Parent of day, the morn unveils her eyes,
And vermil blushes streak the orient skies:
How nature triumphs at the sight,
Renew'd in all her beauty bright!
Her fragrant groves their incense yield;
The zephyrs, from her humid stores, diffuse
The sweetness of mellifluous dews;
And pleasure paints the lilied field.
Here, gilt with splendid rays,
The spires and lofty turrets blaze;
There the canals reflect a pleasing gleam;
While dancing down the pebbly stream The silver radiance chears the feather'd throng, Woods, hills, and dales re-echo with their song.
Thus, like the morn, will fairest Freedom come,
In majesty divine,
With dawning glory to disperse the gloom
Of dire Oppression; and illume the mind
To darkness and despondency confin'd.
Arise, O Liberty? 'tis thine
The charms of nature to refine;
With blooming hope and harmony to please,
To crown with plenty, and to bless with ease,
To light up aweful Virtue's living ray,
And pour the flood of intellectual day.
Place me in Afric's desart lands, Where thirst sits gaping on the sands; If there auspicious Freedom fix her seat,
'Midst burning blasts, I'll hail the rude retreat; Soon shall the wild, more polish'd grown, Admire new beauties, not her own :
Sage Industry shall dig the well
Capacious, yawning many a fathom deep;
While lowing herds, and bleating sheep,
Stand frequent in the cooling cell :
Soon shall the mantling vine
Be taught around the palm to twine;
And social arts the stranger Naiads wake,
That sleep beneath the distant lake,
Curious to view young Commerce gayly roam,
And bring full harvests to his barren home.
Place me beneath the gelid zone,
Near winter's adamantine throne,
Where farthest ocean foams with icy roar
Along the bleak, inhospitable shore :
If Freedom to the smoky dome
With fur-cloath'd mortals deign to roam;
Thro' snowy wastes the dome I'll seek;
What hinders to enjoy the freezing year !
For Property will there appear;
And chearful Health, with rosy cheek,
Pursue the panting prey:
Or, mindful of the lengthen'd day,
Sit chaunting on the mountain's chrystal brow,
Where hanging torrents shine below;
Nor will Cimmerian sleep forget to bring
Safe slumbers, waving at his downy wing.
Come then, Celestial, let thy wish'd return
This happier clime serene;
This happier clime, if Rome thy absence mourn,
No more with smiles of pleasure entertains,
Nor Baia's groves, nor rich Campania's plains;
Heartless we view the splendid scene
Of turrets, and the painted green;
Heartless the music of the groves we hear,
As when, new harness'd out by Wrath and Fear, Night's chariot moves in storms; and thunders hurl'd Roll their broad terrors round the groaning world.
LIFE! the dear precarious boon! Soon we lose, alas! how soon! Fleeting vision, falsely gay! Grasp'd in vain, it fades away, Mixing with surrounding shades, Lovely vision! how it fades! Let the Muse, in fancy's glass, Catch the phantoms as they pass: See they rise! a nymph behold Careless, wanton, young and bold; Mark her devious, hasty pace, Antic dress, and thoughtless face, Smiling cheeks, and roving eyes, Causeless mirth, and vain surprizeTripping at her side, a boy Shares her wonder, and her joy; This is Folly, Childhood's guide, This is Childhood at her side. What is he succeeding now, Myrtles blooming on his brow, Bright, and blushing, as the morn, Not on earth a mortal born?
Shafts, to pierce the strong I view, Wings, the flying to pursue;
Victim of his power, behind
Stalks a slave of human kind,
Whose disdain of all the free
Speaks his mind's captivity.
Love's the tyrant, Youth the slave,
Youth in vain is wise or brave;
Love with conscious pride defies
All the brave, and all the wise.
Who art thou with anxious mien
Stealing o'er the shifting scene?
Eyes, with tedious vigils red,
Sighs, by doubts and wishes bred,
Cautious step, and glancing leer,
Speak thy woes, and speak thy fear
Arm in arm, what wretch is he
Like thyself, who walks with thee?
Like thy own his fears and woes,
All thy pangs his bosom knows :
Well, too well! my boding breast
Knows the names your looks suggest,
Anxious, busy, restless pair!
Manhood, link'd by fate to Care.
Wretched state! and yet 'tis dear-
Fancy, close the prospect here!
Close it, or recall the past,
Spare my eyes, my heart, the last.
Vain the wish; the last appears,
While I gaze it swims in tears;
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