souls!) are just the same:
111:03,739[A  ]| However Casuists turn the Clue,
111:03,740[A  ]| To give them both a different view,
111:03,741[A  ]| Where one is wanting the other's wanting too.
111:03,742[A  ]| A thousand other Points I might
111:03,743[A  ]| Set off here in their proper Light,
111:03,744[A  ]| Without the Guilt of Prejudice or Spite;
111:03,745[A  ]| But I refer them to the wrangling Men;
111:03,746[A  ]| Such Jargon would Defile a Poet's Pen,
111:03,747[A  ]| How can we hope their Feuds should cease,
111:03,748[A  ]| That fetch a War even from the Source of Peace?
111:03,000['  ]| <XXV.>
111:03,749[A  ]| Nor do your Virtues, though they're great.
111:03,750[A  ]| Make you at all the Foes of Wit:
111:03,751[A  ]| Your Wit! that next does our Attendance claim;
111:03,752[A  ]| Like Proteus, with superior Skill,
111:03,753[A  ]| A thousand Ways diversifying still,
111:03,754[A  ]| And ever still the same.
111:03,755[A  ]| Your Wit! that does deserve immortal Praise,
111:03,756[A  ]| A Wreath of Stars instead of Bays!
111:03,757[A  ]| Your Wit! which can at once Instruct and Please,
111:03,758[A  ]| And give the Vicious Patient timely Ease,
111:03,759[A  ]| Detect his specious Deeds and sensual Thoughts,
111:03,760[A  ]| And laugh him to a loathing of his Faults.
111:03,761[A  ]| Your Wit! so charming, those that hear
111:03,762[A  ]| Could wish they were all Ear;
111:03,763[A  ]| No sooner they admire,
111:03,764[A  ]| But some new Beauty lifts their Wonder higher.
111:03,765[A  ]| Not taken up on Trust, no plated Brass,
111:03,766[A  ]| But current Coin that every where will pass:
111:03,767[A  ]| From painful Learning and Experience drained,
111:03,768[A  ]| And as with Labour got, so with Delight retained.
111:03,769[A  ]| Nor does it value Man the more
111:03,770[A  ]| For Dignity, for Power or Place;
111:03,771[A  ]| Or save (though bribed with half his Store)
111:03,772[A  ]| The saucy Minion from Disgrace;
111:03,773[A  ]| Others unknowingly advance,
111:03,774[A  ]| And have at best, their Wit from Chance:
111:03,775[A  ]| Either to Virtue they're severe,
111:03,776[A  ]| Or him they ought to scorn, they fear:
111:03,777[A  ]| But all you write is all along,
111:03,778[A  ]| Like Samson's Riddle, sweet and strong,
111:03,779[A  ]| Harmonious to the Ear, and Hybla to the Tongue!
111:03,000['  ]| <XXVI.>
111:03,780[A  ]| By this time we'll suppose you sit,
111:03,781[A  ]| The General Good your full Design;
111:03,782[A  ]| Converting your unwearied Wit,
111:03,783[A  ]| That every Nicest Blot can hit,
111:03,784[A  ]| Into a Flame divine.
111:03,785[A  ]| For in no beaten Path you tread,
111:03,786[A  ]| The Path of Humour or of Gain;
111:03,787[A  ]| But show how far we've been misled
111:03,788[A  ]| Both by the Living and the Dead,
111:03,789[A  ]| And give to Truth the Honours of her Reign.
111:03,790[A  ]| Free us from Prejudice and Lies,
111:03,791[A  ]| Nonsense, Impossibilities,
111:03,792[A  ]| And Wolves in Sheep's Disguise;
111:03,793[A  ]| With all the Snares that Earth and Hell have laid,
111:03,794[A  ]| By bringing our own Reason to our Aid:
111:03,795[A  ]| Our Reason, still in Danger tried,
111:03,796[A  ]| And always proved a faithful Guide;
111:03,797[A  ]| Reason the Polar Star,
111:03,798[A  ]| That does discover Happiness from far:
111:03,799[A  ]| A Pilot that can through Life's Ocean steer
111:03,800[A  ]| As safe in Storms, as if the Skies were clear:
111:03,801[A  ]| While those who but by halves believe
111:03,802[A  ]| (Bred up for Blockheads to deceive)
111:03,803[A  ]| Are daily with a thousand Fears perplexed,
111:03,804[A  ]| This Hour of one Persuasion, none the next.
111:03,805[A  ]| But Reason, dressed in Adamantine Arms,
111:03,806[A  ]| Does end in frightful Charms;
111:03,807[A  ]| All subtle Shifts descry
111:03,808[A  ]| With its sharp sighted Eagle's Eye,
111:03,809[A  ]| Before whose powerful Rays the gloomy phantoms fly.
111:03,000['  ]| <XXVII.>
111:03,810[A  ]| While thus you hold Discourse the Goblet's crowned,
111:03,811[A  ]| And twice or thrice does nimbly move around:
111:03,812[A  ]| Care that Disturber of our Rest,
111:03,813[A  ]| That grows Habitual to the Breast,
111:03,814[A  ]| And hardly ever is dispossessed;
111:03,815[A  ]| Even that curst Fiend at such a time takes Wing,
111:03,816[A  ]| And Envy quite forgets her Sting.
111:03,817[A  ]| Yet nothing idle or profane,
111:03,818[A  ]| Lewd, ridiculous, or vain,
111:03,819[A  ]| Nothing is spoke but what the Nuns might hear,
111:03,820[A  ]| Were they much chaster than they are.
111:03,821[A  ]| Thus Mirth you clothe in its true genuine Shape;
111:03,822[A  ]| Not like an Ass, an Owl, or Ape,
111:03,823[A  ]| But in the very Garb 'twas dressed by BEN ~~
111:03,824[A  ]| There's the same Difference between Mirth as Men.
111:03,825[A  ]| And now you envy not even Kings themselves,
111:03,826[A  ]| Nor all the under Fry of Courtly Elves;
111:03,827[A  ]| Who, like the Moon, their borrowed Lustre owe,
111:03,828[A  ]| And Tradesmen are the Suns that make them glitter so.
111:03,829[A  ]| The Troubles of Mortality you view,
111:03,830[A  ]| Those numerous, and its Comforts few;
111:03,831[A  ]| The Evil that over Mankind brooding lies,
111:03,832[A  ]| That tongues the Fool, and silences the Wise;
111:03,833[A  ]| The Fears and Jealousies that sway the Rout,
111:03,834[A  ]| Cowards in Office, and the Brave without:
111:03,835[A  ]| And since true Pleasure flits and will not stay,
111:03,836[A  ]| You this way take a Draught without allay,
111:03,837[A  ]| And make the dull Fatigue of Life fly pleasantly away.
111:03,000['  ]| <XXVIII.>
111:03,838[A  ]| What Honours then, you mighty few,
111:03,839[A  ]| Ought here to be conferred on you,
111:03,840[A  ]| That show at once the Path to Peace and Pleasure too?
111:03,841[A  ]| What Trophies to your Fame must we erect?
111:03,842[A  ]| And O what Wonders may we not expect
111:03,843[A  ]| (Though distant far, and lying never so wide)
111:03,844[A  ]| Brought home by Men so nobly qualified:
111:03,845[A  ]| That even at your first setting out (like Flame
111:03,846[A  ]| Aspiring to the Starry Frame)
111:03,847[A  ]| To such a Pitch your Merit raise,
111:03,848[A  ]| As leaves behind our lagging Praise,
111:03,849[A  ]| And shows you knew no Nonage in your Fame.
111:03,850[A  ]| Ah! would but one of you (whose Breast
111:03,851[A  ]| Is with the sacred Fire possessed)
111:03,852[A  ]| But sing the Virtues of the rest,
111:03,853[A  ]| Something we then might hope to see
111:03,854[A  ]| Worthy the famous Beaux-Esprits,
111:03,855[A  ]| The Generous and August Society;
111:03,856[A  ]| August, I say, and dare the Name repeat,
111:03,857[A  ]| Since what is always Good is always Great.
111:03,858[A  ]| Where else, alas! can there be found
111:03,859[A  ]| A Sprat your Grandeur to resound?
111:03,860[A  ]| Where else a Cowley in his Lofty Verse
111:03,861[A  ]| Your Glories to rehearse,
111:03,862[A  ]| And to the Heavenly Arch make the wide Echo bound?
111:03,863[A  ]| Your Glory which like the fixed Star would shine,
111:03,864[A  ]| And as Propitious be
111:03,865[A  ]| To all that want a Guide, as He,
111:03,866[A  ]| Had this Great Subject been adorned by any Muse but Mine.
111:04,000@@@@@| 
111:04,000['  ]| <Gould, Robert: The Works (1709)>
111:04,000['  ]| <VOLUME the FIRST. (POEMS).>
111:04,000['  ]| <Miscellanies.>
111:04,000['  ]| <To the Right Reverend Father in God Gilbert, Lord Bishop of Sarum.>
111:04,001[A  ]| Though I can add no Glory to your Name,
111:04,002[A  ]| Yet praising YOU, I may arrive at Fame,
111:04,003[A  ]| By your Applause a deathless Memory get;
111:04,004[A  ]| For Gratitude should last as long as Wit.
111:04,005[A  ]| 'Tis that, my Lord, Occasions this Address;
111:04,006[A  ]| So few the Grateful none should wish them less;
111:04,007[A  ]| Or blame the Muse to Celebrate his Name,
111:04,008[A  ]| And give him Praise that gives the Nation Fame.
111:04,009[A  ]| To those Productions who can be severe,
111:04,010[A  ]| In whose Composure Flattery has no Share?
111:04,011[A  ]| Where there is no Design but just to give
111:04,012[A  ]| To Worth its due, and pray that Worth may live?
111:04,013[A  ]| How many are there that much better know
111:04,014[A  ]| To pay you Praise, with hold the Debt they owe?
111:04,015[A  ]| In Learning's Empire, though they vastly get,
111:04,016[A  ]| Return no Tribute to your sovereign Wit?
111:04,017[A  ]| Take then my Mite, my Offering, though but small;
111:04,018[A  ]| Even GOD accepts of Little ~~ when 'tis All.
111:04,019[A  ]| But O what Language can the unlettered find
111:04,020[A  ]| To adorn so vast, and just Extensive Mind!
111:04,021[A  ]| What can I hope on this great Theme to indite,
111:04,022[A  ]| Where the most learned must with Despondence write!
111:04,023[A  ]| See then your Goodness first; which vast must be,
111:04,024[A  ]| Since it assures the Muse 'twill reach to me,
111:04,025[A  ]| And not a well intended Homage slight,
111:04,026[A  ]| Which, coming from the Heart; may hope 'tis Right.
111:04,027[A  ]| Thus Heaven who has whole Myriads Ignorant made,
111:04,028[A  ]| Seems yet to make that Ignorance their Aid;
111:04,029[A  ]| To them he opens his Eternal Doors,
111:04,030[A  ]| While the much better Learned he less assures:
111:04,031[A  ]| Perplexed with Doubts, through tedious Tomes they run,
111:04,032[A  ]| Which but advance the Ills those Doubts begun!
111:04,033[A  ]| The Crowd believes, and half their Work is done.
111:04,034[A  ]| To those you condescend and Precepts fit;
111:04,035[A  ]| For want of which Peculiar varying Wit;
111:04,036[A  ]| So many stiff Instructors daily split.
111:04,037[A  ]| Strange! they should think to advance the Christian Good,
111:04,038[A  ]| By taking Pains not to be understood!
111:04,039[A  ]| Let Writers use a rich, or towering Strain,
111:04,040[A  ]| The Teacher must be Earnest, clear and plain.
111:04,041[A  ]| But then, though here you half your Lustre shroud,
111:04,042[A  ]| It is but as the Sun behind a Cloud,
111:04,043[A  ]| Who breaking forth does double Brightness bear;
111:04,044[A  ]| So when in Public Conference you appear
111:04,045[A  ]| You shine Entire ~~ the Learned are Learners there.
111:04,046[A  ]| How have I seen the Listening Clergy stand,
111:04,047[A  ]| While through their Ears you did their Souls command,
111:04,048[A  ]| Their Ardour at each Period flaming higher ~~
111:04,049[A  ]| For every Word you spoke you did Inspire!
111:04,050[A  ]| As when we travel through some spacious Plain,
111:04,051[A  ]| Adorned with Pastures, and replete with Grain;
111:04,052[A  ]| There lowing Herds walk toward the Murmuring Rills,
111:04,053[A  ]| And here the Bee her wondrous Balm distils:
111:04,054[A  ]| So does your Language to the Vulgar show,
111:04,055[A  ]| When you Expatiate on those Points they know;
111:04,056[A  ]| Rich where You are plain, and Flowery where You are low.
111:04,057[A  ]| But as from thence to lofty Hills we rise,
111:04,058[A  ]| Where new and nobler Scenes salute our Eyes;
111:04,059[A  ]| If there some Chosen-Guide direct us too,
111:04,060[A  ]| Amazed and pleased, we distant Regions view:
111:04,061[A  ]| So to this Audience you sublimely Soar,
111:04,062[A  ]| Lost to their Sight to whom You spoke before:
111:04,063[A  ]| Through Mysteries Mysterious ways You get,
111:04,064[A  ]| Up to the top-most Round of Human Wit;
111:04,065[A  ]| A Height that Reason scarcely ever acquired,
111:04,066[A  ]| Or Learning yet has compassed, uninspired!
111:04,067[A  ]| Nor yet alone to these the Path you show,
111:04,068[A  ]| But to contending Casuists hold the Clue.
111:04,069[A  ]| The Schismatic himself may here have aid,
111:04,070[A  ]| Lost in the very Labyrinths they have made;
111:04,071[A  ]| And Sectarists stray because their Teachers strayed:
111:04,072[A  ]| But reading YOU we find the Danger over,
111:04,073[A  ]| They can't deceive the Unwary as before;
111:04,074[A  ]| Conviction lies all Radiant in their Way:
111:04,075[A  ]| There is no wandering in so bright a Day!
111:04,076[A  ]| Where ever we look new Wonders Strike our Eyes,
111:04,077[A  ]| This Section gives us Wonder, this Surprise.
111:04,078[A  ]| You no where scorch us with a fiery Zeal,
111:04,079[A  ]| Yet there's a Warmth that every Soul must feel;
111:04,080[A  ]| Something that Elevates our Thoughts, and finds,
111:04,081[A  ]| Like Lightning, Entrance to the Rockiest Minds.
111:04,082[A  ]| Then Eloquence through all the Mass does run,
111:04,083[A  ]| Like Nature animated by the Sun;
111:04,084[A  ]| And, like the Sun's, its Force does never decay,
111:04,085[A  ]| The same tomorrow as it was today;
111:04,086[A  ]| This always flowing, as that always bright,
111:04,087[A  ]| Your Sense no more Exhausted than his Light.
111:04,088[A  ]| As when the Spring her Riches does unfold,
111:04,089[A  ]| And a New Nature rises from the Old,
111:04,090[A  ]| With Joy our Eyes behold her Beauteous Face,
111:04,091[A  ]| And own her Offspring of Celestial Race:
111:04,092[A  ]| So does your Style the English Tongue refine,
111:04,093[A  ]| Makes a New Glory round its Visage shine,
111:04,094[A  ]| And Stamps Conviction that the Work's Divine.
111:04,095[A  ]| There lies that Purity of Phrase we prize,
111:04,096[A  ]| And, like a Charm, it there to save us lies:
111:04,097[A  ]| Seeking for Elegance we Wiser grow,
111:04,098[A  ]| And with the Honey take the Pectoral too:
111:04,099[A  ]| So sweetened Potions we to Children give,
111:04,100[A  ]| They drink deceived, and so deceived they live.
111:04,101[A  ]| Thus every Way your Zeal our Good contrives;
111:04,102[A  ]| Nor only fines our Language, but our Lives:
111:04,103[A  ]| Like Paul unwearied Diligence bestow,
111:04,104[A  ]| Confirming, too, the Churches as You go;
111:04,105[A  ]| Ah! that as then the Christian Seed would grow!
111:04,106[A  ]| But Precepts nor Examples now have Force
111:04,107[A  ]| To arrest our Sins in their destructive Course.
111:04,108[A  ]| Each Century does in Vice transcend the Past;
111:04,109[A  ]| Too sad an Instance this may be the last.
111:04,110[A  ]| No Times succeeding can our Present match,
111:04,111[A  ]| Or Plot on Plot with such dark Rancour hatch.
111:04,112[A  ]| Nor Kings alone, we even our God defame,
111:04,113[A  ]| Revile his Priests, and brand the sacred Name.
111:04,114[A  ]| Pity 'tis now Your Turn such Crimes to engage,
111:04,115[A  ]| And yet but fit ~~ what less can check their Rage?
111:04,116[A  ]| Good Prelates are reserved for the most impious Age:
111:04,117[A  ]| Impending Plagues their Prayer does oft remove,
111:04,118[A  ]| And wrest it's Vengeance from the Arm above.
111:04,119[A  ]| Be then what still you have been; exert your Worth,
111:04,120[A  ]| Call all your Piety, your Virtues forth:
111:04,121[A  ]| Let every other Mitre with you join;
111:04,122[A  ]| And weeping Albion further your Design:
111:04,123[A  ]| Let even our Sovereign too like Ardour feel;
111:04,124[A  ]| Heaven's Ear is open when good Princes kneel.
111:04,125[A  ]| Who knows but, if such Incense reach the Skies,
111:04,126[A  ]| These sinking Nations yet again should rise,
111:04,127[A  ]| And with our Sins overcome our Enemies:
111:04,128[A  ]| We can't expect a less Stupendous thing
111:04,129[A  ]| Should from the Prayers and joint Petitions spring
111:04,130[A  ]| Of such a CLERGY, and of such a KING.
111:05,000@@@@@| 
111:05,000['  ]| <Gould, Robert: The Works (1709)>
111:05,000['  ]| <VOLUME the FIRST. (POEMS).>
111:05,000['  ]| <Miscellanies.>
111:05,000['  ]| <To Julian Secretary to the Muses.>
111:05,000['  ]| < A Consolatory Epistle in his Confinement.>
111:05,001[A  ]| When those, my Friend, we Love are in distress,
111:05,002[A  ]| Kind Verse may Comfort, though it can't redress:
111:05,003[A  ]| Nor can I think but you'll my Zeal commend,
111:05,004[A  ]| Since Poetry has been so much thy Friend:
111:05,005[A  ]| On that you have lived and flourished all your Time;
111:05,006[A  ]| Nay more, maintained a Family with Rhyme.
111:05,007[A  ]| And that's a Mark which Dryden never could hit,
111:05,008[A  ]| So much his Pension's better than his Wit.
111:05,009[A  ]| Even Gentle George (with Flux in Tongue and Purse)
111:05,010[A  ]| In shunning one Snare run into a worse.
111:05,011[A  ]| Want once may be relieved in a Man's Life,
111:05,012[A  ]| But who can be relieved that has a Wife?
111:05,013[A  ]| Ot**y can scarce his Corpse from Gaol preserve,
111:05,014[A  ]| For though he's very fat he's like to starve.
111:05,015[A  ]| And sing-song Dr**fy placed beneath Abuses,
111:05,016[A  ]| Lives by his Impudence and not the Muses.
111:05,017[A  ]| Poor Cr**n, too, has his Third Days mixed with Gall,
111:05,018[A  ]| He lives so ill he hardly lives at all!
111:05,019[A  ]| Shad**l and St**le, who pretend to Reason,
111:05,020[A  ]| Though paid so well for scribbling Doggerel Treason,
111:05,021[A  ]| Must now expect a very barren Season;
111:05,022[A  ]| But chiefly He that made his Recantation;
111:05,023[A  ]| For Villains thrive best in their own Vocation.
111:05,024[A  ]| Nay Lee in Bedlam now sees better Days
111:05,025[A  ]| Than in his madder Time of writing Plays:
111:05,026[A  ]| He knows no Care, nor feels sharp Want no more,
111:05,027[A  ]| A Blessing he could never boast before.
111:05,028[A  ]| Thus while our Bards even famish by their Wit,
111:05,029[A  ]| Thou, who hast none at all, dost thrive by it.
111:05,030[A  ]| Were it possible that Wit could turn a Penny,
111:05,031[A  ]| Poets would then grow rich as well as any.
111:05,032[A  ]| First, 'tis not Wit to have a great Estate,
111:05,033[A  ]| (The blind Effects of Fortune and of Fate;)
111:05,034[A  ]| For oft we see a Coxcomb, vile and vain,
111:05,035[A  ]| Brim full of Cash, yet empty in the Brain.
111:05,036[A  ]| Nor is it Wit that makes the Lawyer prize
111:05,037[A  ]| A bawling Life, but Knavery in Disguise,
111:05,038[A  ]| To pluck down honest Men that he may rise.
111:05,039[A  ]| Nor is it Wit that does our Quacks advance,
111:05,040[A  ]| (Those of your English Spawn, or those from France)
111:05,041[A  ]| But poisoning by Design ~~ for Curing comes by Chance.
111:05,042[A  ]| Nor is it Wit that makes the Tradesman Great,
111:05,043[A  ]| 'Tis the Compendious Art to Lie and Cheat.
111:05,044[A  ]| Nor is it Wit for Burgess, Lobb and Pen,
111:05,045[A  ]| (Those worst of Teachers to the worst of Men)
111:05,046[A  ]| To think by getting Rich, to grow Divine;
111:05,047[A  ]| For where's the Saint if you withhold the Coin?
111:05,048[A  ]| Nor is it Wit to be in Scarlet dressed;
111:05,049[A  ]| To Wisdom, Grief; to Policy, a Jest.
111:05,050[A  ]| Life in our King's, or Country's just Defence
111:05,051[A  ]| We all should stake; but does it rise from thence
111:05,052[A  ]| That Colour's Courage, or that Oaths are Sense?
111:05,053[A  ]| Or that the Impartial Satire should not grin
111:05,054[A  ]| To see such Herds behind the Lion's Skin?
111:05,055[A  ]| Nor is it Wit that drills the Statesman on
111:05,056[A  ]| To waste the Sweets of Life, so quickly gone,
111:05,057[A  ]| In toiling for Estates; then like a Sot,
111:05,058[A  ]| Leave Luxury to devour what Knavery got.
111:05,059[A  ]| Nor is it Wit for Whigs to scribble Satires,
111:05,060[A  ]| No more than for their Patriots to be Traitors;
111:05,061[A  ]| For Wit does never bring a Man to hanging;
111:05,062[A  ]| That goes no further than a Rose-street Banging:
111:05,063[A  ]| How justly then dost thou our Praise deserve,
111:05,064[A  ]| That got thy Bread where all Men else would starve?
111:05,065[A  ]| And, what's more strange, the Miracle was wrought
111:05,066[A  ]| By him that hadn't the least Pretence to Thought:
111:05,067[A  ]| And he that had no Meaning to do wrong,
111:05,068[A  ]| Can't suffer, sure, for his No-meaning long:
111:05,069[A  ]| And that's the Consolation now I bring;
111:05,070[A  ]| Thou art too dull to think a treacherous Thing,
111:05,071[A  ]| And 'tis the thoughtful Traitor that offends his KING.
111:05,000['  ]| <Gould, Robert: The Laureat (1687)>
111:05,000['  ]| <The Laureat>
111:05,001[A  ]| Jack Squabb's History in a little drawn,
111:05,002[A  ]| Down to his Evening, from his early dawn.
111:05,003[A  ]| Appear, thou mighty Bard, to open view;
111:05,004[A  ]| Which yet we must confess you need not do:
111:05,005[A  ]| The labour to expose thee we may save,
111:05,006[A  ]| Thou standest upon thy own Records, a Knave;
111:05,007[A  ]| Condemned to Live in thy Apostate Rhymes,
111:05,008[A  ]| The Curse of Ours, and Scoff of Future Times.
111:05,009[A  ]| Still tacking round with every turn of State,
111:05,010[A  ]| Reverse to Shaftsbury! thy Cursed Fate
111:05,011[A  ]| Is always at a change to come to late:
111:05,012[A  ]| To keep his Plots from Coxcombs was his Care;
111:05,013[A  ]| His Villainy was masked, and Thine is bare:
111:05,014[A  ]| Wise Men alone could guess at his Design,
111:05,015[A  ]| And could but guess, the Thread was spun so fine;
111:05,016[A  ]| But every purblind Fool may see through thine.
111:05,017[A  ]| Had Dick still kept the Regal Diadem,
111:05,018[A  ]| Thou hadst been Poet Laureat to him,
111:05,019[A  ]| And, long ere now, in Lofty Verse proclaimed
111:05,020[A  ]| His high Extraction, among Princes famed;
111:05,021[A  ]| Diffused his Glorious Deed from Pole to Pole,
111:05,022[A  ]| Where Winds can carry, and where Waves can roll.
111:05,023[A  ]| Nay, had our Charles, by Heaven's severe Decree,
111:05,024[A  ]| Been found, and Murdered in the Royal Tree,
111:05,025[A  ]| Even thou hadst praised the Fact; his Father Slain,
111:05,026[A  ]| Thou callest but gently breathing of a Vein:
111:05,027[A  ]| Impious, and Villainous! to bless the blow
111:05,028[A  ]| That laid at once three Lofty Nations low,
111:05,029[A  ]| And gave the Royal Cause a Fatal Overthrow.
111:05,030[A  ]| What after this could we expect from thee?
111:05,031[A  ]| What could we hope for, but just what we see?
111:05,032[A  ]| Scandal to all Religions, New and Old;
111:05,033[A  ]| Scandal to thine, where Pardon's bought and sold,
111:05,034[A  ]| And Mortgaged Happiness Redeemed for Gold:
111:05,035[A  ]| Tell me, for 'tis a Truth you must allow,
111:05,036[A  ]| Whoever changed more in one Moon, than thou?
111:05,037[A  ]| Even thy own Zimri was more steadfast known;
111:05,038[A  ]| He had but one Religion, or had none:
111:05,039[A  ]| What Sect of Christians is it thou hast not known,
111:05,040[A  ]| And, at one time or other, made thy own?
111:05,041[A  ]| A Bristled Baptist bred; and then thy strain
111:05,042[A  ]| Immaculate, was free from sinful stain.
111:05,043[A  ]| No Songs in those blest times thou didst produce
111:05,044[A  ]| To brand, and shame good manners out of use:
111:05,045[A  ]| The Ladies then had not one Bawdy Bob,
111:05,046[A  ]| Nor thou the Courtly Name of Poet Squab.
111:05,047[A  ]| Next, thy dull Muse, an Independent Jade,
111:05,048[A  ]| On Sacred Tyranny five Stanzas made;
111:05,049[A  ]| Praised Noll, who even to both extremes did run,
111:05,050[A  ]| To kill the Father, and dethrone the Son.
111:05,051[A  ]| When Charles came in, thou didst a Convert grow,
111:05,052[A  ]| More by thy Interest, than thy Nature so.
111:05,053[A  ]| Under his Livening Beams thy Laurels spread;
111:05,054[A  ]| He first did place that wreath about thy Head;
111:05,055[A  ]| Kindly relieved thy wants, and gave thee Bread.
111:05,056[A  ]| Here 'twas thou madest the Bells of Fancy chime,
111:05,057[A  ]| And choked the Town with suffocating Rhyme.
111:05,058[A  ]| Till Heroes, formed by thy Creating Pen,
111:05,059[A  ]| Were grown as Cheap, and Dull, as other men.
111:05,060[A  ]| Flushed with Success, full Gallery, and Pit,
111:05,061[A  ]| Thou bravest all Mankind with want of Wit.
111:05,062[A  ]| Nay, in short time, wert grown so proud a Ninny,
111:05,063[A  ]| As scarce to allow that Ben himself had any.
111:05,064[A  ]| But when the men of Sense thy Error saw,
111:05,065[A  ]| They Checked thy Muse, and kept the Termagant in awe.
111:05,066[A  ]| To Satire next thy Talent was Addressed,
111:05,067[A  ]| Fell foul on all, thy Friends among the rest:
111:05,068[A  ]| Those who the oftenest did thy wants supply,
111:05,069[A  ]| Abused, Traduced, without a Reason why.
111:05,070[A  ]| Nay, even thy Royal Patron was not spared,
111:05,071[A  ]| But an obscene, a Santring wretch declared.
111:05,072[A  ]| Thy Loyal Libel we can still produce,
111:05,073[A  ]| Beyond Example, and beyond Excuse.
111:05,074[A  ]| O strange return, to a forgiving King,
111:05,075[A  ]| But the warmed Viper wears the greatest Sting.
111:05,076[A  ]| Thy Pension lost, and justly without doubt,
111:05,077[A  ]| When Servants snarl, we ought to kick them out;
111:05,078[A  ]| They that disdain their Benefactor's Bread,
111:05,079[A  ]| No longer ought by Bounty to be fed.
111:05,080[A  ]| That lost, the Visor changed, you turn about,
111:05,081[A  ]| And straight a True Blue Protestant crept out;
111:05,082[A  ]| The Friar now was writ: and some will say
111:05,083[A  ]| They smell a Malcontent through all the Play.
111:05,084[A  ]| The Papist too was damned, unfit for Trust,
111:05,085[A  ]| Called Treacherous, Shameless, Profligate, Unjust,
111:05,086[A  ]| And Kingly Power thought Arbitrary Lust.
111:05,087[A  ]| This lasted till thou didst thy Pension gain,
111:05,088[A  ]| And that changed both thy Morals, and thy strain.
111:05,089[A  ]| If to write Contradictions, Nonsense be,
111:05,090[A  ]| Who has more Nonsense in their works than thee?
111:05,091[A  ]| We'll mention but thy Lay-man's Faith, and Hind,
111:05,092[A  ]| Who'd think both these (such Clashing do we find)
111:05,093[A  ]| Could be the product of one single mind:
111:05,094[A  ]| Here, thou wouldst Charitable fain appear,
111:05,095[A  ]| Findest fault that Athanasius was severe;
111:05,096[A  ]| Thy Pity straight to Cruelty is raised,
111:05,097[A  ]| And even the Pious Inquisition praised,
111:05,098[A  ]| And recommended to the present Reign:
111:05,099[A  ]| "O happy Countries, Italy and Spain!
111:05,100[A  ]| Have we not cause, in thy own words, to say,
111:05,101[A  ]| Let none believe what varies every day,
111:05,102[A  ]| That never was, nor will be at a stay.
111:05,103[A  ]| Once, Heathens might be saved, you did allow;
111:05,104[A  ]| But not, it seems, we greater Heathens now:
111:05,105[A  ]| The Loyal Church, that buoys the Kingly Line,
111:05,106[A  ]| Damned with a breath, but 'tis such breath as thine:
111:05,107[A  ]| What Credit to thy party can it be,
111:05,108[A  ]| To have gained so lewd a Profligate as thee?
111:05,109[A  ]| Strayed from our fold, makes us but laugh, not weep;
111:05,110[A  ]| We have but lost what was disgrace to keep:
111:05,111[A  ]| By them Mistrusted, and to us a scorn;
111:05,112[A  ]| For it is weakness, at the best, to Turn.
111:05,113[A  ]| True, hadst thou left us in the former Reign,
111:05,114[A  ]| It had proved, it was not wholly done for Gain;
111:05,115[A  ]| Now, the Meridian Sun is not so plain.
111:05,116[A  ]| Gold is thy God, for a substantial sum,
111:05,117[A  ]| Thou to the Turk, wouldst run away from Rome,
111:05,118[A  ]| And Sing his Holy Expedition against Christendom.
111:05,119[A  ]| But, to conclude, blush with a lasting Red,
111:05,120[A  ]| (If thou art not moved with what's already said)
111:05,121[A  ]| To see thy Boars, Bears, Buzzards, Wolves and Owls,
111:05,122[A  ]| And all thy other Beasts, and other Fowls,
111:05,123[A  ]| Routed by two poor Mice: (Unequal fight)
111:05,124[A  ]| But easy 'tis to Conquer in the Right.
111:05,125[A  ]| See there a Youth (a shame to thy grey hairs)
111:05,126[A  ]| Make a mere Dunce of all thy threescore years.
111:05,127[A  ]| What in that Tedious Poem hast thou done,
111:05,128[A  ]| But crammed all Aesop's Fables into one.
111:05,129[A  ]| But why do I the precious minutes spend
111:05,130[A  ]| On him, that would much rather hang, than mend.
111:05,131[A  ]| No, Wretch, continue still just as thou art,
111:05,132[A  ]| Thou art now in this last Scene, that Crowns thy Part;
111:05,133[A  ]| To purchase Favour, veer with every Gale,
111:05,134[A  ]| And, against Interest, never cease to rail;
111:05,135[A  ]| Though thou art the only proof how Interest can prevail.
112:01,000@@@@@| 
112:01,000['  ]| <Gould, Robert: The Works (1709)>
112:01,000['  ]| <VOLUME the SECOND. (SATYRS).>
112:01,000['  ]| <A SATYR AGAINST MAN.>
112:01,000['  ]| <TO The Right Honourable CHARLES, Earl of Dorset and Middlesex, &c.>
112:01,000['  ]| <The First Part.>
112:01,001[A  ]| I who against the Women drew my Pen,
112:01,002[A  ]| With equal Fury now attack the Men:
112:01,003[A  ]| The Charming Sex, that thought us then Severe,
112:01,004[A  ]| Shall find we'll be alike Impartial here;
112:01,005[A  ]| That no Regard shall to our Side be shown,
112:01,006[A  ]| From Him that clouts a Shoe to Lewis on a Throne.
112:01,007[A  ]| Ye Injured Spirits of that Virgin Train
112:01,008[A  ]| Who by unfaithful Lovers once were slain,
112:01,009[A  ]| Cropped from your Stalks like Roses newly blown,
112:01,010[A  ]| With all your Beauties, all your Sweetness on!
112:01,011[A  ]| In vain the Nymph was faithful to her Mate,
112:01,012[A  ]| Your Truth could not Protect you from your Fate;
112:01,013[A  ]| Your Truth, too cold to melt the Obdurate Mind
112:01,014[A  ]| Of Man, whose Nature is to be unkind:
112:01,015[A  ]| If you, Chaste Shades, ever condescend to know,
112:01,016[A  ]| Enthroned above, what Mortals do below;
112:01,017[A  ]| If still You can your Earthly Wrongs resent,
112:01,018[A  ]| And wish the Perjured lasting Punishment,
112:01,019[A  ]| Assist the Muse in her Revengeful Flight;
112:01,020[A  ]| Lend her but Rage, and she shall do you Right.
112:01,021[A  ]| Man is my Theme, ~~ but where shall I begin,
112:01,022[A  ]| Where enter the vast Circle of his Sin?
112:01,023[A  ]| Or how shall I get out when once I'm in?
112:01,024[A  ]| Man! who by Heaven was made to govern all,
112:01,025[A  ]| But how unfit demonstrates in his Fall:
112:01,026[A  ]| Created pure, and with a Strength endued
112:01,027[A  ]| Of Grace Divine, sufficient to have stood;
112:01,028[A  ]| But Alienate from God, he soon became
112:01,029[A  ]| The Child of Wrath, of Misery, Pride and Shame.
112:01,030[A  ]| What Beast beside can we so slavish call
112:01,031[A  ]| As Man? who yet pretends he's Lord of all:
112:01,032[A  ]| Who ever saw (and all their Classes cull)
112:01,033[A  ]| A Dog so snarlish, or a Swine so full,
112:01,034[A  ]| A Wolf so ravenous, or an Ass so dull?
112:01,035[A  ]| What Species of them have so far been shamed
112:01,036[A  ]| To think their other Brethren all are damned.
112:01,037[A  ]| So short his Judgment, and so dim his Eye,
112:01,038[A  ]| He's farthest off when he believes he's nigh.
112:01,039[A  ]| Pretends to Heaven your Footsteps to convey
112:01,040[A  ]| As by and by we'll more at large display;
112:01,041[A  ]| Then raises Mists to make you lose your Way.
112:01,042[A  ]| But most the Women his Discourse deceives;
112:01,043[A  ]| For ever lost the Female that believes!
112:01,044[A  ]| Assist ye injured Maids, the Muse's Flight,
112:01,045[A  ]| Lend her but Rage, and she shall do you Right.
112:01,046[A  ]| Slave to his Passions, every several Lust
112:01,047[A  ]| Whisks him about, as Whirlwinds do the Dust:
112:01,048[A  ]| And Dust he is indeed, a senseless Clod,
112:01,049[A  ]| That swells, and would be yet believed a God.
112:01,050[A  ]| When ever in his Gilt Coach the Pageant rides,
112:01,051[A  ]| (Full of himself, and loathing all besides,)
112:01,052[A  ]| He must be thought Illustrious, Wise and Brave,
112:01,053[A  ]| Though a known Coxcomb, and a fearful Slave.
112:01,054[A  ]| Mean while the Man of Worth, with all his Care,
112:01,055[A  ]| Shall scarce have Money, in a hazy Air,
112:01,056[A  ]| To pay the jolting Hackney Coach its Fare.
112:01,057[A  ]| This shows us Fortune in her Partial Mood,
112:01,058[A  ]| Is chiefly most unkind, where least she should;
112:01,059[A  ]| To Merit false, as if 'twere made a Rule,
112:01,060[A  ]| But faithful as a Saint to Knave and Fool.
112:01,061[A  ]| Good Heaven! that such should have so little Sense,
112:01,062[A  ]| And yet withal so much of Impudence,
112:01,063[A  ]| To think their Value higher than the rest,
112:01,064[A  ]| For swearing loud, and being nicelier dressed;
112:01,065[A  ]| Yet so it is, the fluttering Coxcomb's prized,
112:01,066[A  ]| And the brave threadbare generous Soul despised.
112:01,067[A  ]| The Virtuous Woman too is grown their Jest,
112:01,068[A  ]| And Heaven, and Heavenly Things beloved the least.
112:01,069[A  ]| But aid, ye shining Train! the Satire's Spite,
112:01,070[A  ]| Lend her but Rage, and she shall do you Right.
112:01,071[A  ]| Wherever Self-Interest calls, he's sure to go,
112:01,072[A  ]| But never matters whether Just, or no:
112:01,073[A  ]| Justice he laughs at as an Idle Tie,
112:01,074[A  ]| Lives in that Faith, and so resolves to Die.
112:01,075[A  ]| As greater Fish upon the weaker prey,
112:01,076[A  ]| As Wolves on Sheep, that from their Shepherd stray,
112:01,077[A  ]| So Cruel Men, with utmost Rage and Spite,
112:01,078[A  ]| Make Violence and Rapine their Delight,
112:01,079[A  ]| Till with Revenge they've gorged the Appetite.
112:01,080[A  ]| Not bounded by Divine or Human Law,
112:01,081[A  ]| Too Proud to Humble, and too Strong to Awe;
112:01,082[A  ]| Breaking the Bars, that Nature's Hand has laid,
112:01,083[A  ]| All Wrong they cherish, and all Right invade.
112:01,084[A  ]| New Worlds of Vice he daily does explore;
112:01,085[A  ]| His Sea of Villainy's without a Shore.
112:01,086[A  ]| Even in his Dreams, he's laying Snares for Blood,
112:01,087[A  ]| And waking, he resolves to make them good:
112:01,088[A  ]| Or grant, against his Treachery you provide,
112:01,089[A  ]| It is but having Money on their Side,
112:01,090[A  ]| And soon the Case 'twill to their Bias draw;
112:01,091[A  ]| Corrupts the Judge, and he Corrupts the Law.
112:01,092[A  ]| Witness the present Legislative Train,
112:01,093[A  ]| Where for one Wise, you have your fifty vain,
112:01,094[A  ]| And for one Just, a hundred following Gain.
112:01,095[A  ]| Witness the Crew, that late exulting stood,
112:01,096[A  ]| And washed their Impious Hands in Royal Blood:
112:01,097[A  ]| If from their Subjects Princes are not free,
112:01,098[A  ]| What must the Wretch expect of mean Degree?
112:01,099[A  ]| Not in an Age he sees a happy Hour,
112:01,100[A  ]| For Poverty is still the Slave of Power;
112:01,101[A  ]| And oft to satisfy the Tyrant's Lust,
112:01,102[A  ]| Is forced to bend, and crawl, and lick the Dust:
112:01,103[A  ]| The Fair themselves meet with a Fate as coarse,
112:01,104[A  ]| And those of them it can't betray 'twill force.
112:01,105[A  ]| Assist, ye Injured Maids, the Muse's Flight,
112:01,106[A  ]| Lend her but Rage, and she shall do you Right.
112:01,107[A  ]| Deceitful, Slothful, Covetous and Base;
112:01,108[A  ]| Rage in his Heart, yet Peace upon his Face.
112:01,109[A  ]| Whenever he smiles the specious Cheat beware,
112:01,110[A  ]| Some secret Villainy lies lurking there;
112:01,111[A  ]| Which if it take, (to Lucifer allied)
112:01,112[A  ]| Makes him but Sport for his Revenge and Pride.
112:01,113[A  ]| Nor are but Fools deceived by the Disguise,
112:01,114[A  ]| It reaches far above them, to the Wise:
112:01,115[A  ]| Nay even the Learned are often Knaves for Hire,
112:01,116[A  ]| And whither then can Innocence retire?
112:01,117[A  ]| Friendship, which gained of Old Immortal Fame,
112:01,118[A  ]| Is now, like Justice, nothing but a Name.
112:01,119[A  ]| Who calls you Friend avoid, unless you know
112:01,120[A  ]| By uncontested Proof he has been so:
112:01,121[A  ]| In that Disguise the Blackest Deeds are done,
112:01,122[A  ]| In that Disguise they're hardest, too, to shun.
112:01,123[A  ]| Who is it makes the Modest Wife a Whore?
112:01,124[A  ]| Your Friend, for those that hate you shun your Door.
112:01,125[A  ]| Who is it proves to Oaths and Bonds unjust?
112:01,126[A  ]| Your Friend, Your Enemies you never trust;
112:01,127[A  ]| Or, if you do, you are very far from Wise;
112:01,128[A  ]| And Knave and Fool we equally Despise.
112:01,129[A  ]| Who is it does your secret Soul betray,
112:01,130[A  ]| And bring your darkest Thoughts to open Day?
112:01,131[A  ]| Who is but your Friend? in whose false Breast
112:01,132[A  ]| You vainly thought they would for ever rest.
112:01,133[A  ]| The Heart of Man is to itself untrue,
112:01,134[A  ]| And why should you expect it Just to You?
112:01,135[A  ]| Friendships, at best, are but like Brush-wood fire,
112:01,136[A  ]| Shine bright a while, and in a Blaze expire:
112:01,137[A  ]| Even Love itself is now a Flame decayed;
112:01,138[A  ]| For whatsoever is to the Female said,
112:01,139[A  ]| It is the Fortune charms, and not the Maid.
112:01,140[A  ]| Assist, ye Injured Train, the Satire's spite,
112:01,141[A  ]| Lend her but Rage, and she shall do you Right.
112:01,142[A  ]| Who most does Promise least should be believed,
112:01,143[A  ]| For first to trust is next to be deceived.
112:01,144[A  ]| I once my self believed I had a Friend,
112:01,145[A  ]| For boundless was the Love he did pretend:
112:01,146[A  ]| Riches he did not want, he rolled in Coin,
112:01,147[A  ]| Which oft he Swore was less his own than Mine.
