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Digital Rare Book Collections
Rare Book & Manuscript Library
University of Illinois Library at
Urbana-Champaign
2020
 
 
 

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‘EPISTLE II}

N O W then Thyfelf, prefume not God
to {can ;

The only Science of Mankind is Mam,

 

PLAc'D on this Iﬂhmus of a middle State,
A Being darkly wife, and rudely great;
With too mueh Knowledge for the Sceptic Side, 5
With too much Weaknefs fer a Stoic’s Pride,
l—Ie hangs between; in doubt to aé’c, or reﬁ,

:I‘o deem himf'elf'a Part efGod, or Beaﬂg, 4

In

 
( 6 )
in doubt, his Mind or Body to prefer,
Born but to die, and reas’ning but to err 3Q
Alike in Ignorance, his Reafon fuch,
Whether he thinks too little, or too much
Chaos of Thought and Paﬂion,‘ all confus’d;

sau’ by himfelf abus’d, or dif- abus'd;
Created half to rife, and half to fall;

Great Lord of all Things, yet a Prey to all;

Inﬁruéi: the Planets in what Orbs to run,
Correft old Time, and regulate the Sun.

Go foar with Plato to th’ emp-yreal Sphere,
To the ﬁri’t Good, ﬁrﬁ Perfeét, and ﬁri’t Fair;
0r tread the many Round his Follow’ rs trod,

 

And quitting Senfe call Imitating God,

As Eaﬂem Prief’ts in giddy Circles run,
And turn their Heade to imitate the Sum
Go, teach Eternal VVifdorn how to rule ,
Then drop into Tl hy felt, and be a Fool!

 

Sole Judge of. Truth, in endleﬁ Error hurl d' .
The Glory, Jeﬁ, and Riddle, of the World!

Go wond’rous Creature! mount where Science guides,
Go meafure Earth, weigh Air, and Rate the Tides, 3,9

Superio:

 

110.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
   
   
   
    
    

30;
(7)

SVPERIOR Beings, when of late they Yaw .
A mortal Man unfold all Nature’s Law,
Admir’d fuch W ifdom in an earthly Shape,

And ﬂlOW’d aNEWTON as we {how an Ape.

COULD He who taught each Planet where to roll, 3 5
Defcribe, or ﬁx, one Movement of the 501113
Who mark’d their Points, to rife, and to defcend,
Explain his own Beginning, or his End?
Alas what Wonder! Man’s fuperior Part
Uncheck’d may rife, and climb from Art to Art; 45:
‘ But when his own great Work is but begun,

What Reafon weaves, by Pafﬁon is undone.

Two Principles in Human Nature reign;
Self-Lowe, to urge; and Rea/on, to reﬂrain;
Nor this a good, nor that a ‘bad we call, «I:
Each works its End, to move, orgovern all;
And to their proper Operation {till
Aferibe all Good 3 to their improper, Ill.

SELF-LOVE, the Spring of Motion, afts the Soul ;
Rea/372’s comparing Balance rules the whole; 5:}
Man, but for that, no Aﬂicm could attend,

And but for this, were aci’tive to no Em't ,
Fix’ti

 
C 3; )
Fix‘d like 2: Plant on“ his peculiar Spot,
To draw Nntrition; propagate, and rot; n
Or Meteor-like ﬂam‘e lawlefs through the Void, 5 5
Deﬂroying others, by himfelf deﬂroy’d.

Mcs'r. Strength the moving Principle requiresg ‘

Aétive its Task, it prompts, impels, infpires:

Sedare and quiet the comparing lies,

Form’d but to check, delib’rate, and advife. ' 69"
. Self—Love {’till ﬁronger, as its Objeﬁs nigh;

Reafon’s at Diﬁance and in Profpee} lye ;

That fees immediate Good, by prefent Senfe,

Reafon, the future, and the Confeqﬁence ;

Thicker than Arguments, Temptétinns thrnng, I 65

At heft more watckful this, but that more ﬂrong.

