Where, where was Eloïfe? her voice, her hand, Her ponyard had oppos'd the dire command. Barbarian, ftay: that bloody ftroke restrain; The crime was common, common be the pain. I can no more; by shame by rage suppress'd, 105 Let tears and burning blushes speak the reft.
Canft thou forget that fad, that folemn day, When victims at yon altar's foot we lay? Canft thou forget what tears that moment fell, When, warm in youth, I bade the world farewell? As with cold lips I kifs'd the facred veil, The fhrines all trembled, and the lamps grew pale: Heaven fcarce believ'd the Conqueft it furvey'd, And Saints with wonder heard the vows I made. Yet then, to those dread altars as I drew, Not on the cross my eyes were fix'd, but you: Not grace, or zeal, love only was my call; And if I lofe thy love, I lofe my all.
Come! with thy looks, thy words, relieve my
Thefe ftill at leaft are left thee to beftow. Still on that breast enamour'd let me lie, Still drink delicious poifon from thy eye, Pant on thy lip, and to thy heart be prefs'd; Give all thou canft-and let me dream the reft. Ah, no! instruct me other joys to prize, With other beauties charm my partial eyes, Full in my view fet all the bright abode, And make my foul quit Abelard for God.
Ah think at least thy flock deferves thy care, Plants of thy hand, and children of thy prayer. From the falfe world in early youth they fied,. By thee to monntains, wilds, and deferts led. You rais'd thefe hallow'd walls; the defert fmil'd And paradife was open'd in the wild. No weeping orphan faw his father's ftores Our fhrines irradiate, or emblaze the floors; No filver faints, by dying mifers given, Here bribe the rage of ill-requited Heaven; But fuch plain roofs as Piety could raise, And only vocal with the Maker's praise. In thefe lone walls (their days eternal bound) Thefe mofs-grown domes with fpiry turrets crown'd,
Where awful archies make a noon-day night,
And the dim windows fhed a folemn light;
Thy eyes diffus'd a reconciling ray,
And gleams of glory brighten'd all the day.
But now no face divine contentment wears,
'Tis all blank fadnefs, or continual tears.
See how the force of others prayers I try,
(O pious fraud of amorous charity!)
But why should I on others prayers depend?
Come thou, my father, brother, husband, friend!
Ah, let thy handmaid, fifter, daughter, move,
And all thofe tender names in one, thy love!
The darkfome pines that o'er yon rocks reclin'd
Wave high, and murmur to the hollow wind,
The wandering ftreams that fine between the
hills,
The grots that echo to the tinkling rills,
The dying gales that pant upon the trees,
The lakes that quiver to the curling breeze;
No more thefe fcenes my meditation aid,
Or lull to rest the visionary maid,
But o'er the twilight groves and dusky caves,
Long-founding aifles, and intermingled graves,
Black Melancholy fits, and round her throws 165
A death-like filence, and a dread repofe;
Her gloomy presence faddens all the scene,
Shades every flower, and darkens every green,
Deepens the murmur of the falling floods,
And breathes a browner horror on the woods. 170
Yet here for ever, ever muft I ftay;
Sad proof how well a lover can obey!
Death, only death, can break the lafting chain;
And here, ev'n then, fhall my cold duft remain;
Here all its frailties, all its flames refign,
And wait till 'tis no fin to mix with thine.
Ah, wretch! believ'd the fpoufe of God in vain, Confefs'd within the flave of love and man. Aflift me, Heaven! but whence arofe that prayer? Sprung it from piety, or from despair? Ev'n here, where frozen chastity retires, Love finds an altar for forbidden fires.
I ought to grieve, but cannot what I ought;
I mourn the lover, not lainent the fault;
I view my crime, but kindle at the view,
Repent old pleasures, and folicit new;
Now turn'd to heaven, I weep my paft offence, :
Now think of thee, and curfe my innocence.
Of all affliction taught a lover yet,
'Tis fure the hardelt fcience to forget!
How fhall I lofe the fin, yet keep the fenfe,
And love th' offender, yet deteft th' offence?
How the dear object from the crime remove,
Or how diftinguish penitence from love?
Unequal task! a paffion to refign,
For hearts fo touch'd, fo pierc'd, fo loft as mine!
Ere fuch a foul regains its peaceful state,
How often muft it love how often hate!
How often hope, defpair, refent, regret,
Conceal, difdain,do all things but forget! 200
But let heaven feize it, all at once 'tis fir'd:
Not touch'd, but rapt; not waken'd, but infpir'd!