112:01,148[A  ]| He would do Nothing without my Advice,
112:01,149[A  ]| Friendship's best sign; for no true Friend is Nice:
112:01,150[A  ]| I too adored him with so bright a Flame,
112:01,151[A  ]| Angel to Angel can but do the same.
112:01,152[A  ]| At his approach all other Joys took flight,
112:01,153[A  ]| Even Woman I contemned; he was the Light
112:01,154[A  ]| That ruled the Day, they did but rule the Night;
112:01,155[A  ]| And that too oft: ~~ upon his gentle Breast
112:01,156[A  ]| My Cares, and every Anxious Thought took rest.
112:01,157[A  ]| It happened once my Purse was low in Store;
112:01,158[A  ]| (And once were well if 'twould be so no more:)
112:01,159[A  ]| In this Affliction 'twas no slender Bliss
112:01,160[A  ]| I was assured of such a Friend as this.
112:01,161[A  ]| On Him, said I, on Him I may depend,
112:01,162[A  ]| I cannot need so much as He will lend;
112:01,163[A  ]| He will be thankful his Esteem is tried, ~~
112:01,164[A  ]| I asked him, and, by Heaven, I was denied!
112:01,165[A  ]| Nor ever since will he so much as Greet,
112:01,166[A  ]| Or Speak, or Nod, or Name me when we Meet,
112:01,167[A  ]| But like a Friend, askance he Darts his Eye,
112:01,168[A  ]| Or with proud Gesture walks regardless by.
112:01,169[A  ]| Traitor to Friendship! may thy Spotted Name
112:01,170[A  ]| Stand branded here with everlasting Shame.
112:01,171[A  ]| But 'tis no Wonder; search, and You will find
112:01,172[A  ]| The same Ill Nature runs through Humankind.
112:01,173[A  ]| Not Madmen when they're in the Raving fit,
112:01,174[A  ]| Reciting Bards, (a Race more frantic yet,)
112:01,175[A  ]| Or Atheists, that will have Profaneness Wit;
112:01,176[A  ]| Not Midnight Drunkards scouring through the Street,
112:01,177[A  ]| With Swords advanced to Stab the next they meet,
112:01,178[A  ]| Nor ought be it as horrid as it can
112:01,179[A  ]| Is more avoided than the Borrowing Man.
112:01,180[A  ]| In vain the Widow does Assistance crave;
112:01,181[A  ]| The Virgin can herself no Pity have,
112:01,182[A  ]| But once in want, must Whore for Bread, or find a timeless Grave.
112:01,183[A  ]| But aid, ye Injured Sex, the Muse's Flight,
112:01,184[A  ]| Lend her but Rage and she shall do you Right.
112:01,185[A  ]| Not that by this I'd have You prone to lend,
112:01,186[A  ]| Unless You are sure 'tis to a Real Friend;
112:01,187[A  ]| If you doubt that, in vain he should entreat,
112:01,188[A  ]| The Business of Mankind's to Lie and Cheat:
112:01,189[A  ]| Why then should any be so vain to trust
112:01,190[A  ]| When 'tis such odds the Debtor proves unjust.
112:01,191[A  ]| A Friend's a Friend, and so he should be used;
112:01,192[A  ]| But where one finds them Just, ten Thousand are abused.
112:01,193[A  ]| The Vows of Men are of the Brittlest kind,
112:01,194[A  ]| And light as Chaff dispersed before the Wind;
112:01,195[A  ]| But made in Sport, and lengthened to be Weak;
112:01,196[A  ]| As Children's Bubbles just are blown to break.
112:01,197[A  ]| How far their Words are distant from the Heart,
112:01,198[A  ]| And then how black in the Ungrateful Part
112:01,199[A  ]| The Fair can best inform, who most have felt the Smart.
112:01,200[A  ]| What Female has there ever yet been known
112:01,201[A  ]| That found, by Proof, her Lover all her own?
112:01,202[A  ]| Much for Inconstancy that Sex is famed,
112:01,203[A  ]| But now in their own Mother-Art they're shamed:
112:01,204[A  ]| Swifter than they the Swain can change his Mind,
112:01,205[A  ]| And most be faithless where they most are kind.
112:01,206[A  ]| So vastly wide his Language and Design,
112:01,207[A  ]| He thinks they're Devils whom he calls Divine.
112:01,208[A  ]| Knows he is Treacherous yet will swear He's true,
112:01,209[A  ]| And, which is worse, call Heaven to vouch it too:
112:01,210[A  ]| But 'tis all Lust, spoke when his Blood is warm,
112:01,211[A  ]| And the next Face he fancies ends the Charm.
112:01,212[A  ]| Assist, ye Injured Maids, the Satire's Spite,
112:01,213[A  ]| Lend her but Rage, and she shall do You Right.
112:01,214[A  ]| No Vice so distant but within his view,
112:01,215[A  ]| Nor Crime so horrid, which he dares not do.
112:01,216[A  ]| Treason's a Trifle; 'tis a frequent thing
112:01,217[A  ]| To here the Subject, speaking of his King,
112:01,218[A  ]| Use viler Terms than Tinkers in their Ale,
112:01,219[A  ]| Throw on a Trull, too Liberal of her Tail.
112:01,220[A  ]| Adultery but a Venial Slip, no more,
112:01,221[A  ]| Now grown a Trade, what ever 'twas heretofore;
112:01,222[A  ]| For some there are (O where is Virtue fled!
112:01,223[A  ]| O strange Perversion of the Nuptial Bed!)
112:01,224[A  ]| Who that way Nightly toil to get their Daily Bread.
112:01,225[A  ]| Murder and Pox so common, none can be
112:01,226[A  ]| Admitted Gentleman of Prime Degree,
112:01,227[A  ]| Till he has thrice been Clapped and Butchered Three.
112:01,228[A  ]| Incest but laughed at as a Pleasant Jest;
112:01,229[A  ]| A Sister now as Gr**y has oft confessed,
112:01,230[A  ]| Is even as Good a Morsel as the best.
112:01,231[A  ]| Others, with equal boldness, strip the Lead
112:01,232[A  ]| From Sepulchres, and Rob the very Dead:
112:01,233[A  ]| Nay, some the Plate have from the Altar bore.
112:01,234[A  ]| In which they had Received but just before.
112:01,235[A  ]| In short so much their Violence prevails,
112:01,236[A  ]| Our Churches must be made as strong as Jails.
112:01,237[A  ]| But You'll object that Persons so inclined
112:01,238[A  ]| Are Scoundrels, and the Fag of Humankind:
112:01,239[A  ]| Search then the Roads; and You will quickly see
112:01,240[A  ]| What we may hope from Rascals of Degree:
112:01,241[A  ]| A Noble Birth makes but the vicious worse,
112:01,242[A  ]| And their last Shift is certainly ~~ the Purse:
112:01,243[A  ]| Extravagantly having spent their own,
112:01,244[A  ]| They're all for Spoil and Rapine when 'tis gone.
112:01,245[A  ]| Villains! that strip the Needy Peasant bare,
112:01,246[A  ]| Though what he had he got with Toil and Care;
112:01,247[A  ]| That Ravish helpless Woman, barbarous Act!
112:01,248[A  ]| And next Destroy them to conceal the Fact.
112:01,249[A  ]| But what they lightly get they spend as fast,
112:01,250[A  ]| Their Lives in dissolute Embraces waste,
112:01,251[A  ]| Till they are caught, adjudged, their Crimes confessed,
112:01,252[A  ]| And then unpitied die; ~~ and so die all the rest.
112:01,253[A  ]| Go on, my Satire, and indulge thy Rage,
112:01,254[A  ]| For never was a more Licentious Age.
112:01,255[A  ]| Happy our brave Progenitors of old;
112:01,256[A  ]| What they call Brass, was sure an Age of Gold;
112:01,257[A  ]| When Man by Active Games was hardy made,
112:01,258[A  ]| And War believed an Honourable Trade;
112:01,259[A  ]| Not made as now, Religion the Pretence,
112:01,260[A  ]| To show our Goodness equal with our Sense:
112:01,261[A  ]| They fought for Glory, and we fight for Shame;
112:01,262[A  ]| Our Feud's the Scandal of the Christian Name.
112:01,263[A  ]| Through Hills they hewed and dived through Seas of Blood,
112:01,264[A  ]| But all their Toils were for their Country's Good.
112:01,265[A  ]| What ever Care was for their Interest shown,
112:01,266[A  ]| They still preferred the Public to their own.
112:01,267[A  ]| Factions then strove not to subvert the State,
112:01,268[A  ]| As they do now, and as they've done of late,
112:01,269[A  ]| They were not Plagued with Jealousies and Fears,
112:01,270[A  ]| A Priest could not set Nations by the Ears:
112:01,271[A  ]| Nor ever was that Method to them known
112:01,272[A  ]| Which in these latter Times so oft is shown,
112:01,273[A  ]| Of fighting for Religion till they'd none.
112:01,274[A  ]| Thus Honour, Truth, and Justice were their aim;
112:01,275[A  ]| Their Sons saw this, and followed them to Fame.
112:01,276[A  ]| Quite contrary, our Youths are only made
112:01,277[A  ]| Harpies of Law, or Prentices to Trade;
112:01,278[A  ]| Where each of them his Term of Years completes,
112:01,279[A  ]| To come out last the more accomplished Cheats.
112:01,280[A  ]| Seven Seasons thus Preposterously are spent,
112:01,281[A  ]| (Their Father's, Master's, and their own Intent,)
112:01,282[A  ]| To make one Lie, and the other Impudent,
112:01,283[A  ]| Send them, ye Senseless Sires, against the Turk,
112:01,284[A  ]| 'Tis now the Time, and Meritorious Work;
112:01,285[A  ]| It is a Glorious Cause, and let them Roam;
112:01,286[A  ]| Be Judge Your selves which is the Nobler doom,
112:01,287[A  ]| To fight for Truth abroad, or damned for Lies at home.
112:01,288[A  ]| Along my Muse, and yet indulge your Rage,
112:01,289[A  ]| For never was a more Flagitious Age.
112:01,290[A  ]| But Trade, You'll say, ought not to be despised,
112:01,291[A  ]| So much by wisest Legislators Prized:
112:01,292[A  ]| Whole Millions it employs, who else would know
112:01,293[A  ]| What strength they had, and into Factions grow;
112:01,294[A  ]| No other set of Brutes being half so rude,
112:01,295[A  ]| As your Pretended Christian Multitude.
112:01,296[A  ]| Beside, by Trade vast Cities thrive and rise
112:01,297[A  ]| With Monuments and Towers, contiguous to the Skies.
112:01,298[A  ]| They do indeed; and we may know as well
112:01,299[A  ]| 'Tis Riches makes them Murmur and Rebel.
112:01,300[A  ]| Those Crowds whom You pretend their Trade deters
112:01,301[A  ]| From launching into Civil Strife and Jars
112:01,302[A  ]| Make that the Cause of all Intestine Harms;
112:01,303[A  ]| For 'tis their Chief Pretence to take up Arms:
112:01,304[A  ]| If they grow Poor with one Resolved Consent,
112:01,305[A  ]| (Like those who do their Wisdoms represent,)
112:01,306[A  ]| They lay the Fault upon the Government;
112:01,307[A  ]| When after all their Clamour, Spite and Pother,
112:01,308[A  ]| 'Tis playing their false Dice with one another,
112:01,309[A  ]| For still the half that fattens starves the other.
112:01,310[A  ]| But let the Mildest Sense be understood,
112:01,311[A  ]| That Trade was meant and proves for Public Good;
112:01,312[A  ]| What Comfort, or Excuse can it obtain
112:01,313[A  ]| For Him that is a Private Rogue for Gain?
112:01,314[A  ]| In Gross, or in Retail, for both Lines meet
112:01,315[A  ]| And make this Truth their Centre Trades a Cheat.
112:01,316[A  ]| What difference can there be between the Man
112:01,317[A  ]| That cuts my Throat, and who does all he can
112:01,318[A  ]| By Specious Guile to take my Bread away,
112:01,319[A  ]| And Lessening it a Morsel every Day?
112:01,320[A  ]| Which is but Killing a more Cruel Way:
112:01,321[A  ]| Doubtless, though the other seems the more accursed,
112:01,322[A  ]| The secret Trading Villain is the worst.
112:01,323[A  ]| So of Religion, the bold Atheist, who
112:01,324[A  ]| Talks as he thinks, though Impious and untrue,
112:01,325[A  ]| Is better than the Hypocrite, whose Zeal
112:01,326[A  ]| Is but a Cloak his Lusts and Murders to conceal.
112:01,327[A  ]| But on my Satire with a Fury's Rage,
112:01,328[A  ]| For never was a more Enormous Age.
112:01,329[A  ]| And here I must with Indignation show
112:01,330[A  ]| What Ill from Seeming Sanctity does flow:
112:01,331[A  ]| Would You be something of Superior Rate
112:01,332[A  ]| Look big, and be distinguished by the State?
112:01,333[A  ]| Would You be followed more than Lob or Pen?
112:01,334[A  ]| (The dullest that, and this the worst of Men)
112:01,335[A  ]| Be always Canting: 'tis a sure Disguise
112:01,336[A  ]| That cheats not only Fools, but reaches to the Wise:
112:01,337[A  ]| Though when advanced You need no further go,
112:01,338[A  ]| But lie as still as those that have been so:
112:01,339[A  ]| 'Tis very few can tell, with all their Care,
112:01,340[A  ]| The Ease and Quiet of an Elder's Chair.
112:01,341[A  ]| Do You for secret Profit lie in wait?
112:01,342[A  ]| As being Trustee of some large Estate?
112:01,343[A  ]| Erect your Eyes, and feign a mien Devout,
112:01,344[A  ]| And from a Thousand they shall pick you out;
112:01,345[A  ]| Leave to your Management the whole Affair,
112:01,346[A  ]| Which is, in short, the Ruin of the Heir.
112:01,347[A  ]| Are You a Scholar? nay or are you not,
112:01,348[A  ]| And would have something very quickly got?
112:01,349[A  ]| Put on a Gown, and go with Looks demure
112:01,350[A  ]| To Bawds, or Burgesses, that every Hour
112:01,351[A  ]| Expect the King of Terrors in his Power:
112:01,352[A  ]| Creatures whose Penitence is only fear;
112:01,353[A  ]| For, had they Health, they'd soon be as they were:
112:01,354[A  ]| Go but to these with Fluency of Cant,
112:01,355[A  ]| Be Impudent withal (a Gift we grant,
112:01,356[A  ]| Which your Religious Strollers seldom want;)
112:01,357[A  ]| Their Hearts shall Yearn, and drop you Golden Ore,
112:01,358[A  ]| While their poor Neighbours Perish at the Door.
112:01,359[A  ]| In short there's nothing, be it never so Ill,
112:01,360[A  ]| To Cheat, Forswear, to Ravish, Burn, or Kill,
112:01,361[A  ]| But if 'tis veiled with a Fanatic dress,
112:01,362[A  ]| Is thought by some the top of Godliness:
112:01,363[A  ]| Not Hell itself contains sufficient Fire
112:01,364[A  ]| For Teachers who such Principles inspire.
112:01,365[A  ]| But that the God of Truth we plainly find
112:01,366[A  ]| In shining Strokes imprinted on the Mind;
112:01,367[A  ]| And that his Word asserts, with due regard
112:01,368[A  ]| He'll scourge the Bad, and give the Good reward,
112:01,369[A  ]| So many Errors has Religion shown,
112:01,370[A  ]| And it's Professors so Irreverent grown,
112:01,371[A  ]| I should even think Him happiest that had none.
112:01,372[A  ]| Proceed, my Satire, with a Fury's Rage
112:01,373[A  ]| For never was a more Notorious Age.
112:01,374[A  ]| Go to the Country, if You think to see
112:01,375[A  ]| The old and so renowned Simplicity,
112:01,376[A  ]| A Temperate sort of Men, composed and Wise,
112:01,377[A  ]| That join with Truth, and all Excess despise,
112:01,378[A  ]| You'll be deceived; for You shall quickly think
112:01,379[A  ]| Both Poor and Rich were all Baptized in Drink.
112:01,380[A  ]| Eternal Sots! when the Brown Bowl's in use,
112:01,381[A  ]| You had better meet a Baited Bear broke loose.
112:01,382[A  ]| Then for Tobacco, every Ale-house there
112:01,383[A  ]| Would suffocate ten Coffee-houses here!
112:01,384[A  ]| A Stupid, Obstinate, Illiterate Race,
112:01,385[A  ]| Moulded in haste, and Men to their disgrace.
112:01,386[A  ]| The Yeomanry they boast are much the same,
112:01,387[A  ]| Nor answer the Composure of their Frame,
112:01,388[A  ]| But have of Human nothing but the Name.
112:01,389[A  ]| Sermons they fly, or if by chance, they hear,
112:01,390[A  ]| They truly might as well have stopped the Ear,
112:01,391[A  ]| And Edified at Plough as much as there:
112:01,392[A  ]| No least delight there in their Bosom Springs
112:01,393[A  ]| Of Truth and Peace, of Heaven and Holy Things;
112:01,394[A  ]| A Treacherous sort of Men demure in Sin,
112:01,395[A  ]| The out-side Shepherd, and all Wolf within.
112:01,396[A  ]| But if the Bumpkin we no more admire,
112:01,397[A  ]| What must we think that viler thing ~~ a Squire?
112:01,398[A  ]| The Country Beau, who fancies none so great
112:01,399[A  ]| As those, possessed of nothing ~~ but Estate.
112:01,400[A  ]| Let wiser Men abroad for Polish roam;
112:01,401[A  ]| His business is ~~ to be an Ass at home.
112:01,402[A  ]| Bar him from talking but of Dog and Horse,
112:01,403[A  ]| He's totally deprived of all Discourse.
112:01,404[A  ]| As the other Triumphs at the rise of Corn,
112:01,405[A  ]| So all his Glory is the Hound and Horn;
112:01,406[A  ]| Away upon the Scent they scouring go,
112:01,407[A  ]| Through thick and thin, and over high and low;
112:01,408[A  ]| Where ever the Fox does fly the Fools pursue.
112:01,409[A  ]| Obliged so little to the Heads they wear,
112:01,410[A  ]| A breaking Neck is not at all their care;
112:01,411[A  ]| Till dislocated Bones at length convince
112:01,412[A  ]| They're Cripples in their Limbs, as well as Sense:
112:01,413[A  ]| But though this Way the Sire is half undone,
112:01,414[A  ]| It has at all no Influence on the Son,
112:01,415[A  ]| Who thinking Daddy what we Lordly call,
112:01,416[A  ]| Drinks, Whores, and Hunts till he has wasted all,
112:01,417[A  ]| So goes the Estate by over-reaching got,
112:01,418[A  ]| Raised by a Knave, and squandered by a Sot.
112:01,419[A  ]| Justly the Satire may indulge her Rage.
112:01,420[A  ]| For never was a more Licentious Age.
112:01,421[A  ]| Such Vices on a Rural Stage to find
112:01,422[A  ]| Does bring the Monster London to my Mind;
112:01,423[A  ]| If Wickedness is grown so Prosperous there,
112:01,424[A  ]| To what a Pitch must it arrive at here!
112:01,425[A  ]| Where, from the Lofty Stand, we have a View
112:01,426[A  ]| Of every Villainy that Man can do,
112:01,427[A  ]| An Abstract of all Evils, Old and New;
112:01,428[A  ]| A Fund Immense! that won't Exhausted be
112:01,429[A  ]| Till Time has shot the Gulf of round Eternity.
112:01,430[A  ]| All Crimes of Men and Devils here abound,
112:01,431[A  ]| And none so bad but have Protection found.
112:01,432[A  ]| The Soil so Rank, no Vice but what does bear,
112:01,433[A  ]| Nor dully waits for Ripening half the Year,
112:01,434[A  ]| But every Moment shoots a Harvest here.
112:01,435[A  ]| To tell them singly were a Task as vain
112:01,436[A  ]| As in a Shower to count the Drops of Rain;
112:01,437[A  ]| But should a serious Man but truly mark
112:01,438[A  ]| The Guilt of every Bully, every Spark;
112:01,439[A  ]| Would he Survey their Treachery, Oaths and Pride,
112:01,440[A  ]| A Devil Worshipped, and a God defied;
112:01,441[A  ]| Their Blasphemies, their Murders and Amours,
112:01,442[A  ]| Lewd City Wives, and stinking Suburb Whores;
112:01,443[A  ]| Pimps, Poisoners, Panders, and Luxurious Lords,
112:01,444[A  ]| With Judges damned upon their own Records;
112:01,445[A  ]| In Courts of Justice little Justice had,
112:01,446[A  ]| Knights of the Post, and other Knights as bad:
112:01,447[A  ]| Should he these Monsters see, and Thousands more
112:01,448[A  ]| Of all Degrees; Great, Little Rich and Poor,
112:01,449[A  ]| What could he think? what could he thence deduce
112:01,450[A  ]| But Sodom was Revived or Hell broke loose?
112:01,451[A  ]| His Hair with Horror Stiffened, he would say
112:01,452[A  ]| We Merited the Flames as much as they,
112:01,453[A  ]| And that the Devils went before but to prepare our Way.
112:01,454[A  ]| Lash on my Satire with a Fury's Rage,
112:01,455[A  ]| For never was a more Flagitious Age.
112:01,456[A  ]| Exposed to Times of such Impiety,
112:01,457[A  ]| Whither for Succour can the Virtuous flee?
112:01,458[A  ]| Where can they fix their Feet to compass rest?
112:01,459[A  ]| How save themselves? or comfort the distressed?
112:01,460[A  ]| Severe to Human thinking, is the Fate
112:01,461[A  ]| That upon Patience, Truth and Justice wait:
112:01,462[A  ]| Dare to be Honest and You'll quickly find
112:01,463[A  ]| You are beating Chaff, and Labouring for the Wind:
112:01,464[A  ]| But don't Repine; there must be Joys in store
112:01,465[A  ]| For Him that can at once be Just and Poor:
112:01,466[A  ]| 'Tis true he does not lie on Beds of Down,
112:01,467[A  ]| Nor with a Set of Flanders beats the Town;
112:01,468[A  ]| Keeps not a Cast of Lackeys, to declare
112:01,469[A  ]| To Punks his Vanity, and Pimps his Fear;
112:01,470[A  ]| Drinks not the choicest Wines, nor does he eat
112:01,471[A  ]| The most delicious, or most Costly meat;
112:01,472[A  ]| Keeps not French Cooks to chatter at the Poor,
112:01,473[A  ]| First crammed by them, then emptied by his Whore:
112:01,474[A  ]| But though his own he can't these Trifles call,
112:01,475[A  ]| He has a Blessing that out-weighs them all,
112:01,476[A  ]| An Unmolested Conscience, void of stain,
112:01,477[A  ]| Which Greatness, and which Wealth can never gain;
112:01,478[A  ]| In vain they'd think there is no Future State,
112:01,479[A  ]| They feel their Load of Sins and sink beneath the Weight:
112:01,480[A  ]| While Honest Men ~~ but whether do I Steer?
112:01,481[A  ]| Why talk of Honesty? ~~ a thing so rare!
112:01,482[A  ]| So seldom thought of, and in Bulk so small,
112:01,483[A  ]| 'Tis Doubtful if it does exist at all,
112:01,484[A  ]| Search through the Nation, find me if you can,
112:01,485[A  ]| That Prodigy, a Truly Honest Man;
112:01,486[A  ]| Let me but see him, let me know his Name,
112:01,487[A  ]| And it shall be the whole Discourse of Fame:
112:01,488[A  ]| In the mean time, till such a one is found,
112:01,489[A  ]| (And he that Searches must not spare for Ground)
112:01,490[A  ]| Justly the Muse might lash the Impious Age,
112:01,491[A  ]| And with like Fury fill the following Page,
112:01,492[A  ]| But that we here must Mitigate her Rage:
112:01,493[A  ]| From change of Precepts fresh Instruction springs;
112:01,494[A  ]| Here then a while she stoops her weary Wings,
112:01,495[A  ]| To talk more coolly of some Nicer Things.
112:02,000['  ]| <The Second Part.>
112:02,001[A  ]| Having thus far of Man in General Penned
112:02,002[A  ]| We'll now to some Particulars descend;
112:02,003[A  ]| To things wherein he most himself does prize;
112:02,004[A  ]| His Wit, and Learning, Stripped of their Disguise,
112:02,005[A  ]| And see if those will yet confirm him Wise.
112:02,006[A  ]| Who ever the Top of Infamy would gain
112:02,007[A  ]| Must be a Wit ~~ perverted at the Brain:
112:02,008[A  ]| But that we may the Monster undisguise
112:02,009[A  ]| We'll first, (as in the Scale of Truth it lies,)
112:02,010[A  ]| Lay open what a Modern Wit implies.
112:02,011[A  ]| An Impious Wretch that Scripture ridicules,
112:02,012[A  ]| And thinks the Men that dare not do it, Fools.
112:02,013[A  ]| A Lustful Goat! who to be fully known
112:02,014[A  ]| For what he is, does pick and cull the Town
112:02,015[A  ]| For Maids and Wives ~~ first having Poxed his Own.
112:02,016[A  ]| If Liberal, it is only in his Wine;
112:02,017[A  ]| So that his Bounty's Chance, and not Design.
112:02,018[A  ]| His Manors he does make the Attorneys' Care,
112:02,019[A  ]| To Rack the Tenant and to Rob the Heir;
112:02,020[A  ]| And in the Course of Years, to make two Thirds their Share.
112:02,021[A  ]| Fond of bad Notions, which he oft will strain
112:02,022[A  ]| With such an Impious Subtlety of Brain,
112:02,023[A  ]| The Thread at last his Reasoning does produce
112:02,024[A  ]| Is spun so Ill, 'tis of no Human Use;
112:02,025[A  ]| But Intricately crossed with Lines and Snares
112:02,026[A  ]| To Ruin Souls; as Spiders, Flies with Theirs.
112:02,027[A  ]| In Scoffs upon Religion seldom dull;
112:02,028[A  ]| Forgetting Sense depraved but makes the greater Fool.
112:02,029[A  ]| His Faith does with the Turkish Creed comply,
112:02,030[A  ]| Which owns a God, but lays a Saviour by;
112:02,031[A  ]| So following Arrius, who the Dance began,
112:02,032[A  ]| He makes the Great Redeemer less than Man.
112:02,033[A  ]| But that we may his Character comprise
112:02,034[A  ]| In a few Words, his Talent chiefly lies
112:02,035[A  ]| In crying down the Christian Mysteries:
112:02,036[A  ]| With Him the Passion's but a Tale of Course,
112:02,037[A  ]| The Trinity a Contradiction Worse;
112:02,038[A  ]| The Incarnate God the Cobweb of the Schools,
112:02,039[A  ]| And rising from the Dead the Dream of Fools:
112:02,040[A  ]| This is the Wit that makes our Gentry Mad;
112:02,041[A  ]| And there's a Bastard Sort almost as bad,
112:02,042[A  ]| Which in the Meaner Rout itself displays,
112:02,043[A  ]| And does exert its Power a Thousand various ways.
112:02,044[A  ]| In Fools it is the finding Fault with Sense,
112:02,045[A  ]| In Courtiers Craft, in Lawyers Impudence;
112:02,046[A  ]| In Beaus it is to Dress, to Patch and Paint,
112:02,047[A  ]| In Porters Bawdry, and in Misers Want;
112:02,048[A  ]| In Poets Flattery, in the Clergy Pride,
112:02,049[A  ]| In Schismatics 'tis an unerring Guide,
112:02,050[A  ]| And Rapine, Spite, Revenge, in all Mankind beside.
112:02,051[A  ]| When all the while the thing itself's no more
112:02,052[A  ]| Than a true turn of Thought, not heard before;
112:02,053[A  ]| A Flash of Sense that darts into the Mind,
112:02,054[A  ]| Like Starling weighty, yet like that refined,
112:02,055[A  ]| Good Language, Breeding, Virtue, all in one Expression joined.
112:02,056[A  ]| These three away, whatever Fools profess,
112:02,057[A  ]| It is no longer Wit, but Wickedness.
112:02,058[A  ]| Thus chew these Men on Husks instead of Fruit;
112:02,059[A  ]| And though of Reason, Reason they dispute,
112:02,060[A  ]| They yet let Instinct better guide the Brute.
112:02,061[A  ]| His Learning 'twill be needless to expose,
112:02,062[A  ]| As having little Credit there to lose;
112:02,063[A  ]| And then, the more his Boast the less he knows.
112:02,064[A  ]| The Face of Heaven with Constellations, Signs,
112:02,065[A  ]| Ecliptic, and a thousand various Lines
112:02,066[A  ]| He Scribbles over, and to the Stars does give
112:02,067[A  ]| A Power by which we either Die, or Live:
112:02,068[A  ]| But if so vast an Influence they instil
112:02,069[A  ]| As to be found Superior to the Will,
112:02,070[A  ]| We can ourselves be neither Good or Ill:
112:02,071[A  ]| And what Absurdities arise from thence
112:02,072[A  ]| A Child may tell without the help of Sense.
112:02,073[A  ]| Nor less does the Predicting Coxcomb call
112:02,074[A  ]| From Man Contempt; and from the Satire, Gall;
112:02,075[A  ]| Who Insolently in those Leaves would look
112:02,076[A  ]| Where only God does write, and Fate itself's the Book:
112:02,077[A  ]| 'Tis He! the Almighty! and 'tis only He
112:02,078[A  ]| Has Eyes that pierce into Futurity.
112:02,079[A  ]| And yet our Nostradamuses presume
112:02,080[A  ]| With Senseless Schemes to tell of Things to come;
112:02,081[A  ]| When their vain Art there's nothing represents
112:02,082[A  ]| So near, as Madmen guessing at Events.
112:02,083[A  ]| Though every Year convinced of Judging wrong,
112:02,084[A  ]| Yet with a frontless Look, and lying Tongue
112:02,085[A  ]| They still go on, and from the harmless Stars
112:02,086[A  ]| Fetch Claps and Famine, Duels, Debts and Wars.
112:02,087[A  ]| Others their Time in Elegance employ,
112:02,088[A  ]| The Choice of Words and Phrase their only Joy;
112:02,089[A  ]| Some they Improve, and others Introduce,
112:02,090[A  ]| And both, perhaps, a while remain in Use;
112:02,091[A  ]| Till Time, that does all Human Change complete,
112:02,092[A  ]| Takes in more New, and makes them Obsolete.
112:02,093[A  ]| Chaucer but in his Matter lives alone,
112:02,094[A  ]| The Sweetness of his Matchless Style is gone.
112:02,095[A  ]| Thus, thoughtless of the Future on they Post
112:02,096[A  ]| And ply the Critic till the Christian's lost.
112:02,097[A  ]| Nor less in History does his Judgment err
112:02,098[A  ]| Perverting Fact, that Truth would render Clear.
112:02,099[A  ]| Whatever from him else his Reader draws
112:02,100[A  ]| He finds; at least He's Faithful to his Cause:
112:02,101[A  ]| How many Hireling Pens does Lewis fee
112:02,102[A  ]| To cheat and Misinform Posterity!
112:02,103[A  ]| A true Impartial Author who can Name
112:02,104[A  ]| Since Greatness has with Pensions trucked for Fame?
112:02,105[A  ]| How many are there at this Instant known,
112:02,106[A  ]| That will to Future Times be Heroes shown,
112:02,107[A  ]| Yet are but Sots and Villains in their own?
112:02,108[A  ]| Or grant he Philosophically spends
112:02,109[A  ]| His Time, and Nature faithfully attends;
112:02,110[A  ]| Nature! whose wily Labyrinth never Ends.
112:02,111[A  ]| Or be it Physic that employs his Days,
112:02,112[A  ]| Or Metaphysic's yet more wandering Maze;
112:02,113[A  ]| Or should he on to Alchemy aspire,
112:02,114[A  ]| And all the Transmutations wrought by Fire,
112:02,115[A  ]| The Satisfaction can be yet but dry;
112:02,116[A  ]| One Point obtained another's in his Eye;
112:02,117[A  ]| Another after that; another still
112:02,118[A  ]| Succeeds, to tease and baffle Human Skill.
112:02,119[A  ]| To Numbers an Infinity we give,
112:02,120[A  ]| But should we for no other Purpose live
112:02,121[A  ]| But to count on, and waste our Little Span
112:02,122[A  ]| In Searches Unattainable by Man,
112:02,123[A  ]| Whatever Doctrine's current in the Schools,
112:02,124[A  ]| 'Twould still appear we lived and died like Fools.
112:02,125[A  ]| Thus though of Reason daily we dispute,
112:02,126[A  ]| We yet let Instinct better Guide the Brute.
112:02,127[A  ]| But Him that positively Fool we call
112:02,128[A  ]| Is He that reads, chained with them to the Stall,
112:02,129[A  ]| All Authors, and is for digesting all;
112:02,130[A  ]| When Life itself's not able to attain
112:02,131[A  ]| Any one Part of any Science plain.
112:02,132[A  ]| Of Universal Scholar much we hear,
112:02,133[A  ]| But 'tis a Sound so shocking to the Ear,
112:02,134[A  ]| The Men of Judgment humbler with their Lot,
112:02,135[A  ]| Retort more truly ~~ Universal Sot!
112:02,136[A  ]| When in his Study, where that Term he gains,
112:02,137[A  ]| How does he work his Thought, and froth his Brains,
112:02,138[A  ]| His Leisure Squander, and his Spirits waste,
112:02,139[A  ]| To bring out some Abortive Cub at last ~~
112:02,140[A  ]| Or if, by Chance, it does with Life escape,
112:02,141[A  ]| Whole Years are spent in licking it to Shape:
112:02,142[A  ]| Though after all, perhaps, its utmost Date
112:02,143[A  ]| Is one Edition, and it yields to Fate.
112:02,144[A  ]| But Nothing can in Nature better paint
112:02,145[A  ]| This Poring Scholar, or this Dreaming Saint,
112:02,146[A  ]| Than when we see his Servant, wild in Looks,
112:02,147[A  ]| With a large Fox-Tail dusting of his Books;
112:02,148[A  ]| His Face is soiled; and as his Work he plies
112:02,149[A  ]| The more the Feathers, filth, and Atoms rise,
112:02,150[A  ]| Till he's at last deprived even of the Use of Eyes.
112:02,151[A  ]| Just so his Master (as the Man has been
112:02,152[A  ]| Without) is served for raising Dust within:
112:02,153[A  ]| A Thousand Tenets madly he'll maintain,
112:02,154[A  ]| A Thousand more are whirling in his Brain:
112:02,155[A  ]| From Shelf to Shelf the Bandied Books are thrown;
112:02,156[A  ]| Confronting still their Notions with his own,
112:02,157[A  ]| Till losing in a Mist all inward Light,
112:02,158[A  ]| His Senses clog just like Servant's Sight.
112:02,159[A  ]| In short and let him be examined through
112:02,160[A  ]| His Ancient Authors, and with them his New;
112:02,161[A  ]| In all that he has Common-Placed, for Use,
112:02,162[A  ]| Advantage, Pride, Instruction, or Abuse;
112:02,163[A  ]| And see if, after all his Life he Squares
112:02,164[A  ]| Much better than your Vulgar Blockheads, theirs.
112:02,165[A  ]| He talks, perhaps, more freely off at Hand,
112:02,166[A  ]| But in such Jargon few can understand,
112:02,167[A  ]| A barbarous Mixture, took from every Tongue,
112:02,168[A  ]| To make up one Ridiculously wrong;
112:02,169[A  ]| A Patched and Pie-bald Idiom, rent and torn,
112:02,170[A  ]| The Pedant's Glory, but the Poet's Scorn.
112:02,171[A  ]| Beside, what is it from his Learning Springs
112:02,172[A  ]| That mends his Management in Moral Things?
112:02,173[A  ]| Can he than others more of Truth maintain?
112:02,174[A  ]| Has he his Passions faster in the Rein?
112:02,175[A  ]| Or is he less a Slave to sordid Gain?
112:02,176[A  ]| Is he to Temperance known a faster Friend?
112:02,177[A  ]| Or less Resolved for Trifles to contend?
112:02,178[A  ]| Is he (at once) to Virtue more Inclined?
112:02,179[A  ]| Or does he follow less the fatal Kind?
112:02,180[A  ]| But that we may in Little all comprise; ~~
112:02,181[A  ]| Were he ten Lives allowed the Use of Eyes
112:02,182[A  ]| He'd read, and read, ~~ but never yet be Wise;
112:02,183[A  ]| Nay rather far (bred up in Hobs's School,
112:02,184[A  ]| Would prove at last, by Section and by Rule,
112:02,185[A  ]| An Atheist ~~ that Complete and finished Fool!
112:02,186[A  ]| Thus though of Reason daily he'll dispute,
112:02,187[A  ]| He yet lets Instinct better guide the Brute.
112:02,188[A  ]| But here you'll say, misled by Human Pride,
112:02,189[A  ]| What? must all Learning then be laid aside?
112:02,190[A  ]| Yes all I say that leads into Abuse,
112:02,191[A  ]| For Prejudice and Spite have no Excuse; ~~
112:02,192[A  ]| But not that sort which is of Heavenly Use.
112:02,193[A  ]| Such as to search the Scriptures, and from thence
112:02,194[A  ]| To build our Hope on God's Omnipotence;
112:02,195[A  ]| That God which to our Dust did Being give,
112:02,196[A  ]| And turned to Dust again, again shall make it live:
112:02,197[A  ]| Why should the Resurrection cause Debate
112:02,198[A  ]| When to Restore is less than to Create?
112:02,199[A  ]| To own his Son, the Great Messiah, sent
112:02,200[A  ]| Our everlasting Ruin to prevent
112:02,201[A  ]| And by this easy Method ~~ only to Repent.
112:02,202[A  ]| This is the Learning we should all pursue,
112:02,203[A  ]| Nor only Learning ~~ it is WISDOM too!
112:02,204[A  ]| But for that Wisdom which we Worldly call,
112:02,205[A  ]| 'Tis Fraud, Pretence, Design, and Treachery all;
112:02,206[A  ]| While following Lust, or Gain, we are in a Maze
112:02,207[A  ]| Of Errors whirled a thousand different ways:
112:02,208[A  ]| These in the Chase of War believe it lies,
112:02,209[A  ]| That thinks 'tis only found in Ladies' Eyes;
112:02,210[A  ]| This at the Bar the Empty Glare pursues,
112:02,211[A  ]| While Sots in Taverns think 'tis Wine and News:
112:02,212[A  ]| Some in the Court, which nothing else employs:
112:02,213[A  ]| Would have it to consist in Dress and Noise,
112:02,214[A  ]| In lies, Grimace, and thinking all Disgrace
112:02,215[A  ]| Beneath a Blockhead of Illustrious Race.
112:02,216[A  ]| Others believe this Wisdom to pursue,
112:02,217[A  ]| Their being singly Wicked will not do,
112:02,218[A  ]| So Goad on others to Damnation too.
112:02,219[A  ]| Advice, Example, nay Rewards are used
112:02,220[A  ]| And Bribes for Sin are seldom known refused.
112:02,221[A  ]| In vain the Prince of Hell his Envoys sends
112:02,222[A  ]| We do his Work much faster than his Fiends.
112:02,223[A  ]| Thus though of Reason, Reason we dispute,
112:02,224[A  ]| We yet let Instinct better guide the Brute.
112:02,225[A  ]| But here the Objector does again oppose ~~
112:02,226[A  ]| In vain her Spleen your Wrested Satire shows;
112:02,227[A  ]| For Man as much he sees, so much he knows:
112:02,228[A  ]| What if some few to Scepticism fall?
112:02,229[A  ]| We for their Errors must not strike at all.
112:02,230[A  ]| As high as Heaven his lofty Search he bends,
112:02,231[A  ]| Then down to Lowest Hell the Line extends,
112:02,232[A  ]| And his pursuit of Knowledge never ends.
112:02,233[A  ]| Into his Mind he vast Ideas takes,
112:02,234[A  ]| And through all Arts as vast a Progress makes;
112:02,235[A  ]| His reach of Thought and Intellectuals fit
112:02,236[A  ]| For all Attempts of Wisdom and of Wit.
112:02,237[A  ]| Such FACULTIES would Heaven to Man produce
112:02,238[A  ]| And then Maliciously forbid their USE?
112:02,239[A  ]| Look all around; be FLEETS or TOWNS the Scene,
112:02,240[A  ]| Or Stately Fabrics, or some vast Machine,
112:02,241[A  ]| In all his Noble Works his Ample Soul is seen.
112:02,242[A  ]| What a hard Task has he that would convince
112:02,243[A  ]| A Fool he is deficient in his Sense?
112:02,244[A  ]| All sorts of Knowledge, properly of use,
112:02,245[A  ]| Deserve our Praise, and plead their own Excuse.
112:02,246[A  ]| But for his Navies and their fatal Sound,
112:02,247[A  ]| If we examine Christendom around,
112:02,248[A  ]| The Land does scarce secure so much as they confound.
112:02,249[A  ]| Then for his Cities who did ever rear
112:02,250[A  ]| So much as One without all Vices there?
112:02,251[A  ]| Better if yet we wild in Woods did roam.
112:02,252[A  ]| Made some cool Shades, or silent Cave our home,
112:02,253[A  ]| Than growing by Society refined
112:02,254[A  ]| Disgrace, Burlesque, and Ridicule our Kind.
112:02,255[A  ]| As for the Spacious Fabric that employs
112:02,256[A  ]| So many Men, ~~ this Builds and that Enjoys.
112:02,257[A  ]| 'Tis matter still of Fact, nor needs Dispute,
112:02,258[A  ]| Who Labours most does least enjoy the Fruit,
112:02,259[A  ]| A Curse that God does justly on us throw
112:02,260[A  ]| For fixing all our Hope on Things below.
112:02,261[A  ]| As for his Science in its Noblest Flight,
112:02,262[A  ]| We have already weighed, and found it Light.
112:02,263[A  ]| Then for his Mind, Capacious though it be,
112:02,264[A  ]| 'Tis all a Desert wanting Piety.
112:02,265[A  ]| And last of all, what with his Boasted Eye
112:02,266[A  ]| Can he inform us of the Worlds on high,
112:02,267[A  ]| On which we may with certainty rely?
112:02,268[A  ]| What is it that supplies the Sun with Flame,
112:02,269[A  ]| Which, still exhausting still remains the same?
112:02,270[A  ]| How did the Seeds of Things at first disperse?
112:02,271[A  ]| And ~~ LET IT BE ~~ Create an Universe?
112:02,272[A  ]| Or if this seem too high, what does he know
112:02,273[A  ]| Of Nature in her Numerous Forms below?
112:02,274[A  ]| Who ever gave of all that yet have been,
112:02,275[A  ]| A true Solution but ~~ why Grass is Green?
112:02,276[A  ]| What Glorious Pencil does the Colours lay
112:02,277[A  ]| When Beauteous Flora breathes her Sweets on May?
112:02,278[A  ]| Then for himself ~~ how Soul and Body's joined,
112:02,279[A  ]| This limited, and the other unconfined,
112:02,280[A  ]| Is an Enigma Man could never unbind.
112:02,281[A  ]| What secret Cavern, most divinely wrought,
112:02,282[A  ]| Contains the unbounded Images of Thought?
112:02,283[A  ]| Where does the Immortal Mind in Sleep retire?
