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The Stoic faw, in double wonder luft,
Wonder at them, and wonder at himself,
To find the bold adventures of his thought
Not bold, and that he ftrove to lie in vain.

Whence, then, thofe thoughts? those tow'ring thoughts, that flew

[pride.

Such monstrous heights?-From infind, and from
The glorious inftinct of a deathlefs foul,
Confus dly confcious of her dignity,
Suggested truths they could not understand.
In luft's dominion, and in Paffion's florm,
Truth's fyftem broken, fcatter'd fragments lay,
As light in chaos, glimm'ring thro' the gloom.
Smit with the pomp of lofty fentiments,
Pleas'd Pride proclaim'd, what Reafon difbeliev'd.
Pride, like the Delphic pricftefs, with a swell,
Rav'd nonfence, deftin'd to be future fenfe,
When life immortal in full day should shine,......
And Death's dark fhadows fly the Gospel fun.
They fpoke, what nothing but immortal fouls
Couid fpeak; and, thus, the truth they queftion'd,
prov'd.

Can then abfurdities, as well as crimes,

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Speak man immortal? all things fpeak him fo.
Much has been urg'd; and doft thou call for more?
Call: And with endlefs queftions be diftreft,

All unrefolvable, if earth is all.

"Why life, a moment? infinite defire? "Our wifh, eternity? our home, the grave? "Heav'n's promife dormant lies in human hope; Who wishes life immortal, proves it too. "Why happiness purfu'd, though never found? "Man's thirft of happiness declares. It is ; "(For nature never gravitates to neught ;) "That thirst unquench'd, declares It is not here.. "My LUCIA, thy CLARISSA, call to thought. "Why cordial friendship rivetted fo deep. "As hearts to pierce at firft, at parting, rend.

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"If friend and friendship vanish in an hour?
"Is not this torment in the mask of joy ?
"Why by reflection marr'd the joys of sense?
Why paft and future preying on our hearts,
"And putting all our prefent joys to death?
Why labours Reafon? Inftinct were as well;
Inftinct, far better; what can choose, can err.
"O how infallible the thoughtless brute !
""Twere well his Holinefs were half as fure.
Reafon with Inclination, why at war?

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Why fenfe of guilt? why Confcience up in arms
Confcience of guilt, is prophecy of pain,
And bofom-council to decline the blow.
Reafon with inclination ne'er had jarr‍d,
If nothing future paid forbearance here..
Thus on- -These, and a thousand pleas uncall'
All promife, fome enfure, a fecond scene;
Which, were it doubtful, would be dearer far
Than all things elfe most certain: Were it falfe
What truth on earth fo precious as the lie?
This world it gives us, let what will enfue;
This world it gives, in that high cordial hope!
The future of the prefent is the foul.

How this life groans, when fever'd from the next!
Poor, mutilated wretch, that difbelieves!
By dark diftruft his being cut in two,
In both parts perishes; life, void of joy!
Sad prelude of eternity in pain!

Couldst thou perfuade me the next life could fail Our ardent wishes, how fhould I pour out My bleeding heart in anguifh, new, as deep! Oh! with what thoughts, thy hope, and my defpair, Abhorr'd ANNIHILATION! blafts the foul, And wide-extends the bounds of human woe! Could I believe LORENZO'S fyftem true, In this black channel would my ravings run.

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Grief from the future borrow'd peace, ere-while "The future vanish'd! and the prefent pain'd!

"Strange import of unprecedented ill!

"Fall, how profound! like LUCIFER'S, the fall! "Unequal fate! his fall, without his guilt!

"From where fond Hope built her pavilion high, "The Gods among, hurl'd headlong, hurl'd at once "To night! to nothing! darker ftill than night. "If 'twas a dream, why wake me, my worst foe, "LORENZO! boaftful of the name of friend! "O for delufion! O for error still!

"Could vengeance strike much stronger than to plant "A thinking being in a world like this.

