Nathless conspicuous in the linnet's throat Is his unbounded goodness-Thee her Maker, Thee her Preserver chants she in her song; While all the emulative vocal tribe The grateful lesson learn―no other voice Is heard, no other sound-for, in attention Buried, ev'n babbling Echo holds her peace. Now from the plains, wherethe unboundedpro- Gives liberty her utmost scope to range, [spect Turn we to yon inclosures, where appears Chequer'd variety in all her forms, Which the vague mind attract, and still suspend With sweet perplexity. What are yon towers, The work of laboring men and clumsy art, Seen with the ringdove's nest ? On that tall beech Her pensile house the feather'd artist builds The rocking winds molest her not; for see With such due poise the wond'rous fabric's hung. That, like the compass in the bark, it keeps True to itself and stedfast ev'n in storms. Thou idiot, that asserts there is no God, View, and be dumb for ever-
Go bid Vitruvius or Palladio build The bee his mansion, or the ant her cave- Go call Correggio, or let Titian come [cherry To paint the hawthorn's bloom, or teach the To blush with just vermillion- Hence away- Hence, ye profane! for God himself is here. Vain were th' attempt, and impious, to trace Thro' all his works th' Artificer Divine- And tho' nor shining sun, nor twinkling star, Bedeck'd the crimson curtains of the sky; Tho' neither vegetable, beast, nor bird Were extant on the surface of this ball, Nor lurking gem beneath; tho' the great sea Slept in profound stagnation, and the air Had left no thunder to pronounce its Maker; Yet man at home, within himself, might find The Deity immense, and in that frame, So fearfully, so wonderfully made, See and adore his providence and power- I see, and I adore - O God inost bounteous! O infinite of goodness and of glory, [Thee; The knee that thou hast shap'd shall bend to The tongue which thon hast tun'd shall chant thy praise;
And thine own image, the immortal soul, Shall consecrate herself to Thee for ever.
§43. On the Omniscience of the Supreme Being Smart.
ARISE, divine Urania, with new strains To hymn thy God! and thou, immortal Fame, Arise and blow thy everlasting trump? All glory to the Omniscient, and praise, And power and domination in the height! And thou, cherubic Gratitude, whose voice To pious ears sounds silverly so sweet, Come with thy precious incense, bring thy gifts, And with thy choicest stores the altar crown Thou too, my heart, whom He, and He alone Who all things knows, can know, with love reRegenerate, and pure, pour all thyself [plete,
A living sacrifice before his throne! And may th' eternal, high, mysterious tree, That in the centre of the arched heavens [branch Bears the rich fruit of knowledge, with some Stoop to my humble reach, and bless my toil! When in my mother's womb conceal'd I lay, A senseless embryo, then my soul thou knew'st; Knew'st all her future workings, every thought, And every faint idea yet unform'd. When up
the imperceptible ascent Of growing years, led by thy hand, I rose, Perception's gradual light, that ever dawns Insensibly to-day, thou didst vouchsafe, And taught me by that reason thou inspir'dst, That what of knowledge in my mind was low, Imperfect, incorrect, in Thee is wond'rous, Uncircumscrib'd, insearchably profound, And estimable solely by itself.
What is that secret pow'r that guides the Which Ignorance calls instinct! "Tisfrom Thee; It is the operation of thine hands,
Immediate, instantaneous; 'tis thy wisdom That glorious shines transparent thro' thy works. Who taught the pye, or who forewarn'd the jay, To shun the deadly nightshade? Tho' the cherry Boasts not a glossier hue, nor does the plum Lure with more seeming sweets the amorous eye, Yet will not the sagacious birds, decoyed By fair appearance, touch the noxious fruit. They know to taste is fatal; whence, alarm'd, Swift on the winnowing winds they work their
Go to, proud reasoner, philosophic man, Hast thou such prudence, thou such knowledge? Full many a race has fall'n into the snare [— No. Of meretricious looks, of pleasing surface; And oft in desart isles the famish'd pilgrim, By forms of fruit, and luscious taste, beguil'd, Like his forefather Adam, eats and dies. For why? his wisdom on the leaden feet Of slow Experience, dully tedious, creeps, And comes, like vengeance, after long delay. The venerable sage, that nightly trims The learned lamp, t' investigate the powers Of plants medicinal, the earth, the air, And the dark regions of the fossil world, Grows old in following what he ne'er shall find; Studious in vain! till haply at the last He spies a mist, then shapes it into mountains, And baseless fabrics from conjecture builds.