112:02,284[A  ]| Whence has the Eye its Sight, and Life its Fire?
112:02,285[A  ]| How do the several Senses inward roll,
112:02,286[A  ]| And find their wondrous Passage to the Soul?
112:02,287[A  ]| If Ignorant then of these, and every thing
112:02,288[A  ]| Almost beside, whence can the boldness Spring,
112:02,289[A  ]| That, with Conceptions Finite, he would stretch
112:02,290[A  ]| Where but Infinity, itself can Reach?
112:02,291[A  ]| And Measure by vain Notions, here Imbibed,
112:02,292[A  ]| The Immeasurable! God uncircumscribed!
112:02,293[A  ]| Eternity, and so Omnipotence,
112:02,294[A  ]| Are things Inscrutable to Human Sense.
112:02,295[A  ]| The only surest thing that here we know,
112:02,296[A  ]| Is that we were not once in such a State as now;
112:02,297[A  ]| And that we are not now what we shall be
112:02,298[A  ]| Hereafter ~~ Launched into Eternity:
112:02,299[A  ]| Enough alone to make the boldest here
112:02,300[A  ]| Believe Salvation worth his strictest Care.
112:02,301[A  ]| But against Natural Light we close our Eyes,
112:02,302[A  ]| Then greatest Fools, when most we think we are wise.
112:02,303[A  ]| Thus though of Reason, Reason we dispute,
112:02,304[A  ]| We yet let Instinct better Guide the Brute.
112:02,305[A  ]| But then (to such Perverse Extremes we go)
112:02,306[A  ]| As these would know all things, so some will nothing know.
112:02,307[A  ]| Why should vain Man, they cry, the Greatest Beast,
112:02,308[A  ]| Believe his Essence nobler than the rest?
112:02,309[A  ]| What though, he high as Heaven erect can view?
112:02,310[A  ]| So, when he Pleases can a Monkey too;
112:02,311[A  ]| That Animal, whom, if we nicely scan;
112:02,312[A  ]| Has most of Brute as nearest Copying Man.
112:02,313[A  ]| Search all the Savage Kind both Bulls and Bears,
112:02,314[A  ]| And find me one perplexed with future Fears.
112:02,315[A  ]| If in some things (though 'tis but oft Pretence)
112:02,316[A  ]| We have the Advantage, Clothing and Defence,
112:02,317[A  ]| They yet exceed Mankind in every Sense:
112:02,318[A  ]| This Common Fate, at least, to both is known,
112:02,319[A  ]| We Propagate our Species and are gone:
112:02,320[A  ]| Alike by Nature formed; and 'tis as true
112:02,321[A  ]| We ought, with them, to live by Nature too:
112:02,322[A  ]| The Faculties we have she bids us use,
112:02,323[A  ]| And not Obeying, we her Laws abuse.
112:02,324[A  ]| In short, we nothing more than Brutes can tell
112:02,325[A  ]| Either of doing Ill, or doing Well;
112:02,326[A  ]| Nor shall hereafter (as 'twill then appear)
112:02,327[A  ]| No more than they be blamed for ought committed here:
112:02,328[A  ]| The Whips, the Furies, and Eternal Flames
112:02,329[A  ]| Have all their Substance merely in their Names.
112:02,330[A  ]| 'Twere most absurd to think the Almighty heeds
112:02,331[A  ]| Our Idle, Thoughtless, Casual, Senseless Deeds.
112:02,332[A  ]| Why should he with such Rage our Race pursue
112:02,333[A  ]| Who do but what we cannot choose to do?
112:02,334[A  ]| Suppose a Man that never saw the Light,
112:02,335[A  ]| But from his Birth has lain Immersed in Night,
112:02,336[A  ]| 'Twere hard to damn him for the want of Sight.
112:02,337[A  ]| Even so, while living in this Mortal State,
112:02,338[A  ]| Our Minds are darkened in a Mist of Fate:
112:02,339[A  ]| Through a false Medium all we see is shown,
112:02,340[A  ]| And we know nothing as it should be known.
112:02,341[A  ]| Why then should Heaven so hard a Law display,
112:02,342[A  ]| To dim our Sight and bid us find the Way?
112:02,343[A  ]| If above Ignorance Man could never rise,
112:02,344[A  ]| 'Tis senseless to Command him to be Wise;
112:02,345[A  ]| And if by Nature he's, to Errors prone,
112:02,346[A  ]| Can a Good God expect him to have none?
112:02,347[A  ]| You'll say perhaps (of all Mistakes the Chief)
112:02,348[A  ]| All this is evened in a Right Belief;
112:02,349[A  ]| That Sanctuary, where You always run
112:02,350[A  ]| For Refuge when your Arguments are done:
112:02,351[A  ]| Forgetting quite who Nothing does believe,
112:02,352[A  ]| By Consequences, there's Nothing can deceive.
112:02,353[A  ]| The Hell, (so much the fright of Vulgar Elves,)
112:02,354[A  ]| Is made by Coxcombs only for themselves.
112:02,355[A  ]| How can poor Man, that Creature of a Day,
112:02,356[A  ]| Frailty throughout, and moulded from the Clay,
112:02,357[A  ]| In a short Life (how ever vainly spent)
112:02,358[A  ]| Be guilty of Eternal Punishment?
112:02,359[A  ]| Such Notions we should, one and all, distrust,
112:02,360[A  ]| That Stifle Truth, and call a GOD unjust.
112:02,361[A  ]| Hold! hold I cry; ~~ and poise the Balance even,
112:02,362[A  ]| As at the first it seems designed by Heaven.
112:02,363[A  ]| Our Knowledge we must Limited confess,
112:02,364[A  ]| And by abusing it we make it less:
112:02,365[A  ]| But should we know as much as Angels do
112:02,366[A  ]| Of Truth, and see by a Celestial View;
112:02,367[A  ]| Were every Mystery naked to us shown,
112:02,368[A  ]| As to the Blest they'll be Hereafter known,
112:02,369[A  ]| What Trial were there (thus of means bereft
112:02,370[A  ]| To exercise it) for Obedience left?
112:02,371[A  ]| Unless 'twere proved that willingly we stood,
112:02,372[A  ]| How could we hope Rewards for being Good?
112:02,373[A  ]| To every Man of Common Sense 'tis shown,
112:02,374[A  ]| Necessitated Virtue can be none:
112:02,375[A  ]| How can we call him Temperate, Chaste and Just,
112:02,376[A  ]| Who does not what he Would but what he Must?
112:02,377[A  ]| The Angels that Elapsed have made it plain
112:02,378[A  ]| That they, and those whose Purity remain,
112:02,379[A  ]| Like us, a State of some Probation passed,
112:02,380[A  ]| Ere these were Justified, and those were Cast.
112:02,381[A  ]| Without some Care the Wisest could not live
112:02,382[A  ]| To Skill in Arts with Labour we arrive;
112:02,383[A  ]| And shall he save his Soul that will not Strive?
112:02,384[A  ]| Your Notions then we rather should distrust,
112:02,385[A  ]| Perverting Truth, and calling God unjust.
112:02,386[A  ]| In vain (for who can rob the Mind of Light?)
112:02,387[A  ]| You'd throw a Mist of Fate before our Sight;
112:02,388[A  ]| In vain You take, enamoured of the Kin,
112:02,389[A  ]| To back your Cause, the Ape your Brother in;
112:02,390[A  ]| There's something in us that Assent requires
112:02,391[A  ]| To Heavenly Things, there fixes and admires,
112:02,392[A  ]| And thither, like a Flame, by Native force aspires:
112:02,393[A  ]| No Bounds it keeps, but, scorning all control,
112:02,394[A  ]| Asserts a Future State, and half reveals the Soul!
112:02,395[A  ]| To say we Nothing know then, as the first
112:02,396[A  ]| Of all your Arguments, is next the worst:
112:02,397[A  ]| Because, (as 'twere the Porter made to Sin,)
112:02,398[A  ]| 'Tis that which lets all other Vices in:
112:02,399[A  ]| For were that Notion Settled once as true,
112:02,400[A  ]| There's Nothing but we Lawfully might do:
112:02,401[A  ]| But of all Errors ever broached beside,
112:02,402[A  ]| There is not one so Evidently wide.
112:02,403[A  ]| Who knows not? (though with Vices, we confess,
112:02,404[A  ]| Too oft we sink into a Brutal Dress;)
112:02,405[A  ]| But yet who knows not, (though he know the least
112:02,406[A  ]| Of all Men,) that he's Nobler than a Beast?
112:02,407[A  ]| His Look, Demeanour, Speech and Form declare
112:02,408[A  ]| That Man was most the Wise Creator's Care.
112:02,409[A  ]| The Brute has Being, and 'twill Perish whole;
112:02,410[A  ]| But 'twas to Man in whom He breathed a Soul.
112:02,411[A  ]| The Labouring Ox, sufficed with Nature's Store,
112:02,412[A  ]| Declines his Abject Head, and seeks no more;
112:02,413[A  ]| Not so contented, Man erects his Eye,
112:02,414[A  ]| And forward shoots at Immortality:
112:02,415[A  ]| 'Tis true, the common Fate he shares, and dies;
112:02,416[A  ]| But has the Brute, like Him a Hope to rise,
112:02,417[A  ]| And, leaving Earth below, with Angels tread the Skies?
112:02,418[A  ]| Who knows not, when he does the Horse survey
112:02,419[A  ]| He's to Command, and the other to obey?
112:02,420[A  ]| For Contemplation, Man, and Converse fit,
112:02,421[A  ]| And they their strength to humble to his Wit.
112:02,422[A  ]| Who knows not, that there's Nothing can efface
112:02,423[A  ]| The Impressions God does in the Conscience place?
112:02,424[A  ]| There evident they stand, and brightly shine,
112:02,425[A  ]| When daring Men to Impious Paths incline;
112:02,426[A  ]| That by their Powerful Calls and constant use,
112:02,427[A  ]| Impenitence may be without Excuse.
112:02,428[A  ]| These Notions then we one and all should Trust
112:02,429[A  ]| Asserting Truth, and proving God is Just.
112:02,430[A  ]| Then (though the Objector does so dimly see)
112:02,431[A  ]| All Men beside must readily agree
112:02,432[A  ]| Who Nothing does believe can Nothing be.
112:02,433[A  ]| A thousand Things there are (and so designed)
112:02,434[A  ]| That can be Objects only of the Mind.
112:02,435[A  ]| If on our Beings we reflect with Care,
112:02,436[A  ]| What but a God could make us what we are?
112:02,437[A  ]| Yet since from Demonstration not Received,
112:02,438[A  ]| It cannot so be known ~~ but must be so Believed.
112:02,439[A  ]| We must Believe 'tis an Almighty Hand
112:02,440[A  ]| That does the rolling Spheres, and Starry Host Command;
112:02,441[A  ]| All Times he sees, and does all Places fill,
112:02,442[A  ]| And when his Thunder speaks, the Trembling World is still:
112:02,443[A  ]| The vast Extended Heavens his Power declare,
112:02,444[A  ]| And downward look, his Works Assert Him there:
112:02,445[A  ]| Within, we feel Him press us to Repent;
112:02,446[A  ]| And He's in Hell even in his Punishment:
112:02,447[A  ]| Nay if his Word, which You oppose, is true,
112:02,448[A  ]| That Punishment will be Eternal too.
112:02,449[A  ]| For though the Criminal but Finite be,
112:02,450[A  ]| He yet offends against Infinity;
112:02,451[A  ]| Who, therefore, weighing Anger by Offence,
112:02,452[A  ]| Proportions Justice to Omnipotence.
112:02,453[A  ]| But since Repentance, as it is our own,
112:02,454[A  ]| Could not Offences Infinite atone,
112:02,455[A  ]| For Ruined Man the Son Devotes his Head,
112:02,456[A  ]| Transferred the Guilt and suffered in our stead!
112:02,457[A  ]| There 'twas that Adam's FALL was Counter-weighed,
112:02,458[A  ]| On his own self the Countless Debt he laid;
112:02,459[A  ]| So Infinite by Infinite was Paid.
112:02,460[A  ]| Not that hereby we should presume the least
112:02,461[A  ]| Without our own Endeavours to be Blest:
112:02,462[A  ]| In mere Belief but half of CHRIST we view,
112:02,463[A  ]| Our every Action there should Centre too:
112:02,464[A  ]| In vain that Faith which does his God-head own,
112:02,465[A  ]| But of his Precepts will not Practise one.
112:02,466[A  ]| Our Notions, thus, are far above distrust,
112:02,467[A  ]| Asserting Truth and proving God is Just.
112:02,468[A  ]| Who is it knows not, that the Scriptures View,
112:02,469[A  ]| The Harmony between the Old and New?
112:02,470[A  ]| So much the Last upon the First depends,
112:02,471[A  ]| So much the Last the Former Recommends,
112:02,472[A  ]| The force of Each without its Voucher ends.
112:02,473[A  ]| Who sees not there a Gracious Saviour stand,
112:02,474[A  ]| Kindly Inviting whom He might Command?
112:02,475[A  ]| Though prone to Lapses, there he keeps in view
112:02,476[A  ]| To trim our Lamps, and wasted Grace renew.
112:02,477[A  ]| To the most mean Capacity He's shown,
112:02,478[A  ]| And Ignorance now can be a Plea for None.
112:02,479[A  ]| His Precepts (writ that all may learn) contain
112:02,480[A  ]| Our Duty easy, full, and clear, and plain:
112:02,481[A  ]| His Precepts! all so Powerful and Divine,
112:02,482[A  ]| Conviction rises fresh from every Line!
112:02,483[A  ]| And reading there we must determined be,
112:02,484[A  ]| For all's Excess of Love! and Endless Sanctity!
112:02,485[A  ]| Last, as he freely suffered for our sakes,
112:02,486[A  ]| So now in Heaven He Intercession makes
112:02,487[A  ]| For all his Saints, of what Degree so ever;
112:02,488[A  ]| Who Imitating his Example here,
112:02,489[A  ]| Will Reign with him, at last, in Endless Glory there!
112:02,490[A  ]| Let then the Eternal Word be all our Trust,
112:02,491[A  ]| Asserting Truth, and proving God is Just.
112:02,492[A  ]| Here breaks the Dawn of Everlasting Day!
112:02,493[A  ]| Here Mercy does itself at full display!
112:02,494[A  ]| 'Tis here! and 'tis for ever now to Stay!
112:02,495[A  ]| The Happy News Revealed Religion brings
112:02,496[A  ]| Angels Rejoice at, and all Nature Sings!
112:02,497[A  ]| O Boundless Love! that could from Heaven descend
112:02,498[A  ]| And God in Man, on Man Redeemed attend,
112:02,499[A  ]| The Judge became the Saviour and the Friend!
112:02,500[A  ]| What more can Virtue hope or Mercy give
112:02,501[A  ]| Than that the Just Eternally should live? ~~
112:02,502[A  ]| But Wretched Man, yet wandering from the Right,
112:02,503[A  ]| Will follow Interest, Passion, Pride and Spite
112:02,504[A  ]| And cries He's Blind amidst this Blaze of Light.
112:02,505[A  ]| Though one would think such Mercies should instil
112:02,506[A  ]| A strength beyond both Appetite and Will:
112:02,507[A  ]| But above all, that it should quite convince
112:02,508[A  ]| The Sceptic, and incline him to a Sense
112:02,509[A  ]| Of the unbounded Care of Providence:
112:02,510[A  ]| But Spurning at Reproof away he hies,
112:02,511[A  ]| And has not yet the Leisure to be Wise:
112:02,512[A  ]| To Things Obscure he will direct his View,
112:02,513[A  ]| Over which the Hand of Heaven a Veil has drew;
112:02,514[A  ]| Fond of the False, and Doubtful of the True.
112:02,515[A  ]| His Pleasures call Him, and he must be gone,
112:02,516[A  ]| And new Enjoyments drive the former on,
112:02,517[A  ]| Till in a State of Darkness Life is done.
112:02,518[A  ]| Mean while 'tis plain, whatever Fools distrust,
112:02,519[A  ]| That God is Great, Omniscient, Wise and Just;
112:02,520[A  ]| But vain is Man, and most Perverse his Will,
112:02,521[A  ]| That may be Good, and chooses to be Ill.
112:03,000['  ]| <The Third Part.>
112:03,001[A  ]| Thus have we proved the Sceptic worse than mad;
112:03,002[A  ]| And yet to what is said we'll further add,
112:03,003[A  ]| The Men in Place and Power are quite as bad:
112:03,004[A  ]| Nay could we paint them justly, we should see
112:03,005[A  ]| That Greatest Names have most of Infamy.
112:03,006[A  ]| The Politician first does cross our Eyes,
112:03,007[A  ]| That first of Fools of all that think they're Wise
112:03,008[A  ]| Sometimes he with a Youthful Face is seen,
112:03,009[A  ]| At once his Age and Intellectual's Green,
112:03,010[A  ]| His Notion Moody and uncouth his Mien;
112:03,011[A  ]| Proud of his Parts he looks to be Revered,
112:03,012[A  ]| As if we never yet in Senate heard
112:03,013[A  ]| Of Legislative Fops without a Beard.
112:03,014[A  ]| If twice or thrice he passes in Debate,
112:03,015[A  ]| He thinks on Nothing but to Steer the State;
112:03,016[A  ]| Forgetting quite no Fame arises thence
112:03,017[A  ]| Where Arrogance supplies the Place of Sense;
112:03,018[A  ]| Or when a Lawless Sp**r over rules,
112:03,019[A  ]| To be his Substitute in Gulling Fools.
112:03,020[A  ]| Sometimes he like a rough Divine is dressed,
112:03,021[A  ]| More Foolish in that Shape than all the rest:
112:03,022[A  ]| A State above can little be his Care
112:03,023[A  ]| Who Studies nothing but his Rising here:
112:03,024[A  ]| Vain the Endeavour and his Notions wild,
112:03,025[A  ]| That would have GOD and Mammon reconciled.
112:03,026[A  ]| Sometimes he like a finished Beau appears,
112:03,027[A  ]| Prinked up in Contradiction to his Years;
112:03,028[A  ]| Sometimes he wears a heavy Gown of State,
112:03,029[A  ]| With feeble Hams that scarce Support the Weight;
112:03,030[A  ]| Creeping he Walks, as Tony whilom did,
112:03,031[A  ]| And in his Breast as deep a Rancour's hid.
112:03,032[A  ]| But though on high the Mace before we find,
112:03,033[A  ]| And a long Train besmeared with Gold behind,
112:03,034[A  ]| Looking, while the Litigious Tribe attends,
112:03,035[A  ]| Like Lucifer surrounded by his Fiends,
112:03,036[A  ]| 'Tis all but Pageantry; and shown abroad
112:03,037[A  ]| To make the Ass Obsequious to his Load.
112:03,038[A  ]| But these are but a Poor and Mongrel sort
112:03,039[A  ]| Of Politicians, raised or sunk in sport
112:03,040[A  ]| By those more true ones that Preside at Court
112:03,041[A  ]| Who make all other Reading Mortal Sin
112:03,042[A  ]| But Richlieu, Machiavel, and Mazarine,
112:03,043[A  ]| Or Hobs, their Favourite from another Bent,
112:03,044[A  ]| Who teaches ~~ after Death no Punishment.
112:03,045[A  ]| But how can we that Wretch a Patriot name
112:03,046[A  ]| Whose Guilt is the Foundation of his Fame?
112:03,047[A  ]| What ever he may in Cabinet debate,
112:03,048[A  ]| His Whores have more his Service than the State.
112:03,049[A  ]| View but at home his Follies and his Crimes,
112:03,050[A  ]| You'd Swear a Fiend might sooner mend the Times,
112:03,051[A  ]| Want, Rapine, Dunning and Domestic strife
112:03,052[A  ]| Embitter all his Hours, and make a Hell of Life.
112:03,053[A  ]| What care can of his Country's Good be shown
112:03,054[A  ]| So Mindless, or so Reckless of his own?
112:03,055[A  ]| His Patrimony he does thus Divide;
112:03,056[A  ]| One part in Three is Squandered by his Bride
112:03,057[A  ]| At Ombre, ~~ and a certain Game beside;
112:03,058[A  ]| The other Two his Punks and Flatterers get;
112:03,059[A  ]| So all he Eats and Drinks and Wears ~~ is Debt.
112:03,060[A  ]| At last, (his Children's Marriage grown his Care,)
112:03,061[A  ]| Resolved his Broken Fortunes to repair,
112:03,062[A  ]| He puts his Prince on Arbitrary Rule,
112:03,063[A  ]| And turns a Rogue for having played the Fool.
112:03,064[A  ]| His Counsels if but likely to succeed
112:03,065[A  ]| He cares not who is Ruined, who does Bleed.
112:03,066[A  ]| Whole Subsidies does through his Fingers go;
112:03,067[A  ]| And as a famous Lord was said to do,
112:03,068[A  ]| The Mighty Mass, regardless of the Laws,
112:03,069[A  ]| He cross a large Grid-iron slowly draws;
112:03,070[A  ]| What he brings over, happens to the Crown;
112:03,071[A  ]| And all that falls between he Pockets for his own.
112:03,072[A  ]| Mean while, by Wealth Indemnified from fear,
112:03,073[A  ]| The British Glory's not at all his Care;
112:03,074[A  ]| Nor does he mind our Balance, famed so far,
112:03,075[A  ]| Of weighing out to Europe Peace, or War;
112:03,076[A  ]| But Bribing high each Legislative Brother
112:03,077[A  ]| He sinks one half, and stops their Mouths with the other.
112:03,078[A  ]| How can the Senator, though wondrous wise,
112:03,079[A  ]| See with a Golden Mist before his Eyes?
112:03,080[A  ]| Secure, it all Assemblies Over-Rules,
112:03,081[A  ]| But most, 'tis seen in those where Most are Knaves and Fools.
112:03,082[A  ]| Such Representatives too sadly prove
112:03,083[A  ]| They Bribe below but to be Bribed above.
112:03,084[A  ]| Hence are our present Scene of Ills derived,
112:03,085[A  ]| And by the accursed Pattern more contrived:
112:03,086[A  ]| Hence lie our Armies and our Fleets unpaid;
112:03,087[A  ]| Hence Spring the Public Debts, and bane of Public Trade.
112:03,088[A  ]| For how can such a Wretch; though he may sit
112:03,089[A  ]| At Helm advanced for his pernicious Wit,
112:03,090[A  ]| Believe a Nation Prosperous can be
112:03,091[A  ]| From Counsels laid, and hatched in Villainy?
112:03,092[A  ]| Raising Estates by such Flagitious Ways
112:03,093[A  ]| As shames the Rapine of all former Days?
112:03,094[A  ]| Pensioned from Foreign Courts, and taking Pay
112:03,095[A  ]| Our Country, King, and Councils to betray?
112:03,096[A  ]| How dare he talk of Conquering France, or Rome
112:03,097[A  ]| That brings us to the last Distress at home?
112:03,098[A  ]| If 'twere his dearest Brother held the Glass
112:03,099[A  ]| He could not less than for a Villain pass;
112:03,100[A  ]| And much a Villain must be more an Ass.
112:03,101[A  ]| Thus by the Politician we may see
112:03,102[A  ]| That Greatest Names are first in Infamy.
112:03,103[A  ]| The Ambitious Man does next ascend the Stage;
112:03,104[A  ]| The high raised Beacons of a Sanguine Age.
112:03,105[A  ]| Whether by Heaven they are directly sent
112:03,106[A  ]| To be a Sinful People's Punishment;
112:03,107[A  ]| Or whether what the Prince of Hell intends,
112:03,108[A  ]| To prove some Men more Impious than his Fiends;
112:03,109[A  ]| Or whether 'tis derived from Noble Blood,
112:03,110[A  ]| Which least of all Delights in doing Good;
112:03,111[A  ]| Be it what ever way you are pleased to guess,
112:03,112[A  ]| 'Tis all Transcendency of Wickedness!
112:03,113[A  ]| Rape, Plunder, Devastation, Fire and Dread
112:03,114[A  ]| Attend their horrid Steps where ever they tread;
112:03,115[A  ]| And like the Sea usurping on the Shore,
112:03,116[A  ]| They make the affrighted Country fly before.
112:03,117[A  ]| In vain You urge that there was never known
112:03,118[A  ]| An Age so Wise and Polished as our own,
112:03,119[A  ]| When the most Learned and the Politest Times
112:03,120[A  ]| Produce the Deepest Plots, and Bloodiest Crimes.
112:03,121[A  ]| From the first William to Eliza read
112:03,122[A  ]| Our Annals over; count every Wicked Deed
112:03,123[A  ]| Through all those Reigns, of Statesmen, Priest and Prince,
112:03,124[A  ]| They're nothing to the Tale committed since.
112:03,125[A  ]| What was it that in James his time could Frame
112:03,126[A  ]| The Powder Plot? a Crime beyond a Name!
112:03,127[A  ]| What but Ambition? true, we must confess
112:03,128[A  ]| To hide the Fraud it took a Priestly Dress;
112:03,129[A  ]| But underneath the Gown the Poniard lay,
112:03,130[A  ]| To make three Glorious Realms at once the Papal Prey.
112:03,131[A  ]| Had but the Train have taken, where had been
112:03,132[A  ]| The once so Impious Name of Catiline?
112:03,133[A  ]| Had He the Empire of the World overthrown,
112:03,134[A  ]| He had long been doing what a Moment here had done:
112:03,135[A  ]| King, Lords and Commons, high as well as low,
112:03,136[A  ]| Had all at once been murdered at a Blow:
112:03,137[A  ]| But Powder was to Him unknown; the Earth
112:03,138[A  ]| Had then not teemed with that Prodigious Birth!
112:03,139[A  ]| What made the Leaders in this Prince's Reign
112:03,140[A  ]| Sow Feuds and Sectaries through the British Plain,
112:03,141[A  ]| But, when the Season served, to reap the Gain?
112:03,142[A  ]| For Heroes not for Fame alone devour,
112:03,143[A  ]| As knowing Profit must be linked to Power,
112:03,144[A  ]| If Crowds believe they Act in their Defence,
112:03,145[A  ]| Weak are the Laws, Precarious is the Prince.
112:03,146[A  ]| Such were the Times when Charles the Sceptre swayed;
112:03,147[A  ]| That best of Princes, and the worst Obeyed,
112:03,148[A  ]| What was it but some few Ambitious Men,
112:03,149[A  ]| Where yet the Leaders are but Eight or Ten,
112:03,150[A  ]| That caused the War? by which, on either side,
112:03,151[A  ]| A Hundred Thousand Native Britons died?
112:03,152[A  ]| Who had their Valour been Employed abroad,
112:03,153[A  ]| France had been humbled, and its Tyrant awed;
112:03,154[A  ]| While by a blessed Prevention, we had saved
112:03,155[A  ]| The Blood that since we have lost, and Kingdoms since Enslaved.
112:03,156[A  ]| What but Ambition, at this Martyr's Fall,
112:03,157[A  ]| Made an Audacious Senate grasp at all?
112:03,158[A  ]| And what but That inclined their Bloody Chief
112:03,159[A  ]| To make them Fools, though raised for their Relief?
112:03,160[A  ]| What but the Ambition of the Fiends of Rome,
112:03,161[A  ]| (And Legislative Sots in feuds at home,)
112:03,162[A  ]| Sealed, signed, and carried on the Irish Doom?
112:03,163[A  ]| A scene of Cruelty exceeding far
112:03,164[A  ]| All that was ever done by Famine, Plague and War.
112:03,165[A  ]| And what but that, or yet a worse Pretence,
112:03,166[A  ]| Has made them seek our Ruin ever since?
112:03,167[A  ]| In secret Murders first they fleshed their Cause,
112:03,168[A  ]| In Armies next, and Violated Laws:
112:03,169[A  ]| With Plots on Plots our Peace they undermined,
112:03,170[A  ]| Which as detected still they more designed
112:03,171[A  ]| And though so bad, yet worse Remained behind:
112:03,172[A  ]| Till Glorious William did at last appear,
112:03,173[A  ]| And Leaving Law to lay their Practice bare,
112:03,174[A  ]| Ended at once their Treachery and our Fear.
112:03,175[A  ]| Nor only them; but, with pernicious Rage,
112:03,176[A  ]| This Vice does Influence Sex, Degree, and Age.
112:03,177[A  ]| What have not Wives, what have not Virgins done
112:03,178[A  ]| To rise, and be the Strumpets of a Throne?
112:03,179[A  ]| The Country Bumpkin, bred with Labour hard,
112:03,180[A  ]| Thinks all Ambition is to mount the Guard:
112:03,181[A  ]| But in a little Time he fain would be
112:03,182[A  ]| An Officer of some advanced Degree;
112:03,183[A  ]| That Officer a General would commence.
112:03,184[A  ]| And Cromwell like, possessed of Power would next depose his Prince.
112:03,185[A  ]| The Nobler born uneasy with delay,
112:03,186[A  ]| Pursue Advancement by a readier way:
112:03,187[A  ]| If the old Prince their Proud Demands deny,
112:03,188[A  ]| (as most of Pride has least of Loyalty)
112:03,189[A  ]| Without Remorse his Ruin they pursue,
112:03,190[A  ]| To purchase S**rs and Titles of the new.
112:03,191[A  ]| Could it be known what Villainies are done
112:03,192[A  ]| To wear a G**rge, and Tie a Gr**ter on,
112:03,193[A  ]| Our English Annals might of Horrors tell
112:03,194[A  ]| At once outvying Sodom, Rome and Hell;
112:03,195[A  ]| No Tie, however Sacred, stops their Course,
112:03,196[A  ]| But on they furious drive, from bad to worse:
112:03,197[A  ]| Nor can you Mention any Glorious Ill,
112:03,198[A  ]| Be it to Ravish, Bugger, Burn or Kill,
112:03,199[A  ]| But if they have the Means, they'll find the Will.
112:03,200[A  ]| And thus, by the Ambitious Man, we see
112:03,201[A  ]| That Greatest Names are first in Infamy.
112:03,202[A  ]| With these we may the towering Minion place,
112:03,203[A  ]| Raised to a Favourite from a Linage base;
112:03,204[A  ]| Whether for Merit we'll not here dispute,
112:03,205[A  ]| Or to Indulge a Vice that never produces Fruit:
112:03,206[A  ]| But once aloft, the utmost Scorn he flings
112:03,207[A  ]| On those below, talks proud and mighty things,
112:03,208[A  ]| And, Elbowing all the Peers, will only Herd with Kings.
112:03,209[A  ]| The Skies he thinks are by his Footsteps trod;
112:03,210[A  ]| His Prayers, Extortion, and the Prince, his God.
112:03,211[A  ]| Some Thousands, hence, we Yearly see undone,
112:03,212[A  ]| To raise a vast Possession but for one.
112:03,213[A  ]| No Course he for his Master thinks unjust
112:03,214[A  ]| That may advance his Interest, Power or Lust.
112:03,215[A  ]| Conscience and Law he deems as empty things;
112:03,216[A  ]| And Compacts, Ties beneath the care of Kings.
112:03,217[A  ]| The Courtier when he frowns their Ruin doubt;
112:03,218[A  ]| Just as He's pleased in Office, or without.
112:03,219[A  ]| The Nobles of an Ancient Line he hates;
112:03,220[A  ]| First, aiming at their Heads; and next, at their Estates:
112:03,221[A  ]| Though yet perhaps our Annals may allow
112:03,222[A  ]| That they were raised by what he rises now.
112:03,223[A  ]| Thus does the wretch audaciously drive on,
112:03,224[A  ]| Careless of Right, and covered by a Throne,
112:03,225[A  ]| Nor dreams amidst his Glories of a Turn;
112:03,226[A  ]| As now our Wonder, to be then our Scorn.
112:03,227[A  ]| Unhappy He! and crazy in his Sense,
112:03,228[A  ]| That rashly strives, in Seasons of Offence,
112:03,229[A  ]| To Enslave the People, or mislead the Prince:
112:03,230[A  ]| They once will meet (as where the Grain has been)
112:03,231[A  ]| And grind to Dust the Seeds of Strife between:
112:03,232[A  ]| And just the Fate; that would whole Nations Fool
112:03,233[A  ]| With Squandered Taxes, and Despotic Rule.
112:03,234[A  ]| But though this haughty Minion stand so high,
112:03,235[A  ]| No basest Office must he ever deny,
112:03,236[A  ]| But even be damned without enquiring, why?
112:03,237[A  ]| The Pleasure of his Prince he must advance
112:03,238[A  ]| With Strumpets here, or Politics from France;
112:03,239[A  ]| As Wolsey did the hard-Mouthed Henry wait,
112:03,240[A  ]| His Evening Pimp, and Morning Slave of State.
112:03,241[A  ]| The way at Court to Grandeur must be sure
112:03,242[A  ]| When Crimes like these are made the Rise to Power.
112:03,243[A  ]| Ah Wretched Man! who, his Paternal Seat
112:03,244[A  ]| Disdaining, will be Wicked to be Great!
112:03,245[A  ]| That thinks not, raised by Ruin Blood and Strife,
112:03,246[A  ]| On his late Father's Peaceful Country Life:
112:03,247[A  ]| Who free from Guilt, and so, of course, from Fear,
112:03,248[A  ]| Lived nobly on Two Hundred Pounds a Year.
112:03,249[A  ]| And wisely managing that happy Store,
112:03,250[A  ]| Kept out of Debt, and fed the Neighbouring Poor,
112:03,251[A  ]| Without one thought of ever seeking more:
112:03,252[A  ]| Till reaching at the last an Honoured Age,
112:03,253[A  ]| With Universal Praise he left the Stage;
112:03,254[A  ]| But with this Lesson to his Son behind. ~~
112:03,255[A  ]| I leave as I was left; nor more desire to find,
112:03,256[A  ]| Pervert not the last dying Wills of Men,
112:03,257[A  ]| Nor hold at Court a Secretary's Pen
112:03,258[A  ]| With Thousand Mischiefs, You'll be then beset,
112:03,259[A  ]| Which in this Guiltless Shade I never met.
112:03,260[A  ]| Then You must Bribe a Senator to be,
112:03,261[A  ]| And Villains of the blackest Infamy,
112:03,262[A  ]| And yet the Guiltier grow as higher in Degree.
112:03,263[A  ]| Then Innocence You'll use with utmost Spite,
112:03,264[A  ]| And with Successful Wrong extinguish feeble Right.
112:03,265[A  ]| Then to your Side corrupted Votes you'll draw;
112:03,266[A  ]| False shall usurp on True, and Power shall be the Law.
112:03,267[A  ]| The Guiltless BARD shall be in Durance thrown,
112:03,268[A  ]| The Scandal his, and yet the Crime your own.
112:03,269[A  ]| In short, You then must be Sir S**rs Tool,
112:03,270[A  ]| Alternate, now a Knave and now a Fool.
112:03,271[A  ]| In vain, alas! this Good Advice is given;
112:03,272[A  ]| Father and Son but seldom go to Heaven.
112:03,273[A  ]| Quite thwarting of a Dying Parent's Will,
112:03,274[A  ]| And higher rising more confirmed in Ill,
112:03,275[A  ]| He shoves along; and Nestling near a Crown,
112:03,276[A  ]| Thinks all the British Dignities his own;
112:03,277[A  ]| The Bad advances, does the Good depress,
112:03,278[A  ]| And, like a Devil, proud of the Success:
112:03,279[A  ]| Thoughtless, amidst his Glories of a Turn,
112:03,280[A  ]| As now our Wonder to be then our Scorn;
112:03,281[A  ]| Or that a Future Doom will once Impeach
112:03,282[A  ]| The Crimes that stand too high for Human Law to reach.
112:03,283[A  ]| But chiefly for this Pride of Mind he's known
112:03,284[A  ]| Of carrying through all future Ages down
112:03,285[A  ]| His Riches, Issue, Titles and Renown:
112:03,286[A  ]| So blest a Fate! that, would he but reflect,
112:03,287[A  ]| On former Times 'twere Madness to expect.
112:03,288[A  ]| For where is Gaveston's and Spencer's Name?
112:03,289[A  ]| Where's Empson, Dudley, N. and Buckingham?
112:03,290[A  ]| If for those Founders in their several Lines
112:03,291[A  ]| We deign to look, there's Nothing Dimlier shines;
112:03,292[A  ]| Vapours, that long ago exhaled, are gone,
112:03,293[A  ]| And while they Influenced Boding to the Throne.
112:03,294[A  ]| So that, as Heretofore, we yet may see
112:03,295[A  ]| The Greatest Names are first in Infamy.
112:03,296[A  ]| You'll say (perhaps) I undistinguished strike,
112:03,297[A  ]| And use the Vile and Worthy both alike;
112:03,298[A  ]| That many of the Great are truly Just;
112:03,299[A  ]| And as these die, by consequence there must
112:03,300[A  ]| Be others raised to Honour, Power and Trust.
112:03,301[A  ]| Nay, You may further add, we now may view
112:03,302[A  ]| A set of Men no Nation else can show,
112:03,303[A  ]| The least of whom could bear an Empire's Weight
112:03,304[A  ]| And steer the Helm in worst Extremes of Fate;
112:03,305[A  ]| Men to whose Reach our Foes' designs are known,
112:03,306[A  ]| Yet think so deep no Sight can pierce their own,
112:03,307[A  ]| Till to the Birth, and levelled Right they come
112:03,308[A  ]| This Nation to Protect, or That to Doom.
112:03,309[A  ]| And then as such so well can Counsel, so
112:03,310[A  ]| There is a Class that can as Nobly do,
112:03,311[A  ]| Conquer at Land, and Triumph on the Seas. ~~
112:03,312[A  ]| And who Detracts from Men so brave as These?
112:03,313[A  ]| Forbid it Heaven we should revile the Name
112:03,314[A  ]| Of Dev**shr, of L**ds and Not**hm,
112:03,315[A  ]| Of Shr**s**ry, Mar**b**row and Fame's early Son
112:03,316[A  ]| Great Or**nd, and the Prudent Ad**don,
112:03,317[A  ]| With Roch**ter, the Guardian of the Throne.
112:03,318[A  ]| Nor must we Thee, O Nor**m**by! omit,
112:03,319[A  ]| If we'd be just to Worth, or true to Wit:
112:03,320[A  ]| Though high you sit in the Judicial Chair,
112:03,321[A  ]| You are no less a Legislator here.
112:03,322[A  ]| With the same Wonder Rome did Horace view
112:03,323[A  ]| The British Isle shall ever mention YOU!
112:03,324[A  ]| Scarce could Apollo nobler Laws ordain,
112:03,325[A  ]| Or write them in a more Harmonious Strain:
112:03,326[A  ]| In all You Teach so Useful Just, and Great,
112:03,327[A  ]| That 'tis, methinks, Descending to Intend the State.
112:03,328[A  ]| To Men like these, so faithful in the Cause
112:03,329[A  ]| Of Royalty, Religion, and the Laws,
112:03,330[A  ]| We should Address as if above Applause:
112:03,331[A  ]| And well they may the Muses' aid disclaim,
112:03,332[A  ]| That from themselves derive Immortal Fame;
112:03,333[A  ]| And to be truly Patriots understood,
112:03,334[A  ]| Nor Value Praise or Blame, or Wealth or Blood,
112:03,335[A  ]| In Competition with their Country's Good.
112:03,336[A  ]| But then, on the other side, there are a Set
112:03,337[A  ]| Of Courtiers, only just like Tumours Great;
112:03,338[A  ]| Bloated with Pride they Lord it over their Kind,
112:03,339[A  ]| And never Just but when 'tis undesigned.
112:03,340[A  ]| No real Worth they bear from Top to Toe,
112:03,341[A  ]| But all's Appearance, Lacquer, Wash, and Show:
112:03,342[A  ]| Prudence is quite Exploded, Truth defied,
112:03,343[A  ]| And Interest made their Universal Guide:
112:03,344[A  ]| Stiff in Deportment, Treacherous in Address,
112:03,345[A  ]| Crushing the Brave, and barring all Access:
112:03,346[A  ]| Jostling for Place, and eager of a Name,
112:03,347[A  ]| They drive at all, and shove along to Fame.
112:03,348[A  ]| Never but in Bribery parting with their Store,
112:03,349[A  ]| Or Feeing Lawyers to defraud the Poor; ~~
112:03,350[A  ]| In short, just the Reverse of those we named before
112:03,351[A  ]| But certainly, to oppress their Fellow-Creature
112:03,352[A  ]| As he like them, was not of Human Nature;
112:03,353[A  ]| By Fraud and Rapine vast Estates to get,
112:03,354[A  ]| Yet never lend nor ever pay a Debt;
112:03,355[A  ]| On Things Divine opprobrious Terms to fix,
112:03,356[A  ]| And place all Merit in a Coach and Six;
112:03,357[A  ]| To ruin Tenants, Witnesses Suborn,
112:03,358[A  ]| Make Villainy their Care, and Worth their Scorn;
112:03,359[A  ]| To blast the Virtue which they can't debauch,
112:03,360[A  ]| In Luxury plunged, and laughing at Reproach:
112:03,361[A  ]| Both Friends and Foes relentless to devour.
112:03,362[A  ]| That stand between them and their Rise to Power:
112:03,363[A  ]| To Sell to France the Fruits of all our Care,
112:03,364[A  ]| And make a Peace of worse Effects than War.
112:03,365[A  ]| To think no Glory is on Earth so Great
112:03,366[A  ]| As that of being named in the Gazette;
112:03,367[A  ]| Where among Spaniels lost their Acts are shown
112:03,368[A  ]| Equal in Worth, and Rivals in Renown:
112:03,369[A  ]| To think it Honour only to have Riches,
112:03,370[A  ]| And Sense to make in S** Factious Speeches;
112:03,371[A  ]| Where one bad Man is capable to do
112:03,372[A  ]| More Mischief, and shall have more Followers, too,
112:03,373[A  ]| In Faction, Innovation, Strife and Blood,
112:03,374[A  ]| Than Fifty that design their Country's Good:
112:03,375[A  ]| So that, perhaps, of late we Judge too wide
112:03,376[A  ]| To think the most to be the better Side;
112:03,377[A  ]| True Music don't consist in Tale of Notes,
112:03,378[A  ]| Nor Justice in Majority of Votes.
112:03,379[A  ]| If Office can (I say) such Crimes create,
112:03,380[A  ]| The basest Life is thus becoming Great:
112:03,381[A  ]| Mean while we by such Legislators see
112:03,382[A  ]| That Greatest Names are first in Infamy.
112:03,383[A  ]| But these are Subjects: ~~ let us next Survey
112:03,384[A  ]| The Few that have the height of Human Sway:
112:03,385[A  ]| And first the Gallic Monarch shall appear,
112:03,386[A  ]| Nor need we mention more; for all we hear
112:03,387[A  ]| Or read of Tyrant is included there:
112:03,388[A  ]| A Spacious Kingdom by Descent his Own,
112:03,389[A  ]| Where he might Reign with Glory and Renown,
112:03,390[A  ]| May justly be conceived enough for One.
112:03,391[A  ]| With Peace, with Plenty, Piety and Trade,
112:03,392[A  ]| How happy might that Ancient Realm be made!
112:03,393[A  ]| Nor better can a Prince himself secure
112:03,394[A  ]| Than by his Subjects' Love, the surest Base of Power.