The Aé‘tion of the ﬁtonger to ﬁlqjcndl,

Reafon ﬁill uﬁ, to Reafnn {fill attend :'

Attention, Habit and Experieﬁke gains,

 

    
   
  

Each ﬁrengthens Reafon and SélbLove reﬂrains. 7d
LET fnbtile Schoolmen teach thefe Friends to fight, '

More ﬁndious to divide,t than to unite,

And Grace and Virtue, Senfe and Reafon fpiit,

With all the rafh Dexterity of W it,
Wits;
( 9 )
Wits, jul’t like Fools, at War about a Name,
Have full as oft, no MCaning, ‘or thefame.‘
Self-Love and Reafon to one End afpire,
Pain their Averﬁon, Pleaﬁxre their Deﬁre ;
But greedy that its Objeél: would devour,

This Tafle the Honey, and not wound the Flower.

Pleafure, or wrong or rightly underﬂood,

Our greatef’t Evil, or our greateﬁ Good.

MODES ofSelf Love, the Paflions we may call;
BTis real Good, or feeming, moves them all:
But ﬁnce not every Good we can divide,
And Reafon bids us for our own provide;
Famous tho’fe/ﬂb, if their Means be fair, 7
Lil} underReafon, and deferve her Care :
Thofe that imparted, court a nohlerAim,

Exalt their Kind , and take fome Virtue’s Name.

IN lazy Apathy let Stoics hoaft
Their Virtue ﬁx’d, ’tis ﬁx’d as in a Frol’t,
Contrafted all, retiring to the Breaﬂ; V
But Strength of Mind is Exertife, not Re]? :
The riﬁng Tempel’t puts in aél: the Soul,

Parts it may ravage, but preferves the whole.

8

75

8o

33

 
 

   

 

< m )
On Life’s val! Ocean diverf’ely we fail,
Reafon the Card, but Paﬂion is theGale:
Nor GOD alone in the Hill Calm we ﬁnd;
He mounts the Storm, and walk: upon the Mm]. 100

PASSION 5, like Elements, tho' born to ﬁght,
Yet mix’d and foften’d, in His Work unite:
Thefe, ’tis, enough to temper and employ,
But what compofes Man, can Man deji‘roy ?
Sufﬁce that Reafon keep to Nature’s Road, 10';
Subjeélz, compound them, follow her, and God.

LOVE, Hope, and joy, fair Pl‘eafure’s fmiling Train,
Hate, Fear, and Grief, the Family of Pain; |
Thefe mix'd with Art, and to due Bounds conﬁn’d, ‘
Make, and maintain, the Balance of the Mind: I IO
The Lights and Shades, whof'e well—accorded Strife
Gives all the Strength and Colour of our Life.

PL EA SURES are ever in our Hands or Eyes, .
And when in A6}: they ceafe, in Profpeél: rife;
Prefent to grafp, and futureﬁill to ﬁnd, I I 3
.~ The whole Employ of Body and of Mind.

All fpread their Charms, but charm not all alike. 3 '
On diff’rent Senfes diff ’rent Objeﬁs ﬂrike :

Ilene:
( I I )
Hence diﬂ'rent Paﬂions more or let's inﬂame,
As ﬂrong, or weak, the Organs of the Frame; 120

And hence one Maﬂer Paﬂim, in the Email,

Like Adron’s Serpent, fwallows up the ref’t.

As Man perhaps, the Moment of his Breath,
Receives the lurking Principle of Death,
The young Difeaf'e that muﬂ fubdue at length, 125‘
Grows with his Growth and ﬁrengthens with his

Strength;

50, call and mingled with his very Frame,
The Mind’s Difeafe, its ruling Paﬂim came; I
Each vital Humour which {hould feed the whole,
Soon ﬂows to this, in Body and in Soul ; 130
Whatever warms the Heart, or ﬁlls the Head,
As the Mind opens, and its Funélzions fpread,
Imagination plies her dang’rous Art,
And pours it all upon the peccant Part,