While the domestic animal, that guards At midnight hours his threshold, if oppress'd By sudden sickness, at his inaster's feet Begs not that aid his services might claim, But is his own physician, knows the case, And from th' enetic herbage works his cure. Hark! from afar the feather'd matron screams, And all her brood alarins! The docile crew Accept the signal one and all, expert, In th' art of Nature and unlearn'd deceit : Along the sod, in counterfeited death, Mute, motionless they lie; full well appriz'd That the rapacious adversary's near
But who inform'd her of th' approaching danger? | Nor rests she here her providence, but nips Who taught the cautious mother, that the hawk | With subtle tooth the grain, lest from her garner Was hatch'd her foe,and liv'd by her destruction? In mischievous fertility it steal,
Her own prophetic soul is active in her, And more than human providence her guard. When Philomela, ere the cold domain Of crippled Winter 'gins t' advance, prepares Her annual flight, and in some poplar shade Takes her melodious leave, who then's her pilot? Who points her passage thro' the pathless void To realms from us reniote, to us unknown? Her science is the science of her God.
Not the magnetic index to the North E'er ascertains her course, nor buoy, nor beacon: She, Heaven-taught voyager, that sails in air, Courts nor coy West nor Fast, but instant knows What Newton or not sought, or sought in vain*. Illustrious name! irrefragable proof Of man's vast genius, and the soaring soul! Yet what wert thou to Him, who knew his Before creation form'd them, long before He measur'd in the hollow of his hand Th' exulting ocean, and the highest heavens He comprehended with a span, and weigh'd The mighty mountains in his golden scales; Who shone supreme, who was himself the light, Fre yet Refraction learn'd her skill to paint, And bend athwart the clouds her beauteous bow. When Knowledge at her father's dread com- mand
Resign'd to Israel's king her golden key,
And back to day-light vegetate its way. Go to the Ant, thou sluggard, learn to live, And by her wary ways reform thine own. But if thy deaden'd sense, and listless thought, More glaring evidence demand; behold, Where yon pellucid populous hive presents A yet uncopied model to the world! There Machiavel in the reflecting glass May read himself a fool. The chemist there May with astonishment invidious view His toils outdone by each plebeian bee, Who, at the royal mandate, on the wing, From various herbs, and from discordant flowers, A perfect harmony of sweets compounds.