112:03,395[A  ]| Quite Contrary, on Strife he builds his Throne,
112:03,396[A  ]| Faithless to other States, but Fatal to his own;
112:03,397[A  ]| Nor any Good has all his Life designed
112:03,398[A  ]| But Blood, and the Enslaving Humankind:
112:03,399[A  ]| In the Black Roll of Tyrants justly first,
112:03,400[A  ]| As well of Princes, as of Christians worst;
112:03,401[A  ]| And here shall stand Eternally accurst.
112:03,402[A  ]| What Neighbouring Nations has he over-run!
112:03,403[A  ]| What Devastations caused! what Mischiefs done!
112:03,404[A  ]| And for no End but barely to Devour,
112:03,405[A  ]| And by his Cruelty assert his Power.
112:03,406[A  ]| Proud as the Angel that from Heaven was flung.
112:03,407[A  ]| And threatens with the same Audacious Tongue:
112:03,408[A  ]| But never could his Pride his mind inflame
112:03,409[A  ]| To Martial Deeds; he shunned the dangerous Game,
112:03,410[A  ]| Nor ever in Fighting Field would dare to purchase Fame
112:03,411[A  ]| To Caesar's Glory vainly he aspires,
112:03,412[A  ]| Who when the Din of War begins, retires:
112:03,413[A  ]| What Thoughts he has of GOD he does proclaim
112:03,414[A  ]| In mock Te Deums sung at Notre-Dame;
112:03,415[A  ]| Where Publicly he does his Thanks address,
112:03,416[A  ]| When any Treacherous Action meets Success;
112:03,417[A  ]| That the Gulled Subject may from thence be brought
112:03,418[A  ]| To think he Conquered what he basely bought.
112:03,419[A  ]| What Countless Treasure has he raised by Force?
112:03,420[A  ]| Levied by Plunder, yet disposed of worse.
112:03,421[A  ]| In Poisoning only Millions he employs,
112:03,422[A  ]| And smiles when he can Kill without a Noise.
112:03,423[A  ]| Thus Feuds and Murders he through Europe sends,
112:03,424[A  ]| And chiefly Prospers by dividing Friends.
112:03,425[A  ]| To such a Numerous Tale his Crimes abound,
112:03,426[A  ]| That Mercy Shrinks, and Sickens at the Sound!
112:03,427[A  ]| Who after this, to his Eternal Shame,
112:03,428[A  ]| Would ever assume the Peaceful Christian Name?
112:03,429[A  ]| Most Christian, too! ~~ as if he understood
112:03,430[A  ]| Our SAVIOUR's Laws were all, like Draco's, writ in Blood.
112:03,431[A  ]| O Parricide! O eldest born of Hell!
112:03,432[A  ]| O Arrogance that knows no Parallel!
112:03,433[A  ]| Remit, O Gracious Heaven! thy Raging Ire,
112:03,434[A  ]| And let the Monster now, at last, expire:
112:03,435[A  ]| Enough, enough of Christian Blood is shed,
112:03,436[A  ]| Nor can the Grave contain the Crowded Dead.
112:03,437[A  ]| Let Europe her Dejected Visage raise,
112:03,438[A  ]| Wash of her Gore, and see some Halcyon Days,
112:03,439[A  ]| And next employ them all in thy Eternal Praise.
112:03,440[A  ]| We own our Sins, the sad Effects we rue;
112:03,441[A  ]| But take away this Plague and grant a New:
112:03,442[A  ]| Beneath thy Hand we shall some Favours find,
112:03,443[A  ]| But nothing from this Scourge of Human kind:
112:03,444[A  ]| Below some burning Mountain let him Howl,
112:03,445[A  ]| Eternally convinced he has a Soul.
112:03,446[A  ]| Or, if it better please Thee, let him here
112:03,447[A  ]| Have first a Taste of what he Merits there:
112:03,448[A  ]| Though now he thinks He's Seated in the Skies,
112:03,449[A  ]| Precipitate Him down, no more to Rise;
112:03,450[A  ]| Let Him in vain for past Successes call;
112:03,451[A  ]| 'Twill be a very Hell to see his Fall:
112:03,452[A  ]| Let him at last perceive, in very Deed,
112:03,453[A  ]| That rank Ambition is a Poisonous Weed,
112:03,454[A  ]| Not of Celestial but Infernal Seed;
112:03,455[A  ]| And that like Oaks, the more its height ascends,
112:03,456[A  ]| The more the Root shoots downward to the Fiends.
112:03,457[A  ]| 'Twere loss of Time for further Proof to see;
112:03,458[A  ]| For here's an Instance in the last Degree,
112:03,459[A  ]| That Greatest Names are first in Infamy.
112:04,000['  ]| <The Fourth Part.>
112:04,001[A  ]| In Spite of all the Villains last descried,
112:04,002[A  ]| There yet are others that have erred as wide
112:04,003[A  ]| From Sanctity misled, and misapplied:
112:04,004[A  ]| The Unity though every Sectarist rends,
112:04,005[A  ]| Each on his Faith, as Orthodox, depends;
112:04,006[A  ]| And give them but their way, our whole Religion ends.
112:04,007[A  ]| The Objection here may be ~~ that such as these
112:04,008[A  ]| Who, just like Madmen, know not their Disease,
112:04,009[A  ]| But have their Failings rooted at the Brain,
112:04,010[A  ]| We Lash or Laugh at equally in vain.
112:04,011[A  ]| I answer, were we sure the Sick would die
112:04,012[A  ]| Unless we did one Medicine more apply,
112:04,013[A  ]| The Indiscretion were not much to try.
112:04,014[A  ]| The last Extreme has often Wonders wrought,
112:04,015[A  ]| And made a Cure beyond the Leech's thought:
112:04,016[A  ]| Who then can tell, when Rage with Truth combines,
112:04,017[A  ]| The Effect of daring, but Instructive Lines?
112:04,018[A  ]| The World is Madness to the last Decree,
112:04,019[A  ]| And every one (but for himself) can see
112:04,020[A  ]| That all besides are touched with Lunacy.
112:04,021[A  ]| To those in Bedlam some Respect we bear,
112:04,022[A  ]| There 'tis indeed Humanity to spare;
112:04,023[A  ]| Especially the Few whose Maladies
112:04,024[A  ]| From Chance, or Natural Causes did arise.
112:04,025[A  ]| Besides, the Rest are by a Fate severe
112:04,026[A  ]| Paying at full for that which brought them there;
112:04,027[A  ]| Love, Jealousy, Ambition, Lust and Pride,
112:04,028[A  ]| Revenge and Lucre; ~~ or what else beside:
112:04,029[A  ]| These I shall waive, (as odious to appear
112:04,030[A  ]| To Human View,) and only mention here
112:04,031[A  ]| The Folly, Frenzy, Vanity and Sin
112:04,032[A  ]| Of some without that ought to be within.
112:04,033[A  ]| Suppose a Heathen on our Sabbath Day
112:04,034[A  ]| Should all our different Swarms of Sects survey
112:04,035[A  ]| Flock to their Meetings, or behold them come
112:04,036[A  ]| Hungry with tedious stay and driving home;
112:04,037[A  ]| The Antinomians and Fanatics there,
112:04,038[A  ]| The Quaker, Baptist, and Socinian here;
112:04,039[A  ]| With fifty other sorts too long to name,
112:04,040[A  ]| Thoughtless of Truth, and Christians to their shame;
112:04,041[A  ]| What could he say? but with an Angry tone
112:04,042[A  ]| Cry out ~~ O Jove! is yet the Use not done,
112:04,043[A  ]| Of Man's believing in more Gods than one!
112:04,044[A  ]| Or should he hear them, with what Virulence
112:04,045[A  ]| They wrest the Scriptures from their Genuine Sense;
112:04,046[A  ]| How bitterly the Established Faith they ply
112:04,047[A  ]| With Spite, Aspersion and Indignity,
112:04,048[A  ]| Only because it can't in Fact agree
112:04,049[A  ]| With Nonsense, Guile and Contrariety;
112:04,050[A  ]| And, ceasing to be led by Scripture Rules,
112:04,051[A  ]| Become no Church to pleasure Knaves and Fools.
112:04,052[A  ]| Should he observe how some Persuasions place
112:04,053[A  ]| Their Purity in Whining and Grimace,
112:04,054[A  ]| And all Good Manners in a Sullen Face;
112:04,055[A  ]| Forgetting quite there can no Error be
112:04,056[A  ]| In undesigning Looks, and Cheerful Modesty:
112:04,057[A  ]| Truth and Good Humour cannot be disjoined,
112:04,058[A  ]| And Virtue must be one with Peace of Mind:
112:04,059[A  ]| To make Religious and Morose agree,
112:04,060[A  ]| Has this with that no least Consistency?
112:04,061[A  ]| Or should we others show him, all within
112:04,062[A  ]| (They say) Perfection, and exempt from Sin;
112:04,063[A  ]| Wrought up to such a Frame of Truth and Love
112:04,064[A  ]| As can't attain more Purity above;
112:04,065[A  ]| That thence Inspired they nothing say, or do,
112:04,066[A  ]| But what like God is Just, and more than Scripture true:
112:04,067[A  ]| Yet all the while such Boobies, Sots and Elves,
112:04,068[A  ]| Their very Brutes are wiser than themselves:
112:04,069[A  ]| A Race that Knave and Fool at once commence;
112:04,070[A  ]| Careless of Church and State, of Priest and Prince,
112:04,071[A  ]| Nor to be reconciled to Manners, Truth, and Sense:
112:04,072[A  ]| Churning their Jaws, when ever they teach the Rout
112:04,073[A  ]| Their Light within turns all to Foam without:
112:04,074[A  ]| Bigoted to that Impudent Degree,
112:04,075[A  ]| That keeping on their Caps, and Thou and Thee,
112:04,076[A  ]| They think the utmost Marks of Sanctity:
112:04,077[A  ]| So but their Hats refuse the Civil ply,
112:04,078[A  ]| And the Cravat's so short as just to Tie,
112:04,079[A  ]| Their Consciences are still, and hear no Call
112:04,080[A  ]| Mean while Extortion, Slander, Pride and Gall,
112:04,081[A  ]| Are things they never boggle at at all
112:04,082[A  ]| In short, were Heaven by Rancour to be won,
112:04,083[A  ]| Their Business would Effectively be done,
112:04,084[A  ]| And all be happy, every Mother's Son.
112:04,085[A  ]| But since that Glorious State we are not to gain
112:04,086[A  ]| By Dullness, Spite, and Freakishness of Brain;
112:04,087[A  ]| Since Peace to slight, and Falsehood to affect,
112:04,088[A  ]| Can never be the Marks of the Elect;
112:04,089[A  ]| Such wilful Men, in spite of all their Din,
112:04,090[A  ]| Would seem to any that had Bedlam seen
112:04,091[A  ]| More Crazed without than all their Friends within.
112:04,092[A  ]| But further, were our Ancient next to see
112:04,093[A  ]| A Set of Teachers all Hypocrisy,
112:04,094[A  ]| And yet their Flocks the more exactly fit;
112:04,095[A  ]| A sort of Hearers always mainly smit
112:04,096[A  ]| With much Inveteracy, and little Wit.
112:04,097[A  ]| Should he observe (suppose it to him known)
112:04,098[A  ]| What small Regard is to our Rubric shown,
112:04,099[A  ]| And what a Stress is laid on Rambles of their own;
112:04,100[A  ]| Forgetting He that will in Public Pray
112:04,101[A  ]| Without one previous Thought of what to say,
112:04,102[A  ]| Must be a Sot not worth our while to hear;
112:04,103[A  ]| And if he thinks before, 'tis not Extempore Prayer.
112:04,104[A  ]| Could but the Truth be known, 'twould soon be found
112:04,105[A  ]| The Men that so in Fluency abound,
112:04,106[A  ]| Or rather, that would be so Gifted thought,
112:04,107[A  ]| Have, at the Bottom, all their Cant by Rote;
112:04,108[A  ]| And that it does as easily arise
112:04,109[A  ]| As Rueful Emphasis, and Goggling Eyes;
112:04,110[A  ]| To which of late they such Regard have shown
112:04,111[A  ]| As Heaven were gained by Aspect, and by Tone.
112:04,112[A  ]| But granting what they Use Extempore Prayer
112:04,113[A  ]| It yet must be a Form to those that hear,
112:04,114[A  ]| Because confined they to the Words must be,
112:04,115[A  ]| The very same as to our Rubric, We:
112:04,116[A  ]| So that, in short, from Forms away they run,
112:04,117[A  ]| And follow but a Form when all is done;
112:04,118[A  ]| Only they take the Worse, and better shun.
112:04,119[A  ]| We all at once Respond, and know to what;
112:04,120[A  ]| While they Implicitly, and fond of that,
112:04,121[A  ]| Return Amen to vain, and oft to Impious Chat.
112:04,122[A  ]| Alike Perversely, Cassock, Scarf and Gown,
112:04,123[A  ]| With them are Rags of Rome and Babylon.
112:04,124[A  ]| But pray where is the Difference to be found
112:04,125[A  ]| Between two Garbs, if both must touch the Ground?
112:04,126[A  ]| Why should the Dress we named be counted wrong,
112:04,127[A  ]| When their own Teachers have their Cloaks as long?
112:04,128[A  ]| Thus a Peculiar wear with Us they slight,
112:04,129[A  ]| Yet a Peculiar wear with them is Right.
112:04,130[A  ]| But White, that Dangerous Colour, gives Offence,
112:04,131[A  ]| Though meant but to Resemble Innocence,
112:04,132[A  ]| That Peace and Truth in Worship may be joined
112:04,133[A  ]| And Decency with Purity of Mind.
112:04,134[A  ]| The Man 'tis told us, after God's own Heart
112:04,135[A  ]| In Robes of Linen Sung and Praised his Part;
112:04,136[A  ]| And so the Levites (whence our Usage springs)
112:04,137[A  ]| When ever they Taught, or Handled Holy Things:
112:04,138[A  ]| Beside we in the Apocalypse may read
112:04,139[A  ]| Who loved the Lamb, and for the Lamb did bleed,
112:04,140[A  ]| In Heaven itself that spotless Colour wear;
112:04,141[A  ]| And why then should it be forbid us here
112:04,142[A  ]| When thither we, like them, would rise by Praise and Prayer?
112:04,143[A  ]| Or lastly, should he see another sort
112:04,144[A  ]| Of Christians that make all the rest their sport;
112:04,145[A  ]| But with this Difference be it understood,
112:04,146[A  ]| 'Tis not with Faults and Follies, but with Blood:
112:04,147[A  ]| Witness their Halters, their Dragoons, and Fire,
112:04,148[A  ]| By which so many Blameless Souls expire,
112:04,149[A  ]| Only because they will not quit their Sense,
112:04,150[A  ]| And let Impossibilities convince.
112:04,151[A  ]| Fancy our Heathen had at Bedlam been
112:04,152[A  ]| After his Sight of this so Rueful Scene,
112:04,153[A  ]| He'd swear these Lunatics without were worse than those within.
112:04,154[A  ]| But Dress, Grimace, and Nonsense may be bore,
112:04,155[A  ]| There's something yet more dangerous at the Core:
112:04,156[A  ]| Though Harmless in itself to have no Sense,
112:04,157[A  ]| It may be Fatal in its Consequence:
112:04,158[A  ]| For Proof, to Gape and Bawl, and Cry and Whine,
112:04,159[A  ]| (As Teaching were to them like Storms to Swine)
112:04,160[A  ]| Is sport at which even Truth itself may smile,
112:04,161[A  ]| All Fright their Aspect, and all Cant their style;
112:04,162[A  ]| So mean, perverse, incongruous, dull and flat,
112:04,163[A  ]| Their Gossips mend it in their Maudlin Chat!
112:04,164[A  ]| But then, while this mistaken Worship's shown
112:04,165[A  ]| Their other secret Ends are driving on;
112:04,166[A  ]| Designs which from our Fathers' Times we rue,
112:04,167[A  ]| And notwithstanding all the Love we show;
112:04,168[A  ]| When ever they can, they'll certainly renew.
112:04,169[A  ]| For, first, our Discipline they all condemn,
112:04,170[A  ]| And think Salvation only meant for them.
112:04,171[A  ]| Each would Establish what their selves profess,
112:04,172[A  ]| And still the more their Zeal, their Love is less;
112:04,173[A  ]| Till they at last to such a Pitch arrive,
112:04,174[A  ]| Whose Creed is not as theirs, is thought too vile to live.
112:04,175[A  ]| From this bad Mind, took from the Papal Sway,
112:04,176[A  ]| The Murdering for God's service came in Play,
112:04,177[A  ]| That Monstrous Race! and steeped to that degree
112:04,178[A  ]| In Blood, as shames all former Cruelty;
112:04,179[A  ]| Who hating, like Caligula, to do
112:04,180[A  ]| A Puny Ill, to take a Head or so,
112:04,181[A  ]| Are still for Chopping off a Kingdom at a Blow.
112:04,182[A  ]| But why must Murder take Saint Peter's Station?
112:04,183[A  ]| And Guilt and Rage set up for Reformation?
112:04,184[A  ]| Some Penal Sums the Civil Power may Rate
112:04,185[A  ]| Those Factious Men that would disturb the State,
112:04,186[A  ]| And, in a Church and Nation governed well,
112:04,187[A  ]| Teach Fools to Cant, and Rascals to Rebel;
112:04,188[A  ]| But what least Shadow of a Reason's given
112:04,189[A  ]| By Men or Angels, that the Will of Heaven
112:04,190[A  ]| Is, These to Those the Doom of Death should give,
112:04,191[A  ]| For not believing what they can't believe?
112:04,192[A  ]| If Damnable it is conceived to hold
112:04,193[A  ]| Some Errors new, or others that are old,
112:04,194[A  ]| 'Tis yet more Damnable by vast Degrees,
112:04,195[A  ]| On People of a different Faith to Seize,
112:04,196[A  ]| And, Merciless, cut off by Power and Passion,
112:04,197[A  ]| Even when we think their State is Reprobation:
112:04,198[A  ]| Our Hate we thus to other Worlds pursue,
112:04,199[A  ]| Exerting, so, the utmost we can do,
112:04,200[A  ]| To kill at once both Soul and Body too;
112:04,201[A  ]| When in a little time, perhaps, they might
112:04,202[A  ]| Have seen their Errors, and Embraced the Right;
112:04,203[A  ]| Or rather did before to that belong,
112:04,204[A  ]| For Persecution's always in the Wrong.
112:04,205[A  ]| Copied from hence, the Baptist, had his Swill
112:04,206[A  ]| In German Towns to Ravage, Burn and Kill;
112:04,207[A  ]| As if their Sacrament they understood
112:04,208[A  ]| Not dipped in Water, but Immersed in Blood.
112:04,209[A  ]| The Independent and Fanatic here.
112:04,210[A  ]| Have opened a like Sluice of Plague and War;
112:04,211[A  ]| Murders that yet would make the hardest Melt,
112:04,212[A  ]| Could it be told as truly as 'twas felt.
112:04,213[A  ]| Thus while they Governed with Successful Might,
112:04,214[A  ]| The Sequestrations were their Chief Delight;
112:04,215[A  ]| That was Religion, and their Power was Right.
112:04,216[A  ]| Who that had lived in such a Barbarous Age,
112:04,217[A  ]| When all was slaughter, Plunder, Fire and Rage?
112:04,218[A  ]| Or who that now Surveys a sort of Men,
112:04,219[A  ]| (From Lob down to the Passive Sons of P**n,)
112:04,220[A  ]| All eager to revive those Times again?
112:04,221[A  ]| But must, with Horror in his Face, confess
112:04,222[A  ]| This Greater Bedlam wilder than the less!
112:04,223[A  ]| Then for their Disputants, and Terms they use,
112:04,224[A  ]| Some to Pervert, and others to Abuse,
112:04,225[A  ]| What do they but make Truth the vastly more abstruse?
112:04,226[A  ]| A hardened Race! who rather than unsay
112:04,227[A  ]| One Error, will make Thousands go astray,
112:04,228[A  ]| And hurry blindly on to Sin and Doubt,
112:04,229[A  ]| Only because they would be thought without.
112:04,230[A  ]| But God, we plainly may in Scripture see,
112:04,231[A  ]| Did not intend to pose Mortality;
112:04,232[A  ]| What Paul does of Himself and Cephas say
112:04,233[A  ]| Shows CHRIST designed not each a several Way.
112:04,234[A  ]| In short the Path to our Salvation's this,
112:04,235[A  ]| So easy, 'tis not Possible to miss,
112:04,236[A  ]| Would we the Truth unprejudiced pursue,
112:04,237[A  ]| Nor leave the Ancient Rules for Notions vain and new.
112:04,238[A  ]| These Things (said the Evangelist Saint John)
112:04,239[A  ]| Are Written, and these Miracles are shown
112:04,240[A  ]| To fix you in this Faith, and this alone;
112:04,241[A  ]| That JESUS (He who left the blest Abode,
112:04,242[A  ]| To die for Man) was CHRIST, the Son of GOD;
112:04,243[A  ]| And that believing so (that thence he came
112:04,244[A  ]| A Sacrifice for Sin, and free from Blame,)
112:04,245[A  ]| You may have Life Eternal through his Name.
112:04,246[A  ]| This is our Faith; and what we are next to do
112:04,247[A  ]| Is but to follow one Command, or two;
112:04,248[A  ]| Be (first) Your Love to each as Mine has been to You:
112:04,249[A  ]| Performing this, the next You cannot shun,
112:04,250[A  ]| To do to others as You would have done
112:04,251[A  ]| To You and Yours, ~~ and endless Life's your own!
112:04,252[A  ]| In other Words as follows; ~~ would You be
112:04,253[A  ]| From Present Fear, and Future Danger free?
112:04,254[A  ]| Would You in both Worlds have Your Soul's Delight?
112:04,255[A  ]| Keep Innocent and do the Thing that's Right,
112:04,256[A  ]| And, whether such a Life run slow, or fast,
112:04,257[A  ]| 'Twill meet with Joy, and endless Peace at last.
112:04,258[A  ]| Here lies the Christian Faith, and Practice all,
112:04,259[A  ]| Summed up effectively, though Summed in small:
112:04,260[A  ]| My Soul for Yours, but so Believe, and Do,
112:04,261[A  ]| 'Twill give You Peace below, and Peace Eternal too.
112:04,262[A  ]| What a strange Race are then these heedless Men
112:04,263[A  ]| That think Religion's Parrying with the Pen!
112:04,264[A  ]| As if with us 'twere only Feuds and Jars
112:04,265[A  ]| As with the French, Dragoons and Massacres.
112:04,266[A  ]| In short, by Steering toward such various Shelves,
112:04,267[A  ]| We darken, puzzle, and Confound our selves:
112:04,268[A  ]| Right Reason, which should at the Helm preside,
112:04,269[A  ]| In all the Purity of Scripture tried
112:04,270[A  ]| They will not own, or suffer for a Guide:
112:04,271[A  ]| Mean while a Thousand different Ways they split,
112:04,272[A  ]| And Guile and Nonsense take for Grace and Wit.
112:04,273[A  ]| Those follow Prejudice and Interest there;
112:04,274[A  ]| These Bigotry, and scorn of Public Prayer;
112:04,275[A  ]| Pride in the Front, and Malice in the Rear.
112:04,276[A  ]| Others are led by Fury, Foam and Spite.
112:04,277[A  ]| And a Left-handed Zeal believe the Right.
112:04,278[A  ]| In the mean time, with Sorrow 'tis confessed,
112:04,279[A  ]| The true Belief's not seen in the Contest,
112:04,280[A  ]| So many false Ones Arguing which is best.
112:04,281[A  ]| Ah would they better Live, and Scribble less,
112:04,282[A  ]| How soon our Sectaries such a Change would bless!
112:04,283[A  ]| For Printed Disputations have, we find,
112:04,284[A  ]| Yet more than all distracted Humankind:
112:04,285[A  ]| In Barns their Hearers doze out half their Strains,
112:04,286[A  ]| But in these Tracts the Untempered Filth remains.
112:04,287[A  ]| Impossible we should expose to View
112:04,288[A  ]| All the Contended Points they dash and brew,
112:04,289[A  ]| It only shall Suffice to name a Few.
112:04,290[A  ]| But such, at least, as shall Abhorrence win
112:04,291[A  ]| From Madmen, and even make their College grin,
112:04,292[A  ]| To see our Fools without outdo their Freaks within.
112:04,293[A  ]| What Faith have some to Image Worship paid;
112:04,294[A  ]| As if the Scene in Ephesus were laid
112:04,295[A  ]| And making Shrines for Jesus were a Trade;
112:04,296[A  ]| Kneeling to Stocks and Stones, when nothing more
112:04,297[A  ]| The Sacred Writ does threaten and abhor.
112:04,298[A  ]| The Adoration to the Virgin given
112:04,299[A  ]| But ranks her with Astarte, Queen of Heaven:
112:04,300[A  ]| Grant her a Saint, as we must all confess,
112:04,301[A  ]| The making her a Goddess makes her less.
112:04,302[A  ]| Then to the Martyrs to address by Prayer
112:04,303[A  ]| Was never heard for full five Hundred Year,
112:04,304[A  ]| Till in the Papal Church they broached it there.
112:04,305[A  ]| Nor yet of their Petitions, for the Dead
112:04,306[A  ]| Can there be any thing Material said;
112:04,307[A  ]| For granting 'twere not merely done for Gain,
112:04,308[A  ]| 'Tis but at best, Ridiculous and Vain:
112:04,309[A  ]| But for their Praying to them, it must be
112:04,310[A  ]| Nor more, nor less than flat Idolatry.
112:04,311[A  ]| In such a Scheme of Worship to proceed
112:04,312[A  ]| Looks as we did no Mediator need;
112:04,313[A  ]| For if the Saints can do, why did our Saviour Bleed?
112:04,314[A  ]| How have their Works of Supererogation
112:04,315[A  ]| Been Trumpeted by Blockheads through the Nation!
112:04,316[A  ]| Strange they should better be than Heaven desires,
112:04,317[A  ]| When the least Duty all our strength requires,
112:04,318[A  ]| And Scripture does so much on this Enlarge,
112:04,319[A  ]| 'Tis Man's the Debt, and Christ that does discharge:
112:04,320[A  ]| His Wisdom only 'twas that found the Way,
112:04,321[A  ]| And 'twas his Goodness only that could Pay.
112:04,322[A  ]| Be Human Life as holy as it will,
112:04,323[A  ]| At best 'tis but Unprofitable still.
112:04,324[A  ]| How can our most Sublime Endeavours rise
112:04,325[A  ]| To equal Infinitely Good, and Wise!
112:04,326[A  ]| Less would not do, could Man for Sin atone,
112:04,327[A  ]| And fly to Heaven on Pinions of his own.
112:04,328[A  ]| O Truth Reversed! for all the while 'tis thus,
112:04,329[A  ]| We reach not that, but that descends to us!
112:04,330[A  ]| But though such Faults no Reason can excuse;
112:04,331[A  ]| 'Tis Nothing to the Wonder that ensues;
112:04,332[A  ]| For, Transubstantiated by a Prayer
112:04,333[A  ]| The Whole, Entire, Essential Saviour's there;
112:04,334[A  ]| That Individual Flesh and Blood he wore
112:04,335[A  ]| When on the Accursed Cross our Sins he bore:
112:04,336[A  ]| So that at once, his Double Power to show,
112:04,337[A  ]| He makes his God and Consecrates him too:
112:04,338[A  ]| A Tenet worse than Egypt's wild Opinion
112:04,339[A  ]| When they Adored, among the rest, an Onion;
112:04,340[A  ]| But never to the Pope's Presumption grew;
112:04,341[A  ]| They Eat but would not own they made it to:
112:04,342[A  ]| The Cannibals were sure a Race but odd,
112:04,343[A  ]| But what are these that can devour their God!
112:04,344[A  ]| Then for Infallibility, the Fruit
112:04,345[A  ]| It bears is Endless Volumes of Dispute;
112:04,346[A  ]| An Error that does Thousands else comprise,
112:04,347[A  ]| To that they are Resolved, from that they rise;
112:04,348[A  ]| So wild a Monster! Discord's all her Food,
112:04,349[A  ]| Devouring much of Ink, but more of Blood.
112:04,350[A  ]| The Vatican itself contains, if one,
112:04,351[A  ]| Ten Thousand Authors on that Point alone;
112:04,352[A  ]| Which were a Man by Scripture Rules to try
112:04,353[A  ]| And their Deposing Doctrine by the By;
112:04,354[A  ]| From whence to the King Killing Mufti's given
112:04,355[A  ]| At once the Crowns of Earth, and Keys of Heaven;
112:04,356[A  ]| Dropping to whom he Pleases Kingdoms here,
112:04,357[A  ]| And to his Perjured Sons Salvation there.
112:04,358[A  ]| Were but, I say, some Good Impartial Man
112:04,359[A  ]| Such black Assuming seriously to Scan,
112:04,360[A  ]| He'd soon the proud Infatuation find
112:04,361[A  ]| To be all Tumour, and Reverse of Mind,
112:04,362[A  ]| And Rome's Spiritual Bedlam, managed thus,
112:04,363[A  ]| Much Wilder than the Secular with us.
112:04,364[A  ]| What strange Confusions, next, have taken place
112:04,365[A  ]| From the Perverse Expositors of Grace!
112:04,366[A  ]| What Tomes have been produced by Reprobation,
112:04,367[A  ]| Free-will, Election and Predestination!
112:04,368[A  ]| And this so Positive, as if they'd heard
112:04,369[A  ]| The plain, Eternal Will of God declared,
112:04,370[A  ]| Before the Earth was formed or Sun appeared.
112:04,371[A  ]| What bolder Crime can be by Man presumed
112:04,372[A  ]| Than pointing who are saved, and who are doomed?
112:04,373[A  ]| Nearly to these are these Disputes allied
112:04,374[A  ]| Of being Sanctified, and Justified;
112:04,375[A  ]| So wrested from the Genuine Sense they bear,
112:04,376[A  ]| 'Tis just a Maze by what Preposterous Care
112:04,377[A  ]| It's rendered dark, what Scripture makes so clear.
112:04,378[A  ]| What Bawling has the Private Spirit made
112:04,379[A  ]| By Fumes and Guesses to the Brain conveyed,
112:04,380[A  ]| And calling in of Nonsense to her Aid?
112:04,381[A  ]| Unerring Conduct she believes her Due;
112:04,382[A  ]| In Rome 'tis false, but in herself 'tis true;
112:04,383[A  ]| So Rails against it, and Asserts it too.
112:04,384[A  ]| Some upon Tracts of Inspiration fall,
112:04,385[A  ]| As if they'd been in the Third Heaven with Paul,
112:04,386[A  ]| When all they Teach is Rancour, Spite and Gall.
112:04,387[A  ]| Others Election to that height profess,
112:04,388[A  ]| That, Good or Ill, they're sure of Happiness;
112:04,389[A  ]| Nay, though they died both in their Sin and Shame,
112:04,390[A  ]| Without even hearing a Saviour's Name,
112:04,391[A  ]| They yet assert their Bliss would be the same.
112:04,392[A  ]| Some lose themselves in a like dangerous Mist,
112:04,393[A  ]| That Justice, and that Mercy can't consist,
112:04,394[A  ]| And Schemes would lay by finite Human Sense,
112:04,395[A  ]| For an Exacter Sway by Providence.
112:04,396[A  ]| Some to their Prayers so scurvily will fall,
112:04,397[A  ]| In Streets and Markets they presume a Call;
112:04,398[A  ]| And some more Wild, are for no Prayers at all.
112:04,399[A  ]| Mean while their Leaders Snarl, and Grin, and Jar,
112:04,400[A  ]| And press with Reams of Pamphlets to the War.
112:04,401[A  ]| Added to these, what Volumes may we see
112:04,402[A  ]| Where Paul and James but seem to disagree?
112:04,403[A  ]| While Faith and Works by different Lights are shown,
112:04,404[A  ]| Confounding two that must be always one;
112:04,405[A  ]| For He that has not both, had even as Good have none.
112:04,406[A  ]| From these Divisions, hateful to the Sight,
112:04,407[A  ]| (And many we have named and more we might)
112:04,408[A  ]| Revenge, Contention, and Dislike arise,
112:04,409[A  ]| Boil in our Blood, and Lighten from our Eyes
112:04,410[A  ]| Driving along, till they Obliterate quite
112:04,411[A  ]| The very Notions both of Wrong and Right.
112:04,412[A  ]| The Scripture that we quote we turn to Gall;
112:04,413[A  ]| On Heaven we look, but thence for Fire we call,
112:04,414[A  ]| And Heat, and Pride, and Frenzy govern all:
112:04,415[A  ]| So that but go to Bedlam, You would Swear
112:04,416[A  ]| Much less of Blood and Ruin would appear,
112:04,417[A  ]| Of Rage, of Virulence, of Hate and Sin,
112:04,418[A  ]| If those were out, and all our Sectaries in;
112:04,419[A  ]| From whom could we, but so, the Future Ages free,
112:04,420[A  ]| How would they bless the Care we took of Lunacy!
112:04,421[A  ]| Unhappy Church of England! ~~ but the best
112:04,422[A  ]| That ever yet the Christian Name Professed:
112:04,423[A  ]| From Earliest Times she does her Worship draw,
112:04,424[A  ]| Her Linage just as Ancient as her Law.
112:04,425[A  ]| By Test of Scripture all her Doctrine's tried,
112:04,426[A  ]| And only follows as the Apostles Guide;
112:04,427[A  ]| So that She can't be Judged of modern date,
112:04,428[A  ]| Unless Saint Paul and Peter were of late.
112:04,429[A  ]| Fathers She quotes, and on their Sense relies
112:04,430[A  ]| For the first Five and purest Centuries;
112:04,431[A  ]| Councils She owns for Public Service meant,
112:04,432[A  ]| Not such as the last Monster was of Trent.
112:04,433[A  ]| The Mitre too She wears, the Crosier holds,
112:04,434[A  ]| But uses all her Power in saving Souls.
112:04,435[A  ]| So far her Mind from Persecution's found,
112:04,436[A  ]| She trembles at an Inquisition's sound,
112:04,437[A  ]| And wonders Meekness should so much Decrease
112:04,438[A  ]| To raise Confusion from the Source of Peace.
112:04,439[A  ]| Not that she wants a Power Judicial, when
112:04,440[A  ]| Her Constitution's Mined by Treacherous Men;
112:04,441[A  ]| But then, even that Judicial Power is Judged
112:04,442[A  ]| Best in the Civil Administration lodged;
112:04,443[A  ]| Because (Intent on Things of Greater weight,)
112:04,444[A  ]| The Church should still be guarded by the State:
112:04,445[A  ]| From hence her Tests and Penal Laws arose,
112:04,446[A  ]| Not that her Will's to threaten, or Impose,
112:04,447[A  ]| But to be screened from her Inveterate Foes;
112:04,448[A  ]| Fixed in which Circle, She, in that Redoubt,
112:04,449[A  ]| Can ward against the Schismatics without;
112:04,450[A  ]| But if beyond the Ring they dare descend,
112:04,451[A  ]| They clip her Right; ~~ and Right she may defend:
112:04,452[A  ]| For Passive though she be (as knowing well
112:04,453[A  ]| Her Duty is to suffer, not Rebel)
112:04,454[A  ]| Yet when Commands by Lawless Power are laid,
112:04,455[A  ]| That would break God's Commands to have Obeyed,
112:04,456[A  ]| She first Refuses, as her Scripture Right;
112:04,457[A  ]| And Urged beyond, Opposes Might to Might:
112:04,458[A  ]| Not that this Needful Doctrine current runs,
112:04,459[A  ]| Or has been sided with by all her Sons:
112:04,460[A  ]| By that indeed her Laics stand or fall,
112:04,461[A  ]| But she, what ever the Extremes, is yet for suffering all:
112:04,462[A  ]| Her Seculars, when Boundless Power appears,
112:04,463[A  ]| Oppose against it, Buckler, Sword, and Spears;
112:04,464[A  ]| But all her own Defence is Fasting, Prayers and Tears.
112:04,465[A  ]| What ever Scurrility her Foes invent,
112:04,466[A  ]| This is her Use in turns of Government:
112:04,467[A  ]| And though so oft they've strove to pull her Down,
112:04,468[A  ]| They find her yet Inseparate to the Crown.
112:04,469[A  ]| Then for her Rites, and Moderate Discipline,
112:04,470[A  ]| Religion never drew a Nobler Scene:
112:04,471[A  ]| So Cautious Wrong with Rigour to pursue,
112:04,472[A  ]| She never suffers, but she Pardons too.
112:04,473[A  ]| From needless Ceremonies wholly free,
112:04,474[A  ]| For those she has are kept for Decency;
112:04,475[A  ]| So both the dangerous Rocks does wisely shun,
112:04,476[A  ]| Of Using Many, and of having None.
112:04,477[A  ]| But for her Form, her Heavenly Form of Prayers,
112:04,478[A  ]| What Infidel without Devotion hears!
112:04,479[A  ]| The best that ever Reached the Immortal Ears!
112:04,480[A  ]| Not crudely thought of, and composed in haste,
112:04,481[A  ]| But wrote in Words that will like Language last:
112:04,482[A  ]| Solemn, Engaging, Weighty and Divine,
112:04,483[A  ]| Agreeing with, or took from Scripture every Line.
112:04,484[A  ]| O Holy Composition! Sacred Charm!
112:04,485[A  ]| That can our Minds of all their Fears disarm!
112:04,486[A  ]| O make, at first, then keep our Spirits ever warm
112:04,487[A  ]| That every time thy Duties we attend,
112:04,488[A  ]| Our Souls may rise, till they at last ascend
112:04,489[A  ]| Where Prayer and Praises never! never are to end!
112:04,490[A  ]| Yet O unhappy Church! surrounded by
112:04,491[A  ]| So many Sects and Sons of Enmity;
112:04,492[A  ]| And more Unhappy, as shall next be shown,
112:04,493[A  ]| From Faithless Friends and Sons supposed her Own;
112:04,494[A  ]| Who yet more Dangerous Notions have Imbibed
112:04,495[A  ]| Than all the Knaves and Fools before Described.
112:05,000['  ]| <The Fifth Part.>
112:05,001[A  ]| Hail Sacred Mother, Guardian of the Land!
112:05,002[A  ]| Thou standest, and mayst thou yet for ever stand:
112:05,003[A  ]| A Nursing Mother Heaven has raised, to be,
112:05,004[A  ]| As thou to us, the same Defence to Thee:
112:05,005[A  ]| What Blessings art thou likely now to Gain
112:05,006[A  ]| From Anna's Gentle, and Auspicious Reign!
112:05,007[A  ]| In her the State and You are doubly blest
112:05,008[A  ]| At once the Greatest of her Sex, and best:
112:05,009[A  ]| By all beloved, by all with Rapture seen!
112:05,010[A  ]| Nor know we which excels the most, the Christian or the Queen.
112:05,011[A  ]| Early thy Sacred Doctrine she Embraced,
112:05,012[A  ]| And ever since has held the Blessing fast.
112:05,013[A  ]| What ever Plots against thy Frame combine,
112:05,014[A  ]| They first must reach her Peace to Ruin thine.
112:05,015[A  ]| Even to her own she thy Repose prefers,
112:05,016[A  ]| As knowing well thy deadliest Foes are hers.
112:05,017[A  ]| A Subject she, thy Rules subjected lay,
112:05,018[A  ]| The Scoff of Atheists and the Sectaries' Prey,
112:05,019[A  ]| Who watched thy low Estate, and Jostled for the Sway;
112:05,020[A  ]| But when her Fortune did, Auspicious, rise
112:05,021[A  ]| (The Care of Heaven, and Darling of our Eyes!
112:05,022[A  ]| She filled the Gap, and stood in our Defence;
112:05,023[A  ]| As great her Power as late her Innocence.
112:05,024[A  ]| And now, securely Seated on the Throne,
112:05,025[A  ]| She Cultivates our Virtues with her own.
112:05,026[A  ]| Forward she Swift to Reformation drives;
112:05,027[A  ]| And, that the Fair may show it in their Lives
112:05,028[A  ]| She makes her self the Pattern for the Wives;
112:05,029[A  ]| And Copies at one Draught the Lamb and Dove;
112:05,030[A  ]| Like this her Purity and that her Love,
112:05,031[A  ]| Of all the Human Joys we stand Possessed,
112:05,032[A  ]| The kind the chaste Domestic Life is best,
112:05,033[A  ]| And gives the Softest Toils and Sweetest Rest!
112:05,034[A  ]| For where two Hearts meet, just like Tallies, even,
112:05,035[A  ]| 'Tis there we find below a Taste of Heaven!
112:05,036[A  ]| Such is the Life, and such the happy State
112:05,037[A  ]| Of our Illustrious Princess and her Mate:
112:05,038[A  ]| To Unmolested, Mutual Joys they go,
112:05,039[A  ]| Though little Copied in their Train below.
112:05,040[A  ]| Not that the Blessings of the Marriage Life
112:05,041[A  ]| Makes her decline the Hero's Martial strife,
112:05,042[A  ]| When a Just Cause, where she has passed her Word,
112:05,043[A  ]| Or there where Peace must be by War Restored,
112:05,044[A  ]| Bids her Unsheathe her slow, unwilling Sword;
112:05,045[A  ]| But ground as keen and as undaunted born,
112:05,046[A  ]| As that by Cyrus, or by Caesar worn:
112:05,047[A  ]| Nor is her General, for his time, behind
112:05,048[A  ]| Those Heroes in Success and Presence of the Mind:
112:05,049[A  ]| Nor ever did they, to such a Numerous Foe,
112:05,050[A  ]| Strike at one Heat a more Decisive Blow.
112:05,051[A  ]| In the Late Reign his Fate refused to Rise,
112:05,052[A  ]| Nor had he yet attained the Glorious Prize,
112:05,053[A  ]| But for the Influence of a Woman's Eyes!
112:05,054[A  ]| No less Success could he Expect to Meet
112:05,055[A  ]| From so much Worth, and from a Mind so Great!
112:05,056[A  ]| Anew she, thus our Nerves for Conquests strings,
112:05,057[A  ]| As when our Great Plantagenets were Kings.
112:05,058[A  ]| O Glorious Reign! that every way Succeeds,
112:05,059[A  ]| And neither Counsel, Men, or Money needs;
112:05,060[A  ]| But all, officious round about her wait,
112:05,061[A  ]| As truly Good, to make her Truly Great.
112:05,062[A  ]| At home she would our Sons of Strife compose,
112:05,063[A  ]| Abroad she Guards the Nation from our Foes,
112:05,064[A  ]| And still shall Guard, till, with Eliza's Fate,
112:05,065[A  ]| The Gallic falls, as then the Spanish State:
112:05,066[A  ]| A Work Reserved by Heaven for Her alone,
112:05,067[A  ]| To drag the Audacious Monster from a Throne,
112:05,068[A  ]| Confound their Salique Law, and make the Rule her own.
112:05,069[A  ]| O may that famous Institution there
112:05,070[A  ]| Have now its just Reverse Established here;
112:05,071[A  ]| That on the British Throne may still be seen
112:05,072[A  ]| A Female Race, ~~ and long the Present Queen;
112:05,073[A  ]| That all we have lost her Conduct may Regain,
112:05,074[A  ]| And only Woman! Glorious Woman Reign!
