The nitrous power with tenfold force
Half petrifies earth's barren womb,
High-arch'd cascades suspend their force,
Men freeze alive, and in the tomb.
Yet warmth and happiness we find;
All, all from thee,

Supremely gracious Deity,
Composer of the mind!

Then, in exchange, a month or more
The sun with fierce solsticial gleams
Darting o'er vales his raging pow'r,
Like ray-collecting mirrors beams.
Torrents and cataracts are dry,
Men seek the scanty shades in vain :
The solar darts like lightning fly,
Transpierce the skull, and scorch the brain,

Yet still no restless heats we find;
And all from thee,

Supremely gracious Deity,

Corrector of the mind!

For nature rarely form'd a soil
Where diligence subsistence wants;
Exert but care, nor spare the toil,
And all beyond the' Almighty grants.
Each earth at length to culture yields,
Each earth its own manure contains:
Thus the Corycian nurs'd his fields,*
Heaven gave the' increase, and he the pains.
The' industrious peace and plenty find;
All due to thee,

Supremely gracious Deity,

Composer of the mind!

* Virg. Georg. IV, 127.

Scipio sought virtue in his prime,
And, having early gain'd the prize,
Stole from the' ungrateful world in time,
Contented to be low and wise!

He serv'd the state with zeal and force,
And then with dignity retir'd:
Dismounting from the' unruly horse,
To rule himself, as sense requir'd.
Without a sigh, he power resign'd.-
All, all from thee,

Supremely gracious Deity,
Corrector of the mind!

When Dioclesian sought repose,

Cloy'd and fatigu'd with nauseous pow'r, He left his empire to his foes,

For fools to' admire, and rogues devour : Rich in his poverty, he bought Retirement's innocence and health;

With his own hands the monarch wrought, And chang'd a throne for Ceres' wealth. Toil sooth'd his cares, his blood refin'dAnd all from thee,

Supremely gracious Deity,

Composer of the mind!

He, who had rul'd the world, exchang'd
His sceptre for the peasant's spade,
Postponing (as through groves he rang'd)
Court splendour to the rural shade.
Child of his hand, the' engrafted thorn
More than the victor laurel pleas'd:
Heart's-ease, and meadow-sweet, adorn
The brow, from civic garlands eas'd.

• Dioclesian.

Fortune, however poor, was kind.
All, all from thee,

Supremely gracious Deity,

Corrector of the mind!

Thus Charles, with justice styl'd the great,* For valour, piety, and laws;

Resign'd two empires to retreat,

And from a throne to shades withdraws;
In vain (to sooth a monarch's pride)

Fis yoke the willing Persian bore:

In vain the Saracen complied,

And fierce Northumbrians stain'd with gore.

One Gallic farm his cares confin'd;

And all from thee,

Supremely gracious Deity,

Composer of the mind!

Observant of the' almighty will,

Prescient in faith, and pleas'd with toil.

Abram Chaldea left, to till

The moss-grown Haran's flinty soil:†
Hydras of thorns absorb'd his gain,
The commonwealth of weeds rebell'd,
But labour tam'd the' ungrateful plain,
And famine was by art repell'd;
Patience made churlish nature kind.-
All, all from thee,

Supremely gracious Deity,

Corrector of the mind!

Charlemagne.

+ Gen. xii. 31. Nehem. ix. 7. Judith v. 7.

VOL. XXIX.

I i

Isaiah Ivii. 3.

'Draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress."

'According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted: therefore have they for. gotten ME.'

Hosea xiii. 6.

EMPTY, illusory life,

Pregnant with fraud, in mischiefs rife ;
Form'd to' ensnare us, and deceive us:
Nahum's enchantress! which beguiles
With all her harlotry of wiles!

First she loves, and then she leaves us!

Erring happiness beguiles

The wretch that strays o'er Circe's isles;

All things smile, and all annoy him;

The rose has thorns, the doves can bite;
Riot is a fatigue till night,

Sleep an opium to destroy him.

Louring in the groves of death
Yew-trees breathe funereal breath

Brambles and thorns perplex the shade:
Asphaltic waters creep and rest;
Birds, in gaudy plumage dress'd,
Scream unmeaning through the glade.

Earth fallacious herbage* yields,
And deep in grass its influence shields;
Acrid juices, scent annoying;

Corrosive crow-feet choke the plains,
And hemlock, strip'd with lurid stains,
And luscious mandrakes, life destroying.

Gaudy bella-donnat blowing,

Or with glossy berries glowing,

Lures the' unwise to tempt their doom:
Love's apple masks the fruit of death;
Sick henbane murders with her breath,
Acteas with an harlot's bloom.

One plant alone is wrapt in shade;
Few eyes its privacy invade ;

Plant of joy, of life, and health!

More than the fabled lotos fam'd,

Which (tasted once) mankind reclaim'd
From parents, country, power, and wealth.q