Avaunt, Conceit! Ambition, take thy flight Back to the Prince of vanity and air! works! 'tis a thought of energy most piercing; [force Form'd to make pride grow humble; form'd to Its weight on the reluctant mind, and give her A true but irksome image of herself. Woeful vicissitude! when man, fallen man, Who first from Heaven, from gracious God himself Learn'd knowledge of the brutes, must know, by brutes
! to have join'd the frequent auditors In wonder and delight, that whilou heard Great Solomon descanting on the brutes. O! how sublimely glorious to apply To God's own honor, and good-will to man, That wisdom he alone of men possess'd In plenitude so rich, and scope so rare. How did he rouse the pamper'd silken sons Of bloated Ease, by placing to their view The sage industrious Ant, the wisest insect, And best economist of all the field! Tho' she presumes not by the solar orb To measure times and seasons, nor consults Chaldean calculations, for a guide;
Yet, conscious that December's on the march, Pointing with icy hand to Want and Woe, She waits his dire approach, and undismay'd Receives him as a welcome guest, prepar'd Against the churlish Winter's fiercest blow. For when as yet the favorable Sun
Gives to the genial earth the enlivening ray," Not the poor suffering slave, that hourly toils To rive the groaning earth for ill-sought gold, Endures such trouble, such fatigue, as she; While all her subterranéous avenues, [meet And storm-proof cells, with management most And unexampled housewifery she forms: Then to the field she hies, and on her back, Burden immense! she bears the cumbrous corn. Then many a weary step, and many a strain, And many a grievous groan subdu'd, at length Up the huge hill she hardly heaves it home,
Instructed and reproach'd, the scale of being; | By slow degrees from lowly steps ascend, And trace Omniscience upwards to its spring! Yet murmur not, but praise-for tho' we stand Of many a godlike privilege amerc'd
By Adam's dire transgression; tho' no more Is Paradise our home, but o'er the portal Hangs in terrific pomp the burning blade; Still with ten thousand beauties bloom the earth, With pleasures populous,andwith riches crown'd. Still is there scope for wonder and for love Ev'n to their last exertion-showers of blessings Far more than human virtue can deserve, Or hope expect, or gratitude return. Then, O ye people, O ye sons of men, Whatever be the color of your lives, Whatever portion of itself his wisdom Shall deign t' allow, still patiently abide, And praise him more and more; nor cease to chant "All glory to th' Omniscient, and praise,
And pow'r, and domination in the height! "And thou, cherubic Gratitude, whose voice "To pious cars sounds silverly so sweet,
Come with thy precious incense, bring thy gifts, "And with thy choicest stores the altar crown."
$44. Onthe Power of the Supreme Being. Smart. TREMBLE, thou Earth!" th' anointed poet said, [mountains! "At God's bright presence; tremble all ye Then once again, ye glorious thunders, roll! "And all ye hillocks on the surface bound!" The Mase with transport hears ye; once again Convulse the solid continent! and shake, Grand music of Omnipotence, the isles! 'Tis thy terrific voice, thou God of power,
Tis thy terrific voice; all nature hears it, Awaken'd and alarm'd; she feels its force; In every spring she feels it, every wheel, And every movement of her vast machine. Behold! quakes Apennine; behold! recoils Athos; and all the hoary headed Alps Leap from their bases at the god-like sound. But what is this, celestial tho' the note, And proclamation of the reign supreine, Compar'd with such as, for a mortal ear Too great, amaze the incorporeal worlds ? Should Ocean to his congregated waves Call in each river, cataract, and lake, And with the wat'ry world down a huge rock Fail headlong in one horrible cascade, Twere but the echo of the parting breeze, When zephyr faints upon the lily's breast; Twere but the ceasing of some instrument, When the last lingering undulation Dies on the doubting car, if nam'd with sounds So mighty! so stupendous! so divine!
But not alone in the aerial vault Does He the dread theocracy maintain; For oft, enrag'd with his intestine thunders, He harrows up the bowels of the earth, And shocks the central magnet-Cities then Totter on their foundations, stately columns, Magnific walls, and heaven-assaulting spires. What tho' in haughty eminence erect Stands the strong citadel, and frowns defiance On adverse hosts; tho' many a bastion jut Forth from the rampart's elevated mound; Vain the poor providence of human art, And mortal strength how vain I while underneath Triumphe his mining vengeance in th' uproar Ofshatter'd towers, riven rocks, and mountains, With clamor inconceivable uptorn, And hurl'd adown th' abyss. Sulphureous pyrites Bursting abrupt from darkness into day, With din outrageous and destructive ire, Augment the hideous tumult, while it wounds Th' afflictive ear, and terrifies the eye, [felt, And rends the heart in twain. Twice have we' Within Augusta's walls, twice have we felt Thy threaten'd indignation: but even Thou, Incens'd Omnipotent, art gracious ever; Thy goodness infinite but mildly warn'd us, With mercy-blended wrath; O spare us still, Nor send more dire conviction! We confess That thou art He th' Almighty: we believe. For at thy righteous power whole systems quake; For at thy nod tremble ten thousand worlds. Hark! on the wing'd whirlwinds rapid rage, Which is and is not in a moment-hark! On the hurricane's tempestuous sweep he rides Invincible, and oaks, and pines, and cedars, And forests are no more. For, conflict dreadful! The West encounters East, and Notus meets In his career the Hyperborean blast.
