網頁圖片
PDF
ePub 版

In mantle dun.is A faint erroneous rays dilbog seod W
Glanced from the imperfect surfaces of thingsig 90'l
Flings half an image on the straining eyesry vlenivi(
While wavering woods, and villages, and streams,ɗ1
And rocks, and mountain tops, that long retain’d
The' ascending gleam, are all one swimming scenesɗ l'
Uncertain if beheldu
n if beheld. Sudden to heaven mort „slid W
Thence weary vision turns; where, leading softisd 10
The silent hours of love, with purest rays) 992 you'l
Sweet Venus shines; and from her genial rise,1992 ai
When daylight sickens till it springs afreshis drow o'l
Unrival'd reigns, the fairest lamp of Night.d au morA
As thus the' effulgence tremulous I drink, ar gaiv179♬
With cherish'd gaze, the lambent lightnings shoot!!
Across the sky; or horizontal dartes bid won bɛəl ol
In wondrous shapes: by fearful murmuring crowds, ol
Portentous deem'd. Amid the radiant orbs,13 11:07
That more than deck, that animate the sky,d yds bat
The life-infusing suns of other worlds; 90300- evirAA
Lo! from the dread immensity of space,bboule siteul #
Returning, with accelerated course,umuz dedi 19jd0ně
The rushing comet to the sun descendsgiv blin osod W
And as he sinks below the shading earth, of we/
With awful train projected o'er the heavens,) uir sous){
The guilty nations tremble. But, aboveois agnirqe ed
Those superstitious horrors that enslavens adi avodk
The fond sequacious herd, to mystic faithedt brid radi
And blind amazement prone, the' enlighten'd few, adi

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Whose godlike minds Philosophy exaltsub sijaam al
The glorious stranger hail? They feel a joyt beɔaslə
Divinely great; they in their powers exüft,lled agad!
That wondrous force of thought, which mounting
b'ais spurns) tailt eqoi nista.om basedbox bar
This dusky spot, and measures all the sky,992 (94
While, from his far excursion through the wilds 199
Of barren ether, faithful to his time,
They see the blazing wonder rise anew,
In seeming terror clad, but kindly bent
To work the will of all-sustaining Love;
From his huge vapoury train perhaps to shake
Reviving moisture on the numerous orbs,
Through which his long ellipsis winds; perhaps
To lend new fuel to declining suns, 10 (728
To light up worlds, and feed the' eternal fire.TOễ
With thee, serene Philosophy, with thee, 36971
And thy bright garland, let me crown my song!
Effusive source of evidence and truth!2rioncs
A lustre shedding o'er the ennobled mind,
Stronger than summer noon; and pure as that,
Whose mild vibrations sooth the parted soul,
New to the dawning of celestial day.delo
Hence through her nourish'd powers, enlarged by thee,
She springs aloft, with elevated pride,

Above the tangling mass of low desires,itaque Deu
That bind the flattering crowd; and, angel-wing'd,
The heights of science and of virtue gains, binid bi♬

9

[ocr errors]

Where all is calm and clear; with Nature round,ol/
Or in the starry regions, or the' abyss, O
To Reason's and to Fancy's eye display'd 250w by
The First up-tracing, from the dreary void,
The chain of causes and effects to Him,

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

The world-producing Essence, who alone

Possesses being; while the Last receives

The whole magnificence of heaven and earth; om
And every beauty, delicate or bold, › 1'
Obvious or more remote, with livelier sense,

Diffusive painted on the rapid mind.

Tutor❜d by thee, hence Poetry exalts
Her voice to ages; and informs the page
With music, image, sentiment, and thought,
Never to die! the treasure of mankind!
Their highest honour, and their truest joy!

Without thee what were unenlighten'd Man?
A savage roaming through the woods and wilds,
In quest of prey; and with the' unfashion'd fur
Rough-clad; devoid of every finer art,
And elegance of life. Nor happiness
Domestic, mix'd of tenderness and care,
Nor moral excellence, nor social bliss,
Nor guardian law were his; nor various skill
To turn the furrow, or to guide the tool
Mechanic; nor the heaven-conducted prow
Of navigation bold, that fearless braves

The burning line, or dares the wintry pole; 7

Mother severe of infinite delights!

Nothing, save rapine, indolence, and guile, 10

And woes on woes, a still-revolving train

Whose horrid circle had made human life
Than nonexistence worse: but, taught by thee,
Ours are the plans of policy and peace;
To live like brothers, and conjunctive all
Embellish life. While thus laborious crowds

Ply the tough oar, Philosophy directs
The ruling helm; or like the liberal breath
Of potent heaven, invisible, the sail

Swells out, and bears the' inferior world along.
Nor to this evanescent speck of earth
Poorly confined, the radiant tracks on high
Are her exalted range; intent to gaze
Creation through; and, from that full complex
Of never ending wonders, to conceive

Of the SOLE BEING right, who spoke the Word,
And Nature moved complete. With inward view,
Thence on the' ideal kingdom swift she turns
Her eye; and instant, at her powerful glance,
The' obedient phantoms vanish or appear;
Compound, divide, and into order shift,
Each to his rank, from plain perception up
To the fair forms of Fancy's fleeting train:
To reason then, deducing truth from truth;
And notion quite abstract; where first begins
The world of spirits, action all, and life

Unfetter'd, and unmix'd. But here the cloud
(So wills Eternal Providence) sits deep.
Enough for us to know that this dark state,
In wayward passions lost and vain pursuits,
This Infancy of Being, cannot prove

The final issue of the works of God,

By boundless Love and perfect Wisdom form'd,
And ever rising with the rising mind.

[ocr errors]
[merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors]
« 上一頁繼續 »