Silently as a dream the fabric rofe;

No found of hammer or of faw was there:
Ice upon ice, the well-adjufted parts

Were foon conjoined, nor other cement asked
Than water interfufed to make them one.
Lamps gracefully difpofed, and of all hues,
Illumined every fide: a watery light

Gleamed through the clear transparency, that seemed
Another moon new rifen, or meteor fallen

From heaven to earth, of lambent flame ferene.
So flood the brittle prodigy; though smooth
And slippery the materials, yet froft-bound
Firm as a rock. Nor wanted aught within,
That royal refidence might well befit,
For grandeur or for ufe. Long wavy wreaths
Of flowers, that feared no enemy but warmth,
Blushed on the pannels. Mirror needed none
Where all was vitreous; but in order due
Convivial table and commodious feat

(What seemed at least commodious feat) were there; Sofa, and couch, and high-built throne auguft.

The fame lubricity was found in all,

And all was moift to the warm touch; a fcene
Of evanefcent glory, once a ftream,
And foon to flide into a ftream again.
Alas! 'twas but a mortifying ftroke

Of undefigned severity, that glanced

(Made by a monarch) on her own estate,
On human grandeur and the courts of kings.
'Twas tranfient in its nature, as in show

"Twas durable; as worthlefs, as it seemed
Intrinsically precious; to the foot

Treacherous and falfe; it fmiled, and it was cold.

Great princes have great playthings. Some have played At hewing mountains into men, and fome At building human wonders mountain-high. Some have amufed the dull, fad years of life, (Life spent in indolence, and therefore fad) With schemes of monumental fame; and fought By pyramids and maufolean pomp,

Short-lived themfelves, to immortalize their bones, Some feek diverfion in the tented field,

And make the forrows of mankind their sport.

But war's a game, which, were their fubjects wife,
Kings would not play at. Nations would do well
To extort their truncheons from the puny hands
Of heroes, whose infirm and baby minds
Are gratified with mifchief; and who spoil,
Becaufe men fuffer it, their toy the world.

When Babel was confounded, and the great

Confederacy of projectors wild and vain
Was fplit into diversity of tongues,
Then, as a shepherd separates his flock,
These to the upland, to the valley thofe,
God drave afunder, and affigned their lot
To all the nations. Ample was the boon
He gave them, in its diftribution fair

And equal; and he bade them dwell in peace.
Peace was awhile their care: they ploughed,and fowed,
And reaped their plenty without grudge or ftrife.
But violence can never longer fleep

Than human paffions please. In every heart
Are fown the sparks, that kindle fiery war;
Occafion needs but fan them, and they blaze.
Cain had already fhed a brother's blood:
The deluge washed it out; but left unquenched
The feeds of murder in the breaft of man.
Soon by a righteous judgment in the line
Of his defcending progeny was found
The firft artificer of death; the shrewd
Contriver, who firft fweated at the forge,
And forced the blunt and yet unbloodied fteel
To a keen edge, and made it bright for war.
Him, Tubal named, the Vulcan of old times,
The fword and falchion their inventor claim;,

And the firft fmith was the firft murderer's fon.
His art furvived the waters; and ere long,
When man was multiplied and spread abroad
In tribes and clans, and had begun to call
Thefe meadows and that range of hills his own,
The tafted sweets of property begat

Defire of more; and induftry in fome

To improve and cultivate their just demesne,
Made others covet what they saw so fair.

Thus war began on earth: these fought for fpoil,
And thofe in felf-defence. Savage at firft

The onfet, and irregular. At length

One eminent above the reft for strength,

For ftratagem, or courage, or for all,

Was chofen leader; him they ferved in war,
And him in peace, for fake of warlike deeds
Reverenced no lefs. Who could with him compare?
Or who fo worthy to control themfelves
As he, whofe prowess had fubdued their foes?
Thus war, affording field for the display

Of virtue, made one chief, whom times of peace,
Which have their exigencies too, and call
For skill in government, at length made king.
King was a name too proud for man to wear
With modefty and meeknefs; and the crown,

So dazzling in their eyes, who fet it on,
Was fure to intoxicate the brows it bound.
It is the abject property of moft,

That, being parcel of the common mafs,
And deftitute of means to raise themselves,
They fink, and fettle lower than they need.
They know not what it is to feel within
A comprehenfive faculty, that grafps

Great purposes with ease, that turns and wields,
Almoft without an effort, plans too vaft
For their conception, which they cannot move.
Conscious of impotence they foon grow drunk
With gazing, when they fee an able man
Step forth to notice; and befotted thus

Build him a pedestal, and fay, "Stand there,

And be our admiration and our praise."

They roll themselves before him in the duft,
Then moft deferving in their own account
When moft extravagant in his applause,
As if exalting him they raised themselves.
Thus by degrees, felf-cheated of their found
And fober judgment, that he is but man,
They demi-deify and fume him so,
That in due feafon he forgets it too.
Inflated and aftrut with felf-conceit,
He gulps the windy diet; and ere long,