The lordly lions shuddering seek their dens, And fly like timorous deer; the king of birds, Who dar'd the solar ray, is weak of wing, And faints, and falls, anddies;-while He supreme Stands stedfast in the centre of the storm. Wherefore ye objects terrible and great,
Ye thunders, earthquakes, and ye fire-fraught Offell volcanos, whirlwinds, hurricanes, [wombs And boiling billows, hail! in chorus join To celebrate and magnify your Maker, Who yet in works of a minuter mould Is not less manifest, is not less mighty.
Survey the magnet's sympathetic love That woos the yielding needle; contemplate Th' attractive amber's power, invisible Ev'n to the mental eye; or when the blow Sent from th' electric sphere assaults thy frame, Show me the hand that dealt it! Baffled here By his Omnipotence, Philosophy Slowly her thoughts inadequate revolves, And stands, with all his circling wonders round Like heavy Saturn in th' ethereal space [her, Begirt with an inexplicable ring.
If such the operations of his power, Which at all seasons and in every place (Rul'd by establish'd laws and current nature) Arrest th' attention; who, oh who shall tell His acts miraculous? when his own decrees Repeals he, or suspends ; when by the hand Of Moses or of Joshua, or the mouths Of his prophetic scers, such deeds be wrought, Before th' astonish'd sun's all-seeing eye, That faith was scarce a virtue. Need I sing The fate of Pharoah and his numerous band Lost in the reflux of the wat'ry walls, That melted to their fluid state again? Need I recount how Samson's warlike arm, With more than mortal nerves was strung, t'o'er- Idolatrous Philistia? Shall I tell [throw How David triumph'd, and what Job sustain'd? - But, O supreme, unutterable mercy! O love unequall'd, mystery immense, [tion Which angels long t'unfold! 'tis man's redem- That crowns thy glory, and thy power confirms; Confirms the great, th' uncontroverted claim. When from the Virgin's unpolluted womb Shone forth the Son of Righteousness reveal'd, And on benighted reason pour'd the day; "Let there be peace!" he said, and all was calm Amongst the warring world—calm as the sea When, "O be still, ye boisterous winds!" he cried,
And not a breath was blown, nor murmur heard. His was a life of miracles and might, And charity and love, ere yet he taste The bitter draught of death, ere yet he rise Victorious o'er the universal foe,
And death, and sin, and hell in triumph lead. His by the right of conquest is mankind, And in sweet servitude and golden bonds Were tied to him for ever. O how easy Is his ungalling yoke, and all his burdens 'Tis ecstasy to bear. Him, blessed Shepherd! His flocks shall follow thro' the maze of life, And shades that tend to day-spring from on high; And as the radiant roses, after fading, In fuller foliage, and more fragrant breath Revive in smiling spring, so shall it fare With those that love him-for sweet is their sa And all Eternity shall be their spring. [vor, Then shall the gates and everlasting doors,.