112:05,075[A  ]| Secured and blest by such a Sacred Head,
112:05,076[A  ]| What, O Eusebia! canst thou further dread?
112:05,077[A  ]| I formed, indeed, but now a Gloomy Scene
112:05,078[A  ]| Of Clouds and Storms; but all is now Serene.
112:05,079[A  ]| By her Example taught their Rage and Spite
112:05,080[A  ]| The Sectaries lose, and in Her Praise unite:
112:05,081[A  ]| Or granting (as we doubt) their Love they feign,
112:05,082[A  ]| You yet are safe in this Auspicious Reign:
112:05,083[A  ]| Not but perhaps (though now the View is Rest)
112:05,084[A  ]| It may a Blessing prove to be Oppressed:
112:05,085[A  ]| Whom Heaven does love it does with Stripes Chastise;
112:05,086[A  ]| 'Tis hard without Affliction to be Wise.
112:05,087[A  ]| Thus God, perhaps, permits these Knaves and Fools,
112:05,088[A  ]| And long may do, so that the Humbler Souls
112:05,089[A  ]| May cleave, with Thee, the stricter to his Rules,
112:05,090[A  ]| To Conquer all even Israel was debarred,
112:05,091[A  ]| Their Dangerous Inmates had some Cities spared;
112:05,092[A  ]| Left of set purpose, should they prove Unwise,
112:05,093[A  ]| To gore their Sides, and Prickle in their Eyes:
112:05,094[A  ]| For when that stubborn Nation did offend,
112:05,095[A  ]| 'Twas nothing but Affliction made them mend.
112:05,096[A  ]| But as to what thy Faithless Friends impose,
112:05,097[A  ]| What shall we say? or what Defence from those
112:05,098[A  ]| Who at thy very Vitals lie unseen,
112:05,099[A  ]| And darkly Act their treacherous Parts within?
112:05,100[A  ]| Are they thy Sons who at this Time unite
112:05,101[A  ]| With the High-flying foolish Perkinite?
112:05,102[A  ]| How can a set of Men thy Peace intend
112:05,103[A  ]| Whose Counsels Ruin what thy own Defend?
112:05,104[A  ]| For where is the Religion, or the Sense,
112:05,105[A  ]| Of bringing in a Spurious, Popish Prince,
112:05,106[A  ]| When all the Three Estates (the Legal Sway)
112:05,107[A  ]| Had turned the Current quite another Way?
112:05,108[A  ]| Which certainly they never would have done
112:05,109[A  ]| But that they saw the Rocks we ought to shun,
112:05,110[A  ]| Though to the Men of shallow reach unknown:
112:05,111[A  ]| Let Fools be to their own Conceits inclined;
112:05,112[A  ]| 'Tis God himself that tunes a Nations Mind.
112:05,113[A  ]| What have we then to do but to comply
112:05,114[A  ]| For Conscience sake, with Power and Equity?
112:05,115[A  ]| And fix our future Hope, as late decreed,
112:05,116[A  ]| On that Illustrious House that must Succeed.
112:05,117[A  ]| But first, O let our Interest first be weighed!
112:05,118[A  ]| To Anna all our Loves and Vows be paid,
112:05,119[A  ]| And that Succession Ages yet delayed.
112:05,120[A  ]| In the mean time we see by the Design
112:05,121[A  ]| Of such as would thy safety undermine,
112:05,122[A  ]| That they're Ungrateful Sons; ~~ if they are Sons of Thine.
112:05,123[A  ]| But if so high some of thy Children go
112:05,124[A  ]| There yet are others that descend as low.
112:05,125[A  ]| So hard their Privilege the former Strain,
112:05,126[A  ]| That, if it break not, yet 'tis rendered vain;
112:05,127[A  ]| And these are always for a slackened Rein:
112:05,128[A  ]| What ever turn of Government befall,
112:05,129[A  ]| They scarcely ever look, but leap at all.
112:05,130[A  ]| Those think that Oaths beyond their Nature bind,
112:05,131[A  ]| Beyond the Sense for which they were designed;
112:05,132[A  ]| And these believe they're things beneath a Man to mind.
112:05,133[A  ]| Those to that height advance Monarchal Sway,
112:05,134[A  ]| That, notwithstanding all the Scripture say,
112:05,135[A  ]| It is Damnation yet to disobey.
112:05,136[A  ]| But on this Side there are a sort of Elves
112:05,137[A  ]| So cool, they'd dash their Princess on the Shelves,
112:05,138[A  ]| So in her Ruin they could raise themselves.
112:05,139[A  ]| So odd their Sentiments of Regal Sway,
112:05,140[A  ]| Could they but easy live, and little Pay,
112:05,141[A  ]| Were Noll again to Rule, they'd readily obey.
112:05,142[A  ]| In short the two Contenders (now our Themes)
112:05,143[A  ]| Were still, and will be ever in Extremes.
112:05,144[A  ]| The first to Papal Counsels seems inclined
112:05,145[A  ]| And the other's Calvin half, with Luther joined.
112:05,146[A  ]| Thy Moderation Vehemently they blame,
112:05,147[A  ]| But that's no Christian Truth, that is not still the same.
112:05,148[A  ]| Mean while we see, though they will never join
112:05,149[A  ]| In ought beside, they in thy Fall combine;
112:05,150[A  ]| So are but Treacherous Sons, ~~ if Sons at all of thine.
112:05,151[A  ]| Others among thy Prelates may be found
112:05,152[A  ]| That nothing else but Comprehension sound;
112:05,153[A  ]| And to that end Destructive Tracts prepare,
112:05,154[A  ]| That give thy Sanctions quite another Air:
112:05,155[A  ]| Thy very Articles themselves they seize,
112:05,156[A  ]| And make them speak whatever Sense they please;
112:05,157[A  ]| Such as in Scripture can't be found, if sought,
112:05,158[A  ]| And what their first Compilers never thought.
112:05,159[A  ]| With Schemes of Latitude they court the Rout,
112:05,160[A  ]| Which followed, soon would bring this Change about,
112:05,161[A  ]| To let the Sectaries in, and drive thy Votaries out.
112:05,162[A  ]| Thou that the best of Churches now we own,
112:05,163[A  ]| Wouldst then be found the very worst, ~~ or None.
112:05,164[A  ]| 'Tis to be wished, indeed, that all Mankind
112:05,165[A  ]| In matters of Belief were always of one Mind:
112:05,166[A  ]| But since below we are never like to see
112:05,167[A  ]| A Perfect, Universal Unity;
112:05,168[A  ]| A Bliss reserved for the bright Realms above,
112:05,169[A  ]| Where all is Rapture, Purity and Love,
112:05,170[A  ]| Or for the blessed Millennium; (if so be
112:05,171[A  ]| Our Hope of that is not a Fallacy;)
112:05,172[A  ]| What can we think of those, but that they err,
112:05,173[A  ]| Who would by Anarchy erect it here?
112:05,174[A  ]| And quite dissolve thy Principles and Rules,
112:05,175[A  ]| To flatter Villains and encourage Fools?
112:05,176[A  ]| Denying Entrance is, they cry, a Sin,
112:05,177[A  ]| Pull down, and let at once the Sectaries in;
112:05,178[A  ]| Why is your Stubborn Will the Cruel Cause
112:05,179[A  ]| So many Brethren break the Sacred Laws?
112:05,180[A  ]| Remove the Fence, that Justice may prevail;
112:05,181[A  ]| Nor keep so many Souls without the Pale.
112:05,182[A  ]| Forbid it God, 'tis answered, we should be
112:05,183[A  ]| Justly accused of such Barbarity;
112:05,184[A  ]| Let them Retract their Errors; when 'tis done,
112:05,185[A  ]| Both they and we will be for ever one.
112:05,186[A  ]| But here they Answer: ~~ What You bid them do
112:05,187[A  ]| Is a most Glorious Work reserved for You:
112:05,188[A  ]| The Points they argue are of Highest Weight,
112:05,189[A  ]| You only for Indifferent Things debate;
112:05,190[A  ]| There all your Arguments and Stress You lay;
112:05,191[A  ]| By Rigidness You move, by Conscience they;
112:05,192[A  ]| The things they'd have you grant them are but small,
112:05,193[A  ]| And lay those by, You have them at a Call;
112:05,194[A  ]| Your Duty's, then, to make Concessions to them all.
112:05,195[A  ]| That ever Men so Positive should be
112:05,196[A  ]| Their Cause is Truth, when 'tis Conspiracy!
112:05,197[A  ]| But that at once, we may the Point discuss,
112:05,198[A  ]| Are we gone out from them, or they from us?
112:05,199[A  ]| If they from us, then thence this Answer springs,
112:05,200[A  ]| 'Tis they that break about Indifferent things.
112:05,201[A  ]| As to the Points that we with them debate,
112:05,202[A  ]| We'll prove them of the highest Force and Weight;
112:05,203[A  ]| And that if those Concessions they desire
112:05,204[A  ]| Our Church should grant, she must of Course expire;
112:05,205[A  ]| Or if she did exist, she could but be
112:05,206[A  ]| A Complication of Absurdity,
112:05,207[A  ]| Made up at once of Christian, Turk and Jew;
112:05,208[A  ]| A Thousand Tenets false, for one that's true.
112:05,209[A  ]| For Proof, to please the bold Socinian,
112:05,210[A  ]| We first must own our Saviour merely Man.
112:05,211[A  ]| With the Perverse Fanatic to comply,
112:05,212[A  ]| We must abolish next, our Liturgy.
112:05,213[A  ]| To join the Quakers, e'er it can be done
112:05,214[A  ]| We must at once both Sacraments disown;
112:05,215[A  ]| Make Truth an Unintelligible Din,
112:05,216[A  ]| And call abusive Nonsense Light within.
112:05,217[A  ]| To come up to the Baptist, Women, Men,
112:05,218[A  ]| Must all Consent to be Baptized again,
112:05,219[A  ]| Or pass, at best, but for a Heathen Race,
112:05,220[A  ]| Till by Immersion they have dived for Grace.
112:05,221[A  ]| In short to please them all of every Station,
112:05,222[A  ]| We must Renounce our Power of Ordination;
112:05,223[A  ]| Leave every Man his Errors to Instil,
112:05,224[A  ]| To Hear, Believe, and Worship what he will,
112:05,225[A  ]| Till Truth and Purity are Banished quite,
112:05,226[A  ]| And all to salve that specious Word, ~~ Unite.
112:05,227[A  ]| Well did the Graver (waving the abuse)
112:05,228[A  ]| Picture the Church of England like a Goose;
112:05,229[A  ]| The Sectaries all around with Haggard Hair,
112:05,230[A  ]| Pulling the Feathers off to make her bare;
112:05,231[A  ]| And on her Head the Jesuits and their Train
112:05,232[A  ]| With Bills like Woodcocks, pecking at her Brain:
112:05,233[A  ]| For such, O British Church! thou surely art,
112:05,234[A  ]| If from thy Needful Barriers thou dost part,
112:05,235[A  ]| Set up to Guard thee from a Lawless Rout,
112:05,236[A  ]| Who would get in but just to drive thee out.
112:05,237[A  ]| In short a Comprehension to Design,
112:05,238[A  ]| Be who they will that in the Project join,
112:05,239[A  ]| Does prove them Treacherous Sons, ~~ if Sons at all of Thine.
112:05,240[A  ]| Others there are in Sacerdotal Wear,
112:05,241[A  ]| That quite Disgrace their Sacred Character;
112:05,242[A  ]| In Sports and Revels they their Time employ,
112:05,243[A  ]| As they were made for Laughter, Love and Joy.
112:05,244[A  ]| But slenderly those Sons observe thy Rules
112:05,245[A  ]| That only herd with Women and with Fools,
112:05,246[A  ]| And totally forgets ~~ his Cure of Souls.
112:05,247[A  ]| Another does his Scripture Theme disgrace,
112:05,248[A  ]| And makes a Pulpit War with Hudibras:
112:05,249[A  ]| (Poor Hudibras! to whom they grudged his Bread,
112:05,250[A  ]| Neglected Living, and revile him dead:)
112:05,251[A  ]| A Third in Taverns passes half his Days,
112:05,252[A  ]| Or runs disguised to Brothels and to Plays.
112:05,253[A  ]| How oft, O London! in thy Streets is found
112:05,254[A  ]| (Thy Streets which so with Pimps and Punks abound!)
112:05,255[A  ]| The Youthful Teacher picking up the Trull,
112:05,256[A  ]| Regardless of his Coat ~~ and more than Fool!
112:05,257[A  ]| Others thy Coffee Conventicles Use,
112:05,258[A  ]| And run distracted after Lies and News,
112:05,259[A  ]| When any needy Hawker if they please,
112:05,260[A  ]| Would every Day, and for a Penny fees,
112:05,261[A  ]| Bring to their House the cure of that Disease.
112:05,262[A  ]| They'll urge, perhaps, they may Diversion use;
112:05,263[A  ]| And any just Diversion we excuse:
112:05,264[A  ]| To Walk, to Ride, to visit Learned Friends,
112:05,265[A  ]| Is what the Muse not blames, but Recommends.
112:05,266[A  ]| But what in their Defence can any say,
112:05,267[A  ]| Who, Farmer like, clad in a Coat of Grey,
112:05,268[A  ]| And long Cravat, never miss a Market Day?
112:05,269[A  ]| That Corn and Beeves, and Managing their Ground
112:05,270[A  ]| Make their Employment all the Year around;
112:05,271[A  ]| As if there were no laymen in the Way
112:05,272[A  ]| To rent their Glebe, and make them Honest Pay?
112:05,273[A  ]| Mean while their Books (where safely they reside)
112:05,274[A  ]| The Dust does cover and the Cobwebs hide;
112:05,275[A  ]| Their Unfrequented Studies Silence Rules,
112:05,276[A  ]| And leaves to their Pursuit the Muck of Fools.
112:05,277[A  ]| What ever they to their Families design,
112:05,278[A  ]| With those we named before we these may join;
112:05,279[A  ]| All very shameless Sons, ~~ at least if Sons of Thine.
112:05,280[A  ]| As these the Church now under our debate,
112:05,281[A  ]| Some Laics are as fatal to the State;
112:05,282[A  ]| And may be, secularly, understood
112:05,283[A  ]| Always Dissenting from the Public Good:
112:05,284[A  ]| That from the Crown Prerogative would tear,
112:05,285[A  ]| The Oldest and the Brightest Jewel there.
112:05,286[A  ]| Not that the Muse the English does deny
112:05,287[A  ]| To be Tenacious of their Liberty:
112:05,288[A  ]| Far be our Conduct from those slavish Souls
112:05,289[A  ]| Whom Lewis by his Lawless Power controls:
112:05,290[A  ]| Licking the Dust, they tremble to the spurn,
112:05,291[A  ]| As only made to serve a Tyrant's turn.
112:05,292[A  ]| So little they of Human Comforts share,
112:05,293[A  ]| What we call Property is Treason there:
112:05,294[A  ]| Nor yet the Subject his Condition rues,
112:05,295[A  ]| Though nothing's left but want and Wooden Shoes.
112:05,296[A  ]| Fertile their Land, yet on Brown George they Dine,
112:05,297[A  ]| And Drink but Water though they Swim in Wine.
112:05,298[A  ]| A tedious Slavery thus, by Proof, we find
112:05,299[A  ]| Conveys its base Effects into the Mind,
112:05,300[A  ]| Till it at last forgets, or will not see
112:05,301[A  ]| The Gain of Trade, and Sweets of Liberty:
112:05,302[A  ]| Or that when ever a Nation has the Will
112:05,303[A  ]| To shake a Tyrant off that Governs ill,
112:05,304[A  ]| That would their Laws Subvert, and Rights devour,
112:05,305[A  ]| That Will can never be without the Power:
112:05,306[A  ]| How can the Art or Strength of One Prevail
112:05,307[A  ]| Against whole Millions in the other Scale?
112:05,308[A  ]| Unhappy People! that of Conquest boast,
112:05,309[A  ]| When all they get is to their Tyrant lost!
112:05,310[A  ]| Never before did Gallia know a Reign,
112:05,311[A  ]| That bled them every Purse and every Vein:
112:05,312[A  ]| But Patient, and for Asses only meant,
112:05,313[A  ]| Implicit they obey; alike Content
112:05,314[A  ]| With Cheats of Faith, and Cheats of Government.
112:05,315[A  ]| More madly yet the Briton plays his Game;
112:05,316[A  ]| Much better used and so the more to blame.
112:05,317[A  ]| A Restless Mind amidst our S**te reigns,
112:05,318[A  ]| Either still Fearing, or Imposing Chains;
112:05,319[A  ]| And Chains, perhaps, we all might quickly wear,
112:05,320[A  ]| Were not our Rights become a Wiser Care;
112:05,321[A  ]| For 'tis the L**ds who, hating to Enslave,
112:05,322[A  ]| Preserve our Liberties to keep us Brave;
112:05,323[A  ]| While standing as a Barrier, or a Tower,
112:05,324[A  ]| Between our Tribunes and the Kingly Power,
112:05,325[A  ]| They from the Insults of either keep us free,
112:05,326[A  ]| When these would clip Prerogative, or that our Property:
112:05,327[A  ]| For King and Commons, in their first Intent,
112:05,328[A  ]| Are the two Scales of British Government;
112:05,329[A  ]| But Scales that soon would err to an extreme,
112:05,330[A  ]| Did not the Nobles fix and pin the Beam:
112:05,331[A  ]| A Counterpoise, when ever the Storm is Great,
112:05,332[A  ]| To trim the Vessel, and to save the State:
112:05,333[A  ]| Not that this Character of all is meant;
112:05,334[A  ]| For some there are that never were Content
112:05,335[A  ]| With any Prince, or any Government.
112:05,336[A  ]| O happy Constitution! on a Frame
112:05,337[A  ]| Established that would Ages last the same,
112:05,338[A  ]| But for the Pride and Rancour of a few
112:05,339[A  ]| Who would dissolve, and cast it all anew.
112:05,340[A  ]| To Wicked Men all things alike are just,
112:05,341[A  ]| If this Promote their Spite, or that their Lust:
112:05,342[A  ]| Perish the Nation, let the French Succeed,
112:05,343[A  ]| So but the Beau can Whore and Glutton feed;
112:05,344[A  ]| Or Bumpkin Members, at the Vine or Rose,
112:05,345[A  ]| Can Toast at once their Mistress, and their Nose;
112:05,346[A  ]| Then home returning raise their Tenants' rent
112:05,347[A  ]| To make amends for Sums profusely spent.
112:05,348[A  ]| Where yet much worse their Senses they expose
112:05,349[A  ]| To tell the Reasons of their Ay's and No's,
112:05,350[A  ]| Which though but Speeches short, have yet the Weight,
112:05,351[A  ]| If Misapplied, to Ruin Church and State.
112:05,352[A  ]| Men so Entrusted should to Truth be bent,
112:05,353[A  ]| And have clear Thoughts to Judge of the Event.
112:05,354[A  ]| But these are a Morose and sensual Rout,
112:05,355[A  ]| All Mute within, and endless, Chat without:
112:05,356[A  ]| Their Wit, Detraction; Honesty, Disguise;
112:05,357[A  ]| As Bessus, Brave; and their Electors, Wise:
112:05,358[A  ]| Thoughtless of Right, or Wrong; and not Content
112:05,359[A  ]| With Law, Religion, Prince, or Government.
112:05,360[A  ]| But as these six on Methods Lewd and Vain,
112:05,361[A  ]| Another Class are all for Power and Gain:
112:05,362[A  ]| These are the Men the Nation most should doubt
112:05,363[A  ]| That thrive within, and starve the Fools without;
112:05,364[A  ]| Their Master, Herd; whose Fleece they every Year
112:05,365[A  ]| Take off, and in the Public Pocket share
112:05,366[A  ]| What we even Groan to see, and they should blush to hear.
112:05,367[A  ]| What Care can of the Common Good be shown,
112:05,368[A  ]| Where most have separate Interests of their Own?
112:05,369[A  ]| He that on self Advancement does depend
112:05,370[A  ]| Directs his Counsels only to that End.
112:05,371[A  ]| If Father S**r (who abounds with Gall,
112:05,372[A  ]| At once disdaining, and disdained by all,)
112:05,373[A  ]| At any time a Party-Friend can serve,
112:05,374[A  ]| He cares not if a Thousand Worthier starve;
112:05,375[A  ]| Obliged so far, they'll any Dangers face;
112:05,376[A  ]| And Vote to keep themselves and Him in Place:
112:05,377[A  ]| While the Gulled Country part with all their store
112:05,378[A  ]| To pay them Pensions but to Tax it more.
112:05,379[A  ]| And yet even these, if once got out of Grace,
112:05,380[A  ]| (Loyal no longer than they keep in Place,
112:05,381[A  ]| And H** himself's an Instance of the Case,)
112:05,382[A  ]| They Rave! they! Rail and will not be Content
112:05,383[A  ]| With Law, Religion, Prince, or Government.
112:05,384[A  ]| We grant indeed that, mixed with these, there are
112:05,385[A  ]| Some Worthy Men, who all self-interest bar:
112:05,386[A  ]| So Wealthy, that they'll Nothing base advance,
112:05,387[A  ]| So Honest, as to Curse the Bribes of France.
112:05,388[A  ]| At once both to their King and Country true,
112:05,389[A  ]| The Mutual Good of either they pursue,
112:05,390[A  ]| And Lives and Fortunes cheerfully would set
112:05,391[A  ]| To make one Prosperous and the other Great.
112:05,392[A  ]| Their Counsels always to our Glory tend
112:05,393[A  ]| Sharp to discern, and ready to defend.
112:05,394[A  ]| And yet, Alas! what Common Good can rise
112:05,395[A  ]| From those that are Sagacious, Just and Wise,
112:05,396[A  ]| When the dead Weight of Number shall prevail,
112:05,397[A  ]| Though Law and Gospel lie in the other Scale?
112:05,398[A  ]| In vain the Poor on Innocence depends;
112:05,399[A  ]| Justice is there Majority of Friends.
112:05,400[A  ]| What can we from the Martyr's Fate infer
112:05,401[A  ]| But a sad Instance that the most may Err?
112:05,402[A  ]| In every Age we find that Men are Men;
112:05,403[A  ]| And some are now as bad as others then.
112:05,404[A  ]| Would it not grieve the Heart and shock the Ear
112:05,405[A  ]| That Feuds and Factions should be cherished there
112:05,406[A  ]| Where they are sent but only to agree,
112:05,407[A  ]| And keep the Land as Friendly, as 'tis Free?
112:05,408[A  ]| Which way can Heats, that every Year increase,
112:05,409[A  ]| Be argued to promote the Public Peace?
112:05,410[A  ]| If Parties strive, though this, or that Succeed,
112:05,411[A  ]| It is the People that both Pay, and Bleed.
112:05,412[A  ]| In the late Times the Royalists' Pretence
112:05,413[A  ]| For cutting Throats was to defend their Prince;
112:05,414[A  ]| The Godly Army, Thirsting after Blood,
112:05,415[A  ]| Plundered and Murdered for their Country's Good.
112:05,416[A  ]| The Knaves of either Party played the Game,
112:05,417[A  ]| While their trim Speakers (and we have yet the same)
112:05,418[A  ]| In S**te were the Breath that fanned the Flame.
112:05,419[A  ]| Can true and false be one? or Love and Hate?
112:05,420[A  ]| No less can Peace and Factions in a State.
112:05,421[A  ]| Accursed be they that sit in safety there
112:05,422[A  ]| And thence eject the Seeds of Strife and War,
112:05,423[A  ]| Which falling on the People, up there Springs
112:05,424[A  ]| Two Parties, this, their Country's: that their King's:
112:05,425[A  ]| But were the Cause by Justice to be tried,
112:05,426[A  ]| And the true Means for Public Peace applied,
112:05,427[A  ]| The Hot-heads should be Hanged on either Side,
112:05,428[A  ]| That others may be warned to rest Content
112:05,429[A  ]| With the true Line, and Legal Government.
112:05,430[A  ]| Where can the Good of Separate Interest be?
112:05,431[A  ]| Can it be fatal not to disagree?
112:05,432[A  ]| Or do they think (because it is agreed
112:05,433[A  ]| That, now and then, a Vein may Breathing need)
112:05,434[A  ]| The Body Politic for Health must Bleed?
112:05,435[A  ]| As sure it will, unless some speedy Care
112:05,436[A  ]| Is took, such Jehu's may not drive too far:
112:05,437[A  ]| We are to the utmost Verge of Danger run,
112:05,438[A  ]| And must be now United or Undone.
112:05,439[A  ]| For some there are, like Junius Brutus sour,
112:05,440[A  ]| That would at once all Regal Right devour,
112:05,441[A  ]| And some, again, are for Unbounded Power.
112:05,442[A  ]| Some would a Scheme of Rule from Holland draw,
112:05,443[A  ]| And some would have the Sword of Lewis, Law.
112:05,444[A  ]| Others to Tracts of Rome and Greece repair
112:05,445[A  ]| For some old Forms, and would new vamp them here.
112:05,446[A  ]| Some would as useless have the L**ds laid by,
112:05,447[A  ]| The Gloomy Politics of Anarchy!
112:05,448[A  ]| Others from Faction do this Inference draw,
112:05,449[A  ]| That 'tis a Balance to keep Kings in awe,
112:05,450[A  ]| Confined by that within the Bounds of Law;
112:05,451[A  ]| So raise a Danger nothing can suppress
112:05,452[A  ]| Only to make their fear of Danger less;
112:05,453[A  ]| The very last Extreme of Sottishness!
112:05,454[A  ]| Thus while all Parties each with each contend,
112:05,455[A  ]| They do but widen what they're called to mend.
112:05,456[A  ]| Even in Debate they can't forbear to bite,
112:05,457[A  ]| On this side Rancour and on that 'tis Spite,
112:05,458[A  ]| And all have Friends to say they Voted Right.
112:05,459[A  ]| From this Spring-head of Interest and Ill-will,
112:05,460[A  ]| Does all their Venom on the Mob distil,
112:05,461[A  ]| Till we, at once, can rife amongst them see
112:05,462[A  ]| Revenge, and Guile, and Fear, and Jealousy:
112:05,463[A  ]| Nor less does Pride, Hypocrisy and Hate
112:05,464[A  ]| Inflame the Gentry, and disturb the State:
112:05,465[A  ]| Inward Convulsions in her Breast she feels,
112:05,466[A  ]| And though she does not Fall, she often Reels.
112:05,467[A  ]| All sorts of Rabble, Mouth to fill the Cry,
112:05,468[A  ]| And Roar, and Thrust, and Swell, and Mutiny,
112:05,469[A  ]| If any Public News but go awry.
112:05,470[A  ]| The very Sweepers of the Jails and Halls,
112:05,471[A  ]| The Inhabitants of Cellars, Bulks and Stalls,
112:05,472[A  ]| Carmen and Cobblers, Scavengers, a Rout
112:05,473[A  ]| That will but look in Hell as now without;
112:05,474[A  ]| All, Copying from their Patrons, vent aloud
112:05,475[A  ]| The base dislike of an Ungrateful Crowd;
112:05,476[A  ]| And not of Thousands scarce is one Content
112:05,477[A  ]| With any Prince, or any Government.
112:05,478[A  ]| But throw, my Muse, a Veil upon our Faults,
112:05,479[A  ]| And throw, beside another on thy Thoughts;
112:05,480[A  ]| Should you speak more it might be dangerous here; ~~
112:05,481[A  ]| So pass on now to Rascals less our Fear.
113:01,000@@@@@| 
113:01,000['  ]| <Gould, Robert: The Works (1709)>
113:01,000['  ]| <VOLUME the SECOND. (SATYRS).>
113:01,000['  ]| <THE PLAY-HOUSE A SATYR.>
113:01,000['  ]| <The First Part.>
113:01,001[A  ]| Since of all things which at this Guilty Time
113:01,002[A  ]| Have felt the honest Satire's wholesome Rhyme
113:01,003[A  ]| The Impious Play-House has been most forborne,
113:01,004[A  ]| (Though it of all Things most deserves our Scorn)
113:01,005[A  ]| We'll do at last what Justice does require;
113:01,006[A  ]| And strip it bare of all the Gay Attire
113:01,007[A  ]| Which Women love and Fools so much admire.
113:01,008[A  ]| Aid me, Ye Scorpions with Inveterate Spite,
113:01,009[A  ]| Instruct me how to stab with every Word I write;
113:01,010[A  ]| Or if my Pen's too weak this Tide to stem,
113:01,011[A  ]| Lend me Your Stings, and I will wound with them:
113:01,012[A  ]| Each home-set thrust shall pierce the vicious Heart,
113:01,013[A  ]| And draw the Poison from the envenomed Part;
113:01,014[A  ]| Lash every Fop and every Drab expose,
113:01,015[A  ]| And to the World a hideous Scene disclose:
113:01,016[A  ]| While the Proud Mimics who now Lord it so,
113:01,017[A  ]| Become the Public hiss wherever they go,
113:01,018[A  ]| Their Trade decay and they unpitied Starve;
113:01,019[A  ]| A better Fate than most of them deserve.
113:01,020[A  ]| The Middle Gallery first demands our View;
113:01,021[A  ]| The filth of Jakes, and stench of every Stew!
113:01,022[A  ]| Here reeking Punks like Evening Insects swarm;
113:01,023[A  ]| The Polecat's Perfume much the Happier Charm.
113:01,024[A  ]| Their very Scent gives Apoplectic Fits,
113:01,025[A  ]| And yet they're thought all Civet by the Cits;
113:01,026[A  ]| Nor can we blame them; for the Truth to tell,
113:01,027[A  ]| The want of Brains may be the want of Smell.
113:01,028[A  ]| Here every Night they sit three Hours for Sale;
113:01,029[A  ]| The Night-rail always cleanlier than the Tail.
113:01,030[A  ]| If any Gudgeon bites they have Him sure,
113:01,031[A  ]| For nothing Angles Blockheads like a Whore.
113:01,032[A  ]| Discreet in this, their Faces not to show;
113:01,033[A  ]| The Mask the best Complexion of the two.
113:01,034[A  ]| Their Noses falling and their Eyes sunk in,
113:01,035[A  ]| A wrinkled Forehead and a Parchment Skin:
113:01,036[A  ]| Their Breath as hot as Etna's Sulphurous Fire;
113:01,037[A  ]| Yet cold as Ice compared with their Desire.
113:01,038[A  ]| The Physic each has singly swallowed up,
113:01,039[A  ]| Produced again, would stock even Chase's Shop.
113:01,040[A  ]| Yet such as these our Modern Fops admire;
113:01,041[A  ]| Perhaps to be Inured for hotter Fire.
113:01,042[A  ]| A Woman's never so Wicked, but she can
113:01,043[A  ]| Find one as Wicked, or much worse in Man,
113:01,044[A  ]| To satisfy her Lust, obey her Will,
113:01,045[A  ]| And at her Nod perform the greatest Ill:
113:01,046[A  ]| These ride not Strumpets, but are Strumpet-rid,
113:01,047[A  ]| And Dog-like, fetch and carry as they're bid;
113:01,048[A  ]| But, naming Dogs, did You yet ever meet
113:01,049[A  ]| A proud Bitch and her Gallants in the Street?
113:01,050[A  ]| Shock, Mastiff, Mongrel, Spaniel Blithe and Gay
113:01,051[A  ]| With Brandished Tails, and panting over their Prey,
113:01,052[A  ]| Have You observed with what Obsequious Art
113:01,053[A  ]| They make their Court? So Amorous at the Heart,
113:01,054[A  ]| The more their Mistress snarls the less inclined to part.
113:01,055[A  ]| This is an Emblem of our Gallery Ware,
113:01,056[A  ]| The Scene we may see Nightly Acted here
113:01,057[A  ]| Not but we must give Dog and Bitch their due,
113:01,058[A  ]| As much the Chaster Creatures of the two;
113:01,059[A  ]| Their Season past they're cool; ~~ 'tis only here
113:01,060[A  ]| The Commerce holds, Insatiate, all the Year.
113:01,061[A  ]| About one Jilt a Hundred Apes shall move,
113:01,062[A  ]| And which is strange, at once all Chattering Love:
113:01,063[A  ]| So loud the Din, that who the Play would hear
113:01,064[A  ]| Might be as well Informed at Home, as there.
113:01,065[A  ]| At last they to the Rose direct their Way
113:01,066[A  ]| (It's Staple Trade such Customers as they)
113:01,067[A  ]| To end the Intrigue agreed on at the Play.
113:01,068[A  ]| Luxurious, there they Gormandize at large,
113:01,069[A  ]| And all at the Licentious Cully's Charge;
113:01,070[A  ]| Till drained both Purse and Chine he does retire,
113:01,071[A  ]| And within three Days finds He's all on Fire:
113:01,072[A  ]| The total, thus, of all Venereal Jobs
113:01,073[A  ]| Begin in Whore, and Terminate in Hobs.
113:01,074[A  ]| If he would find the Nymph that caused his Moan,
113:01,075[A  ]| He toils in vain, ~~ the Bird of Night is flown:
113:01,076[A  ]| Yet not this warning makes the Sot give over,
113:01,077[A  ]| He must repeat the Dangerous Bliss once more,
113:01,078[A  ]| But still finds harder Usage than before.
113:01,079[A  ]| Hence 'tis our Surgeons and our Quacks are grown
113:01,080[A  ]| To make so great a Figure in the Town;
113:01,081[A  ]| Heaping up large Estates by our Debauches;
113:01,082[A  ]| Our keeping Strumpets makes them keep their Coaches:
113:01,083[A  ]| Their Consorts so Extravagantly Gay,
113:01,084[A  ]| You in their Dress behold their Husband's Pay:
113:01,085[A  ]| But backward look, you'll find it is the Stage
113:01,086[A  ]| That makes these Locusts swarm upon the Age:
113:01,087[A  ]| There 'tis the fruitful Bane is ploughed and tilled,
113:01,088[A  ]| But these have all the Harvest of the Field.
113:01,089[A  ]| There's many of them for their single Share,
113:01,090[A  ]| Pocket, 'tis said, some Thousands every Year:
113:01,091[A  ]| Nor is it strange in such a spreading Crime,
113:01,092[A  ]| Where half the Town is Fluxing at a Time:
113:01,093[A  ]| Wide as the Grave to take its Comers in,
113:01,094[A  ]| Their Gates stand open for the Sons of Sin:
113:01,095[A  ]| But then the Tales delivered out again,
113:01,096[A  ]| Just as the Parson has his One in Ten:
113:01,097[A  ]| And they so pale and Meagre, you'd swear
113:01,098[A  ]| A Ghost were Weightier, though they're nought but Air.
113:01,099[A  ]| So craving too are these Pox-Empirics grown.
113:01,100[A  ]| Live ye, or Die, they make the Cash their own.
113:01,101[A  ]| Expensive Malady! where People give
113:01,102[A  ]| More to be killed than many would to live!
113:01,103[A  ]| Some get Estates when others drop, but here
113:01,104[A  ]| The very Dying does undo the Heir.
113:01,105[A  ]| O that the custom were again Returned,
113:01,106[A  ]| That Bodies might on Funeral Piles be burned
113:01,107[A  ]| The Pestilential Vapours which the Sun
113:01,108[A  ]| Sucks from the Ground, and through the Air are thrown,
113:01,109[A  ]| Giving all Catching Plagues and Fevers Birth,
113:01,110[A  ]| Are only Steams Exhaled from Pocky Earth:
113:01,111[A  ]| From whence this Town we may conclude accursed,
113:01,112[A  ]| For here few Die but are half Rotten first.
113:01,113[A  ]| Nor is this Middle Gallery only found
113:01,114[A  ]| With Drabs of Common Trading to abound;
113:01,115[A  ]| But, to the Eternal Scandal of their Race,
113:01,116[A  ]| Her Honour often, and as oft her Grace
113:01,117[A  ]| Sail hither, Masked and Muffled in Disguise;
113:01,118[A  ]| And with pert Carriage and their smart Replies
113:01,119[A  ]| Set all the Men agog, who straight agree
113:01,120[A  ]| They must of course, be Punks of Quality;
113:01,121[A  ]| So lead them off to give their Longings vent,
113:01,122[A  ]| For 'tis presumed they came for that Intent:
113:01,123[A  ]| At least, if not for common Use, they employ
113:01,124[A  ]| Some Friend assigned, and take their Swill of Joy.
113:01,125[A  ]| How often, Cl**d, hast thou here been found
113:01,126[A  ]| By a Lascivious Herd encompassed round?
113:01,127[A  ]| How often have you hence retired, and lain
113:01,128[A  ]| A Leash of Stallions breathless on the Plain?
113:01,129[A  ]| Then back returned; another Leash enjoyed;
113:01,130[A  ]| Another after that, when those were cloyed;
113:01,131[A  ]| And so elsewhere, and here, has half your Life employed.
113:01,132[A  ]| Till not a Drab appears in History,
113:01,133[A  ]| So Shameless and Libidinous as Thee.
113:01,134[A  ]| Scarce does an Evening pass through all the Year,
113:01,135[A  ]| But many of the highest Rank are here:
113:01,136[A  ]| True, if discovered, for a blind they'll say,
113:01,137[A  ]| They only came to take a strict Survey
113:01,138[A  ]| If Whores could be so bad as some Report; ~~
113:01,139[A  ]| And that they might as well have known at Court.
113:01,140[A  ]| But they're but Flesh, and 'tis in vain to rail,
113:01,141[A  ]| Since fed the higher 'tis the oftener frail.
113:01,142[A  ]| Withhold, ye Citizens, Your Wives from hence,
113:01,143[A  ]| If You'd Preserve their Fame and Innocence,
113:01,144[A  ]| You else are sure to live in Cuckold's Row;
113:01,145[A  ]| There is not yet one Precedent to show
113:01,146[A  ]| Our Wives by coming here can Virtuous grow:
113:01,147[A  ]| That Plays may make them Vicious, Truth assures;
113:01,148[A  ]| Especially, so much Inclined as Yours.
113:01,149[A  ]| The London Cuckolds they all Flock to see,
113:01,150[A  ]| And Triumph in their Infidelity:
113:01,151[A  ]| In vain Your Counsel; ~~ Nothing can reclaim
113:01,152[A  ]| A Wife that once has shaken Hands with Shame.
113:01,153[A  ]| If ever they take their Ply the Adulterous Way,
113:01,154[A  ]| The Devil may as soon recant as they:
113:01,155[A  ]| To sure Destruction wilfully they run;
113:01,156[A  ]| In View of Hell, and yet go daring on.
113:01,157[A  ]| Choked with the stench of Brimstone, 'twill be fit
113:01,158[A  ]| To Visit next the Boxes and the Pit,
113:01,159[A  ]| And for the Muse a Nobler Scene prepare,
113:01,160[A  ]| And let Her breathe awhile in Milder Air.
113:01,161[A  ]| But such a sudden Glare invades her Eyes,
113:01,162[A  ]| So vast a Crowd of different Vanities,
113:01,163[A  ]| She knows where not to fix her Rancour first;
113:01,164[A  ]| So very Wicked all, that all are worst!
113:01,165[A  ]| Here painted Ladies, aiming at the Heart,
113:01,166[A  ]| Their Graces Arm, and all their Charms exert:
113:01,167[A  ]| Dressed, one and all, with Nice Exactness there,
113:01,168[A  ]| But Mobbed like Dowdies at the House of Prayer.
113:01,169[A  ]| How different will the Scene at Night be shown!
113:01,170[A  ]| When they restore to every Box its Own,
113:01,171[A  ]| When like themselves the affrighting Things appear,
113:01,172[A  ]| Divested of their Patches, Gems and Hair:
113:01,173[A  ]| This sight the Obsequious Coxcombs should attend;
113:01,174[A  ]| Like a Death's Head 'twould warn them of their End:
113:01,175[A  ]| But they, alas! for vainer things designed,
113:01,176[A  ]| Fix here their Hopes and Nothing Future Mind.
113:01,177[A  ]| Between the Acts they to the Boxes throng,
113:01,178[A  ]| With Whining Voices warbling each his Song:
113:01,179[A  ]| Their Own, You may be sure; for none but such
113:01,180[A  ]| Can write what could Delight that Sex so much.
113:01,181[A  ]| Some few soft Lines (but such as well express
113:01,182[A  ]| Their Wit is as much Borrowed as their Dress)
113:01,183[A  ]| Does set them up for Poets; all their Time
113:01,184[A  ]| Supinely trifled off in Love and Rhyme.
113:01,185[A  ]| These are the Women's Men, their dear Delight;
113:01,186[A  ]| For just as Ladies Chatter, Coxcombs write.
113:01,187[A  ]| Not far from hence, another much distressed,
113:01,188[A  ]| At once makes Cupid and himself a Jest:
113:01,189[A  ]| With a low Cringe, Her Vanity to Please,
113:01,190[A  ]| He Drawls his Passion in such Terms as these.
113:01,191[A  ]| MADAM! by Heaven You have an Air so Fine,
113:01,192[A  ]| It renders the least thing You do ~~ Divine!
113:01,193[A  ]| We dare not say You were Created here,
113:01,194[A  ]| But dropped an ANGEL from the ETHEREAL SPHERE!
113:01,195[A  ]| Ten Thousand CUPIDS on Your FOREHEAD Sit,
113:01,196[A  ]| And shoot resistless Darts through all the PIT.
113:01,197[A  ]| Before Your Feet, see! Your Adorers lie,
113:01,198[A  ]| Live, if You Smile; and if You Frown, they die!
113:01,199[A  ]| Even I, Your true Predestinated Slave,
113:01,200[A  ]| Rather than meet Your Hate would meet my Grave:
113:01,201[A  ]| Ah! Pity then, Bright Nymph the Wound You gave!
113:01,202[A  ]| Thus sighs the Sot, thus tells his Amorous Tale,
113:01,203[A  ]| And thinks his florid Nonsense must prevail;
113:01,204[A  ]| Bows, and withdraws: And next to prove his Love,
113:01,205[A  ]| Steals up, and Courts the Fulsome Punks above.
113:01,206[A  ]| Meanwhile the Nymph, proud of her Conquest, looks
113:01,207[A  ]| Big as Wreathed Poets in the Front of Books;
113:01,208[A  ]| Surveys the Pit with a Majestic Grace,
113:01,209[A  ]| To see who falls a Victim to her Face;
113:01,210[A  ]| Does in her Glass her self with Wonder view,
113:01,211[A  ]| And fancies all the Coxcomb said was true.
113:01,212[A  ]| Hence 'tis the Whiffling, Vain, Fantastic Chit
113:01,213[A  ]| Is the Fair Lady's only Man of Wit.
113:01,214[A  ]| With Servile Flattery sleeking his Address,
113:01,215[A  ]| Where ever he goes, he's certain of Success.
113:01,216[A  ]| Speak Truth to our fine Women, and you'll find,
113:01,217[A  ]| Of all things, That the least can make them kind:
113:01,218[A  ]| Nor can we blame them; for it calls them plain,
113:01,219[A  ]| Deceitful, Idle, Foolish, Fond and Vain.
113:01,220[A  ]| Wit in a Lover more than Death they fear;
113:01,221[A  ]| For only Witty Men can tell what Trash they are.
113:01,222[A  ]| But a pert, airy, empty, Noisy Ass,
113:01,223[A  ]| In their Esteem does all his Sex Surpass:
113:01,224[A  ]| Believed a Hero, though by Heaven designed
113:01,225[A  ]| The Grin of Wit, and Scandal of his Kind.
