How bright This Profpect fhines? How gloomy,
A trembling World! and a devouring GOD!
Earth, but the Shambles of Omnipotence !
Heav'n's Face all ftain'd with caufelefs Maffacres
Of countless Millions, born to feel the Pang
Of Being loft. LORENZO can it be?
This bids us fhudder at the Thoughts of Life.
Who would be born to fuch a phantom World,
Where nought Substantial, but our Mis'ry ?
Where Joy (if Joy) but heightens our Diftrefs
So foon to perish, and revive no more,
The greater fuch a Joy, the more It pains..
A World, where dark, mysterious Vanity
Of Good, and Ill, the distant Colours blends,
Confounds all Reafon, and all Hope deftroys;
Reason, and Hope, our fole Afylum Here!
A World fo far from Great, (and yet how Great
It fhines to Thee?) there's nothing Real in it;
Being, a Shadow! Consciousness, a Dream!
A Dream, how dreadful? Univerfal Blank
Before it, and Behind! Poor Man, a Spark
From Non-existence ftruck by Wrath divine,
Glitt'ring a Moment, nor that Moment fure,
'Midft Upper, Nether, and Surrounding Night,
His Sad, Sure, Sudden, and Eternal Tomb.
LORENZO! doft Thou feel thefe Arguments?
Or is there nought but Vengeance can be felt?
How hast Thou dar'd the DEITY dethrone?
How dar'd indict Him of a World like This?
If Such the World, Creation was a Crime;
For what is Crime, but Caufe of Misery?
Retract, Blafphemer! And unriddle This,
Of endless Arguments above, below,
Without us, and within, the fhort Result,
IF Man's Immortal, there's a God in Heav'n.”
BUT wherefore fuch Redundancy? Such Wafte
Of Argument? One fets my Soul at Reft;
One obvious, and at Hand, and, Oh !—at Hearts ·
So juft the Skies, PHILANDER'S Life fo pain'd,
His Heart fo pure; that, or fucceeding Scenes
Have Palms to give, or ne'er had He been born.
"WHAT an old Tale is This!" LORENZő cries.
I grant this Argument is old: but Truth
No Years impair; and had not This been True,
Thou never hadft defpis'd it for its Age.
Truth is Immortal as thy Soul; and Fable
As fleeting as thy Joys: Be wife, nor make
Heav'n's higheft Bleffing, Vengeance: O be wife!!
Nor make a Curfe of Immortality.
SAY, know'ft Thou what It is? Or, what Thou art?
Know'ft Thou th' Importance of a Soul Immortal?
Behold this Midnight Glory; Worlds, on Worlds!!
Amazing Pomp! 'Redouble this Amaze;
Ten thousand add; add twice Ten thousand more ; :
Then weigh the Whole; One Soul outweighs them All;;
And calls th' astonishing Magnificence
Of unintelligent Creation, poor.
FOR This, believe not me; no Man believe;
Truft not in Words, but Deeds; and Deeds no lefs
Than those of the SUPREME ; nor His, a Few ;
Confult them All; confulted, All proclaim
Thy Soul's Importance: Tremble at Thyself; ⠀
For whom Omnipotence has wak'd so long :
Has wak'd, and work'd, for Ages ; from the Birth ›
Of Nature, to this Unbelieving Hour.
In this fmall Province of His vaft Domain,
(All Nature bow, while I pronounce his Name !)
What has Gon done, and not for this fole End,
To rescue Souls from Death? The Soul's high Price
Is writ in all the Conduct of the Skies.
The Soul's high Price is the Creation's Key,
Unlocks its Myfteries, and naked lays
The genuine Cause of ev'ry deed divine:
That, is the Chain of Ages, which maintains
Their obvious Correfpondence, and unites
Moft diftant Periods in One bleft Defign:
That, is the Mighty Hinge, on which have turn'd
All Revolutions, whether we regard
The Nat'ral, Civil, or Religious, World;
The Former Two, but Servants to the Third:
To That their Duty done, they Both expire,
Their Mafs new caft, forgot their Deeds renown'd;
And Angels afk, "Where once they fhone fo Fair??
To lift us from this Abject, to Sublime;
This Flux, to Permanent; this Dark, to Day;
This Foul, to Pure; this Turbid, to Serene;
This Mean, to Mighty!-for this glorious End
Th' ALMIGHTY, rifing, his long Sabbath broke ;.
The World was Made; was Ruin'd; was Reftor'd;.