Israel's sweet Psalmist, who alone couldst wake Th' inanimate to motion, who alone The joyful hillocks, the applauding rocks, And floods with musical persuasion drew; Thou,whoto hail and snow gav'st voice and sound, And mad'st the mute melodious! greater yet Was thy divinest skill, and rul'd o'er more Than art and nature; for thy tuneful touch Drove trembling Satan from the heart of Saul, And quell'd the evil Angel-in this breast Some portion of thy genuine spirit breathe, And lift me from myself; each thought impure Banish; each low idea raise, refine, Enlarge, and sanctify;-so shall the Muse Above the stars aspire, and aim to praise Her god on earth as he is prais'd in heaven. Immense Creator! whose all-powerful hand Fram'd universal being, and whose eye Saw like thyself, that all things form'd were good, Where shall the timorous Bard thy praise begin, Where end the purest sacrifice of song, [light, And just thanksgiving?--The thought-kindling Thy prime production, darts upon my mind Its vivifying beams, my heart illumines, And fills my soul with gratitude and Thee, Hail to the cheerful rays of ruddy morn, That paint the streaky East and blightsome rouse The birds, the cattle, and mankind from rest! Hail to the freshness of the early breeze, And Iris dancing on the new-fall'n dew, Without the aid of yonder golden globe. Lost were the garnet's lustre, lost the lily, The tulip and auricula's spotted pride; Lost were the peacock's plumage, to the sight So pleasing in its pomp and glossy glow. O thrice-illustrious! were it not for Thee, Those pansies, that reclining from the bank View thro' th' immaculate pellucid stream Their portraiture in the inverted heaven, Might as well change their triple boast, the white, The purple, and the gold, that far outvie The Eastern monarch's garb, ev'n with the dock, Ev'n with the baleful hemlock's irksome green. Without thy aid, without thy gladsome beams, The tribes of woodland warblers would remain Mute on the bending branches, nor recite The praise of Him, who, ere he form'd their lord,
Their voices tun'd to transport, wing'd their flight,
And bade then call for nurture, and receive: And lo! they call the blackbird and the thrush,. The woodlark and the redbreast, jointly call; He hears, and feeds their feather'd families; He feeds his sweet musicians-nor neglects Th' invoking ravens in the greenwood wide; And tho' their throats coarse rattling hurt the car, They mean it all for inusic, thanks and praise They mean, and leave ingratitude to man:- But not to all-for, hark! the organs blow Their swelling notes round the cathedral's dome, And grace the harmonious choir, celestial feast To pious cars, and medicine of the mind! The thrilling trebles and the manly base Join in accordance meet, and with one voice All to the sacred subject suit their song. While in each breast sweet melancholy reigns Angelically pensive, till the joy
Improves and purifies; the solemn scene The sun thro' storied panes surveys with awe, And bashfully witholds each bolder beam. Here, as her home, from morn to eve frequents The cherub Gratitude; behold her eyes! With love and gladness weepingly they shed Ecstatic smiles; the incense, that her hands Uprear, is sweeter than the breath of May Caught from the nectarine's blossom,and hervoice Is inore than voice can tell to Him she sings, To Him who feeds, who clothes, and whoadorus, Who made, and who preserves, whatever dwells In air, in stedfast earth, or fickle sea.
O He is good, He is immensely good! [man; Who all things form'd, and form'd them all for Who mark'd the climates, varied every zone, Dispensing all his blessings for the best, In order and in beauty:-rise, attend, Arrest, and praise, ye quarters of the world! Bow down, ye elephants, submissive bow To Him who made the mite! Tho', Asia's pride, Ye carry armies on your tower-crown'd backs, And grace the turban'd tyrants, bow to Him Who is as great, as perfect, and as good In his less striking wonders, till at length The eye's at fault, and seeks th' assisting glass. Approach, and bring from Araby the Blest The fragrant cassia, frankincense, and myrrh, And, meekly kneeling at the altar's foot, Lay all the tributary incense down. Stoop, feeble Africa, with reverence stoop, And from thy brow take off the painted plume; With golden ingots all thy camels load To' adorn his temples, hasten with thy spear Reverted, and thy trusty bow unstrung, While unpursued thy lions roam and roar, And ruin'd towers, rude rocks, and caverns wide Re-murmur to the glorious, surly sound. And thou, fair Indian, whose immense domain To counterpoise the hemisphere extends, [ers, Haste from the West, and with thy fruits and flow- Thy mines and med'cines, wealthy maid, attend. More than the plenteousness so fam'd to flow By fabling bards from Amalthea's horn
* See this conjecture strongly supported by Delany, in his Life of David.