113:01,226[A  ]| Such Giddy Insects here for ever come,
113:01,227[A  ]| And very little Dare, but much Presume:
113:01,228[A  ]| Perpetually the Ladies' Ears they ply,
113:01,229[A  ]| And Whisper Slander at the Standers by:
113:01,230[A  ]| Then laugh aloud; which now is grown a part
113:01,231[A  ]| Of Play-house Breeding, and of Courtly Art.
113:01,232[A  ]| The true Sign of Your Modish Beau Garcon
113:01,233[A  ]| Is Chattering like a Lady's lewd Baboon,
113:01,234[A  ]| Showing their Teeth to charm some pretty Creature;
113:01,235[A  ]| For grinning, among Fops, is held a Feature.
113:01,236[A  ]| Nor is this all; they are so oddly dressed,
113:01,237[A  ]| As if they'd sworn to be a standing Jest,
113:01,238[A  ]| Aped into Men for Pastime to the Rest.
113:01,239[A  ]| Observe them well, You'll think their Bodies made
113:01,240[A  ]| To attend the Empty Motions of the Head;
113:01,241[A  ]| If that but wags the whole Machine does move,
113:01,242[A  ]| From top to Toe devoted all to Love.
113:01,243[A  ]| Their Whigs and Steinkirks to that height refined,
113:01,244[A  ]| They dare not tempt their Enemy ~~ the Wind;
113:01,245[A  ]| Of the least slender puff each Sot afraid is,
113:01,246[A  ]| It kills the Curls designed to kill the Ladies.
113:01,247[A  ]| So stiff they are, in all Parts tied so straight,
113:01,248[A  ]| 'Tis strange to me the Blood should Circulate.
113:01,249[A  ]| But leaving these Musk-Cats to public Shame,
113:01,250[A  ]| I'll turn my Head and seek out other Game.
113:01,251[A  ]| In the Side-Box Moll Hinton You may see,
113:01,252[A  ]| Or Howard Moll, much wickeder than she;
113:01,253[A  ]| That is their Throne; for there they best Survey
113:01,254[A  ]| All the Young Fops that flutter to the Play.
113:01,255[A  ]| So known, so Courted, in an Hour, or less,
113:01,256[A  ]| You'll see a Hundred making their Address;
113:01,257[A  ]| Bow, Cringe and Leer, as supple Poets do,
113:01,258[A  ]| The Patron's Guineas shining in their View:
113:01,259[A  ]| While they, Promiscuous, let their Favours fall,
113:01,260[A  ]| And give the same Encouragement to all.
113:01,261[A  ]| Harlots of all things should be most abhorred,
113:01,262[A  ]| And in the Play-house nothing's more adored:
113:01,263[A  ]| In that lewd Mart the rankest Trash goes off,
113:01,264[A  ]| Though rotten to the Core, and Death to Cough;
113:01,265[A  ]| Though Ulcers on their Lungs as thick take Place
113:01,266[A  ]| As Fiery Pimples on a Drunkard's Face.
113:01,267[A  ]| Discharged of these, observe another way
113:01,268[A  ]| The Fops in Scarlet swearing at the Play:
113:01,269[A  ]| Nor yet unduly they themselves acquit,
113:01,270[A  ]| For Fustian on the Stage, too, goes for Wit.
113:01,271[A  ]| A Harmless Jest, or Accidental Blow,
113:01,272[A  ]| Spilling their Snuff, or touching but the Toe,
113:01,273[A  ]| With many other things too small to name,
113:01,274[A  ]| Does blow these Sparks of Honour to a Flame:
113:01,275[A  ]| For such vile Trifles, or some Viler Drab,
113:01,276[A  ]| 'Tis in an Instant Damn me, and a Stab.
113:01,277[A  ]| No mild Persuasion can these Brutes reclaim;
113:01,278[A  ]| 'Tis thus to Night, to Morrow 'tis the same.
113:01,279[A  ]| What a long List might Justice here Produce
113:01,280[A  ]| Of Blood, of Fighting, Banning and Abuse?
113:01,281[A  ]| What Weekly Bill, for Number, can compare
113:01,282[A  ]| To those that have been basely Butchered here,
113:01,283[A  ]| Within the Compass but of Twenty Year?
113:01,284[A  ]| One Actress has at least, to name no more,
113:01,285[A  ]| Been her own self the Slaughter of a Score.
113:01,286[A  ]| Murder's so Rife, with like Concern we hear
113:01,287[A  ]| Of a Man killed, as Baiting of a Bear.
113:01,288[A  ]| All People now, the Place is grown so ill,
113:01,289[A  ]| Before they see a Play should make their Will:
113:01,290[A  ]| For with much more Security, a Man
113:01,291[A  ]| Might take a three Years' Voyage to Japan.
113:01,292[A  ]| Here others, who no doubt believe they're Witty,
113:01,293[A  ]| Are hot at Repartee with Orange Betty:
113:01,294[A  ]| Who, though not blest with half a Grain of Sense
113:01,295[A  ]| To Leaven her whole Lump of Impudence,
113:01,296[A  ]| Aided by that, perpetually's too hard
113:01,297[A  ]| For the vain Fops, and beats them from their Guard:
113:01,298[A  ]| When fearing the Observing few may carp,
113:01,299[A  ]| They laughing cry, egad the Jade was Sharp:
113:01,300[A  ]| Who'd think with Banter she should Us outdo?
113:01,301[A  ]| Nay more, be found the better Punster too?
113:01,302[A  ]| When, without Boasting we may safely Swear
113:01,303[A  ]| We thought we had gained the Height of what these Arts could bear.
113:01,304[A  ]| Yet these true Oafs would think it an Offence
113:01,305[A  ]| More than all Human Wit could Recompense,
113:01,306[A  ]| Not to be ranked among the Men of Sense.
113:01,307[A  ]| Were selfish Coxcombs truly what they thought,
113:01,308[A  ]| They'd first be Gods, and next with Incense sought.
113:01,309[A  ]| But 'tis a Truth, fixed in Apollo's Rules,
113:01,310[A  ]| Your Would-be-Wits are but the Van of Fools;
113:01,311[A  ]| The very same that we in Armies find;
113:01,312[A  ]| The Apes in Office worse than all behind:
113:01,313[A  ]| Who though they fiercely look and loudly roar,
113:01,314[A  ]| A Game Cock's Feather would outweigh a score.
113:01,315[A  ]| Another Set together whispering run,
113:01,316[A  ]| Where they may best Debauch when Farce is done:
113:01,317[A  ]| The Agreement made, out Panderus whips before
113:01,318[A  ]| To bespeak Music, Supper, Wine and Whore:
113:01,319[A  ]| There they till Midnight Soak, and Cram and Drench,
113:01,320[A  ]| The Bumper now in Use, and now the Wench.
113:01,321[A  ]| Top-full at last, away they Scouring run,
113:01,322[A  ]| And leave no Mischief in their Power undone.
113:01,323[A  ]| The Cries of Martyred Watchmen now You'll hear,
113:01,324[A  ]| As soon, Demolished Windows clattering there.
113:01,325[A  ]| Whose ever Fate it is to walk the Street,
113:01,326[A  ]| And with these Bullies and their Harlots meet,
113:01,327[A  ]| They must avoid, or else be sure to feel
113:01,328[A  ]| Deep in their Lungs some Villain's fatal Steel;
113:01,329[A  ]| Villain, I say, that for a Cause so small
113:01,330[A  ]| As not to Uncap, or reeling to the Wall,
113:01,331[A  ]| And yet much oftener for no Cause at all,
113:01,332[A  ]| Shall those poor Innocents of Life disarm,
113:01,333[A  ]| That neither Spoke, Designed, or wished them harm.
113:01,334[A  ]| Like any Hero these will Foam and Fight,
113:01,335[A  ]| When they're urged on by Strumpet or by Spite;
113:01,336[A  ]| But if their King and Country claim their Aid,
113:01,337[A  ]| As none could threaten more, there's none so much afraid.
113:01,338[A  ]| Not One will move, not one his Prowess show,
113:01,339[A  ]| But stand stock still, when Honour bids them go.
113:01,340[A  ]| A Hundred Others, had they but their due,
113:01,341[A  ]| Of such as these, we should expose to view;
113:01,342[A  ]| But, with what's past, too feelingly perplexed,
113:01,343[A  ]| We'll show the Crimes of Plays and Players next.
113:02,000['  ]| <The Second Part.>
113:02,001[A  ]| No longer in the Streets, my Muse, appear,
113:02,002[A  ]| But back, a Fury, to the Play-house steer;
113:02,003[A  ]| We have not yet, done half our Business there.
113:02,004[A  ]| A Thousand Crimes, already, we've exposed,
113:02,005[A  ]| A Thousand more remain, not yet disclosed.
113:02,006[A  ]| On boldly then, nor fear to miss your Aim;
113:02,007[A  ]| Don't want for Rage, and we can't want for Theme.
113:02,008[A  ]| Here a Cabal of Critics you may see,
113:02,009[A  ]| Discoursing of Dramatic Poesie.
113:02,010[A  ]| While one, and he the wittiest of the Gang,
113:02,011[A  ]| (By whom you'll guess how fit they're all to hang)
113:02,012[A  ]| Shall entertain you with this learned Harangue.
113:02,013[A  ]| They talk of Ancient Plays, that they are such,
113:02,014[A  ]| So Good, they never can be admired too much:
113:02,015[A  ]| 'Tis all an Error. ~~ In our present Days,
113:02,016[A  ]| I grant, we've many claim Immortal Praise.
113:02,017[A  ]| The Cheats of Scapin, One; A Noble Thing;
113:02,018[A  ]| What a thronged Audience does it always bring!
113:02,019[A  ]| The Emperor of the Moon, 'twill never tire;
113:02,020[A  ]| The same Fate has the famed Alsatian Squire.
113:02,021[A  ]| Not Jevon's Learned Piece has more Pretence
113:02,022[A  ]| Than these, to Fancy, Language and Good Sense.
113:02,023[A  ]| And here, my Friends, I'd have it understood
113:02,024[A  ]| The Age is nice; what pleases must be Good.
113:02,025[A  ]| Again, for Instance, that clean Piece of Wit
113:02,026[A  ]| The City Heiress, by chaste Sappho Writ:
113:02,027[A  ]| Where the Lewd Widow comes, with Brazen Face,
113:02,028[A  ]| Just reeking from a Stallion's rank Embrace
113:02,029[A  ]| To acquaint the Audience with her Filthy Case.
113:02,030[A  ]| Where can you find a Scene for juster Praise,
113:02,031[A  ]| In Shakespeare, Jonson, or in Fletcher's Plays?
113:02,032[A  ]| The Modest Poet always will be Dull;
113:02,033[A  ]| For what is Desdemona but a Fool?
113:02,034[A  ]| Our Plays shall tell you, if the Husband's ill,
113:02,035[A  ]| The more the Wife may prosecute her Will.
113:02,036[A  ]| If jealous, they must date Revenge from thence,
113:02,037[A  ]| And make them Cuckolds, in their own Defence.
113:02,038[A  ]| A Hundred others we might quickly name,
113:02,039[A  ]| Where the Success and the Design's the same;
113:02,040[A  ]| Writ purposely the Unwary to entice,
113:02,041[A  ]| Enervate Goodness, and encourage Vice:
113:02,042[A  ]| And that the Suffrage of both Sexes wins:
113:02,043[A  ]| But see! The Curtains rise, the Play begins.
113:02,044[A  ]| Thus holds the Idiot forth; ~~ the other Sparks
113:02,045[A  ]| Applaud, and hug him for his Wise Remarks;
113:02,046[A  ]| Swear that such things must every Humour fit,
113:02,047[A  ]| And Universally be Clapped for Wit;
113:02,048[A  ]| But most the Ladies please; who here are taught
113:02,049[A  ]| That Truth's a Sham and Lewdness not a Fault;
113:02,050[A  ]| That Wit, is Infamy on Worth to fix;
113:02,051[A  ]| And an Unblemished Fame, a Coach and Six.
113:02,052[A  ]| But let the Flatterer feed their Endless Pride,
113:02,053[A  ]| And, if he please, all their Desires beside;
113:02,054[A  ]| Here let them with their Utmost Lustre Shine,
113:02,055[A  ]| Believed by Coxcombs and themselves Divine;
113:02,056[A  ]| To those that clearly see, and rightly know,
113:02,057[A  ]| 'Tis all Destructive Glare, and hideous show:
113:02,058[A  ]| The true Renown which all the rest Exceeds,
113:02,059[A  ]| Is that which is Derived from Virtuous Deeds.
113:02,060[A  ]| What a fine Set of Critics all the while
113:02,061[A  ]| Are these? and what the Audience that can smile
113:02,062[A  ]| At things so mean, Ridiculous and Vile?
113:02,063[A  ]| Farce has of late almost overwhelmed the Stage;
113:02,064[A  ]| But foolish Writers suit a foolish Age:
113:02,065[A  ]| Our topping Authors oft descend so low,
113:02,066[A  ]| That Hains and Howard pass for Poets too!
113:02,067[A  ]| How can Instruction from their Works proceed
113:02,068[A  ]| Whom 'tis a Mortal Breach of Wit to read?
113:02,069[A  ]| Not but we grant they yet Admirers gain ~~
113:02,070[A  ]| But such as have the Rickets in the Brain;
113:02,071[A  ]| A weakly Race who only Judge by Rote,
113:02,072[A  ]| And have no Sense to taste a Beauteous Thought:
113:02,073[A  ]| Thus heavy Fops the heaviest Authors prize: ~~
113:02,074[A  ]| But at the Theatre the fair Disguise
113:02,075[A  ]| Deceives the Brave, the Witty and the Wise:
113:02,076[A  ]| Struck with the Presence of so bright a Show,
113:02,077[A  ]| They like the Punk, though they despise the Beau.
113:02,078[A  ]| 'Tis hard for Youth and Beauty to escape
113:02,079[A  ]| Destruction, dressed in such a pleasing shape:
113:02,080[A  ]| It gilds their Ruin with a specious Bait,
113:02,081[A  ]| Too quickly Swallowed and observed too late;
113:02,082[A  ]| Too late their Perished Virtue to recall ~~
113:02,083[A  ]| There is no rising from so sad a Fall!
113:02,084[A  ]| Their Fate the worst the more they have of Sense,
113:02,085[A  ]| For Wit does deepliest Rue the loss of Innocence.
113:02,086[A  ]| Nor only Farce; our Plays alike are Writ
113:02,087[A  ]| With neither Manners, Modesty, or Wit,
113:02,088[A  ]| Raised with their Authors, to the last Excess
113:02,089[A  ]| Of Irreligion, Smut and Beastliness.
113:02,090[A  ]| Not that I'd have You think I'm so severe
113:02,091[A  ]| To damn all Plays; that would absurd appear:
113:02,092[A  ]| Beside, of Writers, some adorn the Stage,
113:02,093[A  ]| And Southern is the Credit of his Age:
113:02,094[A  ]| In short, I court the Good, and loath the Ill,
113:02,095[A  ]| Let the Presuming Bard be who he will.
113:02,096[A  ]| Though a Lord Write, I'll not at Random Praise,
113:02,097[A  ]| Or flatter Dryden though he wear the Bays:
113:02,098[A  ]| Or court fair Sappho in her Wanton fit,
113:02,099[A  ]| When she'd put Luscious Bawdry off for Wit:
113:02,100[A  ]| Or pity B**ks in Tatters, when I know
113:02,101[A  ]| 'Twas his bad Poetry that Clothed him so:
113:02,102[A  ]| Or Commend Durf**y to Indulge his Curse;
113:02,103[A  ]| Fond to write on, yet Scribble worse and worse:
113:02,104[A  ]| Or Cr**n for blaming Coxcombs, when I see
113:02,105[A  ]| Sir Courtly's not a vainer Fop than He:
113:02,106[A  ]| Or think that Ra**ft for Wise can pass,
113:02,107[A  ]| When Mother Dobson says he is an Ass;
113:02,108[A  ]| That damned, ridiculous, insipid Farce!
113:02,109[A  ]| Or write a Panegyric to the Fame
113:02,110[A  ]| Of Shadwell, or of Starving Settle's Name,
113:02,111[A  ]| Who have abused, unpardonable things,
113:02,112[A  ]| The best of Governments, and best of Kings.
113:02,113[A  ]| But Thee, my Otway, from the Grave I'll raise,
113:02,114[A  ]| And crown thy Memory with Immortal Praise;
113:02,115[A  ]| At least, Sweet Bard, it should Immortal be,
113:02,116[A  ]| If I could reach the Clouds, and Charm the Ear like thee!
113:02,117[A  ]| Thy Orphan and Venetian Piece Sublime
113:02,118[A  ]| Shall ever stand, and dare the Teeth of Time.
113:02,119[A  ]| The Ammonian Youth and Mithridates, LEE
113:02,120[A  ]| In spite of thy Unhappy Lunacy,
113:02,121[A  ]| Shall yield another Deathless Name to thee.
113:02,122[A  ]| But honest Truth obliges me to tell,
113:02,123[A  ]| Your other Tragic Plays are not so well;
113:02,124[A  ]| Not with that ease and that Exactness writ,
113:02,125[A  ]| With less of Nature too; ~~ and Nature here is Wit:
113:02,126[A  ]| Not but they may assume a decent Pride
113:02,127[A  ]| To vie even with our Noblest Plays beside.
113:02,128[A  ]| The Name of Etheridge next renowned we see
113:02,129[A  ]| For easy Style, and Wit in Comedy,
113:02,130[A  ]| Though not so strong as that of Wycherley:
113:02,131[A  ]| His Play of Manly (never to be out-writ)
113:02,132[A  ]| A Prodigy of Satire, Sense and Wit!
113:02,133[A  ]| In all the Characters so just and true,
113:02,134[A  ]| It will be ever famed, and ever New!
113:02,135[A  ]| And justly with the rest our Laureate claims
113:02,136[A  ]| To take his Place among Immortal Names:
113:02,137[A  ]| For Oedipus (though Sophocles and Lee
113:02,138[A  ]| Share something of the Praise, but not so much as He)
113:02,139[A  ]| Our Fear and Pity does advance as high
113:02,140[A  ]| As ever yet was done in Tragedy.
113:02,141[A  ]| His All for Love, and most Correct of all,
113:02,142[A  ]| Of just and vast Applause can never fail,
113:02,143[A  ]| Never! but when his Limberham I name
113:02,144[A  ]| I hide my head and blush with Friendly shame,
113:02,145[A  ]| To think the Author of both these the same:
113:02,146[A  ]| So thick the Smut is spread in every Page,
113:02,147[A  ]| 'Twas Actually the Brothel of the Stage.
113:02,148[A  ]| If (as some Critics fancy) Witty 'tis,
113:02,149[A  ]| It should be fluxed for the Obscene Disease:
113:02,150[A  ]| For as the Pox to every Part does go,
113:02,151[A  ]| So that's with Lewdness tainted through and through.
113:02,152[A  ]| Not but sometimes He to the Clouds does rise,
113:02,153[A  ]| And sails at pleasure through the Boundless Skies:
113:02,154[A  ]| Born up on Indefatigable Wings,
113:02,155[A  ]| He greatly thinks and as Divinely Sings. ~~
113:02,156[A  ]| But then his Plays in Rhyme (with all their Rules)
113:02,157[A  ]| Only chime in the Women, and their Fools,
113:02,158[A  ]| Who see with Joy their Favourite Ebb and Flow,
113:02,159[A  ]| Now above Reason, and as soon below:
113:02,160[A  ]| This part they Great, and that they Tender call;
113:02,161[A  ]| When first to last 'tis, oft, Unnatural all.
113:02,162[A  ]| His Hero, too, outdoes all Homer's Gods;
113:02,163[A  ]| For 'tis a turn of State when ever he Nods.
113:02,164[A  ]| Thus though in Time and Place they boast their Skill,
113:02,165[A  ]| For Five good Poets there's Five Hundred Ill.
113:02,166[A  ]| Fly then the reading Plays so vain as these;
113:02,167[A  ]| Such Jingling Authors nor Instruct, nor Please.
113:02,168[A  ]| But if with Profit you would reap Delight,
113:02,169[A  ]| Lay Shakespeare, Ben, and Fletcher in Your sight:
113:02,170[A  ]| Where Human Actions are with Life expressed,
113:02,171[A  ]| Virtue advanced, and Vice as much depressed.
113:02,172[A  ]| There the kind Lovers with such Zeal complain,
113:02,173[A  ]| You in their Eyes behold their inmost Pain,
113:02,174[A  ]| And pray such Truth may not be Placed in vain.
113:02,175[A  ]| There Natures secret Springs may all be viewed,
113:02,176[A  ]| And, when she doubles, how to be pursued.
113:02,177[A  ]| There Art, in all her subtle Shifts displayed,
113:02,178[A  ]| There every Humour You may see portrayed,
113:02,179[A  ]| From Legislative Fops down to the Slaves of Trade.
113:02,180[A  ]| There all the Passions, weak, you'll first espy,
113:02,181[A  ]| Hate, Envy, Fear, Revenge and Jealousy;
113:02,182[A  ]| And by what Fuel fed to flame at last so high.
113:02,183[A  ]| While Wit attending You'll for ever see,
113:02,184[A  ]| Faithful amidst this vast Variety;
113:02,185[A  ]| Like Proteus, but affording Nobler Game,
113:02,186[A  ]| She every Shape assumes, and yet Remains the same.
113:02,187[A  ]| In short, none ever Wrote or will again
113:02,188[A  ]| So useful things in such a Heavenly strain!
113:02,189[A  ]| When ever I Hamlet or Othello read,
113:02,190[A  ]| My Hair starts up, and my Nerves shrink with dread!
113:02,191[A  ]| Pity and Terror raise my Wonder higher,
113:02,192[A  ]| 'Till betwixt both I'm ready to expire!
113:02,193[A  ]| When cursed Iago cruelly I see
113:02,194[A  ]| Work up the Noble Moor to Jealousy,
113:02,195[A  ]| How cunningly the Villain weaves his Sin,
113:02,196[A  ]| And how the other takes the Poison in;
113:02,197[A  ]| Or when I hear his Godlike Romans rage,
113:02,198[A  ]| And by what just degrees He does Assuage
113:02,199[A  ]| Their Angry Mood, and by a Secret Art
113:02,200[A  ]| Return the mutual Union back to either Heart;
113:02,201[A  ]| When these and other such like Scenes I scan,
113:02,202[A  ]| 'Tis then, Great Soul, I think thee more than Man!
113:02,203[A  ]| Homer was Blind, yet could all Nature see;
113:02,204[A  ]| THOU wert unlearned, yet knew as much as He!
113:02,205[A  ]| In Timon, Lear, the Tempest, we may find
113:02,206[A  ]| Vast Images of thy Unbounded Mind:
113:02,207[A  ]| These have been altered by our Poets now,
113:02,208[A  ]| And with Success, too, that we must allow:
113:02,209[A  ]| Third Days they get when Part of THEE is shown,
113:02,210[A  ]| Which they but Seldom do when All's their own.
113:02,211[A  ]| Nor shall Philaster, The Maid's Tragedy,
113:02,212[A  ]| Thy King and no King, Fletcher, ever die,
113:02,213[A  ]| But reach, with like Applause, to late Posterity.
113:02,214[A  ]| 'Tis true, they're Censured by a Modern Wit;
113:02,215[A  ]| But he should not have blamed, or not have Writ:
113:02,216[A  ]| For after all his Scandal on them thrown,
113:02,217[A  ]| 'Tis certain they're Superior to his Own.
113:02,218[A  ]| We grant he has the Languages at Will;
113:02,219[A  ]| But some have Blessings, and they use them ill:
113:02,220[A  ]| The Usurer's Poor in spite of all his Pence,
113:02,221[A  ]| And so your Linguists may be lean of Sense.
113:02,222[A  ]| Let then this Maxim never be forgot,
113:02,223[A  ]| An Arrant Scholar is an Arrant Sot.
113:02,224[A  ]| Thee, Mighty Ben, we ever shall affect,
113:02,225[A  ]| Thee ever Mention with profound Respect,
113:02,226[A  ]| Thou most Judicious Poet! most Correct!
113:02,227[A  ]| I know not on what single Piece to fall,
113:02,228[A  ]| Sublimely Writ, and admirable all.
113:02,229[A  ]| Yet we must give Thee but thy just Desert;
113:02,230[A  ]| You had less of Nature, though much more of Art:
113:02,231[A  ]| The Springs that move our Souls thou didst not touch:
113:02,232[A  ]| But then thy Judgement, Care and Pains were such,
113:02,233[A  ]| We never yet did any Author see
113:02,234[A  ]| (Nor shall, perhaps, through all Futurity)
113:02,235[A  ]| That wrote so many Perfect Plays as Thee.
113:02,236[A  ]| Not one vain Humour thy strict view escapes,
113:02,237[A  ]| Or Folly, in their Thousand Various shapes:
113:02,238[A  ]| The Lines You drew did every Blemish hit,
113:02,239[A  ]| Your Dresses every Knave and Coxcomb fit;
113:02,240[A  ]| So vast the unbounded Wardrobe of Your WIT!
113:02,241[A  ]| Hail Sacred Bards! Hail ye Immortal Three!
113:02,242[A  ]| The British Muses Great Triumviri!
113:02,243[A  ]| Secure of Fame, You on the Stage will live
113:02,244[A  ]| Whilst we have Wits to hear, and they have Praise to give.
113:02,245[A  ]| 'Tis some where said our Courtiers speak more Wit
113:02,246[A  ]| In Conversation than these Poets Writ:
113:02,247[A  ]| Unjust Detraction! like its Author, base;
113:02,248[A  ]| And it shall here stand Branded with Disgrace.
113:02,249[A  ]| Not but they had their Failings too; ~~ but then
113:02,250[A  ]| They were such Faults as only spoke them Men;
113:02,251[A  ]| Errors which Human Frailty must admit,
113:02,252[A  ]| The Wanton Rovings of Luxurious Wit.
113:02,253[A  ]| To the Judicious plainly it appears,
113:02,254[A  ]| Their Slips were more the Age's Fault than theirs:
113:02,255[A  ]| Scarce had they ever struck upon the Shelves,
113:02,256[A  ]| If not obliged to stoop beneath themselves:
113:02,257[A  ]| Where Fletcher's loose, 'twas Writ to serve the Stage;
113:02,258[A  ]| And Shakespeare played with Words to please a Quibbling Age.
113:02,259[A  ]| If Plays you love let these Your thoughts employ;
113:02,260[A  ]| When Wit is read by Wit 'twill never cloy,
113:02,261[A  ]| No other Poets so sublimely tell
113:02,262[A  ]| The useful, happy Art of Living Well:
113:02,263[A  ]| All strewed with Morals, thick in every Page
113:02,264[A  ]| Alike Instructive both to Youth and Age.
113:02,265[A  ]| 'Tis certain on a Mistress and a Friend
113:02,266[A  ]| The chiefest Blessings of our Lives depend;
113:02,267[A  ]| And by their Draughts we may exactly find
113:02,268[A  ]| If that be Faithful, or if this be kind.
113:02,269[A  ]| There You may breathe the Air of every Clime
113:02,270[A  ]| And make Remarks on Custom, Place and Time.
113:02,271[A  ]| Through every Stage of Life You there may View
113:02,272[A  ]| What Ills to avoid, what Virtues to pursue;
113:02,273[A  ]| And so with Pleasure reap Advantage too.
113:02,274[A  ]| Unlike the Authors that have lately writ,
113:02,275[A  ]| Who in their Plays such Characters admit,
113:02,276[A  ]| So Lewd and Impious, they should Punished be
113:02,277[A  ]| Almost as much as Oates for Perjury:
113:02,278[A  ]| With equal Scandal both supply the Age;
113:02,279[A  ]| He has disgraced the Gown, and they the Stage.
113:02,280[A  ]| Think, Ye vain Scribbling Tribe, of Shirley's Fate,
113:02,281[A  ]| You that Write Farce, and You that Farce Translate;
113:02,282[A  ]| Shirley! the Scandal of the Ancient Stage,
113:02,283[A  ]| Shirley! the very Drf**y of his Age:
113:02,284[A  ]| Think how he lies in Duck-lane Shops forlorn,
113:02,285[A  ]| And never mentioned but with utmost Scorn.
113:02,286[A  ]| Think that the End of all your boasted Skill,
113:02,287[A  ]| As I presume to Prophesy it will,
113:02,288[A  ]| Justly ~~ for many of You Write as ill.
113:02,289[A  ]| Change then Your Bias and Write Satire all;
113:02,290[A  ]| Convert the little Wit You have to Gall.
113:02,291[A  ]| Care not to what a Bulk Your Labours swell;
113:02,292[A  ]| The Fame in which the Happy Few excel
113:02,293[A  ]| Lies not in Writing Much, but Writing Well.
113:02,294[A  ]| This Point obtained, attack the Impious Stage,
113:02,295[A  ]| Which You have made the Nuisance of the Age;
113:02,296[A  ]| Nor fear but in the Attempt Applause You'll get;
113:02,297[A  ]| Their Cause is Infamy, and ours is Wit.
113:02,298[A  ]| Lash the Lewd Actors ~~ but first stop Your Nose
113:02,299[A  ]| The Stench is strong; and much would discompose
113:02,300[A  ]| All but Yourselves ~~ almost as bad as those.
113:02,301[A  ]| This Thought should raise You to the Extremest Pitch.
113:02,302[A  ]| Their Laughing at the Want that makes them Rich:
113:02,303[A  ]| Not more You Labour to increase their Store,
113:02,304[A  ]| Than they, Inhumanly, to keep You Poor;
113:02,305[A  ]| Making You dance Attendance, Cap in Hand,
113:02,306[A  ]| That once, like Spaniels, were at Your Command;
113:02,307[A  ]| Would cringe and fawn, and who so kind as They?
113:02,308[A  ]| Exalted with the Promise of Your Play.
113:02,309[A  ]| But since Hart died, and the two Houses joined,
113:02,310[A  ]| What get ye? what Encouragement do ye find?
113:02,311[A  ]| Yet still You Write, and Sacrifice your Ease,
113:02,312[A  ]| And for no other Gain ~~ but what they please;
113:02,313[A  ]| Expelled the House, unless you give them way
113:02,314[A  ]| To bilk You of Two Thirds in every Play.
113:02,315[A  ]| Let nothing then Your sense of Wrong assuage;
113:02,316[A  ]| The Muse's Foes should feel the Muse's Rage:
113:02,317[A  ]| But then be just to Truth; for only that
113:02,318[A  ]| Is what the Impartial Satire levels at:
113:02,319[A  ]| Go not beyond; all base Aspersion shun;
113:02,320[A  ]| Let Justice and not Malice lead You on.
113:02,321[A  ]| To please, for once I'll give You an Essay,
113:02,322[A  ]| And in so good a Cause am proud to lead the Way.
113:02,323[A  ]| Prepare we then to go behind the Scenes,
113:02,324[A  ]| There to Survey the Copper Kings and Queens,
113:02,325[A  ]| Strutting in State, though Slaves by Nature meant,
113:02,326[A  ]| As they were truly those they Represent:
113:02,327[A  ]| But most the Women are Audacious seen,
113:02,328[A  ]| All Paint their Outsides and all Pox within.
113:02,329[A  ]| Here 'tis our Quality are fond of such,
113:02,330[A  ]| Which even their Wiser Footmen scorn to Touch:
113:02,331[A  ]| Divested of the Robes in which they're Cased,
113:02,332[A  ]| A Goat's as sweet, and Monkeys are as Chaste.
113:02,333[A  ]| Not that they want, when they their Looks would Arm,
113:02,334[A  ]| The Art to make, or keep their Cullies warm.
113:02,335[A  ]| With faint Denials they inflame Desire,
113:02,336[A  ]| Till the hot Youth burns in his Amorous Fire,
113:02,337[A  ]| Then wantonly into their Shifts retire:
113:02,338[A  ]| Spurred on by Lust the Dunce pursues the Dame,
113:02,339[A  ]| Careless of Health, and thoughtless of his Fame:
113:02,340[A  ]| Their Nightly She Majestically rules;
113:02,341[A  ]| Like Gallic Princes, all her Subjects, Fools. ~~
113:02,342[A  ]| But talking of their Shifts I mourn, my Friend,
113:02,343[A  ]| I mourn thy sudden, and disastrous End:
113:02,344[A  ]| Here 'twas You did Resign Your Worthy Breath,
113:02,345[A  ]| And fell the Victim of a Cruel Death:
113:02,346[A  ]| The Shame, the Guilt, the Horror and Disgrace,
113:02,347[A  ]| Light on the Punk, the Murderer, and the Place.
113:02,348[A  ]| What Satire can enough the Villains Sting
113:02,349[A  ]| That fight and stab for so abhorred a Thing?
113:02,350[A  ]| A ten times cast off Drab, a Hackney Whore,
113:02,351[A  ]| Who when She has plied the Stews and tired a Score,
113:02,352[A  ]| Insatiate as a Charnel, yawns for more.
113:02,353[A  ]| Her every Act in the Venereal Wars
113:02,354[A  ]| Who ever would count, as well may count the Stars.
113:02,355[A  ]| So Insolent! there never was a Dowd
113:02,356[A  ]| So very basely born so very Proud:
113:02,357[A  ]| Yet Covetous; She'll Prostitute with any,
113:02,358[A  ]| Rather than waive the Getting of a Penny:
113:02,359[A  ]| For the whole Harvest of her Youthful Crimes
113:02,360[A  ]| Most frugally she hoards for Future Times,
113:02,361[A  ]| That then her Life may be with Luxury led,
113:02,362[A  ]| The hattered Carcase with Abundance fed;
113:02,363[A  ]| So damns the Soul to get the Body Bread.
113:02,364[A  ]| Yet in her Morals this is thought the best,
113:02,365[A  ]| And it is only Hell can Match the rest.
113:02,366[A  ]| An Actress now so fine a thing is thought,
113:02,367[A  ]| A Place at Court less eagerly is sought:
113:02,368[A  ]| As soon as in that Roll the Punks engrossed.
113:02,369[A  ]| Some Reverend Bawd does thus the Drab accost,
113:02,370[A  ]| Now is the Time You may Your Fortune raise,
113:02,371[A  ]| And meet at once with Pleasure, Wealth and Praise;
113:02,372[A  ]| 'Tis now, like Nell you may Immortal grow,
113:02,373[A  ]| Famed for Your Impudence, and Issue too;
113:02,374[A  ]| Posterity, if well You Play Your Part,
113:02,375[A  ]| Will call You Prudent, and Your Rise, Desert. ~~
113:02,376[A  ]| But the true Sense is this: ~~ 'Tis now your time
113:02,377[A  ]| (For only Virtuous Fools neglect their Prime)
113:02,378[A  ]| With open Blandishments and secret Art
113:02,379[A  ]| To glide into some Keeping Coxcomb's Heart,
113:02,380[A  ]| Who neither Sense or Manhood understands;
113:02,381[A  ]| And Jilt Him of his Patrimonial Lands:
113:02,382[A  ]| Others this Way have reached the top Extremes;
113:02,383[A  ]| Think of Ned Bush ~~ then think of Mistress James:
113:02,384[A  ]| Some such like Cully to Your Share will fall;
113:02,385[A  ]| The Knight has nothing and the Punk has All:
113:02,386[A  ]| 'Twas by this Conduct B**y grew so Rich;
113:02,387[A  ]| Preferment You can't miss and be a B**
113:02,388[A  ]| The Advice is took; and she hurries on,
113:02,389[A  ]| Fond to be kept, and in her Chariot shown;
113:02,390[A  ]| While Vulgar Drabs must meanly Traipse the Town.
113:02,391[A  ]| Against the Consequence she shuts her Eyes,
113:02,392[A  ]| For none at once were ever lewd and Wise:
113:02,393[A  ]| Thoughtless (like merry Andrew in his Pride)
113:02,394[A  ]| The higher Mounted we the more deride.
113:02,395[A  ]| In short the Stage (as Dorset-Court assures)
113:02,396[A  ]| Is but a Hot-Bed raised to force up Whores:
113:02,397[A  ]| Nor can the Soil so fast their Growth supply,
113:02,398[A  ]| As City, Camp and Country crowd to buy.
113:02,399[A  ]| How great a Beast is Man! ~~ A Virtuous Dame,
113:02,400[A  ]| Unblemished in her Fortune and her Fame,
113:02,401[A  ]| They fly, as if she were the worst of Harms,
113:02,402[A  ]| And think a thrice Fluxed Actress has more Charms.
113:02,403[A  ]| Yet though so much they slight the Chaste and Fair,
113:02,404[A  ]| No other Curses may they ever share,
113:02,405[A  ]| But only to Continue ~~ what they Are.
113:02,406[A  ]| Now for the Men; whom we alike shall find
113:02,407[A  ]| As Loose, as Vile, and Brutal in their Kind:
113:02,408[A  ]| Here one who lately, as an Author notes,
113:02,409[A  ]| Hawked through the Town, and cried Gazettes and Votes,
113:02,410[A  ]| Is grown a Man of such Accomplished Parts,
113:02,411[A  ]| He thinks all Praise beneath his just Deserts:
113:02,412[A  ]| Rich as a Jew, yet though so wealthy known,
113:02,413[A  ]| He rasps the Under-Actors to the Bone.
113:02,414[A  ]| Not Lewis more Tyrannically Rules,
113:02,415[A  ]| Than He among this Herd of Knaves and Fools.
113:02,416[A  ]| Among his other Virtues, never was Elf
113:02,417[A  ]| So very much Enamoured of Himself;
113:02,418[A  ]| But let Him if he pleases think the best
113:02,419[A  ]| Upon that Head; and we'll Supply the rest.
113:02,420[A  ]| What if some Scribblers to his Sense submit?
113:02,421[A  ]| He is not therefore only Judge of Wit:
113:02,422[A  ]| Approving such, betrays a Vicious Taste:
113:02,423[A  ]| For few can tell what will for ever last,
113:02,424[A  ]| If all could Judge of Wit that think they can,
113:02,425[A  ]| The Vilest Ass would be the Wittiest Man.
113:02,426[A  ]| In Company, with either Youth or Age,
113:02,427[A  ]| He has all the Gum and Stiffness of the Stage:
113:02,428[A  ]| Dotard! and thinks his haughty Movements there,
113:02,429[A  ]| A Rule for his Behaviour every where.
113:02,430[A  ]| To this we'll add his Lucre, Lust and Pride,
113:02,431[A  ]| And Knavery, which in vain He strives to hide,
113:02,432[A  ]| For through the thin Disguise the Cankered Heart is spied.
113:02,433[A  ]| 'Tis true, his Action Merits just Applause;
113:02,434[A  ]| But lies the Fame most in the Effect or Cause?
113:02,435[A  ]| If from good Instruments fine Music springs,
113:02,436[A  ]| The Credit's chiefly his that tuned the Strings:
113:02,437[A  ]| Thus, though they Speak, they speak Another's Thought;
113:02,438[A  ]| As Monkeys Grin, and Parrots learn by Rote.
113:02,439[A  ]| Another You may see, a Comic Spark,
113:02,440[A  ]| That would be Lacy, but never hits the Mark,
113:02,441[A  ]| Not but his Making Sport must be confessed,
113:02,442[A  ]| For where the Author fails, he is Himself the Jest.
113:02,443[A  ]| To be well laughed at is his whole Delight,
113:02,444[A  ]| And there, indeed, we do the Coxcomb Right.
113:02,445[A  ]| Though the Comedian makes the Audience roar,
113:02,446[A  ]| When off the Stage, the Booby tickles more:
113:02,447[A  ]| When such are born some easy Planet rules,
113:02,448[A  ]| And Nature, dozing, makes a Run of Fools.
113:02,449[A  ]| A Third, a punning, drolling, bantering Ass,
113:02,450[A  ]| Cocks up, and fain would for an Author pass.
113:02,451[A  ]| His Face for Farce Nature at first designed,
113:02,452[A  ]| And match it, too, with as Burlesque a Mind:
113:02,453[A  ]| Made him, as vilely born, so careless bred,
113:02,454[A  ]| And gave Him Heels of Cork, but Brains of Lead.
113:02,455[A  ]| To speak them all were tedious to discuss;
113:02,456[A  ]| But if You'll Lump them, they're exactly thus:
113:02,457[A  ]| A Pimping, Sponging, Idle, Impious Race,
113:02,458[A  ]| The Shame of Virtue, and Despair of Grace:
113:02,459[A  ]| A Nest of Lechers worse than Sodom bore,
113:02,460[A  ]| And justly Merit to be Punished more,
113:02,461[A  ]| Diseased, in Debt, and every Moment dunned;
113:02,462[A  ]| By all Good Christians loathed, and their own Kindred shunned.
113:02,463[A  ]| To say more of them would be wasting Time;
113:02,464[A  ]| For it with Justice may be thought a Crime
113:02,465[A  ]| To let such Rubbish have a Place in Rhyme.
113:02,466[A  ]| Now hear a Wonder and 'twill well declare
113:02,467[A  ]| How resolutely lewd some Women are;
113:02,468[A  ]| For while these Men we thus severely use,
113:02,469[A  ]| Our Ladies differ hugely from the Muse;
113:02,470[A  ]| Supply their wants, and raise them from Distress,
113:02,471[A  ]| Advanced even for their very Wickedness.
113:02,472[A  ]| Goodman himself, an Infidel professed,
113:02,473[A  ]| With Plays reads Cl---d nightly to her Rest:
113:02,474[A  ]| Nay in Her Coach she whirls Him up and down,
113:02,475[A  ]| And Publishes her Passion to the Town,
113:02,476[A  ]| As if 'twere her Delight to make it known:
113:02,477[A  ]| And known it shall be, in my Pointed Rhymes
113:02,478[A  ]| Stand Infamous to all succeeding Times.
113:02,479[A  ]| 'Twere Endless Work, describing every Vice
113:02,480[A  ]| That from the Play-house takes Immediate Rise,
113:02,481[A  ]| The Devil has on Earth no Magazine
113:02,482[A  ]| That opens to us such an Impious Scene,
113:02,483[A  ]| Or where, for Store, he lays more Lewdness in.
113:02,484[A  ]| Not in the Inns of Court we hardly see,
113:02,485[A  ]| At once, a Vaster Reach of Villainy;
113:02,486[A  ]| Though with the Lawyer the Belief does reign ~~
113:02,487[A  ]| No Hell but Poverty, nor God but Gain.
113:02,488[A  ]| Here Murder, Lust and Blasphemy are found,
113:02,489[A  ]| And all the Crimes with which the Times abound,
113:02,490[A  ]| To wheel in Circles an Eternal Round.
113:02,491[A  ]| As the New-River does from Islington,
113:02,492[A  ]| Through several Pipes, serve half the Spacious Town,
113:02,493[A  ]| So the Luxurious Lewdness of the Stage,
113:02,494[A  ]| Drained off, feeds half the Brothels of the Age.
113:02,495[A  ]| In short (nor will it bear the least Debate)
113:02,496[A  ]| Unless these Vices we could Regulate,
113:02,497[A  ]| The Play-house is the Scandal of the State.
