CONVERSATION.

Nam neque me tantum venientis sibilus austri,
Nec percussa juvant fluctú tam littora, nec quæ
Saxosas inter decurrunt flumina valles.

VIRG. Ecl. 5.

THOUGH nature weigh our talents, and dispense

To ev'ry man his modicum of sense,

And Conversation in it's better part

May be esteem'd a gift, and not an art,
Yet much depends, as in the tiller's toil,

On culture, and the sowing of the soil.

Words learn'd by rote a parrot may rehearse,
But talking is not always to converse;

Not more distinct from harmony divine,

The constant creaking of a country sign.

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As Alphabets in ivory employ,
Hour after hour, the yet unletter'd boy,
Sorting and puzzling with a deal of glee
Those seeds of science call'd his A B C;
So language in the mouths of the adult,
Witness it's insignificant result,

Too often proves an implement of play,

A toy to sport with, and pass

time away.

Collect at ev'ning what the day brought forth,
Compress the sum into it's solid worth,

And if it weigh th' importance of a fly,

The scales are false, or algebra a lie.
Sacred interpreter of human thought,
How few respect or use thee as they ought!
But all shall give account of ev'ry wrong,
Who dare dishonour or defile the tongue;

Who prostitute it in the cause of vice,

Or sell their glory at the market-price;

Who vote for hire, or point it with lampoon,

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The dear-bought placeman, and the cheap

buffoon.

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There is a prurience in the speech of some,

Wrath stays him, or else God would strike them

dumb:

His wise forbearance has their end in view,

They fill their measure, and receive their due.
The heathen lawgivers of ancient days,

Names almost worthy of a Christian's praise,
Would drive them forth from the resort of

men,

And shut up ev'ry satyr in his den.

O come not ye near innocence and truth,
Ye worms that eat into the bud of youth!
Infectious as impure, your blighting pow'r
Taints in its rudiments the promis'd flow'r;
It's odour perish'd and it's charming hue,
Thenceforth 'tis hateful, for it smells of you.
Not ev❜n the vigorous and headlong rage
Of adolescence, or a firmer age,
Affords a plea allowable or just

For making speech the pamperer of lust;

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But when the breath of age commits the fault,

'Tis nauseous as the vapour of a vault.

So wither'd stumps disgrace the sylvan scene,
No longer fruitful, and no longer green;
The sapless wood, divested of the bark,
Grows fungous, and takes fire at ev'ry spark.

Oaths terminate, as Paul observes, all strife— Some men have surely then a peaceful life; Whatever subject occupy discourse,

The feats of Vestris, or the naval force,
Asseveration blust'ring in your face
Makes contradiction such a hopeless case:
In ev'ry tale they tell, or false or true,
Well known, or such as no man ever knew,
They fix attention, heedless of your pain,
With oaths like rivets forc'd into the brain;
And ev❜n when sober truth prevails throughout,
They swear it, till affirmance breeds a doubt.
A Persian, humble servant of the sun,

Who though devout, yet bigotry had none,

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