Is thine; thine therefore be a portion due [crown | Not Fortune's gem, Ambition's plume, Of thanks and praise: come with thy brilliant Nor Cytherea's fading bloom,
And vest of fur; and from thy fragrant lap Pomegranates and the rich ananas pour. But chiefly thou, Europa, seat of Grace And Christian excellence, his Goodness own. Forth from ten thousand temples pour his praise. Clad in the armor of the living God, · Approach, unsheath the Spirit's flaming sword; Faith's shield, salvation's glory-compass'd helm With fortitude assume, and o'er your heart Fair Truth's invulnerable breast-plate spread; Then join the general chorus of all worlds, And let the song of Charity begin
In strains seraphic, and melodious prayer: O all-sufficient, all-beneficent,
"Thou God of Goodness and of Glory, hear! Thou, who to lowest minds dost condescend, Assuming passions to enforce thy laws,
Adopting jealousy to prove thy love:
Thou, who resign'd humility uphold'st,
Ev'n as the florist props the drooping rose, Butquell'st tyrannie pride with peerless power. "Ev'n as the tempest rives the stubborn oak : O all-sufficient, all-beneficent,
Thou God of Goodness and of Glory, hear! Bless all mankind; and bring them in the end To heav'n, to immortality, and Thee!"'
§ 46. Ode to Wisdom. Miss Carter. THE solitary bird of night
Thro' the pale shades now wings his flight, And quits the time-shook tow'r, Where, shelter'd from the blaze of day, Ia philosophic gloom he lay, Beneath his ivy bow'r.
With joy. I hear the solemn sound, Which midnight echoes waft around, And sighing gales repeat: Fav rite of Pallas! I attend, And faithful to thy summons, bend At Wisdom's awful seat.
She loves the cool, the silent eve, Where no false shows of life deceive, Beneath the lunar ray: Here Folly drops each vain disguise, Nor sports her gaily-color'd dyes, As in the glare of day.
O Pallas! queen of ev'ry art
"That glads the sense or mends the heart,"
Blest source of purer joys;
In ev'ry form of beauty bright, That captivates the mental sight With pleasure and surprise;
To thy unspotted shrine I bow, Assist thy modest suppliant's vow, That breathes no wild desires : But, taught by thy unerring rules To shun the fruitless wish of fools, To nobler views aspires.
Be objects of my pray'r Let av'rice, vanity, and pride, These glitt'ring envied toys divide, The dull rewards of care. To me thy better gifts impart, Each moral beauty of the heart,
By studious thought refin'd: For wealth, the smiles of glad content; For pow'r, its amplest, best extent, An empire o'er my mind.
When Fortune drops her gay parade, When Pleasure's transient roses fade, And wither in the tomb, Unchang'd is thy immortal prize, Thy ever-verdant laurels rise In undecaying bloom. By the protected, I defy The coxcomb's sneer, the stupid lye Of ignorance and spite; Alike contemn the leaden fool, And all the pointed ridicule Of undiscerning wit.
From envy, hurry, noise, and strife, The dull impertinence of life,
In thy retreat I rest; Pursue thee to thy peaceful groves, Where Plato's sacred spirit roves, In all thy graces drest.
He bid Ilyssus' tuneful stream Convey the philosophic theme
Of perfect, fair, and good : Attentive Athens caught the sound, And all her list'ning sons around In awful silence stood.
Reclaim'd, her wild licentious youth Confess'd the potent voice of truth, And felt its just control :
The passions ceas'd their loud alarmıs, And virtue's soft persuasive charms O'er all their senses stole.
Thy breath inspires the poet's song, The patriot's free unbiass'd tongue,
The hero's gen'rons strife : Thine are retirement's silent joys, And all the sweet endearing ties Of still, domestic life.
No more to fabled names confin'd, To thee, supreme, all perfect mind, My thoughts direct their flight: Wisdom's thy gift, and all her force From thee deriv'd, unchanging source Of intellectual light!
() send her sure, her steady ray To regulate my doubtful way,
Thro' life's perplexing road; The mists of error to control; And thro' its gloom direct my To happiness and good! D 3
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