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ray,

(Poor rules, with which our bounded mind is fill'd,
When we would plant, or cultivate, or build);
But fhining with fuch vaft, fuch various light,
As fpeaks the hand that form'd them, infinite;
How mean the order and perfection fought
In the best product of the human thought,
Compar'd to the great harmony that reigns
In what the spirit of the world ordains!
Now if the fun to earth tranfmits his
Yet does not fcorch us with too fierce a day;
How fmall a portion of his power is giv'n
To orbs more diftant, and remoter Heaven?
And of those stars, which our imperfect eye
Has doom'd, and fix'd to one eternal sky,
Each by a native stock of honour great,
May dart ftrong influence, and diffufe kind heat,
(It felf a fun ;) and with tranfmiffive light
Enliven worlds deny'd to human fight;
Around the circles of their ambient fkies
New moons may grow or wane, may set or rife;
And other ftars may to thofe funs be earths;
Give their own elements their proper births;
Divide their climes, or elevate their pole;
See their land flourish, and their oceans roll;
Yet these great orbs thus radically bright,
Primitive founts, and origins of light,
May each to other (as their different sphere
Makes or their diftance, or their height appear)
Be feen a nobler, or inferior ftar;

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And in that space, which we call air and sky,
Myriads of earths, and moons, and funs may lie
Unmeafur'd, and unknown to human eye.

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In vain we measure this amazing sphere,
And find and fix its centre here or there,
Whilft its circumference fcorning to be brought
Even in fancy'd fpace, illudes our vanquish'd thought.
Where then are all the radiant Monsters driven,
With which your gueffes fill'd the frighten'd heaven?
Where will their fictious images remain ?

In paper

schemes, and the Chaldean's brain.
This problem yet, this offspring of a guess,
Let us for once a child of truth confess;
That these fair ftars, these objects of delight
And terror, to our searching dazzled fight,
Are worlds immenfe, unnumber'd, infinite:
But do these worlds difplay their beams, or guide
Their orbs, to serve thy use, to please thy pride?
Thy felf but duft; thy ftature but a span
A moment thy duration; foolish man!
As well may the minutest emmet say,
That Caucafus was rais'd to pave his way:
The fnail, that Lebanon's extended wood
Was deftin'd only for his walk and food;
The vileft cockle gaping on the coast
That rounds the ample feas as well may boaft,
The craggy rock projects above the sky,
That he in fafety at his foot may lie;

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And the whole ocean's confluent waters fwell,
Only to quench his thirst, or move and blanch his shell.

A higher

A higher flight the venturous Goddess tries, Leaving material worlds, and local skies; Enquires, what are the beings, where the space, That form'd and held the Angels ancient race? For rebel Lucifer with Michael fought (I offer only what tradition taught) Embattl'd cherub against cherub rose,

Did fhield to shield, and power to power oppofe; Heaven rung with triumph: Hell was fill'd with

woes.

What were thofe forms of which your volumes tell,
How fome fought great, and others recreant fell:
These bound to bear an everlasting load,
Durance of chain, and banishment of God:
By fatal turns their wretched strength to tire;'
To swim in fulphurous lakes, or land on solid fire;
Whilft thofe exalted to primæval light,
Excefs of bleffing, and fupreme delight,
Only perceive some little pause of joys
In those great moments when their God employs
Their miniftry, to pour his threaten'd hate
On the proud king, or the rebellious state;
Or to reverfe Jehovah's high command,
And speak the thunder falling from his hand,
When to his duty the proud king returns,
And the rebellious ftate in afhes mourns.
How can good angels be in Heaven confin'd;
Or view that prefence which no space can bind?
Is God above, beneath, or yon, or here?
He who made all, is he not every where ?

Oh how can wicked angels find a night

So dark to hide them from that piercing light,
Which form'd the eye, and gave the power of fight?
What mean I now of angel, when I hear
Firm body, fpirit pure, or fluid air?
Spirits to actions fpiritual confin'd,

Friends to our thought, and kindred to our mind,
Should only act and prompt us from within,
Nor by external eye be ever seen.

Was it not therefore to our fathers known,
That these had appetite, and limb, and bone?
Elfe how could Abraham wash their weary'd feet:
-Or Sarah please their taste with favoury meat?
Whence fhould they fear? or why did Lot engage
To fave their bodies from abufive rage,

And how could Jacob, in a real fight,
Feel or refift the wrestling angel's might?
How could a form its ftrength with matter try?
Or how a spirit touch a mortal's thigh?

Now are they air condens'd, or gather'd rays?
How guide they then our prayer, or keep our ways,
By ftronger blafts ftill fubject to be toft,
By tempefts fcatter'd, and in whirlwinds loft?

Have they again (as facred fong proclaims)
Subftances real, and exifting frames?
How comes it fince with them we jointly share
The great effect of one Creator's care;
That, whilft our bodies ficken and decay,

Their's are for ever healthy, young, and gay?

Why

Why, whilft we ftruggle in this vale beneath, With want and forrow, with difeafe and death, Do they, more blefs'd perpetual life employ On fongs of pleasure, and in fcenes of joy? Now when my mind has all this world furvey'd, And found that nothing by itfelf was made; When thought has rais'd it felf by juft degrees From vallies crown'd with flowers, and hills with trees; From fmoaking minerals, and from rifing ftreams; From fattening Nilus, or victorious Thames; From all the living that four-footed move Along the fhoar, the meadow, or the grove; From all that can with fins, or feathers fly, Through the aërial, or the watery sky; From the poor reptile with a reasoning foul, That miferable mafter of the whole; From this great object of the body's eye, This fair half-round, this ample azure fky, Terribly large, and wonderfully bright With stars unnumber'd, and unmeasur'd light; From effences unfeen, celeftial names, Enlightening fpirits, and minifterial flames, Angels, dominions, potentates, and thrones, All that in each degree the name of creature owns: Lift we our reafon to that fovereign caufe,

Who bleft the whole with life, and bounded it with laws:

Who forth from nothing call'd this comely frame,
His will and act, his word and work the fame;

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