Oh come, oh teach me nature to fubdue,
Renounce my love, my life, myself-and you.
Fill
my fond heart with God alone, for be
205
Alone can rival, can fucceed to thee.
How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot; The world forgetting, by the world forgot! Eternal fun-fhine of the fpotlefs mind! Each prayer accepted, and each with refign'd; Labour and reft that equal periods keep; "Obedient flumbers that can wake and weep?" Defires compos'd, affections ever even ; Tears that delight, and fighs that waft to heaven. Grace fhines around her with ferenest beams, 216 And whifpering Angels prompt her goldendreams. For her th' unfading rofe of Eden blooms,. And wings of Seraphs fhed divine perfumes; For her the fpoufe prepares the bridal ring; For her white virgins Hymenals fing; To founds of heavenly harps fac dies away, And melts in visons of eternal day.
Far other dreams my erring foul employ, Far other raptures of unholy joy :
160 When, at the clofe of each fad, forrowing day,
Fancy restores what vengeance fratch'd away,
Then confcience fleeps, and leaving nature fro,
All my loofe foul unbounded springs to the.
O curft, dear horrors of all-confcious night!
How glowing guilt exalts the keen delight!
Provoking Demons all restraint remove,
And ftir within me every fource of love.
I hear thee, view thee, gaze o'er all thy charms,
And round thy phantom glue my clafping arms.
I wake no more I hear, no more I view,
The phantom flies me, as unkind as you.
I call aloud; it hears not what I fay :
1 ftretch my empty arms; it glides away.
To dream once more I clofe my willing eyes;
Ye foft illufions, dear deceits, arife!
Alas, no more! methinks we wandering go
Through dreary waftes, and weep each other's
Where round fome mouldering tower pale ivy
And low-brow'd rocks hang nodding o'er the deeps.
Sudden you mount, you beckon from the skies;
Clouds interpofe, waves roar, and winds arife.
I fhriek, ftart up, the fame fad profpect find,
And wake to all the griefs I left behind.
For thee the fates, feverely kind, ordain A cool fufpenfe from pleasure and from pain ; Thy life a long dead calm of fix'd repose; No pulfe that riots, and no blood that glows. Still as the fea, ere winds were taught to blow, Or moving spirit bade the waters flow; Sotf as the flumbers of a faint forgiven, And mild as opening gleams of promis'd heaven. Come, Abelard! for what haft thou to`dread? The torch of Venus burns not for the dead. Nature ftands check'd; Religion difapproves : Ev'n thou art cold-yet Eloïfa loves. Ah, hopeless, lafting flames! like thofe that burn To light th' dead, and warm the unfruitful urn. What scenes appear where'er I turn my view! The dear ideas, where I fly, purfue, Rife in the grove, before the altar rife, Stain all my foul, and wanton in my eyes. I waste the matin lamp in fighs for thee, Thy image fteals between my God and me, Thy voice I feem in every hymn to hear, With every bead I drop too foft a tear. When from the cenfer clouds of fragrance roll, And fwelling organs lift the rifing foul, One thought of thee puts all the pomp to flight, Priefts, tapers, temples, fwim before my fight: In feas of flame my plunging foul is drown'd, 275 While Altars blaze, and Angels tremble round,
While proftrate here in humble grief I lie, Kind, virtuous drops juft gathering in my eye, While, praying, trembling, in the duft I roll, And dawning grace is opening on my foul: 250 Come, if thou dar't, a'l charining as thou art! Oppofe thyfelf to Heaven; difpute my heart; Come, with one glance of thofe deluding eyes Blot out each bright idea of the kies;
Take back that grace, thofe forrows, and thofe
O Grace ferene! O Virtue heavenly fair!
Divine oblivion of low-thoughted care!
Frefr-blooming Hope, gay daughter of the sky!
And Faith, our early immortality!
Enter, each mild, each amicable gueft;
Receive and wrap me in eternal rest!
See in her cell fad Eloïfa fpread, Propt on fome tomb, a neighbour of the dead, In each low wind methinks a Spirit calls, And more than Echoes talk along the walls. Here, as I watch'd the dying lamp around, From yonder fhrine I heard a hollow found. "Come, fifter, come (it faid, or feem'd to «<fay)
"Thy place is here, fad fifter, come away! 310 "Once like thyfelf, I trembled, wept, and "pray'd,
"Love's victim then, though now a fainted «<< maid:
"But all is calm in this eternal fleep; "Here grief forgets to groan, and love to weep: "Ev'n fuperftition lofes every fear; 315 "For God, not man, abfolves our frailties "here."
