Nam neq; me tantum venientis fibilus auftri, Nec percuffa juvant fluctú tam litora, nec quæ Saxofas inter decurrunt flumina valles.
THOUGH nature weigh our talents, and dispense
To ev'ry man his modicum of sense,
And Converfation, in its 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 foil.
Words learn'd by rote a parrot may rehearse,
But talking is not always to converse;
Not more diftin&t from harmony divine,
The conftant creaking of a country fign.
As alphabets in ivory employ,
Hour after hour, the yet unletter'd boy,
Sorting and puzzling with a deal of glee
Those feeds of fcience call'd his A B C;
So language in the mouths of the adult,
Witness its infignificant refult,
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 fum into its folid 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 refpect or use thee as they ought!
But all fhall give account of ev'ry wrong,
Who dare dishonour or defile the tongue;
Who prostitute it in the cause of vice,
Or fell their glory at a market-price;
Who vote for hire, or point it with lampoon-
The dear-bought placeman, and the cheap buffoon.
There is a prurience in the speech of some,
Wrath ftays him, or else God would strike them
dumb:
His wife forbearance has their end in view;
They fill their measure, and receive their due.
The heathen law-givers of ancient days,
Names almost worthy of a Chriftian's praise,
Would drive them forth from the refort of men,
And fhut up ev'ry fatyr in his den.
Oh, 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;
Its odour perifh'd and its charming hue,
Thenceforth 'tis hateful, for it smells of
Not ev❜n the vigorous and headlong rage
Of adolefcence, or a firmer age,
Affords a plea allowable or juft
For making speech the pamperer of luft;
But, when the breath of age commits the fault,
'Tis naufeous as the vapour of a vault.
So wither'd stumps difgrace the fylvan fcene,
No longer fruitful, and no longer green;
The fapless wood, divested of the bark,
Grows fungous, and takes fire at ev'ry spark.
Oaths terminate, as Paul obferves, all strife-
Some men have furely then a peaceful life l
Whatever fubject occupy discouffe,
The feats of Veftris, or the naval force,
Affeveration, bluft'ring in your face,
Makes contradiction fuch an hopeless case:
In ev'ry tale they tell, or falfe or true,
Well known, or fuch as no man ever knew,
They fix attention, heedlefs of your pain,
With oaths, like rivets, forc'd into the brain;
And ev'n when fober truth prevails throughout,
They fwear it, till affirmance breeds a doubt.
A Perfian, humble fervant of the fun,
Who, though devout, yet bigotry had none,
Hearing a lawyer, grave in his address,
With adjurations ev'ry word impress,
Suppos'd the man a bishop, or at least,
God's name fo much upon his lips, a priest;
Bow'd at the close with all his graceful airs,
And begg'd an int'reft in his frequent pray'rs.
Go, quit the rank to which ye stood preferr'd,
Henceforth affociate in one common herd;
Religion, virtue, reason, common sense,
Pronounce your human form a false pretence;
A mere difguife, in which a devil lurks,
Who yet betrays his fecret by his works.
Ye pow'rs who rule the tongue, if fuch there are,
And make colloquial happiness your care,
Preserve me from the thing I dread and hate-
A duel in the form of a debate.
The clash of arguments and jar of words,
Worse than the mortal brunt of rival fwords,
Decide no queftion with their tedious length,
(For oppofition gives opinion strength)
Divert the champions, prodigal of breath,
And put the peaceably-difpofed to death.
Oh, thwart me not, fir Soph, at ev'ry turn,
Nor carp at ev'ry flaw you may difcern;
Though fyllogifms hang not on my tongue,
I am not surely always in the wrong!
"Tis hard if all is falfe that I advance
A fool must now and then be right, by chance.
Not that all freedom of diffent I blame;
No-there I grant the privilege I claim.
A difputable point is no man's ground;
Rove where you please, 'tis common all around.
Difcourfe may want an animated-No,
To bruth the furface and to make it flow;
But ftill remember, if you mean to please,
To prefs your point with modesty and ease.
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