113:02,498[A  ]| But here it was (with drowsy Fumes oppressed)
113:02,499[A  ]| I dropped my Pen, and nodded into Rest;
113:02,500[A  ]| When Fancy, willing to Improve my Spleen,
113:02,501[A  ]| Set in my View this Visionary Scene.
113:03,000['  ]| <The Third Part.>
113:03,001[A  ]| On a Sweet Verdant Plain methought I stood,
113:03,002[A  ]| Just by a Hill crowned with a Spacious Wood:
113:03,003[A  ]| One lonely Path (which now I'd entered in)
113:03,004[A  ]| Led from the Lawn up through the Silvan Scene.
113:03,005[A  ]| On Pleased I went directly to the Grove,
113:03,006[A  ]| The Silent kind Retreat of Rural Love.
113:03,007[A  ]| The Rising Sun had now its Entrance made
113:03,008[A  ]| Ten thousand ways, and Chequered all the Shade.
113:03,009[A  ]| Thick lay the Dew, and, just like Diamonds Bright,
113:03,010[A  ]| Sent through the leafy Arch reflected Light;
113:03,011[A  ]| High on the Boughs were perched the Feathered Choir,
113:03,012[A  ]| Their more Ambitious Notes ascending higher:
113:03,013[A  ]| Each Emulating each, and placed apart,
113:03,014[A  ]| Tried all the sweet Contentions of their Art:
113:03,015[A  ]| Now I observed the Tuneful Challenge here
113:03,016[A  ]| Then how in Heavenly Strains 'twas Answered there;
113:03,017[A  ]| Neither the best, yet both above Compare.
113:03,018[A  ]| Meanwhile, as with Design, a Balmy Breeze,
113:03,019[A  ]| Rising and falling Gently by degrees,
113:03,020[A  ]| Fanned all the Sweets of Flora through the Trees.
113:03,021[A  ]| Nothing there wanted but the Fruit of Gold
113:03,022[A  ]| To vie with the Hesperian Grove of old.
113:03,023[A  ]| Ah! Heaven, I cried, what Happiness there dwells
113:03,024[A  ]| In Humble Huts and unfrequented Cells!
113:03,025[A  ]| In some low Cottage by this Copse's side,
113:03,026[A  ]| How safely does the Country Swain reside!
113:03,027[A  ]| How undisturbed when down to Rest he lies!
113:03,028[A  ]| How Joyful when the Glorious Sun does rise!
113:03,029[A  ]| This Music in his Ears, this Scene before his Eyes!
113:03,030[A  ]| Ah! might I once so blest a Fortune know,
113:03,031[A  ]| How Gladly I'd the Chase of Fame forgo ~~
113:03,032[A  ]| No more I would the Stingy Great rehearse,
113:03,033[A  ]| And sing their Names in Panegyric Verse:
113:03,034[A  ]| No more I would attempt the Tragic Strain,
113:03,035[A  ]| When (after all the Expense of Time and Pain)
113:03,036[A  ]| One Female Player's Breath makes all my Labours vain.
113:03,037[A  ]| With Contemplations such as these I passed
113:03,038[A  ]| Through the Steep Glade, and reached the Top at last;
113:03,039[A  ]| Then, looking down, beheld below a Scene
113:03,040[A  ]| Of Booths and People straggling on the Green;
113:03,041[A  ]| A various Mixture of each Sex intent
113:03,042[A  ]| I drinking saw, and wondered what it meant.
113:03,043[A  ]| Advancing nearer, soon the Cause appeared
113:03,044[A  ]| That drew together the Promiscuous Herd;
113:03,045[A  ]| 'Twas Water, Dullwych Waters, which they quaffed
113:03,046[A  ]| As Porters do their Belch ~~ a Pint a Draught:
113:03,047[A  ]| Till gorged at length, in Squadrons they withdraw
113:03,048[A  ]| To emit their Grief, ~~ nor Decency a Law:
113:03,049[A  ]| So thick they under every Bush appear,
113:03,050[A  ]| You'd verily believe the Town was clear,
113:03,051[A  ]| And all its filthy Rabble Purging here.
113:03,052[A  ]| Such Mineral Fountains other Bards may sing;
113:03,053[A  ]| To me they're all beneath a Common Spring.
113:03,054[A  ]| If Instinct never for the worse does choose,
113:03,055[A  ]| Why should we drink what Birds and Beasts refuse?
113:03,056[A  ]| With Crudities the Internal Parts they fill,
113:03,057[A  ]| And the bleak Poison through the Blood instil,
113:03,058[A  ]| Weaken the Sick, and make the Healthy Ill;
113:03,059[A  ]| For, after all, we must new Methods find
113:03,060[A  ]| To purge away the Dregs they leave behind.
113:03,061[A  ]| The Doctors say, indeed they'll wonders do; ~~
113:03,062[A  ]| But Mountebanks commend their Ratsbane too.
113:03,063[A  ]| In short the Waters to Physicians are
113:03,064[A  ]| The same as Rogue-Attorneys to the Bar;
113:03,065[A  ]| These work for Law, and those for Physic raise,
113:03,066[A  ]| And so will do to all Succeeding Days,
113:03,067[A  ]| While there the Client, here the Patient Pays.
113:03,068[A  ]| But grant the Doctor all he'd have, and more;
113:03,069[A  ]| Why must those Suit the Rich and these the Poor,
113:03,070[A  ]| When Nature, in the Structure of our Frame,
113:03,071[A  ]| Has of one Flesh made all Mankind the same?
113:03,072[A  ]| The Cits are bid to Epsom to Resort,
113:03,073[A  ]| And Tunbridge is Prescribed for those at Court;
113:03,074[A  ]| While Dullwych only serves for those Degrees
113:03,075[A  ]| That cannot rise to be Destroyed for Fees:
113:03,076[A  ]| For grosser Alum, being less Genteel,
113:03,077[A  ]| Must not pretend to vie with those of Steel:
113:03,078[A  ]| To ease the Rich, thus, Urine is the Rule,
113:03,079[A  ]| And Poverty must be Relieved by Stool.
113:03,080[A  ]| O Dotage! which no Age but ours could be
113:03,081[A  ]| So fond of, as distinctly not to see;
113:03,082[A  ]| For whatsoever the Water-Mongers think
113:03,083[A  ]| The Virtues are of this their Mineral Drink,
113:03,084[A  ]| If heedfully the true Effects they'd mind
113:03,085[A  ]| Of being at the Wells, they'd quickly find
113:03,086[A  ]| The Ease they feel, and all the Health they share,
113:03,087[A  ]| Is only due (while they continue there)
113:03,088[A  ]| To Temperance, Exercise, and Country Air.
113:03,089[A  ]| Turning my Head, and eager to be gone,
113:03,090[A  ]| Who should I see methought, but Hains alone?
113:03,091[A  ]| And all alone poor Joseph well might be
113:03,092[A  ]| Who, (bating those of his Fraternity,)
113:03,093[A  ]| Could not on Earth find Company to suit
113:03,094[A  ]| A Name so Vile, and Life so Dissolute.
113:03,095[A  ]| I date thee Fool, cried I, this very Hour,
113:03,096[A  ]| Of all Mankind what need hast thou to Scour?
113:03,097[A  ]| Nor Supped last Night, nor broke thy Fast to Day
113:03,098[A  ]| What is there in thee left to Purge away?
113:03,099[A  ]| But why on Sunday Morning dost thou come?
113:03,100[A  ]| The Day that all thy Brethren stay at home.
113:03,101[A  ]| Could on thy Friendly care not one Prevail
113:03,102[A  ]| To fetch him Physic, and to warm him Ale?
113:03,103[A  ]| The Church they leave to those it more does please,
113:03,104[A  ]| Their Souls of less concern than their Disease.
113:03,105[A  ]| In short, what all the Week they Whore and Swill,
113:03,106[A  ]| They Rectify to Day with Peter's Pill.
113:03,107[A  ]| Faith 'tis a just Remark, quoth Honest Joe;
113:03,108[A  ]| A Jest has twice the odds for being true.
113:03,109[A  ]| But if you will your Lugs this way incline,
113:03,110[A  ]| I'll let You know this Morning's whole Design.
113:03,111[A  ]| Our Converse with our selves, I freely own,
113:03,112[A  ]| To be, perhaps, the worst the World has known;
113:03,113[A  ]| The Themes we Relish with the truest Gust
113:03,114[A  ]| Is Guile, Aspersion, Blasphemy and Lust:
113:03,115[A  ]| If such a thing on Earth as Hell there be,
113:03,116[A  ]| The Stage is Tophet ~~ and its Fiends are we.
113:03,117[A  ]| First then, in Truth, I hither did Repair
113:03,118[A  ]| To Bleach my Brimstone off in wholesome Air.
113:03,119[A  ]| Next I'd some Gallery Tickets to dispose,
113:03,120[A  ]| And in this Place I never my Labour lose:
113:03,121[A  ]| Here fifteen Pence I've always down and down,
113:03,122[A  ]| For what would yield me but a Hog in Town.
113:03,123[A  ]| And last in my Return I seldom fail
113:03,124[A  ]| To get my Swill of Dullwych College Ale.
113:03,125[A  ]| These little Shifts, grown useless for the Stage,
113:03,126[A  ]| I'm forced to follow to sustain my Age.
113:03,127[A  ]| Our Sharers, now so insolent are they,
113:03,128[A  ]| We Under-Actors must like Slaves obey;
113:03,129[A  ]| And toil and drudge, while they divide the Pay.
113:03,130[A  ]| Not Busby more Tyrannically Rules,
113:03,131[A  ]| Than Bet---n among his Knaves and Fools:
113:03,132[A  ]| But most to me is his ill Nature shown,
113:03,133[A  ]| Because my Voice is with my Palate gone:
113:03,134[A  ]| Not that I faster than the rest decline;
113:03,135[A  ]| Both Men and Women in my Failing join,
113:03,136[A  ]| And B---y's Breath is grown as rank as mine.
113:03,137[A  ]| Uneasy with my Company, I here
113:03,138[A  ]| Would have took leave, and gave a Civil Leer.
113:03,139[A  ]| No hold, quoth Joe, my Tickets all are gone,
113:03,140[A  ]| And if you please, I'll wait on you to Town:
113:03,141[A  ]| Or if you'll take a Sermon by the Way,
113:03,142[A  ]| (For at the College 'tis their Preaching Day)
113:03,143[A  ]| I shall be much Obliged by such a Stay.
113:03,144[A  ]| With all my Heart, cried I; I'm glad your Mind
113:03,145[A  ]| Has took that Bent; ~~ and keep it so inclined:
113:03,146[A  ]| You'll find more Comfort in one Hour of Prayer
113:03,147[A  ]| Than all the Clappings of the Theatre,
113:03,148[A  ]| Though you should yet enjoy them Twenty Year.
113:03,149[A  ]| So on I passed, now first, and now behind,
113:03,150[A  ]| Still giving him the Lee-ward of the Wind;
113:03,151[A  ]| Avoiding so the Breathings of his Ghest,
113:03,152[A  ]| Which he so frankly owned were not the best.
113:03,153[A  ]| At last, quoth Joe, you by and by shall see
113:03,154[A  ]| The Gift of one of our Society:
113:03,155[A  ]| Nor Greece nor Rome its Equal ever showed,
113:03,156[A  ]| So Nobly is it built, so Liberally endowed.
113:03,157[A  ]| The Poet may Instruct and Please the Sense,
113:03,158[A  ]| And worthy Schemes may be deduced from thence,
113:03,159[A  ]| But 'tis a Barren Good that costs him no Expense:
113:03,160[A  ]| Our Allen did a nobler Pattern set,
113:03,161[A  ]| But not one Bard has imitated yet.
113:03,162[A  ]| His Name, said I, we to the Clouds should raise
113:03,163[A  ]| The least it merits's Everlasting Praise:
113:03,164[A  ]| But most unjustly on the Bards you fall:
113:03,165[A  ]| Rich though he was, from them he raised it all.
113:03,166[A  ]| Not to disgrace his Virtue, or his Wit,
113:03,167[A  ]| What had he got, had Shakespeare never writ?
113:03,168[A  ]| As to our selves, had we the Players' Gains,
113:03,169[A  ]| (And more our Right it is, as more our Pains)
113:03,170[A  ]| We had exceeded all that he has done,
113:03,171[A  ]| And gave the World an Instance, ~~ more than one:
113:03,172[A  ]| Not, but 'tis Nobler yet, to form the Mind
113:03,173[A  ]| To Virtue, ~~ and to keep it so inclined,
113:03,174[A  ]| (The Work for which we solely were designed)
113:03,175[A  ]| Than 'tis the Loftiest Edifice to build,
113:03,176[A  ]| Or to Endow; ~~ and Nobler Fruit 'twill yield.
113:03,177[A  ]| His Charity, which justly we extol,
113:03,178[A  ]| Does but Respect the Body; ~~ Ours the Soul:
113:03,179[A  ]| Twit us not then that we no Fabrics raise,
113:03,180[A  ]| When from a better Claim we hold our Praise;
113:03,181[A  ]| Nor think the Bard that does Exhaust his Sense,
113:03,182[A  ]| At least that culls the richest Precepts thence,
113:03,183[A  ]| To teach Mankind, can write without Expense:
113:03,184[A  ]| Could we our Purses wide as Allen strain,
113:03,185[A  ]| 'Tis nobler yet to spend upon the Brain.
113:03,186[A  ]| In Contemplation rapt above the Skies,
113:03,187[A  ]| We look on Yellow Dirt with heedless Eyes:
113:03,188[A  ]| What truly Christian Bard would Gold adore,
113:03,189[A  ]| When he may teach Contentment to the Poor.
113:03,190[A  ]| And show the World the Rich have no Excuse
113:03,191[A  ]| That put not Money to its Genuine Use?
113:03,192[A  ]| Like Him we have mentioned, who employed his Store
113:03,193[A  ]| To breed up Friendless Youth and feed the Aged Poor.
113:03,194[A  ]| But least of all you on the Muse should throw
113:03,195[A  ]| Your Scurrile Jests, that keep her Sons so low:
113:03,196[A  ]| How can our Suffering Tribe but choose to be
113:03,197[A  ]| The Sons of Hardship and Necessity?
113:03,198[A  ]| When, let our Plays be acted half an Age,
113:03,199[A  ]| We have but a third Day's Gleaning of the Stage?
113:03,200[A  ]| The rest is yours: ~~ and hence your Sharers rise,
113:03,201[A  ]| And once above us, all our Aid despise:
113:03,202[A  ]| Hence has your Osmin drawn his Wealthy Lot,
113:03,203[A  ]| And hence has Zara all her Thousands got:
113:03,204[A  ]| Zara! that Proud, Opprobrious, Shameless Jilt,
113:03,205[A  ]| Who like a Devil justifies her Guilt,
113:03,206[A  ]| And feels no least Remorse for all the Blood she has spilt
113:03,207[A  ]| But prithee Joe, since so she boasts her Blood,
113:03,208[A  ]| And few have yet her Lineage understood,
113:03,209[A  ]| Tell me, in short, the Harlot's true Descent,
113:03,210[A  ]| 'Twill be a Favour that you shan't repent.
113:03,211[A  ]| Truly said Joe, as now the Matter goes,
113:03,212[A  ]| What I shall speak must be beneath the Rose.
113:03,213[A  ]| Her Mother was a common Strumpet known,
113:03,214[A  ]| Her Father half the Rabble of the Town.
113:03,215[A  ]| Begot by Casual and Promiscuous Lust,
113:03,216[A  ]| She still retains the same Promiscuous Gust.
113:03,217[A  ]| For Birth, into a Suburb Cellar hurled,
113:03,218[A  ]| The Strumpet came up Stairs into the World.
113:03,219[A  ]| At Twelve she'd freely in Coition join,
113:03,220[A  ]| And far surpassed the Honours of her Line.
113:03,221[A  ]| As her Conception was a Complication,
113:03,222[A  ]| So its Produce, alike, did serve the Nation;
113:03,223[A  ]| Till by a Black, Successive Course of Ills,
113:03,224[A  ]| She reached the Noble Post which now she fills;
113:03,225[A  ]| Where, Messalina like, she treads the Stage,
113:03,226[A  ]| And all Enjoys, but nothing can Assuage!
113:03,227[A  ]| Thus towards the College we went jogging on:
113:03,228[A  ]| Arrived, we found the Service just begun: ~~
113:03,229[A  ]| Step in quoth Joe; ~~ I'll come to you anon:
113:03,230[A  ]| The Cook and Butler I must visit first;
113:03,231[A  ]| For Hunger one, and the other for my Thirst.
113:03,232[A  ]| Let not your Corpse, said I, be yet your Care;
113:03,233[A  ]| Your better Part should first be treated here:
113:03,234[A  ]| If lasting Ease you'd to the Body find,
113:03,235[A  ]| Let there be nothing wanting to the Mind.
113:03,236[A  ]| My Paunch, said he, knows not what Doctrine means; ~~
113:03,237[A  ]| You take the Stage; ~~ I'll go behind the Scenes.
113:03,238[A  ]| Sighing I entered; ~~ when a kind Surprise:
113:03,239[A  ]| Did entertain at once my Ears and Eyes:
113:03,240[A  ]| The Organ's Solemn Music sounding there,
113:03,241[A  ]| The Singing Boys' Responding Voices here,
113:03,242[A  ]| The Master and the Warden's grave Deport,
113:03,243[A  ]| The Strict Devoutness of the meaner Sort,
113:03,244[A  ]| The Management of all did soon inspire
113:03,245[A  ]| My Soul with Joy! when joining with the Choir,
113:03,246[A  ]| In Prayer and Praises I performed my Part;
113:03,247[A  ]| Nor less, I hope, my Ardour at the Heart.
113:03,248[A  ]| But now the Service and the Sermon done,
113:03,249[A  ]| (Whilst I to render Thanks was kneeling down)
113:03,250[A  ]| Methought they of a sudden all were gone:
113:03,251[A  ]| Surprised at the Event, I gazed about;
113:03,252[A  ]| Saw none within, nor saw no Passage out.
113:03,253[A  ]| 'Tis well, said I, ~~ and blest! O blest be they,
113:03,254[A  ]| That in this Sacred Court delight to stay!
113:03,255[A  ]| O Time! how smoothly then thou glidest away!
113:03,256[A  ]| When nothing Anxious in the Soul is found,
113:03,257[A  ]| But Faith and Practice take their Equal Round;
113:03,258[A  ]| When every Word a Pious Rapture fires,
113:03,259[A  ]| And makes itself a Heaven, while it to Heaven aspires!
113:03,260[A  ]| Thus walking up and down, to thought Resigned,
113:03,261[A  ]| At last the founder came into my Mind;
113:03,262[A  ]| Nor could I my Conceptions then contain,
113:03,263[A  ]| (Though something for the Sacred Place too vain,)
113:03,264[A  ]| But broke out loud in this Ecstatic Strain.
113:03,265[A  ]| O happy! happy and Instructive Age
113:03,266[A  ]| When Shakespeare Writ, and Allen trod the Stage!
113:03,267[A  ]| To Emulation fired, 'twas hard to tell
113:03,268[A  ]| Which of the famous two did most Excel.
113:03,269[A  ]| But O thou Darling Poet of our Isle,
113:03,270[A  ]| And thou the Erecter of this Sacred Pile,
113:03,271[A  ]| How would you Blush were you but now to see,
113:03,272[A  ]| Both Plays' and Players' black Impiety!
113:03,273[A  ]| And wish you had never raised the Infant Stage,
113:03,274[A  ]| Since grown so black and Sinful in her Age:
113:03,275[A  ]| With Vice she would Instruct, with Vice Delight;
113:03,276[A  ]| And all she does Pervert, that hear, that Act, that Write.
113:03,277[A  ]| 'Twas here, methought, an Awful Form appeared
113:03,278[A  ]| In a long Gown, and Venerable Beard.
113:03,279[A  ]| And who art Thou, he cried, that thus dost Praise
113:03,280[A  ]| The Bards and Actors of the former Days?
113:03,281[A  ]| And what are now their Follies and their Crimes,
113:03,282[A  ]| With which they so infest the Present Times?
113:03,283[A  ]| I am, said I, Apollo's meanest Son,
113:03,284[A  ]| Who yet the Vices of his Greatest shun;
113:03,285[A  ]| One, that with other Bards this Good design,
113:03,286[A  ]| Plays to reform and make the Stage Divine:
113:03,287[A  ]| No Vicious Plots we'd on the Age obtrude,
113:03,288[A  ]| On Morals built, they should be so pursued:
113:03,289[A  ]| To Truth and Sense the Audience we'd Conduct,
113:03,290[A  ]| And first we'd Please, that we might next Instruct;
113:03,291[A  ]| That Centre where the Drama still should tend,
113:03,292[A  ]| As first 'twas purposed for no other End.
113:03,293[A  ]| But we are opposed by such an impious Train
113:03,294[A  ]| Of Players, as make all our Studies vain;
113:03,295[A  ]| Nothing they'll Act, and nothing they esteem
113:03,296[A  ]| That does not Virtue shame, and God Blaspheme.
113:03,297[A  ]| Instead of such as did this Fabric build,
113:03,298[A  ]| The Stage does now a Set of Monsters yield;
113:03,299[A  ]| So openly Debauched, So flaming Ill,
113:03,300[A  ]| As scarce, perhaps, are to be matched in Hell!
113:03,301[A  ]| Nor does this Censure only touch the Young,
113:03,302[A  ]| But does alike to those of Years belong;
113:03,303[A  ]| Who, rich as Jews, no other Pious Use
113:03,304[A  ]| Make of their Wealth, but Virtue to Seduce:
113:03,305[A  ]| Not Allen more did on this Pile bestow
113:03,306[A  ]| Than they on Strumpets, or to make them so;
113:03,307[A  ]| Witness Mill-Bank, where Osmin keeps his Trulls
113:03,308[A  ]| With what, by sharing, he exacts from Fools.
114:01,000@@@@@| 
114:01,000['  ]| <Gould, Robert: Presbytery Rough-drawn (1683)>
114:01,000['  ]| <A SATYR. In Contemplation of The late Rebellion.>
114:01,001[A  ]| Rouse, Rouse, my Muse; why dost thou silent lie
114:01,002[A  ]| When Truth's oppressed, and Mischief soars so high!
114:01,003[A  ]| Rouse then, and lash with thy severest Rage
114:01,004[A  ]| The ingratitude of a Rebellious Age.
114:01,005[A  ]| Oh Albion, (to all sense of Glory dead)
114:01,006[A  ]| Whither is all thy ancient Grandeur fled?
114:01,007[A  ]| That Grandeur, which through France in Triumph flew,
114:01,008[A  ]| And only Came, and Saw, and did Subdue:
114:01,009[A  ]| In vain vast Bulwarks, and strong Walls oppose
114:01,010[A  ]| Against a Fate, which was more strong than those;
114:01,011[A  ]| A Fate, by which our Victories flew like Wind,
114:01,012[A  ]| And left swift Fame panting for Breath behind.
114:01,013[A  ]| That Grandeur which once met the Pride of Spain,
114:01,014[A  ]| Like a huge City, floating on the Main;
114:01,015[A  ]| Met it, and to the bottom sunk it down:
114:01,016[A  ]| Oh ancient Glory! Oh unmatched Renown!
114:01,017[A  ]| And Oh the uncertain state of all that's high!
114:01,018[A  ]| Those Masts which lately seemed to touch the Sky,
114:01,019[A  ]| Now low in the vast Ocean's Womb do lie;
114:01,020[A  ]| And where the Armada did its Pride display,
114:01,021[A  ]| Fishes resort, and wanton Dolphins play:
114:01,022[A  ]| Hard Fate! and yet they're happier far than we,
114:01,023[A  ]| From all the sad events of Discord free;
114:01,024[A  ]| For there they lie secure, and now no more
114:01,025[A  ]| Will mount the foaming Waves as heretofore,
114:01,026[A  ]| But quite beneath them, never hear them roar.
114:01,027[A  ]| Nor stopped thy Genius here; but with the Sun,
114:01,028[A  ]| Round the vast Circuit of the Globe has run,
114:01,029[A  ]| And came home covered with the Laurels won.
114:01,030[A  ]| But Ah! what art thou now become? a Den
114:01,031[A  ]| Of Murderers, Monsters, and perfidious Men:
114:01,032[A  ]| What Victories now dost thou achieve or win?
114:01,033[A  ]| As once in Arms, so now thou art chief in Sin,
114:01,034[A  ]| Hissed at without, and damned to Strife within.
114:01,035[A  ]| Happy the Times, when Man rejoiced to pay
114:01,036[A  ]| All just Obedience to the Regal Sway;
114:01,037[A  ]| But now Rebellious Rage is grown so high,
114:01,038[A  ]| Man's Cruelty does Savage Beasts out-vie;
114:01,039[A  ]| For they all Tremble when the Lions Roar,
114:01,040[A  ]| And grow as Tame as they were Wild before:
114:01,041[A  ]| To their great Chiefs they all Obedience pay:
114:01,042[A  ]| In which they prove us greater Beasts than they:
114:01,043[A  ]| For Man, base Man, will no Obedience own,
114:01,044[A  ]| But in Contempt of it their Kings dethrone,
114:01,045[A  ]| Although they know (as what they ought to fear)
114:01,046[A  ]| They Stab at God in his Vicegerents here.
114:01,047[A  ]| The Treacherous Jews that never stopped at Ills,
114:01,048[A  ]| But traced the Bent of their unbounded Wills;
114:01,049[A  ]| Though one (perhaps) drunk with Ambitious Rage,
114:01,050[A  ]| (For Villains are produced in every Age)
114:01,051[A  ]| All ties of God and Nature might disown;
114:01,052[A  ]| And on his Sovereign's Blood erect his Throne:
114:01,053[A  ]| Yet I never read the Factious Chiefs did join,
114:01,054[A  ]| Associated in one Damned Design;
114:01,055[A  ]| Or that they were such vain fantastic things,
114:01,056[A  ]| To think that God designed them all for Kings:
114:01,057[A  ]| As our Religious Rebels did of late
114:01,058[A  ]| When they overthrew the long established State,
114:01,059[A  ]| And made three Nations groan beneath the weight:
114:01,060[A  ]| Brought down their God-like Sovereign to the Block
114:01,061[A  ]| And which was worse ~~
114:01,062[A  ]| Worse than the Bonds of Loyalty when broke,
114:01,063[A  ]| Proclaimed that Justice gave the bitter Stroke.
114:01,064[A  ]| Vile Brood! can Justice an Injustice do?
114:01,065[A  ]| Could ye, when false, at the same time be true?
114:01,066[A  ]| At once be Royalists and Traitors too?
114:01,067[A  ]| No, no, witness how unconcerned ye stood,
114:01,068[A  ]| And bathed your hands in your dear Sovereign's Blood.
114:01,069[A  ]| Ah! Righteous God that sittest in Peace above;
114:01,070[A  ]| From whence thou showerest eternal streams of Love
114:01,071[A  ]| Down on thy Church below: what was it then
114:01,072[A  ]| Drew down this Plague? that Sacrilegious Men
114:01,073[A  ]| Should Plunder that, and Rob the Land of more
114:01,074[A  ]| Than ever it was Blessed with heretofore;
114:01,075[A  ]| A King so Good, so Merciful, and Just,
114:01,076[A  ]| His chief delight was to pursue his Trust;
114:01,077[A  ]| So far from thinking or creating Strife,
114:01,078[A  ]| He blessed that Hand that took away his Life.
114:01,079[A  ]| But tell me, ye ungodly treacherous Crew;
114:01,080[A  ]| Take it to your Selves to whom 'tis truly due;
114:01,081[A  ]| For as things heavy to the Centre tend,
114:01,082[A  ]| As Showers on Earth do fall, or Flames ascend,
114:01,083[A  ]| And in short, all to their allotted place;
114:01,084[A  ]| So Villainy, and every thing that's base,
114:01,085[A  ]| Flies to your Hearts, as to its proper Sphere,
114:01,086[A  ]| And finds an everlasting Centre there.)
114:01,087[A  ]| Oh! tell me, where's the Fame that does succeed
114:01,088[A  ]| That (still deplored by me) prodigious deed?
114:01,089[A  ]| A deed so far beyond all flights of ill,
114:01,090[A  ]| It can't be matched in the Records of Hell:
114:01,091[A  ]| A deed so damned! as if designed to vie
114:01,092[A  ]| Even with the Jews' boundless Impiety,
114:01,093[A  ]| When they doomed Christ unjustly to the Cross;
114:01,094[A  ]| And frighted Nature trembled at the loss.
114:01,095[A  ]| But this you'll say was Mercy from above,
114:01,096[A  ]| To show the extent of Heaven's eternal Love;
114:01,097[A  ]| Or else the Jews might here pretend some cause
114:01,098[A  ]| For his annulling their Mosaic Laws:
114:01,099[A  ]| But ah! what cause had you, perfidious Brood,
114:01,100[A  ]| To stain your hands in that illustrious Blood,
114:01,101[A  ]| Which never was employed but for your Good?
114:01,102[A  ]| Or was it done because it was your will?
114:01,103[A  ]| (That potent Cause by which you are governed still ~~)
114:01,104[A  ]| Oh cursed effects of Arbitrary Zeal!
114:01,105[A  ]| I know you'll say, 'twas your design to be
114:01,106[A  ]| From servile Slavery and Oppression free;
114:01,107[A  ]| But those that shoot at random in the Night
114:01,108[A  ]| When darkness rules may sooner hit the White;
114:01,109[A  ]| They must be wrong who never were in the right:
114:01,110[A  ]| For when through all your treacherous Paths you had ran,
114:01,111[A  ]| Adverse to all the Laws of God and Man;
114:01,112[A  ]| Had you at last your expectations Crowned?
114:01,113[A  ]| Or was the Liberty, you sought for, found?
114:01,114[A  ]| (Indeed it were unjust to think it should;
114:01,115[A  ]| The way to Peace lies not through War and Blood)
114:01,116[A  ]| No, no, that Popular Idol of your own,
114:01,117[A  ]| That load of Beast which once defiled the Throne,
114:01,118[A  ]| That Deity, which your own Hands had made,
114:01,119[A  ]| And then with so much frantic Zeal obeyed,
114:01,120[A  ]| Did all your Rights and Liberties invade;
114:01,121[A  ]| Those Liberties ye had so long enjoyed,
114:01,122[A  ]| And could not be, but by your selves destroyed;
114:01,123[A  ]| Those Rights, which with an unexhausted spring,
114:01,124[A  ]| Forever flowed from your indulgent King:
114:01,125[A  ]| Those Rights did an Usurping Conqueror
114:01,126[A  ]| Ravish, and make you Slaves to a lawless Power;
114:01,127[A  ]| For how could he Protect, that did Devour?
114:01,128[A  ]| Nay the base Sanhedrim, whose lawless Pride
114:01,129[A  ]| Had to their King his Regal Dues denied,
114:01,130[A  ]| With open Hands the Tyrant's Lust supplied;
114:01,131[A  ]| Which their proud Stores to an Ebb as low did bring,
114:01,132[A  ]| As they were full when they denied their King.
114:01,133[A  ]| Thus by their Aid he did the War commence,
114:01,134[A  ]| And made them wretched at their own expense.
114:01,135[A  ]| A just reward for raising Civil-war,
114:01,136[A  ]| (And may no Traitors ever better fare)
114:01,137[A  ]| A fond imagined freedom to restore
114:01,138[A  ]| When we had all our Hearts could wish before:
114:01,139[A  ]| 'Twas justly lost then, when we sought for more.
114:01,140[A  ]| But lo! the Scenes are shifted straight, and lo!
114:01,141[A  ]| His God's, his King's and his own Country's Foe,
114:01,142[A  ]| Is in a moment fallen! 'twas Death that gave
114:01,143[A  ]| The fatal Stroke and sent him to the Grave;
114:01,144[A  ]| Where he no sooner entered, but the slain,
114:01,145[A  ]| Who in the Vales of horror did remain,
114:01,146[A  ]| With dismal Groans pierced all the neighbouring Air,
114:01,147[A  ]| As if he'd been denied an entrance there:
114:01,148[A  ]| Nor were the dire foreboding Omens vain;
114:01,149[A  ]| The Grave could not such Villainy contain,
114:01,150[A  ]| But from its Entrails spewed him back again.
114:01,151[A  ]| Thus he, who while he lived no freedom gave
114:01,152[A  ]| Had not, in death, the freedom of a Slave,
114:01,153[A  ]| The poor allowance of a six-foot Grave:
114:01,154[A  ]| Like the proud Persian, in the Air he hung;
114:01,155[A  ]| Like him too, the Reproach of every Tongue.
114:01,156[A  ]| Ravens, and all the inferior Fowls of Prey,
114:01,157[A  ]| Which used to hover round where Carrion lay,
114:01,158[A  ]| Croaked at the Tyrant ~~ croaked and flew away.
114:01,159[A  ]| And now of all his noisy Pomp and Fame,
114:01,160[A  ]| Nothing survives but a reproachful Name.
114:01,161[A  ]| Thus Treachery though it may a while shine bright,
114:01,162[A  ]| As Meteors at a blaze lose all their light;
114:01,163[A  ]| And what they had from the dull Earth before,
114:01,164[A  ]| When once it is dissolved, is seen no more.
114:01,165[A  ]| And now (methinks) I see the Sun appear,
114:01,166[A  ]| Nor is it only thought, for lo he's here:
114:01,167[A  ]| With gentle Beams he first proclaims the Day,
114:01,168[A  ]| Then drives at once the unwholesome Damps away.
114:01,169[A  ]| Ah welcome, Sacred Sir, welcome as Sight
114:01,170[A  ]| To those who from their births have groped in night
114:01,171[A  ]| And never hoped to view the cheerful light:
114:01,172[A  ]| Welcome as Spring, after a bitter Frost;
114:01,173[A  ]| Welcome as Peace, where Peace has long been lost.
114:01,174[A  ]| What shall I say? O what eternal spring
114:01,175[A  ]| Can furnish Words, or set my Thoughts on wing
114:01,176[A  ]| To bless his Welcome, and his Praises sing!
114:01,177[A  ]| But hold, my Muse; in vain that pitch you'd fly,
114:01,178[A  ]| For Language there must yield, as well as I:
114:01,179[A  ]| Back then to thy own Task, and scourge the times,
114:01,180[A  ]| Revile their Follies, and disclose their Crimes;
114:01,181[A  ]| How cankered Villains into corners run,
114:01,182[A  ]| And blushed at the vile deeds their Hands had done;
114:01,183[A  ]| But deeds of darkness dare not view the Sun:
114:01,184[A  ]| Too well they knew the Mischiefs that they wrought
114:01,185[A  ]| Were unrevenged, and trembled at the Thought;
114:01,186[A  ]| As fearing (what indeed they ought to fear)
114:01,187[A  ]| That Vengeance for their Treachery now was near:
114:01,188[A  ]| But God-like Kindness (as in Man's first Fall)
114:01,189[A  ]| Gave them an Act of Grace, and cancelled all.
114:01,190[A  ]| An Act! which Reason's at a loss to scan;
114:01,191[A  ]| And proves the Giver something more than Man;
114:01,192[A  ]| Whose Goodness we in vain would comprehend,
114:01,193[A  ]| For he forgives as fast as we offend:
114:01,194[A  ]| So Merciful! there's not a Thought Severe
114:01,195[A  ]| In all his Soul ~~ too Merciful I fear!
114:01,196[A  ]| For had that Hand of Justice (once oppressed)
114:01,197[A  ]| That struck some Heads off, but secured the rest;
114:01,198[A  ]| The Hydra then might have been overcome;
114:01,199[A  ]| But being too merciful, and sparing some,
114:01,200[A  ]| From the rank wounds more darling Monsters sprout,
114:01,201[A  ]| And every Neck a thousand Heads thrusts out,
114:01,202[A  ]| Till the vast sum did soon amount to more,
114:01,203[A  ]| And lewder Criminals than ever before:
114:01,204[A  ]| So Thieves from Gallows saved, still Thieves will be;
114:01,205[A  ]| And cut the Throats of those that set them free.
114:01,206[A  ]| But sure that King must needs be all divine,
114:01,207[A  ]| When too much Mercy is his only Crime.
114:01,208[A  ]| Say then, ye bold Fanatics of the Times,
114:01,209[A  ]| (Ye that succeed those Monsters in their Crimes)
114:01,210[A  ]| What makes you thus Seditiously exclaim
114:01,211[A  ]| Under the Blessings of a peaceful Reign?
114:01,212[A  ]| What ye would have I know not; but I know
114:01,213[A  ]| Ye might be happy if ye would be so;
114:01,214[A  ]| Happy as Lovers on their Bridal Night;
114:01,215[A  ]| But that's a Happiness but vain and slight,
114:01,216[A  ]| Where Pain and Trouble still succeed Delight:
114:01,217[A  ]| But yours might be all one continued Scene,
114:01,218[A  ]| Without an interval of Grief between.
114:01,219[A  ]| Has not your God (if any God ye own;
114:01,220[A  ]| But I much rather think that ye have none,
114:01,221[A  ]| For God, from whom all true Obedience springs,
114:01,222[A  ]| Enjoins us strictly to obey our Kings.)
114:01,223[A  ]| Has he not saved from Rebel's impious Steel,
114:01,224[A  ]| And the worse Fury of misguided Zeal
114:01,225[A  ]| A gracious Prince, and blessed us with his Reign?
114:01,226[A  ]| In whom his Father seems to live again:
114:01,227[A  ]| By Heaven's peculiar care made fit to Rule;
114:01,228[A  ]| Would ye leave him for some Usurping Tool?
114:01,229[A  ]| A baseness never to be cancelled more,
114:01,230[A  ]| Unless by him that cancelled it before:
114:01,231[A  ]| A Prince who has through all misfortunes trod,
114:01,232[A  ]| With the unshaken Patience of a God:
114:01,233[A  ]| And as 'tis sung, Alcides, heretofore
114:01,234[A  ]| The weight of Heaven upon his Shoulders bore,
114:01,235[A  ]| So He (a nobler Subject for our Songs)
114:01,236[A  ]| At once sustains a World ~~ a World of Wrongs;
114:01,237[A  ]| A World! which were that once famed Hero now,
114:01,238[A  ]| Though he bore Heaven, beneath their Weight he'd bow.
114:01,239[A  ]| Yet still he Governs, still he Rules in Peace,
114:01,240[A  ]| (And may it, Heaven, O may it never cease!)
114:01,241[A  ]| And still your Stores eternally increase;
114:01,242[A  ]| Time was they increased too much; and that the thing,
114:01,243[A  ]| That made thee, London, murmur at thy King;
114:01,244[A  ]| And lift thy Proud Luxurious Head as high,
114:01,245[A  ]| As it since low did in its Ashes lie:
114:01,246[A  ]| 'Twas that inspired thy Crowds with factious Rage;
114:01,247[A  ]| The Crowd! whose fury nothing can assuage,
114:01,248[A  ]| Nor Tears of Youth, nor Eloquence of Age:
114:01,249[A  ]| It rolls over all with an impetuous sway,
114:01,250[A  ]| Like Rivers when they've forced their Banks away:
114:01,251[A  ]| The Crowd! which does for ever look awry
114:01,252[A  ]| On those that true desert has mounted high,
114:01,253[A  ]| And would rebel although it knows not why;
114:01,254[A  ]| And such a Crowd wert thou ~~ a Mass combined
114:01,255[A  ]| Of all adulterate mixtures we can find,
114:01,256[A  ]| That may infect the Soul or taint the Mind:
114:01,257[A  ]| No wonder then, with such rank Weeds overspread,
114:01,258[A  ]| Thy Body should rebel against its Head.
114:01,259[A  ]| That Honesty that lodged within thy wall,
114:01,260[A  ]| (For there were Thousands that never bowed to Baal)
114:01,261[A  ]| Like some poor wounded Deer was straight cashiered;
114:01,262[A  ]| Or bore the brunt of all the Brutal Herd.
114:01,263[A  ]| And this the Faction would be at again,
114:01,264[A  ]| For the same cause that they promoted then;
114:01,265[A  ]| Were they not baffled, curbed and kept in awe
114:01,266[A  ]| By Men that love the King, the Church, the Law:
114:01,267[A  ]| And such the Bench of Aldermen are now;
114:01,268[A  ]| Compared with whom, how dim the Factious show ~~
114:01,269[A  ]| Nor should we here those Citizens forget,
114:01,270[A  ]| Whose Acts are proof that Faith's a Virtue yet;
114:01,271[A  ]| Since by the Good (as in a Mirror) still
114:01,272[A  ]| We may descry the Failings of the Ill:
114:01,273[A  ]| But why do I presume those Faults to scan,
114:01,274[A  ]| Which in the Action are so lively drawn?
114:01,275[A  ]| Witness for proof the unparalleled abuse
114:01,276[A  ]| (Beyond Example, as beyond excuse)
114:01,277[A  ]| To their last Loyal Chief ~~
114:01,278[A  ]| Which from no other Cause but this could spring;
114:01,279[A  ]| The Man was honest, and he loved his King.
114:01,280[A  ]| Help Heaven! what but confusion can succeed,
114:01,281[A  ]| When to be Loyal's a pernicious deed,
114:01,282[A  ]| Faith to the Crown, a Crime? ~~ but to proceed.
114:01,283[A  ]| Has he not stooped beneath his Royal Stem.
114:01,284[A  ]| Lower than ever Rebels stooped to him?
114:01,285[A  ]| Has he not all his Subjects' wants supplied?
114:01,286[A  ]| What did they ask him that he ever denied?
114:01,287[A  ]| Unless it were (invincible constraint!)
114:01,288[A  ]| What Nature, Law and Conscience could not grant?
114:01,289[A  ]| Has he not too (though now the Scenes are changed)
114:01,290[A  ]| Like a poor Pilgrim through the Nations ranged?
114:01,291[A  ]| Distressed, despised, nay almost left of all;
114:01,292[A  ]| And by the Rage of an ambitious Saul,
114:01,293[A  ]| As many various turns of misery bore,
114:01,294[A  ]| As God's good Shepherd David did before?
114:01,295[A  ]| Yet now as soon as God is pleased again
114:01,296[A  ]| To give us Peace, by giving Him to Reign;
114:01,297[A  ]| Rather than they'll be honest or reform,
114:01,298[A  ]| Even in the Sacred Port they'll force a Storm:
114:01,299[A  ]| But all in vain ~~ for the Eternal Will,
114:01,300[A  ]| (The Guardian Pillar that directs him still)
114:01,301[A  ]| Will now as well protect him from the Rage
114:01,302[A  ]| Of an unsatisfied, seditious Age,
114:01,303[A  ]| With the same mighty Love as heretofore,
114:01,304[A  ]| When War did rave, and all the Billows roar.
114:01,305[A  ]| Assured of this, how dare Men disapprove
114:01,306[A  ]| What Heaven protects, and Heavenly Angels love?
114:01,307[A  ]| Who is a Subject fit for Songs divine;
114:01,308[A  ]| Alas, how far above the reach of mine!
114:01,309[A  ]| And then his Princely Brother (whom their hate
114:01,310[A  ]| Brands with the Name of Traitor to the State;
114:01,311[A  ]| But falsely ~~ false as the Tongue-murdering Blade
114:01,312[A  ]| That first made Perjury to be a Trade.
114:01,313[A  ]| So false! even they themselves could never deny,
114:01,314[A  ]| But that their Hearts gave their bold Tongues the lie:
114:01,315[A  ]| For why should he conspire against that Throne,
114:01,316[A  ]| Which Legally may come to be his own?
