POETS SHOULD HABITUATE THEIR MINDS TO GREAT SUBJECTS.
To dally much with subjects mean and low, Proves that the mind is weak, or makes it so. Neglected talents rust into decay,
And ev'ry effort ends in push-pin play.
The man that means success, should soar above A soldier's feather, or a lady's glove;
Else summoning the Muse to such a theme, The fruit of all her labour is whipp'd cream. As if an eagle flew aloft, and then-
Stoop'd from its highest pitch to pounce a wren. As if the poet, purposing to wed,
Should carve himself a wife in gingerbread.
Ages elaps'd ere Homer's lamp appear'd, And ages ere the Mantuan swan was heard. To carry nature lengths unknown before, To give a Milton birth, ask'd ages more. Thus Genius rose and set at order'd times, And shot a day-spring into distant climes, Ennobling ev'ry region that he chose; He sunk in Greece, in Italy he rose ; And, tedious years of Gothic darkness pass'd, Emerg'd all splendour in our isle at last. Thus lovely halcyons dive into the main, Then show far off their shining plumes again.
Nor rural sights alone, but rural sounds, Exhilarate the spirit, and restore
The tone of languid nature. Mighty winds, That sweep the skirt of some far-spreading wood Of ancient growth, make music not unlike The dash of Ocean on his winding shore, And lull the spirit while they fill the mind; Unnumber'd branches waving in the blast, And all their leaves fast flutt'ring, all at once. Nor less composure waits upon the roar Of distant floods, or on the softer voice Of neighb'ring fountain, or of rills that slip Through the cleft rock, and, chiming as they fall Upon loose pebbles, lose themselves at length In matted grass, that with a livelier green Betrays the secret of their silent course. Nature inanimate employs sweet sounds,
But animated nature sweeter still,
To soothe and satisfy the human ear.
Ten thousand warblers cheer the day, and one The live-long night: nor these alone, whose notes Nice-finger'd Art must emulate in vain,
But cawing rooks, and kites that swim sublime In still repeated circles, screaming loud, The jay, the pie, and ev'n the boding owl, That hails the rising moon, have charms for me. Sounds inharmonious in themselves and harsh, Yet heard in scenes where peace for ever reigns, And only there, please highly for their sake.1
MOVEMENT AND ACTION THE LIFE OF NATURE.-BOOK L
By ceaseless action all that is subsists. Constant rotation of th' unwearied wheel, That Nature rides upon, maintains her health, Her beauty, her fertility. She dreads
An instant's pause, and lives but while she moves. Its own revolvency upholds the World.
Winds from all quarters agitate the air,
And fit the limpid element for use,
Else noxious; oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams, All feel the fresh'ning impulse, and are cleans'd
By restless undulation; ev'n the oak
Thrives by the rude concussion of the storm: He seems indeed indignant, and to feel
Th' impression of the blast with proud disdain, Frowning, as if in his unconscious arm He held the thunder: but the monarch oweз His firm stability to what he scorns, More fix'd below, the more disturb'd above. The law, by which all creatures else are bound, Binds man, the lord of all. Himself derives No mean advantage from a kindred cause, From strenuous toil his hours of sweetest ease. The sedentary stretch their lazy length When Custom bids, but no refreshment find, For none they need: the languid eye, the cheek Deserted of its bloom, the flaccid, shrunk, And wither'd muscle, and the vapid soul, Reproach their owner with that love of rest, To which he forfeits ev'n the rest he loves. Not such the alert and active. Measure life By its true worth, the comforts it affords, And theirs alone seems worthy of the name. Good health, and, its associate in the most, Good temper; spirits prompt to undertake,
1 Comp. Shakesp. Merch. of Ven., see supra, p. 89.
And not soon spent, though in an arduous task; The pow'rs of fancy and strong thought are theirs ; Ev'n age itself seems privileged in them With clear exemption from its own defects. A sparkling eye beneath a wrinkled front The vet'ran shows, and, gracing a gray beard With youthful smiles, descends towards the grave Sprightly, and old almost without decay.
Whom call we gay? That honour has been long The boast of mere pretenders to the name. The innocent are gay-the lark is gay, That dries his feathers, saturate with dew, Beneath the rosy cloud, while yet the beams Of day-spring overshoot his humble nest. The peasant, too, a witness of his song, Himself a songster, is as gay as he. But save me from the gaiety of those,
Whose headaches nail them to a noonday bed; And save me too from theirs, whose haggard eyes Flash desperation, and betray their pangs For property stripp'd off by cruel chance; From gaiety, that fills the bones with pain,
The mouth with blasphemy, the heart with woe.
HOME DELIGHTS OF A WINTER EVENING-BOOK IV.
Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast, Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round; And while the bubbling and loud hissing urn Throws up a steamy column, and the cups That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each, So let us welcome peaceful ev'ning in.
O Winter, ruler of th' inverted year,
I crown thee king of intimate delights, Fireside enjoyments, home-born happiness, And all the comforts that the lowly roof Of undisturb'd Retirement, and the hours
Of long uninterrupted ev'ning, know.
No rattling wheels stop short before these gates; No powder'd pert, proficient in the art
Of sounding an alarm, assaults these doors
Till the street rings; no stationary steeds
Cough their own knell, while, heedless of the sound, The silent circle fan themselves, and quake:
But here the needle plies its busy task; The pattern grows, the well-depicted flow'r, Wrought patiently into the snowy lawn, Unfolds its bosoni; buds, and leaves, and sprigs, And curling tendrils, gracefully dispos'd, Follow the nimble finger of the fair;
A wreath, that cannot fade, of flow'rs, that blow With most success when all besides decay. The poet's or historian's page by one
Made vocal for th' amusement of the rest;
The sprightly lyre, whose treasure of sweet sounds The touch from many a trembling chord shakes out; And the clear voice symphonious, yet distinct, And in the charming strife triumphant still; Beguile the night, and set a keener edge On female industry: the threaded steel Flies swiftly, and unfelt the task proceeds. The volume clos'd, the customary rites Of the last meal commence. A Roman meal; Such as the mistress of the world once found Delicious, when her patriots of high note, Perhaps by moonlight, at their humble doors, And under an old oak's domestic shade, Enjoy'd-spare feast!—a radish and an egg. Discourse ensues, not trivial, yet not dull, Nor such as with a frown forbids the play Of fancy, or proscribes the sound of mirth : Nor do we madly, like an impious world, Who deem religion phrenzy, and the God, That made them, an intruder on their joys, Start at his aweful name, or deem his praise A jarring note. Themes of a graver tone, Exciting oft our gratitude and love, While we retrace with Mem'ry's pointing wand, That calls the past to our exact review,
The dangers we have 'scaped, the broken snare, The disappointed foe, deliv'rance found Unlook'd for, life preserv'd, and peace restor'd, Fruits of omnipotent eternal love.
"O ev'nings worthy of the gods!" exclaim'd The Sabine bard. O ev'nings, I reply, More to be priz'd and coveted than yours, As more illumin'd, and with nobler truths, That I, and mine, and those we love, enjoy.
CHRISTIAN PATRIOTISM.-BOOK V.
Patriots have toil'd, and in their country's cause Bled nobly; and their deeds, as they deserve,
1 Hor. Satires, ii. 6, 65.-Olney and Weston witnessed these evenings of the gods.
FROM TIROCINIUM, OR A REVIEW OF SCHOOLS.
Receive proud recompense. We give in charge Their names to the sweet lyre. Th' historic Muse, Proud of the treasure, marches with it down To latest times; and Sculpture, in her turn, Gives bond in stone and ever-during brass To guard them, and t' immortalize her trust: But fairer wreaths are due, though never paid, To those, who, posted at the shrine of Truth, Have fall'n in her defence. A patriot's blood, Well spent in such a strife, may earn indeed, And for a time ensure, to his lov'd land The sweets of liberty and equal laws; But martyrs struggle for a brighter prize, And win it with more pain. Their blood is shed In confirmation of the noblest claim, Our claim to feed upon immortal truth, To walk with God, to be divinely free, To soar, and to anticipate the skies.
Yet few remember them. They liv'd unknown, Till Persecution dragg'd them into fame, And chas'd them up to Heav'n. Their ashes flew -No marble tells us whither. With their names No bard embalms and sanctifies his song: And History, so warm on meaner themes, Is cold on this. She execrates, indeed, The tyranny, that doom'd them to the fire, But gives the glorious suff'rers little praise.
He is the freeman, whom the truth makes free, And all are slaves beside. There's not a chain, That hellish foes, confed'rate for his harm, Can wind around him, but he casts it off With as much ease as Samson his green withes. He looks abroad into the varied field
Of nature, and, though poor, perhaps, compar'd With those whose mansions glitter in his sight, Calls the delightful scen'ry all his own. His are the mountains, and the valleys his, And the resplendent rivers. His t' enjoy With a propriety that none can feel, But who, with filial confidence inspir'd, Can lift to Heaven an unpresumptuous eye, And smiling say-" My father made them all."
FROM TIROCINIUM, OR A REVIEW OF SCHOOLS."
THE PLAY PLACE OF EARLY DAYS.
Be it a weakness, it deserves some praise, We love the play-place of our early days; The scene is touching, and the heart is stone, That feels not at that sight, and feels at none.
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