Laws from the Skies were Publish'd; were Repeal'd;
On Earth Kings, Kingdoms rofe;. Kings, Kingdoms,
fell;
Fam'd Sages lighted up the Pagan World,
Prophets from Sion darted a keen Glance
Thro' diftant Age; Saints travell'd; Martyrs bled ;; Wonders facred Nature ftood controul'd;
The Living were Tranflated; Dead were Rais'd;
Angels, and more than Angels, came from Heav'n;.
And oh!-for This, defcended lower ftill;
Gilt was Hell's Gloom; aftonifht at his Guest,
For one short Moment Lucifer ador'd :
LORENZO! and wilt Thou do lefs ?-For This,
That Hallow'd Page, Fools fcoff at, was inspir'd,
Of all these Truths thrice-venerable Code!
Deifts! perform your Quarentine; and then,
Fall proftrate, ere you touch it, left you die,
NOR lefs intenfely bent Infernal Pow'rs
than thofe of Light, this End to gain.
O what a Scene is Here !-LORENZO! wake;
Rife to the Thought; exert, expand, thy Soul
To take the vaft Idea: It denies
All elfe the Name of Great. Two warring Worlds!
Not Europe against Afric; Warring Worlds,
Of more than Mortal! mounted on the Wing!
On ardent Wings of Energy, and Zeal,
High hov'ring o'er this little Brand of Strife!
This fublunary Ball.-But Strife, for what?
In their own Caufe conflicting? No; in Thine,
In Man's. His fingle Int'reft blows the Flame;
His the fole Stake; His Fate the Trumpet founds,
Which kindles War Immortal. How It burns?
Tumultuous Swarms of Deities in Arms!
Force Force oppofing, till the Waves run high,
And tempeft Nature's universal Sphere.
Such Oppofites Eternal, Stedfaft, Stern,
Such Foes Implacable, are Good, and Ill;
Yet Man, vain Man! would mediate Peace between
From Heav'n's high cryftal Mountain where It hung, Th' ALMIGHTY's out-ftretcht Arm took down his Bow; And shot His Indignation at the Deep:
Rethunder'd Hell, and darted all her Fires.
And feems the Stake of little Moment ftill ?
And flumbers Man, who fingly caus'd the Storm?
He fleeps. And art Thou shockt at Myfteries?
The Greateft, Thou. How dreadful to reflect,
What Ardor, Care, and Counsel, Mortals caufe
In Breafts Divine? How Little in their Own?
WHERE-E'ERI turn, how new Proofs pour upon me
How happily This wond'rous View supports
My Former Argument! How ftrongly strikes-
Immortal Life's full Demonftration, Here!
Why this Exertion? Why this ftrange Regard
From Heav'n's Omnipotent indulg'd to Man ?·
Because, in Man, the glorious, dreadful Pow`r,.
Extremely to be Pain'd, or Bleft, for ever.
Duration gives Importance; fwells the Price.
An Angel, if a Creature of a Day,
What would He be? A Trifle of no Weight;
Or Stand, or Fall; no Matter which; He's gone. -
Because IMMORTAL, therefore is Indulg'd
This ftrange Regard of Deities to Duft.
Hence, Heav'n looks down on Earth with all her Eyes::
Hence, the Soul's mighty Moment in her Sight:
Hence, ev'ry Soul has Partizans Above,
And ev'ry Thought a Critic in the Skies :
Hence, Clay, vile Clay! has Angels for its Guard,. And ev'ry Guard a Passion for his Charge:
Hence, from all Age, the Cabinet divine
Has held high Counsel o'er the Fate of Man.
NOR have the Clouds those gracious Counsels hid..
Angels undrew the Curtain of the Throne,
And PROVIDENCE came forth to meet Mankind:
In various Modes of Emphafis, and Awe,
He spoke his Will, and trembling Nature heard ;
He spoke it loud, in Thunder, and in Storm.
Witness, Thou Sinai! whofe Cloud-cover'd Height,
And fhaken Bafis own'd the present GoD:
Witness, ye Billows! whofe returning Tide,,
Breaking the Chain that faften'd it in Air,
Swept Egypt, and her Menaces, to Hell:
Witnefs, ye Flames! th' Affyrian Tyrant blew
To fev'nfold Rage, as Impotent, as Strong:
And Thou, Earth! witness, whofe expanding Jaws -
Clos'd o'er Prefumption's facrilegious Sons :
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