I come, I come! prepare your rofeate bowers, Celestial palms, and ever-blooming flowers. Thither, where finners may have reft, 1 go, Where flames refin'd in breafts feraphic glow : Thou, Abelard! the latt fad office pay, And finooth my paffage to the realms of day; See my lips tremble, and my eye-balls roll, Suck my last breath, and catch my flying foul! Ah no-in facred veftments mayft thou ftand, The hallow'd taper trembling in thy hand, 246 Prefent the Cross before my lifted eye,
Teach me at once, and learn of me to die.
Ah then, thy once-lov'd Eloïfa fee!
It will be then no crime to gaze on me.
See from my cheek the tranfent rofex fly!
See the laft fparkle languish in my eye!
Till every motion, pulfe, and breath be o'er;
And ev❜n my Abelard be lov'd no more,
Death all eloquent! you only prove
What duft we doat on, when 'tis man we love.
Then too, when fate fhail thy fair frame de-
ftroy,
(That caufe of all my guilt, and all my joy) In trance extatic may thy pangs be drown'd, Bright clouds defcend, and Angels watch thee round,
From opening skies may ftreaming glories ise, And Saints embrace thee with a love like mine!
May one kind grave unité each haplefs name, And graft my love immortal on thy fame! Then, ages hence, when all my woes are o'er, When this rebellious heart fhall beat no more; If ever chance two wandering lovers brings To Paraclete's white walls and Elver fprings, O'er the pale marble fhall they join their heads, And drink the falling tears each other freds: 559
Then fadly fay, with mutual pity mov'd,
"O may we never love as thefe have lov'd!"
From the full choir when loud Hofanuas rife,
And fwell the pomp of dreadful facrifice ;
Amid that scene if fome relenting eye
Glance on the ftone where our cold relicks lie,
Devotion's felf fhall, fteal a thought from heaven,
Ope human tear fhall drop, and be forgiven,
And fure if fate fome future bard fhall join
In fad fimilitude of griefs to mine,
Condemn'd whole years in abfence to deplore,
And image charms he muft behold no more;
Such if there be, who loves fo long, fo well;
Let him our fad, our tender ftory tell!
The well-fung woes will footh my penfive ghoft;
He beft can paint them who fhall feel them moft.
When opening buds falute the welcome day,
And earth relenting feels the genial ray :
As balmy feep had charm'd my cares to reft,
And love itfelf was banifh'd from my breast,
(What time the mora myfterious vifons brings,
While purer flumbers fpread their golden wings)
A train of phantoms in wild order rofe,
And, join'd, this intellectual fcene coinpofe.
Iftood, methought, betwixt carth, feas, andikies;
The whole creation open to my eyes:
la air felf-halane'd hung the globe below,
Where mountains rife, and c reling oceans flow;
Here naked rocks, and empty waftes were feen;
There towery cities, and the forests green:
Here failing fhips delight the wandering eyes;
There trees and intermingled temples rife :
Now a clear fun the fhining feene difplays;
Nor was the work impair'd by storms alone,
But felt th' approaches of too warm a fun;
For Fame, inpatient of extremes, decays
Not more by Envy, than excess of Praise,
Yet part no injuries of heaven could feel,
Like cryftal faithful to the graving fteel:
The rock's high fummit, in the temple's fhade,
Nor heat could melt, nor beating ftorm invade.
Their names infcrib'd unnumber'd ages past
From time's frst birth, with time itself shall laft;
Thefe ever new, nor fubject to decays, 51
Spread, and grow brighter with the length of days.
So Zembla's rocks (the beauteous work of froft)
Rife white in air, and glitter o'er the coaft;
Pale funs, unfelt, at distance roll away,
And on th' impaffive ice the lightnings play;
Eternal fnows the growing mafs fupply,
Till the bright mountains prop th'incumbent ky;
As Atlas fx'd each hoary pile appears,
The gather d winter of a thousand years.
On this foundation Fame's high temple ftands;
Stupendous pile! not rear'd by mortal hands.
Whate'er proud Rome or artful Greece beheld,
Or elder Babylon, its frame excell'd.
Four faces had the dome, and every face
Of various ftru&ure, but of equal grace!
