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Meliffan, facred and reclufe to Ceres,

Studious to have their offerings well receiv'd,
And fit for heavenly use, from little urns
Pour ftreams felect, and purity of waters.
Iö! Apollo, mighty king, let Envy
Ill-judging and verbose, from Lethe's lake
Draw tuns unmeasurable; while thy favour
Administers to my ambitious thirst

The wholefome draught from Aganippe's fpring
Genuine, and with foft murmurs gently rilling
Adown the mountains where thy daughters haunt

CHARITY.

A PARAPHRASE ON THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER OF

THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS.

DID fweeter founds adorn my flowing tongue,

Than ever man pronounc'd, or angels fung;

Had I all knowledge, human and divine,
That thought can reach, or fcience can define ;
And had I power to give that knowledge birth,
In all the fpeeches of the babbling earth;
Did Shadrach's zeal my glowing breast inspire,
To weary tortures, and rejoice in fire;
Or had I faith like that which Ifrael faw
When Mofes gave them miracles and law:
Yet, gracious Charity! indulgent guest,
Were not thy power exerted in my breast,
K 4

Thofe

Thofe fpeeches would fend up unheeded prayer ;
That fcorn of life would be but wild despair;
A tymbal's found were better than my voice;
My faith were form, my eloquence were noise.
Charity, decent, modeft, eafy, kind,

Softens the high, and rears the abject mind,
Knows with just reins and gentle hand to guide
Betwixt vile fhame and arbitrary pride.
Not foon provok'd, fhe easily forgives;
And much fhe fuffers, as fhe much believes.
Soft peace fhe brings where-ever fhe arrives;
She builds our quiet, as fhe forms our lives;
Lays the rough paths of peevish nature even,
And opens in each heart a little heaven.

Each other gift, which God on man bestows,
Its proper bound and due reftriction knows;
To one fixt purpofe dedicates its power,
And, finishing its act, exifts no more.
Thus, in obedience to what Heaven decrees,
Knowledge fhall fail, and prophecy fhall ceafe;
But lafting Charity's more ample sway,
Nor bound by time, nor fubject to decay,
In happy triumph fhall for ever live,

And endless good diffufe, and endless praise receive.
As, through the artist's intervening glass,

Our eye obferves the diftant planets pass,

A little we difcover, but allow

That more remains unfeen, than art can show:

So, whilft our mind its knowledge would improve

(Its feeble eye intent on things above),

High as we may, we lift our reafon up,

By Faith directed, and confirm'd by Hope:
Yet we are able only to furvey

Dawning of beams, and promises of day.

Heaven's fuller effluence mocks our dazzled fight;
Too great its swiftness, and too ftrong its light.
But foon the mediate clouds fhall be dispell'd;
The fun fhall foon be face to face beheld,
In all his robes, with all his glory on,
Seated fublime on his meridian throne.
Then conftant Faith and holy Hope fhall die,
One loft in certainty, and one in joy :
Whilft thou, more happy power, fair Charity,
Triumphant fifter, greatest of the three,
Thy office and thy nature ftill the fame,
Lafting thy lamp, and unconfum'd thy flame,
Shalt ftill furvive-

Shalt ftand before the host of heaven confest,
For ever bleffing, and for ever blest.

CUPID IN AMBUS H.

Toft' to many has fuccessful been, Upon his arm to let his mistress lean, Or with her airy fan to cool her heat, Or gently fqueeze her knees, or prefs her feet. All public fports, to favour young defire, With opportunities like this confpire.

Ev'n where his skill the gladiator fhows,
With human blood where the Arena flows;
There oftentimes Love's quiver-bearing boy
Prepares his bow and arrows to destroy :
While the spectator gazes on the sight,
And fees them wound each other with delight;
While he his pretty mistress entertains,

And wagers with her who the conqueft gains;
Slily the God takes aim, and hits his heart,
And in the wounds he fees he bears his part.

ENGRAVED ON A COLUMN IN THE CHURCH OF HAL

STEAD IN ESSEX

THE SPIRE OF WHICH, BURNT DOWN BY LIGHTNING, WAS REBUILT AT THE EXPENCE OF MR. SAMUEL

VIEW

FISKE, 1717.

IEW not this fpire by measure given
To buildings rais'd by common hands :

That fabrick rifes high as heaven,

Whose bafis on devotion ftands.

While yet we draw this vital breath,
We can our Faith and Hope declare ;
But Charity beyond our death
Will ever in our works appear.
Beft be he call'd among good men,
Who to his GOD this column rais'd:

Though

Though lightning ftrike the dome again,
The man, who built it, fhall be prais'd:
Yet fpires and towers in duft fhall lie,
The weak efforts of human pains;
And Faith and Hope themselves shall die,
While deathlefs Charity remains.

ALMA:

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