E P I S T L E

VI.

To Mr. MURRA Y.

1

OT to admire, is all the Art I know,

To make men happy, and to keep them lo.” (Plain Truth, dear MURRAY, needs no flow'rs of

speech, So take it in the very words of Creech.)

• This Vault of Air, this congregated Ball, 5
Self-center'd Sun, and Stars that rise and fall,
There are, my Friend! whose philosophic eyes
Look thro', and trust the Ruler with his skies,
To him commit the hour, the day, the year,
And view < this dreadful All without a fear.

Admire we then what ^ Earth's low entrails hold,
Arabian fhores, or Indian feas infold;
All the mad trade of e Fools and Slaves for Gold ?

Notes. Ver. 10. And view this dreadful All without a fear.] He has added this idea to his text ; and it greatly heightens the dignity of the whole thought. He gives it the appellation of a dreadful All

, because the immensity of God's creation, which modern philofophy has fo infinitely enlarged, is apt to affect narrow minds, who measure the divine comprehenfion by their own, with dreadful fufpicions of man's being overlooked in this dark and narrower corner of existence, by a Governor occupied and bufied with the sum of things.

Ludicra, quid, ' plausus, et amici dona Quiritis?
Quo fpectanda modo, & quo sensu credis et ore?

i Gaudeat, an doleat; cupiat, metuatne; quid ad rem,

Si, quidquid videt melius pejusve fua fpe,

Defixis oculis, animoque et corpore torpet ?

* Infani sapiens nomen ferat, aequus iniqui ;

Ultra quam satis est, virtutem fi petat ipsam.

I nunc, argentum et marmor m vetus, aeraque

et artes

Suspice: cum gemmis " Tyrios mirare colores :

Notes. VER. 21. In either case, believe me, we admire ;] i. e. These objects, in either case, affect us, as objects unknown affect the mind, and consequently betray us into falle judgments.

VER. 22. Whether we joy or grieve, tbe same the curse, Surpriz'd at better, or surpriz'd at worse.] The elegance of this is superior to the Original. The curse is the same

20

2

Orf Popularity? or Stars and Strings?
The Mob's applauses, or the gifts of Kings? IS
Say with what & eyes we ought at Courts to gaze,
And pay the Great our homage of Amaze?

If weak the h pleasure that from these can spring,
The fear to want them is as weak a thing:
Whether we dread, or whether we defire,
In either case, believe me, we admire;
Whether we ' joy or grieve, the same the curse,
Surpriz'd at better, or surpriz'd at worse.
Thus good or bad, to one extreme betray
Th' unbalanc'd Mind, and snatch the Man away;
For k Virtue's self may too much zeal be had; 25
The worst of Madmen is a Saint run mad.

i Go then, and if you can, admire the state
Of beaming diamonds, and reflected plate;
Procure a Taste to double the surprize,

30 And

m Parian Charms with learned eyes : Be struck with bright · Brocade, or Tyrian Dye, Our Birth-day Nobles' splendid Livery.

gaze on

Notes. (says he) whether we joy or grieve. Why so ? Because, in either case, the man is surprized, hurried of, and led away captive.

(The good or bad to one extreme betray

Th' unbalanc'd Mind, and inatch the Man away.) This happy advantage, in the imitation, arises from the ambiguity of the word surprise.

Gaude, quod spectant oculi te mille loquentem: .

Gnavus P mane forum, et vespertinus pete tectum;

" Ne plus frumenti dotalibus emetat agris

Mutus et (indignum ; quod fit pejoribus ortus)

Hic tibi fit potius, quam tu mirabilis illi.

Quicquid sub terra eft, in apricum proferet aetas;

Ire tamen restat, Nuina ' quo devenit et Ancus.

* Si latus aut renes morbo tentantur acuto,

If not so pleas'd, at ° Council-board rejoice,
To see their judgments hang upon thy Voice; 35
From P morn to night, at Senate, Rolls, and Hall,
Plead much, read more, dine late, or not at all.
But wherefore all this labour, all this strife?
For 9 Fame, for Riches, for a noble Wife?
Shall - One whom Nature, Learning, Birth, con-
fpir'd

41
To form, not to admire but be admir'd,
Sigh, while his Chloe blind to Wit and Worth
Weds the rich Dulness of some Son of earth?
Yet" Time ennobles, or degrades each Line;
It brighten'd CRAGGs's, and may darken thine: 45
And what is Fame? the Meanest have their day,
The Greatest can but blaze, and pass away.
Grac'd as thou art, with all the Pow'r of Words,
So known, so honour'd, at the House of Lords;
Conspicuous Scene! another yet is nigh,

50 (More filent far) where Kings and Poets lie; Where MURRAY (long enough his Country's pride) Shall be no more than Tully, or than Hyde!

* Rack'd with Sciatics, martyr'd with the Stone, Will any mortal let himself alone?

55 See Ward by batter'd Beaus invited over, And desp’rate Misery lays hold on Dover. The case is easier in the Mind's disease; There all Men may be cur’d, whene'er they please.