Four brazen gates, on columns lifted high,
Salute the different quarters of the sky.
Here fabled Chiefs in darker ages born,
Cr Worthies old, whom arms or arts adorn, yo
Who cities rais'd, or tam'd a monftrcus race,
The walls in venerable order grace:
Heroes in animated marble frown,
And Legif.ators feem to think in flone.
Weftward, a fumptuous frontispiece appear'd,
On Doric pillars of white marble rear'd 176
Crown'd with an architrave of antique mold,
And feulpture ring on the roughen'd gold.
In fhaggy poils here Thefeus was beheld,
And Perfeus dreadful with Minerva's fhield: 20
There great Alcides, ftooping with his toil,
Refts on his club, and holds th' Hefperian fpoil:
Here Orpheus fings; trees moving to the found
Start from their roots, and form a fhade around:
Amphion there the loud creating lyre
The tranfient landscape now in clouds decays, 20 Strikes, and behold a fudden Thebes expire!
O'er the wide profpećt as I gaz'd around,
Sudden I heard a wild promifcuous found,
Like broken thunders that at diftance roar,
Or billows murmuring on the hollow fhore:
Then gazing up, a glorious pile beheld,
Whefe towering fummit ambient clouds conceal'd,
High on a rock of ice the firucture lay,
Steep its afcent, and fippery was the way;
The wonderous rock li e Parian marble
Ard feem'd, to difiant fght, a solid store,
Infcriptions here of variou Names I view'd,
The greater part by hofti'e time fubdued;
Yet wide was fpread their fame in ages paft,
And Poets once had promis'd they fi ould laft.
Some fresh engrav'd appear'd of wits renown'd;
I look'd again, nor could their trace be found. 36
Critics I faw, that other names deface,
And Ex their OWD, with labour, in their place:
Their own, like others, foon their place refign'd,
Or difappear'd, and left the firft behind,
VOL. VI.
Cytheron's echoes anfwer to his call,
And half the mountain rolls into a wall:
There might you fee the lengthening fpires afcend,
The domes fwell up, the widening arches bend, o
The growing towers like exhalations rife,
And the huge columns heave into the fries.
The Eastern front was glorious to behold,
With diamond flaming and Barbarić gold.
There Ninus fhone, who fpread th' Affyrian fame,
And the great founder of the Perfan name:
There in long robes the roval Magi fand,
Great Zoroafter waves the circling ward:
The fage Chaldaans rob'd in white appear'd,
And Brachman's, deep in defert weeds rever'd.
Thefe ftopp'd the moon, and call'd th' embody'd
To midnight banquets in the glimmering glades;
Made visionary fabrics round them rife,
And airy fpeftres fkim before their eyes;
Of Talifmans and Sigils knew the power,
And careful watch'd the Planetary hour.
Superior, and alone, Confucius ftood,
Who taught that ufeful fcience, to be good.
But on the South, a long majestic race
Of Egypt's Priests the gilded niches grace,
Who nealur'd earth, defcrib'd the ftarry fpheres,
And trac'd the long records of lunar years.
High on his car Sefoftris ftruck my view,
Whom Icepter'd flaves in golden harnefs drew :
His hands a bow and pointed javelin hold;
His giant limbs are arm'd in fcales of gold.
Between the ftatues Obeliks were plac'd,
And the learn'd walls with Hieroglyphics grac'd.
Of Gothic structure was the Northern fide,
O'erwrought with ornaments of barbarous pride.
There huge Coloffes rofe, with trophies crown'd,
And Runic characters were grav’d around.
There fate Zamolxis with erected eyes,
And Odin here in mimic trances dies.
There on rude iron columns, smear'd with blood,
The horrid forms o Scythian heroes ficod.
Druids a..d Bards (their once loud harps un-
frung)
And youths that died to be by Poets fung,
Thefe and a thousand more o doubtful fame,
To whom old fables gave a lafting name,
In ranks adorn'd the Temple's outward face;
The wall in luftre and effect like glafs,
Which, o'er each object cafting various dyes,
Enlarges fome, and others multiplies:
Nor void of emblem was the myftic wall,
For thus romantic Fame increafes all.
The Temple fakes, the founding gates
fold,
Much fuffering heroes next their honours clan,
Thofe of lefs noify, and lefs guilty fame,
Far virtue's filent train: fupreme of thefe
Here ever shines the godlike Socrates;
He whom ungrateful Athens could expell,
At all times juft, but when he figu'd the Shell:
Here his abode the martyr'd Phocion claims,
With Agis, not the laft of Spartan names :
Unconquer'd Cato fhews the wound he tore,
And Brutus his ill Genius meets no more.