NﬂﬂTURE its Mother, Habit is its Nurfe ; I 35
”fit, Spirit, Facultier, but make it worfe;
Reaﬁm itfelf but gives it Edge and Pow’r,
As Heav’ns bleﬂ Beam turns Vinegar more fow’r;
We, wretched Subjeéts, tho’ to lawfulSway,
In this weak ﬁfteen, fome Fav’rite ﬁill obey. ‘40

Ah!

 
f is )
Ahl if {he lend not Arms, as well as Rules,‘ *
What can {he more than tell u: we are Fools?
Teach Us to mourn our Nature, not to mend,
A {harp ﬂora/fer, but a helplefs Friend!
Or from a judge turn Header, to perfuade ' 145
The Choice we make, or juﬂify it made;
Proud of of an eafy Conqueﬁ all along,
She but removes weak Pallions for the {irongg
So, when f'mall Humours gather to a Gour,‘ I

The Doﬁor fancies he has driv'n ’em out, ,

Yes : Nature’s Road mull ever he prelerld ;
Reafon is here no Guide, but Pcill a Guard;
’Tis he r’s go refiify, not overthrow,
And treat this Paﬂion more as Friend than Foe:
Like varying Winds, by otZaer Paflions toll, 155

TM: drives them eonfiant to a certain Coafh

 

Let Pow’r or Knowledge, Gold or Glory, pleafe,
Or ( of: more ﬂrong than all )the Love of Eafe;

 
 
 
 
    

"I hro’ Life ’cis iollow’d, ev'n at Life’s Expence ;
he Merchant‘s Toll, the Sage’s Indolence! 169
The Mank’s Humility, the Hero’s Pride,

find all alikeﬁnd Renfon on their Side, T ,
‘1 'H
    

Tu’ Eternal Art, educing Good from Ill,
Grafts on this Pamnn our 661} Principle :
"Fig thus, the Mercury of Man is ﬁx’d, 163
Strong grows the Virtue with his Nature mix’d;
The Drofs cements what elfe were too reﬁn'd,

And in one Int’reﬁ Body aéts with Mind.

A 5 Fruits ungrateful to the Planter’s Care
On [Wage Stock: inferred, learn to bear; 170
The furei‘t Virtues thus from Famous fhoot,
“Hid Nature’s Vigour working at the Root.
What Crops pf‘Nit and Honeﬁy appear,
From Spieen, from Obf’tinacy, Hate or Fear!
See Anger, Zeal and Fortitude fupply ' 175'
Ev’n Av’rice, >rt‘tdence; Sloth, Philofophy;
Envy to which th’ ignohle Mind’s a Slave,
Is Emulation in the Learnfd or Brave :
Nor Virtue Male or‘Female), can we name,

But what or grews on Pride, or grows on Shame: 18¢ '

Tnus New” gives us (let it check our Pride)
The Virtue nearei’t to our Vice ally‘d 5

Rmﬁn

 
(I4)

Rmﬂm the Byas turns to Good from Ill, ‘
And Nero reigns as ‘Iitm, if he will.

The ﬁery Soul abhorr’d in Catalina, 18;
In Derim charms, in Curtiu: is divine.

The fame Ambition can deﬂroy or fave,

And makes a Patriot as it makes a Knave.’

THIS Light and Darknef: in our Chaos join’d,
What {hall divide? The God within the Mind. «19h ~ '
Tho’ each by turns the other’s BOund invade,
As in fome well-wrought P_i€ture Light and Shade,
And oft fo mix, the Diff’rence is too nice,
.Where’ ends the Virtue, or begins the Vice :
Fools! who from hence into the Notion fall, :19;
That Rice or Virtue there is none at all.
If White and Black, blend, foften, and unite
A thoufand Ways, is there no Black or White?
Ask your own Heart, and nothing is f0 plain ;
Wis to miﬁake them, Coﬁs the Time and Pain. 200

 

 

 

 

VICE is a Moni’ter of ('0 frightful Mien,
As, to he hated, needs but to be feen ;

 
      

<' Is 3*
. But feen too oft, familiar with her Face,

We ﬁrft endure, then pity, then embrace.

