Eternal barriers guard the pathlefs road
To warn the wanderer of the curft abode;
But prone as whirlwinds fcour the paffive sky,
The heights furmounted, down the steep they fly.
There, black with frowns, relentlefs Time awaits,
And goads their footsteps to the guilty gates:
And still he asks them of their unknown aims,
Evolves their fecrets, and their guilt proclaims;
And still his hands defpoil them on the road
Of each vain wreath, by lying Bards bestow'd,
Break their proud marbles, crush their feftal cars,
And rend the lawless trophies of their wars.
At laft the gates his potent voice obey;
Fierce to their dark abode he drives his prey,
Where, ever arm'd with adamantine chains,
The watchful dæmon o'er her vaffals reigns,
O'er mighty names and giant-powers of lust,
The Great, the Sage, the Happy, and August *.
No gleam of hope their baleful manfion cheers,.
No found of honour hails their unbleft ears;
But dire reproaches from the friend betray'd,
The childlefs fire and violated maid;
But vengeful vows for guardian laws effac'd,
From towns inflav'd and continents laid waste;
But long Pofterity's united groan,
And the fad charge of horrors not their own,
*Titles which have been generally afcribed to the
For ever through the trembling space refound,
And fink each impious forehead to the ground.
Ye mighty foes of Liberty and Reft,
Give way, do homage to a mightier guest!
Ye daring fpirits of the Roman race,
See Curio's toil your proudest claims efface!
—Aw'd at the name, fierce * Appius rifing bends,
And hardy Cinna from his throne attends :
"He comes, they cry, to whom the fates affign'd
"With furer arts to work what we design'd,
"From year to year the stubborn herd to sway, "Mouth all their wrongs, and all their rage obey; "Till, own'd their guide and trufted with their power, "He mock'd their hopes in one decisive hour : "Then, tir'd and yielding, led them to the chain, "And quench the spirit we provok’d in vain.” But thou, Supreme, by whofe eternal hands Fair Liberty's heroic empire ftands; Whofe thunders the rebellious deep control, And quell the triumphs of the traitor's foul, O turn this dreadful omen far away! On Freedom's foes their own attempts repay; Relume her facred fire fo near fuppreft, And fix her shrine in every Roman breast. Though bold Corruption boaft around the land, "Let Virtue, if the can, my baits withstand!"
* Appius Claudius the Decemvir, and L. Cornelius Cinna, both attempted to eftablish a tyrannical dominion in Rome, and both perished by the treafon. AKENSIDE.
Though bolder now the urge the accurfed claim,
Gay with her trophies rais'd on Curio's fhame;
Yet fome there are who fcorn her impious mirth,
Who know what confcience and a heart are worth.
-O friend and father of the human mind,
Whofe art for nobleft ends our frame defign'd!
If I, though fated to the ftudious shade
Which party-ftrife nor anxious power invade,
If I afpire in public virtue's caufe,
To guide the Mufes by fublimer laws,
Do thou her own authority impart,
And give my numbers entrance to the heart.
Perhaps the verfe might roufe her fmother'd flame,
And fnatch the fainting patriot back to fame;
Perhaps, by worthy thoughts of human kind,
To worthy deeds exalt the confcious mind;
Or dash Corruption in her proud career,
And teach her flaves that Vice was born to fear.
TOO much my heart of Beauty's power hath known,
Too long to Love hath Reafon left her throne; Too long my genius mourn'd his myrtle chain, And three rich years of youth confum'd in vain. My wishes, lull'd with foft inglorious dreams, Forgot the patriot's and the fage's themes: Through each Elyfan vale and Fairy grove, Through all the enchanted paradife of Love.
Mifled by fickly hope's deceitful flame,
Averfe to action, and renouncing fame.
At laft the visionary scenes decay,
My eyes, exulting, bless the new-born day,
Whose faithful beams detect the dangerous road
In which my heedlefs feet fecurely trod,
And ftrip the phantoms of their lying charms
That lur'd my foul from Wifdom's peaceful arms.
For filver ftreams and banks bespread with flowers,
For moffy couches and harmonious bowers,
Lo! barren heaths appear, and pathless woods,
And rocks hung dreadful o'er unfathom'd floods:
For openness of heart, for tender fmiles,
Looks fraught with love, and wrath disarming wiles,
Lo! fullen Spite, and perjur'd Luft of Gain,
And cruel Pride, and crueler Difdain.
Lo! cordial Faith to ideot airs refin'd,
Now coolly civil, now transporting kind.
For graceful Ease, lo! Affectation walks ;
And dull Half-sense, for Wit and Wisdom talks.
New to each hour what low delight fucceeds,
What precious furniture of hearts and heads!
By nought their prudence, but by getting, known;
And all their courage in deceiving shown.
See next what plagues attend the lover's state,
What frightful forms of terror, fcorn, and hate!
See burning Fury heaven and earth defy!
See dumb Defpair in icy fetters lie!
See black Sufpicion bend his gloomy brow,
The hideous image of himself to view!
And fond Belief, with all a lover's flame,
Sinks in those arms that points his head with fhame!
There wan Dejection, faultering as he goes,
In fhades and filence vainly feeks repofe;
Mufing through pathless wilds, confumes the day,
Then loft in darkness weeps the hours away.
Here the gay crowd of Luxury advance,
Some touch the lyre, and others urge the dance;
On every head the rofy garland glows,
In every hand the golden goblet flows.
The Syren views them with exulting eyes,
And laughs at bashful Virtue as the flies.
But fee behind, where Scorn and Want appear,
The grave remonstrance and the witty sneer.
See fell Remorfe in action, prompt to dart
Her fnaky poison through the conscious heart.
And Sloth to cancel, with oblivious shame,
The fair memorial of recording Fame.
Are these delights that one would wish to gain?
Is this the Elyfium of a sober brain;
To wait for happiness in female smiles,
Bear all her fcorn, be caught with all her wiles,
With prayers, with bribes, with lies, her pity crave,
Bless her hard bonds, and boast to be her flave;
To feel, for trifles, a distracting train
Of hopes and terrors equally in vain;
This hour to tremble, and the next to glow,
Can pride, can sense, can reason, stoop so low?
When Virtue, at an easier price, displays
The facred wreaths of honourable praise;
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