But in the centre of the hallow'd choir,
Six pompous columns o'er the reft afpire;
Around the thrine itself of Fame they fland, 190
Hold the chief honours, and the fane command.
High on the first, the mighty Homer fhone;
Eternal adamant compos'd his throne;
Father of verfe! in holy fillets dreit,
His flver beard wav'd gently o'er his breaff; 185
Though blind, a boldness in his looks appears;
In years he feen'd, but not impair'd by years.
The wars of Troy were round the pillar feen:
Here fierce Tydides wounds the Cyprian Queen;
Here Hector glorious from Patroclus' fall,
Here dragg'd in triumph round the Trojan wall.
Mction and life did every part infpire,
Bold was the work, and prov'd the mafter's fre;
A ftrong expreffion moft he feem'd t' affect,
And bere and there disclos'd a brave neglect. 195
A golden column next in rank appear'd,
On which a thrine of pureft gold was rear'd;
Finish'd the whole, and labour'd every part,
With patient touches of unwearied art:
The Mantuan there in fober triumph fate,
un-Compes'd his pofture, and his look fedate;
On Homer ftill he fix'd a reverent eye,
Great without pride, in modeft majesty.
In living fculpture on the fides were spread
The Latian wars, and haughty Turnus dead;
Eliza ftretch'd upon the funeral pyre,
Aneas bending with his aged fre:
Troy flam'd in burning gold, and o'er the throne
ARMS AND THE MAN in golden cyphers fhone.
Four fwans fuitain a car of flver bright, 210
With heads advanc'd, and pinions ftretch'd for
flight:
Wide vaults appear, and roofs of fretted gold:
Rais'd on a thoufand pillars wreath'd around
With laurel-foliage, and with eagles crown'd:
Of bright tranfparent beryl were the wall,
The freezes gold, and gold the capitals:
As heaven with ftars, the roof with jewels glows,
And ever-living lamps depend in rows.
Full in the paffage of each fpacious gate,
The fage Hiflorians in white garments wait;
Grav'd o'er their feats the form of Time was
found,
His fey the revers'd, and both his pinions bound.
Within ftood Heroes, who through loud alarms
In bloody fields purfued renown in arms.
High on a throne with trophies charg'd, I view'd
The Youth that all things but himself subdued;
His feet on fceptres and tiaras trod,
And his horn'd head bely'd the Libyan God, 154
There Cæfar, grac'd with both Minervas, fhone;
Cæfar, the world's great mafter, and his own;
Unmov'd, fuperior still in every state,
And fearce detefted in his Country's fate.
But chief were thofe, who not for empire fought,
But with their toils their people's fafety bought:
High o'er the reft Epaminondas ftood;
Timoleon, glorious in his brother's blood;
Bold Scipio, faviour of the Roman ftate;
Great in his triumphs, in retirement great;
And wife Aurelius, in whofe well-taught mind
With boundless power unbounded virtue join'd,
His own frist judge) and patron of mankind,
His facred head a radiant Zodiac crown'd, And various Animals his fides furround; His piercing eyes, erect, appear to view Superior worlds, and look all Nature through. With equal rays immortal Tully fhone, The Roman Roftra deck'd the Conful's throne. Gathering his flowing robe, le feem'd to stand In act to fpeak, and graceful stretch'd his hand. Behind Rome's Genius waits with Civic crowns, And the great Father of his country owns. Thefe maffy columns in a circle rife, C'er which a pompous dome invades the fries: Scarce to the top I ftretch'd my aching fight, So large it fpread, and fwell'd to fuch a height. Full in the midft proud Fames's imperial feat With jewels blaz'd magniticently great; The vivid emeralds there revive the eye, The flaming rubies fhew their fanguine dye, Bright azure rays from lively fapphires ftream, And lucid amber cafts a golden gleam. With various-colour'd light the pavement fhone, And all on fire appear'd the glowing throne; 255 The dome's high arch reflects the mingled blaze, And forms a rainbow of alternate rays. When on the Goddess firit I caft my night, Scarce feem'd her ftature of a cubit's height; But fwell'd to larger fize, the more I gaz'd, Till to the roof her towering front fhe rais'd. With her, the Temple every moment grew, And ampler Viftas open'd to my view: Upwards the columns fhoot, the roofs afcend, And arches widen, and long aifles extend. Such was her form, as ancient bards have told, Wings raife her arms, and wings her feet infold; A thoufand busy tongues the Goddess bears, And thoufand open eyes, and thousand liftening
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Beneath, in order rang'd, the tuneful Nine
(Her virgin handmaids) ftill attend the fhrine:
With eyes on Fame for ever fix'd, they fing;
For Fame they raife the voice, and tune the ftring;
With time's first birth began the heavenly lays,
And laft, eternal, through the length of days.
