If to spurn at noble praise
Be the passport to thy heaven,
Follow thou those gloomy ways,
No such law to me was given;
Nor, I trust, shall I deplore me
Faring like my friends before me;
Nor a holier place desire
Than Timoleon's arms acquire,
And Tully's curule chair, and Milton's golden lyre.
THE MAN OF TASTE.
HENCE! phantom! weak and vain,
Fashion! of Indolence and Folly born!
Nursed by Conceit and Scorn!
And cradled in the wild distemper'd brain!
Go! Hoyden, as thou art
A full grown baby! skittish! prone to range!
Changed, evermore to change!
Find out some high tower's pinnacle! and watch
The shifting vane to catch,
That veers with every blast to every part!
But come! thou sober Influence,
Whom Genius bore of old to Sense!
Taste, thy name!-Beneath a shade,
By arched oaks embowering made,
Sense his stand, deep musing, took;
With fixed foot, and steadfast look,
Nature's handiwork surveying ;-
Where fruit and flower the meads arraying,
Lavish of hues that might outvie
The many-tinged rainbow's dye,
Show'd heavenly pencilling! What time
Genius, the wood nymph, in her prime
Of bloom and spirit, pass'd along;
Light of heart and frank of song;
Vagrant, on a sweet zephyr's wing,
Plundering the magazines of spring;
Vermil tints and perfumed air
Gathering here and scattering there!
Her the thought-wrapt being spied
Glancing comely by his side;
And, with sudden passion fired,
Follow'd still as she retired:
Soon won with ardent vows her mind,
And in meet espousal join'd,
In happiest hour the bride embraced!-
Hence the auspicious birth of Taste!
Come! decent nymph! in ample vest Of seemly suited colours dress'd!Come thou, Taste! and bring with thee The maiden, meek Simplicity!Come! and give mine eye to stray, Where thou deignest to display Thy dædal power, such grace to teach, As Nature loves, but cannot reach!
Let us oft our visit pay (In the pure matin prime of day, Ere the high sun hath drunk the dews) To where the poet courts the Muse! Him, I mean, who bows the knee, In homage still submits to thee! Whom thy steady rule hath taught To form the plan and point the thought; To passion all its voice to give, And bid the warm description live!
Him who ne'er in evil hour,
Mistaking strong desire for power,
Couples ideas vague and rude,
Match'd without similitude!
Where, wedged in heterogeneous rank,
Tall metaphors each other flank;
And seem in such confusion set
As if they wonder'd how they met:
Or under a huge pile of phrase,
Which idly grouped figures raise
With blank and alien epithets,
The dull drudge, Affectation, sweats!
Nor let my foot the spot forbear,
Where Judgment takes the critic chair;
Commanding at her side to stand,
Candour and Spirit, hand in hand;
Bidding mine eye some canvass trace,
Where the bold outline's soften'd grace,
Expression rich, and chaste design
With delicate neglect combine;
Till rapt attention, fairly caught,
Fill me with all the painter's thought!
Haply, some rising dome shall claim
My glad observance; where the dame
Propriety, throughout presiding,
Plan, measure, execution guiding,
Blends neat convenience with expense,
Proportion with magnificence:
While Attic elegance and ease
Help Roman grandeur more to please;
And Roman grandeur doth advance
The Attic ease and elegance!
My soul, meanwhile, with rapture ranging
O'er parts in aptest order changing,
Sees every art of every coast
Become my country's gradual boast.
Or if domestic objects wake
Mine inclination, let me take
Beside the family hearth my stand,
Where Goodnature, blithe and bland,
Calls, with more than magic force,
Every Grace and Joy of course;
Speeding the buxom hours along
With converse sweet, free jest, prompt song;
Teaching each excellence to find
The inmost bosom, where inshrined
Sits chaste Decorum, holding still
In bands of silk the truant will;
While Mirth and Virtue walk at ease,
Prone to be pleased, and glad to please.
Sometimes wandering, let me meet,
Seldom found, the blissful seat,
Where Discretion, mildly sage,
Watches o'er the rising age;
Warning still the parent's care
To snatch from Folly's gripe his heir;
Lessoning the virgin ears of youth
In that most glorious science-Truth-
Truth of thought, -due praise to give!
Truth of heart, -to act and live!
Or training for the public scene
The social consciousness serene;
Which founds (unduped by popular names)
On general duties private claims,
And general claims, where'er they rise,
By private duty's standard tries;
Convinced that, in dominion's scale
Whatever civil plans prevail,
The Almighty word, which form'd this ball,
Made man for man, and all for all.
Taste!-if with me thou deign to dwell,
Let signs like these thy influence tell;
Mode, whim, expense, and awkward pain
Usurp thy semblance all in vain;
Invention with proportion join'd,
Ardour corrected, strength refined
Announce (in spite of proud pretence)
The child of Genius and of Sense!
O THOU! to whom these lines belong,
Inspirer of the languid song,
In apathy my senses steep,
Or lull them in the arms of sleep;
Deaden each active power of soul;
Reflection's deep felt pangs control;
Quench Fancy's beam Enough to know
Our present state, or joy or woe.
For ills to come as yet are not;
Those past are nothing if forgot.
This state, by Dulness realized,
Is to be envied, not despised.
If ills the thinking mind annoy,
Stupidity is surely joy.
Of calm Indifference possess'd,
And by unfeeling Folly bless'd,
Her son, unmoved, with tearless eye,
Beholds a friend or mistress die :
Unmoved by the wild shrieks of pain;
Unmoved by want's imploring train;
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