Part 3 (1/2)
Thou art all love, all mercy, all divine, And shall I make these glories cease to s.h.i.+ne?
Shall sinful man grow great by his offence, And from its course turn back Omnipotence?
”Forbid it! and oh! grant, great G.o.d, at least This one, this slender, almost no request; When I have wept a thousand lives away, When torment is grown weary of its prey, When I have rav'd ten thousand years in fire, Ten thousand thousand, let me then expire.”
Deep anguis.h.!.+ but too late; the hopeless soul, Bound to the bottom of the burning pool, Though loth, and ever loud blaspheming, owns He's justly doom'd to pour eternal groans; Enclos'd with horrors, and transfix'd with pain, Rolling in vengeance, struggling with his chain: To talk to fiery tempests; to implore The raging flame to give its burnings o'er; To toss, to writhe, to pant beneath his load, And bear the weight of an offended G.o.d.
The favour'd of their Judge, in triumph move To take possession of their thrones above; Satan's accurs'd desertion to supply, And fill the vacant stations of the sky; Again to kindle long-extinguish'd rays, And with new lights dilate the heavenly blaze; To crop the roses of immortal youth, And drink the fountain-head of sacred truth To swim in seas of bliss, to strike the string, And lift the voice to their Almighty King; To lose eternity in grateful lays, And fill heaven's wide circ.u.mference with praise.
But I attempt the wondrous height in vain, And leave unfinish'd the too lofty strain: What boldly I begin, let others end; My strength exhausted, fainting I descend, And choose a less, but no ign.o.ble, theme, Dissolving elements, and worlds, in flame.
The fatal period, the great hour, is come, And nature shrinks at her approaching doom; Loud peals of thunder give the sign, and all Heaven's terrors in array surround the ball; Sharp lightnings with the meteor's blaze conspire, And, darted downward, set the world on fire; Black rising clouds the thicken'd ether choke, And spiry flames dart through the rolling smoke, With keen vibrations cut the sullen night, And strike the darken'd sky with dreadful light; From heaven's four regions, with immortal force, Angels drive on the wind's impetuous course, T' enrage the flame: It spreads, it soars on high, Swells in the storm, and billows through the sky: Here winding pyramids of fire ascend, Cities and deserts in one ruin blend; Here blazing volumes wafted, overwhelm The s.p.a.cious face of a far distant realm; There, undermin'd, down rush eternal hills, The neighb'ring vales the vast destruction fills.
Hear'st thou that dreadful crack? that sound which broke Like peals of thunder, and the centre shook?
What wonders must that groan of nature tell?
Olympus there, and mightier Atlas, fell; Which seem'd above the reach of fate to stand, A tow'ring monument of G.o.d's right hand; Now dust and smoke, whose brow, so lately, spread O'er shelter'd countries its diffusive shade.
Show me that celebrated spot, where all The various rulers of the sever'd ball Have humbly sought wealth, honour, and redress, That land which heaven seem'd diligent to bless, Once call'd Britannia: can her glories end?
And can't surrounding seas her realms defend?
Alas! in flames behold surrounding seas!
Like oil, their waters but augment the blaze.
Some angel say, where ran proud Asia's bound?
Or where with fruits was fair Europa crown'd?
Where stretch'd waste Lybia? Where did India's sh.o.r.e Sparkle in diamonds, and her golden ore?
Each lost in each, their mingling kingdoms glow, And all dissolv'd, one fiery deluge flow: Thus earth's contending monarchies are join'd, And a full period of ambition find.
And now whate'er or swims, or walks, or flies, Inhabitants of sea, or earth, or skies; All on whom Adam's wisdom fix'd a name, All plunge, and perish in the conquering flame.
This globe alone would but defraud the fire, Starve its devouring rage: the flakes aspire, And catch the clouds, and make the heavens their prey; The sun, the moon, the stars, all melt away; All, all is lost; no monument, no sign, Where once so proudly blaz'd the gay machine.
So bubbles on the foaming stream expire, So sparks that scatter from the kindling fire; The devastations of one dreadful hour The great Creator's six days' work devour.
A mighty, mighty ruin! yet one soul Has more to boast, and far outweighs the whole Exalted in superior excellence, Casts down to nothing, such a vast expense.
Have you not seen th' eternal mountains nod, An earth dissolving, a descending G.o.d?
What strange surprises through all nature ran?
For whom these revolutions, but for man?
For him, Omnipotence new measures takes, For him, through all eternity, awakes; Pours on him gifts sufficient to supply Heaven's loss, and with fresh glories fill the sky.
Think deeply then, O man, how great thou art; Pay thyself homage with a trembling heart; What angels guard, no longer dare neglect, Slighting thyself, affront not G.o.d's respect.
Enter the sacred temple of thy breast, And gaze, and wander there, a ravish'd guest; Gaze on those hidden treasures thou shalt find, Wander through all the glories of thy mind.
Of perfect knowledge, see, the dawning light Foretells a noon most exquisitely bright!
Here, springs of endless joy are breaking forth!
There, buds the promise of celestial worth!
Worth, which must ripen in a happier clime, And brighter sun, beyond the bounds of time.
Thou, minor, canst not guess thy vast estate, What stores, on foreign coasts, thy landing wait: Lose not thy claim, let virtue's path be trod; Thus glad all heaven, and please that bounteous G.o.d, Who, to light thee to pleasures, hung on high Yon radiant orb, proud regent of the sky: That service done, its beams shall fade away, And G.o.d s.h.i.+ne forth in one eternal day.
THE FORCE OF RELIGION; OR, VANQUISHED LOVE.
Gratior et pulchro veniens in corpore virtus.
-VIRG.
Book I.
--Ad clum ardentia lumina tollens, Lumina; nam teneras arcebant vincula palmas.
VIRG.
From lofty themes, from thoughts that soar'd on high, And open'd wondrous scenes above the sky, My muse descend: indulge my fond desire; With softer thoughts my melting soul inspire, And smooth my numbers to a female's praise: A partial world will listen to my lays, While Anna reigns, and sets a female name Unrival'd in the glorious lists of fame.
Hear, ye fair daughters of this happy land, Whose radiant eyes the vanquish'd world command, Virtue is beauty: but when charms of mind With elegance of outward form are join'd; When youth makes such bright objects still more bright, And fortune sets them in the strongest light; 'Tis all of heaven that we below may view, And all, but adoration, is your due.
Fam'd female virtue did this isle adorn, Ere Ormond, or her glorious queen, was born: When now Maria's powerful arms prevail'd, And haughty Dudley's bold ambition fail'd, The beauteous daughter of great Suffolk's race, In blooming youth adorn'd with every grace; Who gain'd a crown by treason not her own, And innocently fill'd another's throne; Hurl'd from the summit of imperial state, With equal mind sustain'd the stroke of fate.