A Cheat! a Whore! who ﬂarts not at the Name, 2.03-
In all the Inns of Court, or Draw-Lane?

But where the Point of Vice, was ne’er agreed:

Ask where’s the North ? at Tor/é ’tis on the feveed,

In Scotland at the Orcddex, and there

At Greenland, Zembla, or the Lord knows where. 2m
No Creature owns it in the ﬁrﬂ Degree,

But thinks his Neighbour farther gone than he.‘

Ev’n thofe who dwell beneath her very Zone,

Or never feel the Rage, or never own ;

What happier Natures fhrink at with Airtight, 235‘
The hard Inhabitant contends is right.

Vm'rvous and vicious every Man mull be,
Few in th’Extreme, but all in the Degree :
The Rogue and F001 by F its is fair and wile,
And ev’n the Belt by Fits what they def'pil'e.
’Tis but by Part: we follow Good or I ll,

For Vice or Virtue, Selfdireé’ts it [till ;'

Each Individual feeks a fev’ral Goal :

But Heav’n’s great View is 0223, and that the W'nou: :
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C 15 )
Ybat counter—works each Folly and Cupriéeé 225 .
' That difappoi'nts th’Effeél’. of ev’ry Vice.
Ybat happy Frailties to all Rank; apply’d,

Shame to the Virgin, to the Matron Pride, t
Fear to the Statefman, Rq/llnEfJ to the Chief, ‘
To Kings Prefumptz‘on, and to Crowds. Belirf 230;

That Virtue's Ends from Vanity can raii‘e, , 3

Which feeks no Int’reﬂ, no Reward but Praifc,
And builds on I/Vanu, and on Defects of Mind,
The 70), the Fame, the Glory of Mankind;

HEAV’N forming each on other to dependﬁ 223'
A Maller, or a Servant, or a Friend, l
Bids each on other for Afﬁﬂance Cdll,
"ﬁll one Man’s W'eaknefs grows the Strength of 3115'
Wants, Ftailties, Palﬁons, clofer ﬁill all ye
The common Int’reﬂ, or endear the Tye : 24¢
To tbeﬂe we owe true Friendfhip, Love, ﬁncere,
Each homeffelt joy that Life inherits here!
Yet from the fame we learn, in its Decline.
Thofe joys, thofe Loves, thol‘e Int'rel‘ts to reﬁgn ;
Taught half by Reafon, half by meet Decay, 245‘

r . a.) _‘ _
In Welcome Death, and calmly pafs away.

To
  

( I7 )
W HATE ”en the Paﬂion, Knowledge, Fame or PelF

Not one will change his Neighbour with himfelﬁ
The Learn’d are happy, Nature to explore;
The F001 is happy, that he knows no more ; 130
The Rich are happy in the Plenty given;
' The Poor Contents him with-the Care of Heaven;

See the blind Beggar dance, the Cripple ling,

The Set a Hero, Lunatic a King, V a
The ﬂarving Chymift in his; golden Views I 5;

Supreamly bleﬂ, the Poet in his Mule. I

SEEl fame ﬁrange Comfbrt ev’ry State attend,
And Pride beﬂow’d on all, a common Friend ;
See! fome ﬁt Paﬂhm ev’ry ﬂga fupply,

Hope travels thro’, nor quits us when we die. ‘ .169

’TILL then, Opinion gilds with varying Rays.
Thofe painted Clouds that beautify our Days;
Each Want of Happinei's by Hope fupply’d,
And each Vacuity of Senfe by Pride.
Thefe build up all that Knowledge can del’ttoy , (163

In Folly’ 5 Cup {till laughs the Bubble, joy 3 O
Q 11-:

 

 
, ( is )
Una Profpeét 10%, another ﬁill we gain;
And not 2 Vanity is giv’n in vain ;
E’cn mean Self-Love becomes, by Force divine,
The Scale to meafurc others Wants by thine,

1,5“! and confef's, one Comfort ﬂill muf’t rife,
Hyg'Ig‘is this, {110' Magi; a Fool, yet GOD Is wisgo

EINISg

 

 

 
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