"Not over-rich before, now beggar'd quite ; "More curs'd than at the fall?—The fun goes out! "The thorns fhoot up! what thorns in ev'ry thought! "Why fenfe of better? it embitters worse. "Why fenfe? why life? if but to figh, then fink "To what I was? Twice nothing! and much woe ! Woe, from Heav'ns bounties! woe, from what was "To fiatter moft, high intelle&ual pow'rs.. [wont "Thought, Virtue, Knowledge! bleffings, by thy scheme,

"All poifon'd into pains. Firft, Knowledge, once "My foul's ambition, now her greatest dread. "To know myself, true wifdom?—No, to fhun "That fhocking fcience, parent of defpair! "Avert thy mirror; If I fee, I die.

"Know my Creator? Climb his bleft abode : "By painful fpeculation, pierce the veil, "Dive in his nature, read his attributes, "And gaze in admiration on a foe,

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Obtruding life, withholding happiness?

"From the full rivers that furround his throne, "Not letting fall one drop of joy on man; "Man gafping for one drop, that he might cease. "To curfe his birth, nor envy reptiles more? "Ye fable clouds! ye darkelt fhades of night! "Hide him, for ever hide him, from my thought; "Once all my comfort; fource, and foul of joy!

Now leagu'd with furies, and with thee*, againft

me;

"Thee, mankind's boafted friend, and blackest foe.
"Know his achievements? ftudy his renown?
"Contemplate this amazing univerfe,

"Dropt from his hand, with miracles replete !
"For what? 'Mid miracles of nobler name,
"To find one miracle of mifery;

"To find the being, which alone can know
"And praife his works, a blemish on his praise;
"Through Nature sample range, in thought, to stroll,
"And start at man, the fingle mourner there,

Breathing high hope! chain'd down to pangs and

death!

"Knowing is fuff'ring; and shall Virtue share "The figh of Knowledge ?-Virtue fhares the figh. "By ftraining up the fteep of excellent,

"By battles fought, and from temptation won,
"What gains fhe, but the pang of seeing worth
"Angelic worth, foon fhuffled in the dark
"With every vice, and fwept to brutal duft ?
"Merit is madness; virtue is a crime;
A crime to Reafon, if it colts us pain
"Unpaid. What pain, amidst a thousand more,
"To think the most abandon'd, after days

Of triumph, o'er their betters, find in death "As foft a pillow, nor make fouler clay !

"Duty! Religion !-Thefe, our duty done, "Imply reward. Religion is miftake. "Duty-There's none, but to repel the cheat. "Ye cheats, away! Ye daughters of my pride, "Who feign yourselves the fav'rites of the skies; "Ye tow'ring hopes! abortive energies ! "That tofs, and struggle in my lying breast, "To fcale the fkies, and build prefumptions there, As I were heir of an eternity;

Vain, vain ambitions! trouble me no more.

* LORENZO.

"Why travel far in queft of fure defeat? As bounded as my being, be my with. "All is inverted; Wifdom is a fool.

"Senfe! take the rein; blind Paffion! drive us on; "And Ignorance! befriend us on our way; "Ye new, but trueft patrons of our peace! "Yes; give the puife full empire; live the brute. "Since, as the brute, we die. The sum of man, "Of godlike man! to revel, and to rot.

"But not on equal terms with other brutes: "Their revels a more poignant relish yield, "And fafer too? they never poisons choose : Infine, than Reason, makes more wholesome meals, "And fends all-marring murmur far away. "For fenfual life they beft philofophize; "Theirs that ferene the fages fought in vain ; " 'Tis man alone expoftulates with Heav'n ; "His, all the pow'r, and all the cause, to mourn. "Shall human eyes alone diffolve in tears?

"And bleed, in anguish, none but human hearts ? The wide-ftretch'd realm of intellectual woe,

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Surpaffing fenfual far, is all our own.

"In life fo fatally diftinguifh'd, why

"Cat in one lot, confounded, lump'd in death? "Ere yet in being, was mankind in guilt; "Why thunder'd this peculiar claufe against us, "All-mortal, and all-wretched? Have the skies "Reafons of itate, their fubjects may not fean, "Nor humbly reafon, when they forely figh? "All mortal, and all-wretched!- -'tis too much; Unparallel'd in nature; 'tis too much

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"On being unrequested at thy hands,

Omnipotent! for 1 fee nought but pow'r.

"And why fee that? why thought? To toil, and

eat,

"Then make our bed in darkness, needs no thought. "What fuperfluities are reas'ning fouls!

Oh, give eternity! or thought destroy!

But without thought, our curfe were half unfelt

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