Around thefe wonders as I caft a look,
The trumpet, founded, and the temple hook,
And all the nations, fummon'd at the call,
From different quarters fll the crouded hall:
Of various tongues the mingled founds were heard:
In various garbs promifcuous throngs appear'd;
Thick as the bees, that with the Spring renew
Their flowery toils, and fip the fragrant dew,
When the wing'd colonies rft tempt the sky,
O'er dufky fields and faded waters fly, 285
Or, fettling, feize the fweets the blooms yield,
And a low murmur runs along the field.
Millions of fuppliant crouds the fhrine attend,
And all degrees before the Goddess bend;
The poor, the rich, the valiant, and the fage, 290
And boafting youth, and narrative old age.
Their pleas were different, their requeft the fame;
For good and bad alike are fond of Fame
Some the difgrac'd, and fome with honours
crown'd;
Unlike fucceffes equal merits found.
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Thus her blind fifter, fickle Fortune, reigns, And undifcerning fcatters crowns and chains.
First at the shrine the Learned world appear, And to the Goddefs thus prefer their prayer. Long have we fought t' inftruct and please mankind, With studies pale, with midnight vigils blind; But thank'd by few, rewarded yet by none, We here appeal to thy fuperior throne: On wit and learning the just prize betow, For Fame is all we muft expect below.
The Goddefs heard, and bade the Mufes raife The golden Trumpet of eternal Praise : From pole to pole the winds dittufe the found, That fills the circuit of the world around; Not all at once, as thunder breaks the cloud; 310 The notes at firit were rather fwect than loud; By juft degrees they every moment rife, Fill the wice earth, and gain upon the fkies. At every breath were baliny odours fhed, Which till grew fweeter, as they wider spread; Lefs fragrant fcents th' unfolding rofe exhales, Or fpices breathing in Arabian gales.
Next thefe the good and jutt, an awful train,
Thus on their knees addrefs the facred fane.
Since living virtue is with envy curs'd,
And the bett men are treated like the worst,
Do thou just Goddess, call our m rits forth,
And give each deed thꞌ exact intrinfic worth.
Not with bare juftice fhall your act be crown'd
(Said Fame) but high above defert renown'd;
Let fuller notes th' applauding world amaze,
And the loud clarion labour in your praise.
This band difmifs'd behold another croud
Prefer'd the fame request and lowly bow'd;
The conftant tenour of whofe well-spent days 330
No less deserv❜d a just return of praise.
But straight the direful Trump of Slander founds; Through the big dome the doubling thunder bounds;
Loud as the burst of cannon rends the skies,
The dire report through every region flies, 335
In every ear inceffant rumours rung,
And gathering feandals grew on every tongue.
From the black trumpet's rufty concave broke
Sulphureous flames, and clouds of rolling fmoke :
The poisonous vapour blots the purple kies, 340
And withers all before it as it flies.
A troop came next, who crowns and armour wore,
And proud defiance in their looks they bore:
For thee (they cry'd) amidft alarms and strife,
We fail'd in tempefts down the stream of life;
For thee whole nations fill'd with flames and blood,
And swam to empire through the purple flood.
Thofe ills we dar'd, thy infpiration own;
What virtue feem'd, was done for thee alone.
Ambitious fools! (the Queen reply'd, and frown'd)
Be all your acts in dark oblivion drown'd;
There fleep forgot, with mighty tyrants gone,
Your ftatues moulder'd, and your names unknown!
A fudden cloud straight snatch'd them from my
fight,
And each majestic phantom funk in night. 356
Then came the fmalleft tribe I yet had feen;
Plain, was their drefs and modeft was their mein.
Great idol of mankind! we neither claim
The praife of merit, nor aspire to fame!
But, fafe in deferts from th' applause of men 360
Would die unheard of, as we liv'd unfeea,
U 12
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