114:01,317[A  ]| No; that's a work for him that's Born to none ~~
114:01,318[A  ]| Has not that Prince moved in the self-same Sphere?
114:01,319[A  ]| With Patience borne all wrongs that Man can bear?
114:01,320[A  ]| Who, though your Envy does his Fame pursue,
114:01,321[A  ]| He still has fought both for your Rights and You.
114:01,322[A  ]| In foreign Lands his conduct he has shown;
114:01,323[A  ]| And found no Valour braver than his own.
114:01,324[A  ]| Conquest was still his Prize; and as Success
114:01,325[A  ]| Crowned him at Land, 'twas on the Sea no less;
114:01,326[A  ]| Where on the Deck (for his dear Country's good,
114:01,327[A  ]| Whose Cause he fought) he has undaunted stood
114:01,328[A  ]| Amidst the wildest rage of Cannon's roar;
114:01,329[A  ]| Whose sound has frighted Cowards on the Shore.
114:01,330[A  ]| Black Clouds of Smoke have dimmed the Sun's bright ray,
114:01,331[A  ]| And made a Night at the full Noon of Day.
114:01,332[A  ]| One would have thought, who from afar had seen,
114:01,333[A  ]| They in the Bosom of the Clouds had been,
114:01,334[A  ]| And round their Heads Lightning and Thunder flew;
114:01,335[A  ]| And through the Air ten thousand Terrors threw.
114:01,336[A  ]| The Sun himself looked pale; amazed to see
114:01,337[A  ]| Deaths scattered through the Air like Atoms flee;
114:01,338[A  ]| And Nature was concerned as well as he.
114:01,339[A  ]| Not so the Duke ~~ who did through all appear
114:01,340[A  ]| Fierce as a Storm, and was himself a War.
114:01,341[A  ]| O who in such a Cause would danger shun,
114:01,342[A  ]| Blessed with so brave a Chief to lead them on?
114:01,343[A  ]| Who scorned to check his Rage, or leave the Fray,
114:01,344[A  ]| Till he had quite drove the shattered Fleet away;
114:01,345[A  ]| Too wise to trust to Fate another day.
114:01,346[A  ]| Thus he, sole Victor, did our Fame regain;
114:01,347[A  ]| And rode unrivalled over the conquered main.
114:01,348[A  ]| Enriched by Princes so Divine, so Good,
114:01,349[A  ]| (Brothers in Virtue, as they are by Blood)
114:01,350[A  ]| What Frenzy is it makes you think you are Poor?
114:01,351[A  ]| When Heaven in them showers down so vast a Store,
114:01,352[A  ]| 'Twould be impiety to wish for more;
114:01,353[A  ]| Which as 'tis great, we ought to think it good,
114:01,354[A  ]| As drawn from the Fountain of a Martyr's Blood.
114:01,355[A  ]| But as when some wild ravenous Beast of Prey
114:01,356[A  ]| Has seized a Lamb which in his passage lay;
114:01,357[A  ]| The Blood's first sucked, and finding that so sweet,
114:01,358[A  ]| He crams his Maw with the delicious Meat;
114:01,359[A  ]| Yet the same moment, painted with the Gore,
114:01,360[A  ]| Rouses again, and roams the Woods for more.
114:01,361[A  ]| So you, flushed with your former Royal Bait,
114:01,362[A  ]| Grow mad again, and for more Blood do wait,
114:01,363[A  ]| In the subversion of the Regal State.
114:01,364[A  ]| From whence else can our wild divisions grow?
114:01,365[A  ]| Can such a Prince be his own Country's Foe?
114:01,366[A  ]| At the same time he does their Battles fight,
114:01,367[A  ]| And makes their happiness his chief delight?
114:01,368[A  ]| True; but you'll say (perhaps) others have done
114:01,369[A  ]| As brave exploits, as glorious Fields have won.
114:01,370[A  ]| Well, and suppose it true ~~ yet when their Fame
114:01,371[A  ]| We once compare with York's illustrious Name,
114:01,372[A  ]| It blushing shrinks into itself again.
114:01,373[A  ]| None sure but such as have abandoned Sense,
114:01,374[A  ]| Will stoop to an Usurper for a Prince;
114:01,375[A  ]| And like the rough-cast Heathens heretofore,
114:01,376[A  ]| Rather than want a Patron-God to adore,
114:01,377[A  ]| Before some Stock or Stone will Homage pay;
114:01,378[A  ]| Or to some uncouth Creature Kneel and Pray.
114:01,379[A  ]| Dagon, to those who did before him fall,
114:01,380[A  ]| (As the All-high to us) was all in all;
114:01,381[A  ]| But God forbid we should their steps pursue,
114:01,382[A  ]| Or for to serve the False, Blaspheme the True;
114:01,383[A  ]| Whose Laws (though spurned at by Fanatic spite)
114:01,384[A  ]| Instruct us to distinguish Wrong from Right.
114:01,385[A  ]| Right, when we do the true Succession own;
114:01,386[A  ]| Wrong when a false Pretender mounts the Throne;
114:01,387[A  ]| Right, to obey those rightful Sovereign Powers,
114:01,388[A  ]| Who lose their own repose to procure ours;
114:01,389[A  ]| But Wrong, against such Goodness to declaim,
114:01,390[A  ]| Or with base Libels strive to wound his Fame.
114:01,391[A  ]| But they that took away his Father's Life,
114:01,392[A  ]| Defame the Royal Duke, spare not his Wife;
114:01,393[A  ]| Such Undertakers rightly understood,
114:01,394[A  ]| Can mean their present Sovereign little good.
114:01,395[A  ]| ~~ Nor stops the Frenzy here ~~ when every Drone
114:01,396[A  ]| Inspired by foggy Ale's a Statesman grown,
114:01,397[A  ]| And takes upon him to dispose the Crown;
114:01,398[A  ]| Drivels out spiteful Treason over his Pots,
114:01,399[A  ]| With as much Zeal and Gravity as O**
114:01,400[A  ]| Go to your Looms, Cobble your Shoes; and there
114:01,401[A  ]| We will allow you are in your proper Sphere;
114:01,402[A  ]| Those Paths by Beasts of Burden may be trod;
114:01,403[A  ]| But leave the Crown to the dispose of God;
114:01,404[A  ]| "Whose Voice to say you are, were Blasphemy;
114:01,405[A  ]| "For there all Parts do with the Whole agree,
114:01,406[A  ]| "And with a Concord so Divinely sweet,
114:01,407[A  ]| "As never can with Contradictions meet:
114:01,408[A  ]| "Should the almighty Voice ~~
114:01,409[A  ]| "With the Profane dull Crowds run Parallel;
114:01,410[A  ]| "'Twould turn even Heaven itself to a kind of Hell.
114:01,411[A  ]| 'Twere better far to let the State alone;
114:01,412[A  ]| And mind your little Commonwealths at home.
114:01,413[A  ]| But if 'tis needful it should now be known,
114:01,414[A  ]| Who must or ought hereafter wear the Crown;
114:01,415[A  ]| We need no other Guide than Reason's light:
114:01,416[A  ]| Whose should it be, but whose it is by Right?
114:01,417[A  ]| His Right alone (which only is withstood
114:01,418[A  ]| By such a sullen and contentious Brood)
114:01,419[A  ]| Whose sure it is by all the Ties of Blood.
114:01,420[A  ]| Ye hate the King, yet ye all Kings would be;
114:01,421[A  ]| Why do ye strive to Rule else more than he?
114:01,422[A  ]| And while ye are contending who should wear
114:01,423[A  ]| The Regal Crown, the Regal Sceptre bear;
114:01,424[A  ]| By fraud and Treachery (marks by which you are known,
114:01,425[A  ]| Well as your Tub-men by their canting Tone)
114:01,426[A  ]| Would from his Brows, transplant it to your own:
114:01,427[A  ]| But finding that you are baffled in your Will,
114:01,428[A  ]| Run drudging on, and will be Rebels still.
114:01,429[A  ]| Yes Rebels ~~ what else can the meaning be,
114:01,430[A  ]| Of Bellowing after Rights and Liberty,
114:01,431[A  ]| When 'tis impossible to be more free?
114:01,432[A  ]| Of all the Nations that enclose you round,
114:01,433[A  ]| Point me out one with half your Freedoms Crowned;
114:01,434[A  ]| Freedoms too great, too much in it to express;
114:01,435[A  ]| Nor is each Man's particularly less.
114:01,436[A  ]| The Wild has liberty the World to roam,
114:01,437[A  ]| To France, to Spain, Smyrna, Japan or Rome;
114:01,438[A  ]| But never will find a better place than Home;
114:01,439[A  ]| Where Nature in her bloom forever waits,
114:01,440[A  ]| And every morning fresh delight creates.
114:01,441[A  ]| The Old and Studious may enjoy their ease;
114:01,442[A  ]| And this may plough the Land, and that the Seas;
114:01,443[A  ]| The Crowds too, may almost do what they please:
114:01,444[A  ]| Oh that they might not; 'tis the unhappy Cause
114:01,445[A  ]| From whence our Discord still more Discord draws:
114:01,446[A  ]| For when the Conscience its own way may go,
114:01,447[A  ]| How boundless, wild a Monster will it grow!
114:01,448[A  ]| Pulpits are dwindled into Tubs; and Kings,
114:01,449[A  ]| Esteemed unnecessary useless things:
114:01,450[A  ]| All wholesome Doctrine's Banished with the Creed,
114:01,451[A  ]| And Blockheads Preach, who never learnt to Read.
114:01,452[A  ]| Kings to their Subjects must Obedience pay:
114:01,453[A  ]| Nor is it strange the Flock should go astray,
114:01,454[A  ]| When they themselves are in the wrong that guide;
114:01,455[A  ]| 'Tis best then when such Liberty's denied.
114:01,456[A  ]| Does not your Land with Milk and Honey flow?
114:01,457[A  ]| Canaan could not such Crops of Plenty show,
114:01,458[A  ]| Or Jordan's loved, and unpolluted Streams,
114:01,459[A  ]| Produce more Wonders than our fruitful Thames.
114:01,460[A  ]| Do not all things that feast the Eye and Ear,
114:01,461[A  ]| The Taste and Smell forever flourish here
114:01,462[A  ]| With an unbounded, unexhausted Spring?
114:01,463[A  ]| And to Crown all ~~
114:01,464[A  ]| Are we not Crowned with an indulgent King?
114:01,465[A  ]| Having all this, what would ye more possess?
114:01,466[A  ]| Having so much, why would ye make it less?
114:01,467[A  ]| Why should that pleasant tune of Concord cease?
114:01,468[A  ]| Can ever Rebellion be the way to Peace?
114:01,469[A  ]| Why do ye your pernicious Doctrine sow?
114:01,470[A  ]| And through the Land seditious Libels strew;
114:01,471[A  ]| Spurn at the Virtuous, vilify the Just,
114:01,472[A  ]| (As if their Loyalty debauched their Trust)
114:01,473[A  ]| Rail at the Law, nay rail at one another,
114:01,474[A  ]| And, which is yet more base than all the other,
114:01,475[A  ]| Stab the King's Reputation in his Brother?
114:01,476[A  ]| O tell me, to what end can this be done?
114:01,477[A  ]| Unless you'd like your Predecessors run
114:01,478[A  ]| And damn our Eighty two, to Forty one;
114:01,479[A  ]| For they (like you) mouthed after Liberty,
114:01,480[A  ]| And they (like you) too, knew that they were free;
114:01,481[A  ]| But found too soon (Experience dearly bought)
114:01,482[A  ]| Their seeking for it, destroyed the thing they sought.
114:01,483[A  ]| Yet, though they got so little by it before,
114:01,484[A  ]| (When their own Lust and Rapine robbed the Poor
114:01,485[A  ]| In opposition to all sacred Laws)
114:01,486[A  ]| Once more you would revive the Good-Old-Cause;
114:01,487[A  ]| Once more overthrow the Church, the State, and King,
114:01,488[A  ]| And from blessed Order make Confusion spring;
114:01,489[A  ]| That wild Confusion which of late did rave,
114:01,490[A  ]| And sent so many Thousands to the Grave:
114:01,491[A  ]| But you may spare the Toil ~~ the Veil's plucked off,
114:01,492[A  ]| And every Soul that has but Sense enough
114:01,493[A  ]| To choose the Right from Wrong: may plainly see
114:01,494[A  ]| What you have been, and what you'll ever be:
114:01,495[A  ]| And as you are, I fear you'll such remain,
114:01,496[A  ]| (And should I wish ye honest 'twere in vain)
114:01,497[A  ]| For they that spurn at Mercy, cherish Ill,
114:01,498[A  ]| And own no Power above their Lawless Will,
114:01,499[A  ]| Will certainly continue Ill Men still;
114:01,500[A  ]| Too rank for Earth, and only fit to go
114:01,501[A  ]| To murmur in their grand Cabal below;
114:01,502[A  ]| You had best be cautious then, and have a care;
114:01,503[A  ]| Ingratitude will find no favour there,
114:01,504[A  ]| Although it has missed the stroke of Justice here:
114:01,505[A  ]| ~~ As yet I mean missed of ~~ for I've seen
114:01,506[A  ]| A Morning, though it were at first serene
114:01,507[A  ]| As thought can form, has in a trice been clogged
114:01,508[A  ]| With gloomy Clouds, and almost choked with Fog:
114:01,509[A  ]| The Sun himself, as if oppressed with Night,
114:01,510[A  ]| Has shrunk his Glories in, erewhile so bright,
114:01,511[A  ]| And had not power to bless the World with Light.
114:01,512[A  ]| Thus sullen signs approaching storms foretold;
114:01,513[A  ]| And lo! loud Thunder through the Air has rolled:
114:01,514[A  ]| Mountains which one would think stood firm as Fate,
114:01,515[A  ]| Have reeled as if they bent beneath their weight.
114:01,516[A  ]| When of a sudden the all-seeing Sun,
114:01,517[A  ]| Angry as 'twere with what the Storm had done,
114:01,518[A  ]| Through the thick Shades his pointed Beams has thrown;
114:01,519[A  ]| And in a Moment chased them all away,
114:01,520[A  ]| And with fresh Glories dressed the new-born Day.
114:01,521[A  ]| So in the wild disorders of the State,
114:01,522[A  ]| When mighty Charles shall yield to mightier Fate;
114:01,523[A  ]| (Which may it first be long, for Monarch's Breath
114:01,524[A  ]| Is frail like ours; like ours must taste of Death:)
114:01,525[A  ]| What could we wish should that black hour arrive,
114:01,526[A  ]| More than some glorious Hero to survive?
114:01,527[A  ]| Prepared by Heaven, by Nature, and by Right,
114:01,528[A  ]| For all the Functions of the Royal Seat;
114:01,529[A  ]| And fitted thus, why not the Heir, the Brother,
114:01,530[A  ]| To fill that sacred Place before another?
114:01,531[A  ]| Who, guided by the same eternal Will,
114:01,532[A  ]| Would all the roaring Winds of Faction still:
114:01,533[A  ]| For he who has so many Wonders wrought,
114:01,534[A  ]| Crowned with success in all the Fields he fought,
114:01,535[A  ]| Whom Heaven has saved from Rocks and Treacherous Sand,
114:01,536[A  ]| And the more treacherous dangers of the Land,
114:01,537[A  ]| War, Envy, Banishment, Intestine strife,
114:01,538[A  ]| Slander, and all the Snares that catch at life;
114:01,539[A  ]| He sure must be for some great End designed,
114:01,540[A  ]| Proportioned to the greatness of his Mind;
114:01,541[A  ]| For nothing less were fit to carry on,
114:01,542[A  ]| What our good Monarch has so well begun:
114:01,543[A  ]| In such a Cause, bright as the Sun he'd rise,
114:01,544[A  ]| And dare his Glories through the sullen Skies,
114:01,545[A  ]| Dissolve or drive the Factious Gloom away
114:01,546[A  ]| Unripe Cabals, where Treasons brooding lay,
114:01,547[A  ]| And show them all to the clear Eye of day;
114:01,548[A  ]| And with a Justice splendid and sublime,
114:01,549[A  ]| Would punish Treachery equal to the Crime.
114:01,550[A  ]| Then would the Land a firm wrought Peace enjoy,
114:01,551[A  ]| Which wild Sedition would not dare to annoy;
114:01,552[A  ]| Nor all the angry Storms of Fate destroy.
115:01,000@@@@@| 
115:01,000['  ]| <Gould, Robert: The Works (1709)>
115:01,000['  ]| <VOLUME the SECOND. (SATYRS).>
115:01,000['  ]| <LOVE given Over: OR, A Satire against Woman.>
115:01,001[A  ]| At length from Love's vile Slavery I am free,
115:01,002[A  ]| And have regained my Ancient Liberty:
115:01,003[A  ]| I've shook the Chains off which my Bondage wrought,
115:01,004[A  ]| Am free as Air, and unconfined as Thought:
115:01,005[A  ]| For faithless Silvia I no more adore,
115:01,006[A  ]| Kneel at her Feet, and Pray in Vain no more:
115:01,007[A  ]| No more my Verse her Beauties shall proclaim,
115:01,008[A  ]| And with soft Praises Celebrate her Name.
115:01,009[A  ]| Her Eyes their usual Lustre cease to bear,
115:01,010[A  ]| At least, to me, there seems no Lustre there;
115:01,011[A  ]| Her Frowns no more can cause, or Kindness cure Despair.
115:01,012[A  ]| I've Banished Her for ever from my Breast,
115:01,013[A  ]| Banished the Proud Invader of my Rest,
115:01,014[A  ]| Banished the Tyrant Author of my Woes,
115:01,015[A  ]| That robbed my Soul of all its Sweet Repose:
115:01,016[A  ]| Not all her Treacherous Arts, Bewitching Wiles,
115:01,017[A  ]| Quick-heaving Sighs, or soft deluding Smiles,
115:01,018[A  ]| Shall my Eternal Resolution move,
115:01,019[A  ]| Or make me think, discourse, or dream of Love:
115:01,020[A  ]| The Whining Curse I've rooted from my Mind,
115:01,021[A  ]| And with it, all Regard of Womankind.
115:01,022[A  ]| Come then, my Muse, and since the Occasion's fair,
115:01,023[A  ]| Against that Sex proclaim perpetual War,
115:01,024[A  ]| Which may renew as still my Verse is read,
115:01,025[A  ]| And Live when I am mingled with the Dead.
115:01,026[A  ]| Woman! ~~ Ye Powers! The very Name's a Crime,
115:01,027[A  ]| Not to be reached by Wit, or Spoke in Rhyme!
115:01,028[A  ]| The very Sound, like Pestilential Fumes,
115:01,029[A  ]| Dispenses Plagues and Woes where ever it comes,
115:01,030[A  ]| Infernal Clamours, fierce Domestic Jars,
115:01,031[A  ]| With all the Influence of Inveterate Stars.
115:01,032[A  ]| In vain their high Original they boast;
115:01,033[A  ]| The true Records undoubtedly are lost.
115:01,034[A  ]| Heaven must itself (entranced) like Adam lie;
115:01,035[A  ]| Or else some Banished Fiend usurped the Sky
115:01,036[A  ]| When Eve was formed, and with her Ushered in,
115:01,037[A  ]| To stock the World, another World of Sin.
115:01,038[A  ]| The Fatal Rib was Crooked and uneven,
115:01,039[A  ]| From whence they have their Crab-like Nature given,
115:01,040[A  ]| Inverting all the Laws of Man and Heaven.
115:01,041[A  ]| O Lucifer! Thy Regions had been thin,
115:01,042[A  ]| Were it not for Woman's propagating Sin;
115:01,043[A  ]| But for that Sex you might have Room to spare;
115:01,044[A  ]| Now Crowding's not the smallest Torment there.
115:01,045[A  ]| To quick Damnation every Path they know;
115:01,046[A  ]| So truly Fond of Vanity and Show,
115:01,047[A  ]| That even to Hell they'll have Attendants too:
115:01,048[A  ]| The Lame, Dismembered, Noseless and the Blind,
115:01,049[A  ]| Recovered Fluxing, wait them close behind:
115:01,050[A  ]| The Pox, their Usher, passing on before,
115:01,051[A  ]| Gleans as it goes, and makes their Triumphs more.
115:01,052[A  ]| In the Obscene and most envenomed Parts,
115:01,053[A  ]| The Paphian Boy of late dips all his Darts,
115:01,054[A  ]| Exposing every Amorous Ass to shame;
115:01,055[A  ]| For Love and Pox are but a Common Name:
115:01,056[A  ]| But these are Crimes the Sex will Venial call; ~~
115:01,057[A  ]| Nay there is hardly one, among them all,
115:01,058[A  ]| But Envies Eve the Glory of the Fall:
115:01,059[A  ]| Be Cautious then, and Guard your Empire well,
115:01,060[A  ]| Nor vain your Fear; for should they once Rebel,
115:01,061[A  ]| They'd surely raise a Civil-War in Hell,
115:01,062[A  ]| Add to the Pains you feel, and make You know
115:01,063[A  ]| We are here above as curst as You below.
115:01,064[A  ]| But here, since Woman's Lust I've chanced to Name,
115:01,065[A  ]| Woman's unbounded Lust I'll first proclaim;
115:01,066[A  ]| And prove our Modern Age has brought to view,
115:01,067[A  ]| What Sodom, when at worst, had blushed to do.
115:01,068[A  ]| True I must grant you Rome's Imperial Whore
115:01,069[A  ]| (More famed for Vice than all the Crowns she wore)
115:01,070[A  ]| Into the Public Stews disguised would thrust,
115:01,071[A  ]| To quench the Raging Fury of her Lust;
115:01,072[A  ]| And by that Method bravely got her Name
115:01,073[A  ]| Born up for ever on the Wings of Fame.
115:01,074[A  ]| Yet this is Poor to what our Modern Age
115:01,075[A  ]| Has hatched, brought forth, and Acted on the Stage;
115:01,076[A  ]| Which for the Sex's Glory I'll rehearse;
115:01,077[A  ]| And make it Deathless, as that makes my Verse.
115:01,078[A  ]| Who knew not (for to whom was she unknown?)
115:01,079[A  ]| Our late Illustrious Bewley? (true, she's gone
115:01,080[A  ]| To answer for the Numerous Ills she has done;
115:01,081[A  ]| For if there is no Hell for such as She
115:01,082[A  ]| Heaven is unjust ~~ and that it cannot be.)
115:01,083[A  ]| As Albion's Isle, fast seated in the Main,
115:01,084[A  ]| Does the rough Billows' raging force disdain,
115:01,085[A  ]| Which though they highly threat, and loudly roar,
115:01,086[A  ]| In vain attempt to unfix the Rooted Shore,
115:01,087[A  ]| That Millions of them breaks, and calls for Millions more;
115:01,088[A  ]| So she, with Lust's Enthusiastic Rage;
115:01,089[A  ]| Sustained at once the Lewdness of an Age,
115:01,090[A  ]| Whole Legions did encounter, Legions tired,
115:01,091[A  ]| Insatiate yet, still fresh Supplies desired.
115:01,092[A  ]| Prodigious Bawd! ~~ O may thy Memory be
115:01,093[A  ]| Abhorred by all, as 'tis Abhorred by Me!
115:01,094[A  ]| Thou foremost in the Race of Infamy!
115:01,095[A  ]| But Bodies must decay; for, 'tis too sure.
115:01,096[A  ]| There's Nothing from the Jaws of Time Secure.
115:01,097[A  ]| Yet when she found she could perform no more,
115:01,098[A  ]| When all her Body was one Putrid Sore,
115:01,099[A  ]| Studded with Pox and eating Ulcers over;
115:01,100[A  ]| Even then, by her delusive treacherous Wiles,
115:01,101[A  ]| For Woman 'tis that Woman best beguiles)
115:01,102[A  ]| She enroled more Females in the List of Whore
115:01,103[A  ]| Than all the Arts of Man could ever do before.
115:01,104[A  ]| Pressed with the Ponderous Guilt at length she fell,
115:01,105[A  ]| And through, the solid Centre sunk to Hell:
115:01,106[A  ]| The Murmuring Fiends all hovered round about,
115:01,107[A  ]| And with hoarse howls did the Great Bawd salute;
115:01,108[A  ]| Amazed to see a sordid Lump of Clay
115:01,109[A  ]| Stained with more bold and various Crimes than they:
115:01,110[A  ]| Nor were her Torments less; for the dire Train
115:01,111[A  ]| Soon sent her howling, through the rolling Flame,
115:01,112[A  ]| To the sad Seat of Everlasting Pain.
115:01,113[A  ]| Greswel and Stratford the same Footsteps tread;
115:01,114[A  ]| In Sin's black Volume so profoundly read,
115:01,115[A  ]| That, when so ever they die, we well may fear
115:01,116[A  ]| The very Tincture of the Crimes they bear
115:01,117[A  ]| With strange Infusion will Inspire the Dust,
115:01,118[A  ]| And in the Grave commit true Acts of Lust.
115:01,119[A  ]| And now, if so much to the World's revealed,
115:01,120[A  ]| Reflect on all the Sins that lie concealed:
115:01,121[A  ]| How, oft into their Closets they retire,
115:01,122[A  ]| Where Flaming D**do does inflame Desire,
115:01,123[A  ]| And Gentle Lap**d**s feed the Amorous Fire.
115:01,124[A  ]| How curst is Man! When Brutes his Rivals prove,
115:01,125[A  ]| Even in the Sacred Business of his Love!
115:01,126[A  ]| Unless Religion proper Thoughts instil,
115:01,127[A  ]| Show me the Woman that would not be Ill,
115:01,128[A  ]| If she, conveniently, could have her Will ~~
115:01,129[A  ]| And when the Mind's Corrupt, we all well know
115:01,130[A  ]| The Actions it consents to must be so:
115:01,131[A  ]| Their Guilt's as great, an Ill resolved to do:
115:01,132[A  ]| As theirs who Actually that Ill pursue:
115:01,133[A  ]| Their Will to have it so their Crime assures;
115:01,134[A  ]| Thus, if they durst, all Women would be Whores.
115:01,135[A  ]| Forgive me Modesty, if I have been,
115:01,136[A  ]| In any thing I've mentioned here, obscene.
115:01,137[A  ]| And yet, why should I ask that Boon of Thee,
115:01,138[A  ]| When 'tis a Doubt if such a thing there be?
115:01,139[A  ]| For Woman, in whose Breast, You are said to Reign,
115:01,140[A  ]| And show the Glorious Conquests thou dost gain,
115:01,141[A  ]| Renounce the Virtue, and but court the Name.
115:01,142[A  ]| Sounds, though we can't perceive them, we may hear,
115:01,143[A  ]| And wonder at their Echoing through the Air:
115:01,144[A  ]| Thus, led by what delusive Fame imparts,
115:01,145[A  ]| We think thy Throne's erected in their Hearts;
115:01,146[A  ]| But we are deceived, as all our Fathers were,
115:01,147[A  ]| For if thou Art at all, 'tis sure thou art not there.
115:01,148[A  ]| Nothing in that black Mansion does reside,
115:01,149[A  ]| But Spite, Contention, Luxury and Pride:
115:01,150[A  ]| PRIDE is the Deity they all adore,
115:01,151[A  ]| Hardly their own dear Selves they Cherish more:
115:01,152[A  ]| Survey their very Looks you'll find it there; ~~
115:01,153[A  ]| How can you miss it when 'tis every where?
115:01,154[A  ]| Some through all hunted Nature's Secrets trace,
115:01,155[A  ]| To fill the Furrows of a Wrinkled Face;
115:01,156[A  ]| And after all their Toil (observe the Curse)
115:01,157[A  ]| They've only made a Rueful Visage worse:
115:01,158[A  ]| So some that would have plated Money pass,
115:01,159[A  ]| Decrease the Silver, and betray the Brass.
115:01,160[A  ]| Nay those that have the Blessing to be fair,
115:01,161[A  ]| And know how Charming and admired they are;
115:01,162[A  ]| Who one would think Created so complete,
115:01,163[A  ]| They had no need of Artifice and Cheat.
115:01,164[A  ]| Yet they, too, in Adulterate Washes share,
115:01,165[A  ]| And would, if possible, be more than Fair.
115:01,166[A  ]| Deluded Woman! Tell me, where's the Gain
115:01,167[A  ]| Of wasting Time upon a thing so vain ~~
115:01,168[A  ]| Your Precious Time! (O to your Selves unkind!)
115:01,169[A  ]| When 'tis uncertain You have an Hour behind
115:01,170[A  ]| That You can call your Own; for though you are bright
115:01,171[A  ]| As Summer's Sun, and mild as opening Light,
115:01,172[A  ]| Adorned by Nature, and displayed by Art
115:01,173[A  ]| In all the Glories that delude the Heart,
115:01,174[A  ]| The Frowns of Age no Favourite Charm will save,
115:01,175[A  ]| Nor all your Sweets Protect You from the Grave;
115:01,176[A  ]| The Grave which favours not the Rich, or Fair;
115:01,177[A  ]| Beauty with Beast lies undistinguished there.
115:01,178[A  ]| But hold ~~ methinks I'm Interrupted here,
115:01,179[A  ]| By some Vain Fop I neither Love, or Fear;
115:01,180[A  ]| Who in these Words his Weakness does reveal,
115:01,181[A  ]| Exposing Wounds he rather ought to heal.
115:01,182[A  ]| Soft, Sir, methinks you too Inveterate grow,
115:01,183[A  ]| And more Your Envy than Discretion show.
115:01,184[A  ]| Who blames the Sun because He shines so bright
115:01,185[A  ]| Our weak Perception dazzles at the Sight,
115:01,186[A  ]| When at the self-same time He cheers the Earth
115:01,187[A  ]| With Genial Heat, and gives all Nature Birth?
115:01,188[A  ]| How does the Winter look, that Naked Thing,
115:01,189[A  ]| Compared with the Fresh Glories of the Spring?
115:01,190[A  ]| Rivers adorn the Earth, the Fish the Seas,
115:01,191[A  ]| The Smiling Flowers the Meads, and Fruit the Trees,
115:01,192[A  ]| The Stars the Ethereal Fields through which they ride;
115:01,193[A  ]| And Woman all the Works of GOD beside!
115:01,194[A  ]| Yet the Malicious Satire won't allow
115:01,195[A  ]| They should adorn themselves: ~~ Then pray, Sir, now
115:01,196[A  ]| Produce some Reasons why You are so severe;
115:01,197[A  ]| For, Envious as You are, You know they're Fair.
115:01,198[A  ]| True, Sir, and Sodom's Apples heretofore
115:01,199[A  ]| Were Beauteous too ~~ But Rotten at the Core.
115:01,200[A  ]| Nature we grant has all her Offspring Fair,
115:01,201[A  ]| And well they all their Maker's Power declare;
115:01,202[A  ]| The Woods, the Hills and Dales their Echoes raise,
115:01,203[A  ]| The Feathered Choir to Him direct their Lays,
115:01,204[A  ]| And Joyful Rivers run his Endless Praise!
115:01,205[A  ]| But though they've held so many Ages on,
115:01,206[A  ]| All their Inherent Worth is yet their Own.
115:01,207[A  ]| Nothing but vain fantastic Woman's changed,
115:01,208[A  ]| And quite from all her Native Truth estranged:
115:01,209[A  ]| 'Tis true She has the same Alluring Skin;
115:01,210[A  ]| All Paradise without! ~~ But Hell within.
115:01,211[A  ]| Her talk of Virtue but a vain pretence,
115:01,212[A  ]| Her Love a Trade, and Gain Her Innocence.
115:01,213[A  ]| Nor is it but the Beauteous we deride,
115:01,214[A  ]| The Unhandsome are as much the Slaves of Pride:
115:01,215[A  ]| The Short, the Straight, the Crooked, Foul and Fair,
115:01,216[A  ]| Have all Promiscuously an Equal Share:
115:01,217[A  ]| Not to be vain, and Haughtily inclined,
115:01,218[A  ]| In short, is not to be of Womankind.
115:01,219[A  ]| But though so many of their Crimes are named,
115:01,220[A  ]| 'Tis yet untold for which they most are famed;
115:01,221[A  ]| A Sin, tall as the Pyramids of old,
115:01,222[A  ]| From whose Aspiring Top we may behold
115:01,223[A  ]| Enough to damn a World: ~~ What should it be
115:01,224[A  ]| But (curse upon the Name!) Inconstancy?
115:01,225[A  ]| O tell me does the World those Men contain
115:01,226[A  ]| (For I have looked for such, but looked in vain,)
115:01,227[A  ]| Who never were drawn into that fatal Snare ~~
115:01,228[A  ]| Fatal I call it, for He's cursed that's there.
115:01,229[A  ]| Inspired then by my Fellow Sufferer's Wrongs,
115:01,230[A  ]| (And glad I am the Task to me belongs)
115:01,231[A  ]| I'll bring the Fiend un-masked to Human Sight,
115:01,232[A  ]| Though hid in the Black Womb of Deepest Night.
115:01,233[A  ]| No more the Wind, the faithless Wind, shall be
115:01,234[A  ]| A Simile for their Inconstancy,
115:01,235[A  ]| For that sometimes is fixed; but Woman's Mind
115:01,236[A  ]| Is never fixed, or to one Point inclined.
115:01,237[A  ]| Less fixed than wanton Swallows while they play
115:01,238[A  ]| In the Sun-Beams to welcome in the Day,
115:01,239[A  ]| Now Yonder, now they're here, as quickly there;
115:01,240[A  ]| In no place long, and yet are every where.
115:01,241[A  ]| Like Ships in Storms their Passions fall and rise;
115:01,242[A  ]| One while You'd think they touched the very Skies,
115:01,243[A  ]| When in a Moment they the Sands explore;
115:01,244[A  ]| Lost to their View that stand upon the Shore
115:01,245[A  ]| Even Silvia, She her Self, the loved and Fair,
115:01,246[A  ]| Whose one kind look could save me from Despair,
115:01,247[A  ]| Whose Smiles I valued at so vast a Rate,
115:01,248[A  ]| To compass them I scorned the Frowns of Fate;
115:01,249[A  ]| Even She her Self ~~ (But Ah! I'm loath to tell,
115:01,250[A  ]| Or blame the Crimes of One I loved so well ~~
115:01,251[A  ]| But it must out ~~ ) Even She, swift as the Wind,
115:01,252[A  ]| Swift as the Airy Motions of the Mind,
115:01,253[A  ]| At once proved Faithless, Perjured and Unkind!
115:01,254[A  ]| Here they to Day Invoke the Powers above
115:01,255[A  ]| As Witnesses to their Immortal Love,
115:01,256[A  ]| When, lo! Away the gaudy Phantom flies,
115:01,257[A  ]| And ever it can be said to live, it dies.
115:01,258[A  ]| Thus all Religious Vows and Oaths of late
115:01,259[A  ]| They think no more than other Common Chat.
115:01,260[A  ]| Nor is that sacred Idol Marriage free;
115:01,261[A  ]| Marriage, which Musty Drones affirm to be
115:01,262[A  ]| The Tie of Souls as well as Bodies, ~~ Nay,
115:01,263[A  ]| The Spring that does through secret Pipes convey
115:01,264[A  ]| Fresh Sweets to Life, and drives the bitter Dregs away;
115:01,265[A  ]| The Sacred Cloud, the Guardian Pile of Fire
115:01,266[A  ]| That guides our Steps to Peace, nor does expire
115:01,267[A  ]| Till it has left us Nothing to desire:
115:01,268[A  ]| Even thus adorned, the Idol is not free
115:01,269[A  ]| From the swift Turns of their Inconstancy.
115:01,270[A  ]| Witness the Ephesian Matron; ~~ She in whom,
115:01,271[A  ]| As in a Mirror, through all Times to come
115:01,272[A  ]| We see the Wives' Resolve, and Husbands' Doom:
115:01,273[A  ]| To the sad Grave with her dead Spouse she went,
115:01,274[A  ]| And closed Her Self up in his Monument;
115:01,275[A  ]| Where on Cold Marble She lamenting lay;
115:01,276[A  ]| In Groans She spent the Night, in Tears the Day,
115:01,277[A  ]| And seemed to have no use of Life but mourn it all away:
115:01,278[A  ]| The wondering World cried up her faithful Mind,
115:01,279[A  ]| Extolled her as the best of Womankind!
115:01,280[A  ]| But see the World's Mistake; and, with it, see
115:01,281[A  ]| The strange Effects of wild Inconstancy!
115:01,282[A  ]| For she herself, even in that Sacred Room,
115:01,283[A  ]| With one brisk Vigorous onset was overcome,
115:01,284[A  ]| And made a Brothel of her Husband's Tomb!
115:01,285[A  ]| Whose pale Corpse trembled in its Sacred Shroud,
115:01,286[A  ]| Wondering that Heaven the Impious Act allowed:
115:01,287[A  ]| Horror in Robes of Darkness stalked around,
115:01,288[A  ]| And through the affrighted Tomb did Groans resound:
115:01,289[A  ]| The very Marbles wept; the Furies howled,
115:01,290[A  ]| And in hoarse Murmurs; their amazement told!
115:01,291[A  ]| All this shook not the Dictates of her Mind,
115:01,292[A  ]| But with a Boldness, Natural to her Kind,
115:01,293[A  ]| She made her Husband's Ghost (in Death a Slave)
115:01,294[A  ]| Her Necessary Pimp even in his Grave.
115:01,295[A  ]| What need I fetch these Instances from old?
115:01,296[A  ]| There now live Thousands both as bad and bold,
115:01,297[A  ]| Of Noble Birth, Lascivious, Young and Fair;
115:01,298[A  ]| But for their Husbands' sakes their Names I spare.
115:01,299[A  ]| Are these (Ye Powers!) the Virtues of a Wife?
115:01,300[A  ]| The Peace that Crowns a Matrimonial Life?
115:01,301[A  ]| Is this the Sacred Prize for which we fight,
115:01,302[A  ]| And hazard Life and Honour with Delight?
115:01,303[A  ]| Balm of the Day, and Rapture of the Night!
115:01,304[A  ]| The Reins that guide us in our wild Careers?
115:01,305[A  ]| And the Supporter of our Feeble Years?
115:01,306[A  ]| No! no! 'tis Contradiction; rather far
115:01,307[A  ]| They are the Cause of all our Bosom War;
115:01,308[A  ]| The bitter Source and Fountain of our Woe,
115:01,309[A  ]| From whence Despair and Doubt for ever flow;
115:01,310[A  ]| The Gall that mingles with our Prime Delight,
115:01,311[A  ]| Rank to the Taste, and nauseous to the Sight;
115:01,312[A  ]| A Days, the Weight of Care that Clogs his Breast,
115:01,313[A  ]| At Night the Hag that robs Him of his Rest:
115:01,314[A  ]| Our Mortal Sickness in the midst of Health,
115:01,315[A  ]| Chains in our Freedom, Poverty in Wealth,
115:01,316[A  ]| The Eternal Pestilence and Rack of Life,
115:01,317[A  ]| The Original and Spring of all our Strife;
115:01,318[A  ]| These Rather are the Virtues of a Clamorous Wife.
115:01,319[A  ]| Why was it, ye Immortal Powers, Your Will
115:01,320[A  ]| To mix our Grains of Good with such a Weight of Ill?
115:01,321[A  ]| Or did You think our Crimes would Soar so high
115:01,322[A  ]| For Your Corrections handed from the Sky,
115:01,323[A  ]| And so made them Your Vengeance to supply?
115:01,324[A  ]| For not the wide destructive waste of War,
115:01,325[A  ]| Nor yet the smarter Butchery of the Bar,
115:01,326[A  ]| That Ruin to all Humankind contrives,
115:01,327[A  ]| And murders more Estates than the other Lives;
115:01,328[A  ]| Nay not the Plague when it does madliest Rage,
115:01,329[A  ]| And half depopulates a Fruitful Age;
115:01,330[A  ]| Nor any other Evil we can find
115:01,331[A  ]| That pains the Body or distracts the Mind;
115:01,332[A  ]| Not to old Age perpetual Loss of Health,
115:01,333[A  ]| Nor yet that grinning Fiend Despair itself,
115:01,334[A  ]| When it insults with most Tyrannic Sway,
115:01,335[A  ]| Can tease, or torture Man so much as They!
115:01,336[A  ]| Urge it no more, they were Created Good,
115:01,337[A  ]| 'Twas not a Moment in that State she stood;
115:01,338[A  ]| Swift as a Meteor glides through Air she fell,
115:01,339[A  ]| And but for Heaven's Surmounting Grace had doomed us all to Hell.
115:01,340[A  ]| Beware, then, vain and thoughtless Man beware,
115:01,341[A  ]| Nor let Lascivious Women be the Snare
115:01,342[A  ]| To make You the Companions of them there.
115:01,343[A  ]| Think what it is in endless Flames to fry,
115:01,344[A  ]| With Strumpets and their Devils Laughing by:
115:01,345[A  ]| Think what the Pox, the Stone and Gout are here;
115:01,346[A  ]| Afflictions scarce to be exceeded there.
115:01,347[A  ]| Scorn their Vain Smiles; their Little Arts despise
115:01,348[A  ]| And Peace of Mind, at such a Value prize,
115:01,349[A  ]| As not to let those Ravenous Thieves of Prey
115:01,350[A  ]| Rifle, and bear the Sacred Guest away:
115:01,351[A  ]| 'Tis they that rob us of that Precious Gem;
115:01,352[A  ]| We could not lose it were it not for them.
115:01,353[A  ]| Avoid them then, with all the treacherous Arts
115:01,354[A  ]| They daily Practice for Unguarded Hearts
115:01,355[A  ]| Avoid them as You would avoid their Crimes,
115:01,356[A  ]| Or they themselves, Hereafter, would my Rhymes,
115:01,357[A  ]| Designed to lash them down through all succeeding Times.
115:01,358[A  ]| And now should any Coxcomb (for we may
115:01,359[A  ]| Find yet too many that will own their Sway)
115:01,360[A  ]| Should such revile the wholesome Rules, I give,
115:01,361[A  ]| And, in Contempt of what is taught them, live
115:01,362[A  ]| Like base Souled Slaves, and Fetters choose to wear,
115:01,363[A  ]| When they may be as unconfined as Air,
115:01,364[A  ]| Or the Winged Racers that inhabit there:
115:01,365[A  ]| May all the Plagues a Woman can invent
115:01,366[A  ]| Pursue them with Eternal Punishment:
115:01,367[A  ]| May they ~~ but stay, my Curses I forestall,
115:01,368[A  ]| For in that One is comprehended all.
115:01,369[A  ]| But say, Sir, if some Pilot on the Main
115:01,370[A  ]| Should be so mad, so resolutely vain,
115:01,371[A  ]| To steer his Vessel on that fatal Shore
115:01,372[A  ]| Where he had seen ten thousand Wrecked before!
115:01,373[A  ]| Though he should Perish there, say, would you not
115:01,374[A  ]| Bestow a Curse on the Notorious Sot?
115:01,375[A  ]| Trust me, the Man's as much to blame as He,
115:01,376[A  ]| That Ventures his frail Barque out, wilfully,
115:01,377[A  ]| On the Rough Rocky, Matrimonial Sea;
115:01,378[A  ]| Selfish, his Heart is with vain Hopes possessed,
115:01,379[A  ]| For why should He speed better than the rest?