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EPISTLE VI

»N

то

Mr. MURRAY.

OT to admire, is all the art I know,

» To make men happy, and to keep them so «<. ( 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,
Self-center'd fun, and stars that rife and fall,
There are, my friend! whose philosophic eyes
Look thro', and truft 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 shores, or Indian feas infold;
All the mad trade of fools and flaves for gold?
Or popularity? or stars and strings?
The mob's applauses, or the gifts of kings ?

Say with what eyes we ought at courts to gaze,
And
pay the great our homage of amaze?
If weak the pleasure that from these can spring,
The fear to want them is as weak a thing:

C &

Whether we dread, or whether we defire,

In either cafe, believe me, we admire;

Whether we joy or grieve, the fame the curfe,
Surpriz'd at better, or furpriz'd at worse.
Thus good or bad, to one extreme betray
Th' unbalanc'd mind, and snatch the man away;
For virtue's felf may too much zeal be had;
The worst of madmen is a faint run mad.

Go then, and if you can, admire the flate
Of beaming diamonds, and reflected plate;
Procure a tafte to double the furprize,

And gaze on Parian charms with learned eyes:
Be ftruck with bright brocade, or Tyrian dye,
Our birth-day nobles' fplendid livery.

;

If not fo pleas'd, at council-board rejoice,
To fee their judgments hang upon thy voice,
From 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 ftrife?

For fame, for riches, for a noble wife?

Shall one whom nature, learning, birth, confpir'd
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:
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,
Se known, fo honour'd, at the house of lords:
Confpicuous fcene! another yet is nigh,

(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 fciatics, martyr'd with the stone, Will any mortal let himself alone? See Ward by batter'd beaus invited over, And defp'rate mifery lays hold on Dover. The cafe is eafier in the mind's disease ; There all men may be cur'd, whene'er they please.. Would ye be bleft ? despise low jɔys, low gains; Difdain whatever Cornbury difdains;

Be virtuous, and be happy for your pains.

But art thou one, whom new opinions fway, One who believes as Tindal leads the way, Who virtue and a church alike difowns,

Thinks that but words, and this but brick and stones? Fly then, on all the wings of wild defire,

Admire whate'er the maddeft can admire.

Is wealth thy paffion? Hence! from pole to pole,
Where winds can carry, or where waves can
For Indian fpices, for Peruvian gold,
Prevent the greedy, and out-bid the bold:
Advance thy golden mountain to the skies;
On the broad base of fifty thousand rise,
Add one round hundred, and ( if that's not fair }
Add fifty more, and bring it to a square.
For, mark th' advantage; just so many score
Will gain a wife with half as many more,
Procure her beauty, make that beauty chaste,
And then fuch friends- as cannot fail to laft.
A man of wealth is dubb'd a man of worth,

C

Venus shall give him form, and Anftis birth.
(Believe me, many a German prince is worse,
Who proud of pedigree, is poor of purse)
His wealth brave Timon gloriously confounds;
Ask'd for a groat, he gives a hundred pounds;
Or if three ladies like a luckless play,
Takes the whole house upon the poet's day.
Now, in fuch exigencies not to need,
Upon my word, you must be rich indeed;
A nobler fuperfluity it craves,

Not for yourself, but for your fools and knaves;
Something, which for your honour they may cheat,
And which it much becomes you to forget.
If wealth alone then make and keep us bleft,
Still, ftill be getting, never, never reft.

But if to pow'r and place your paffion lie, If in the pomp of life confift the joy ; Then hire a flave, or (if you will) a lord To do the honours, and to give the word; Tell at your levee, as the crouds approach, To whom to nod, whom take into coach, Whom honour with your hand: to make remarks, Who rules in Cornwall, or who rules in Berks: >> This may be troublesome, is near the chair: >> That makes three members, this can chuse a >> may'r «<.

your

Inftructed thus, you bow, embrace, protest,
Adopt him fon, or cousin at the least,
Then turn about, and laugh at your own jeft.
Or if your life be one continu'd treat,
If to live well means nothing but to eat ;

Up, up! cries Gluttony, 'tis break of day,
Go drive the deer, and drag the finny-prey;
With hounds and horns go hunt an appetite
So Ruffel did, but could not eat at night,
Call'd'happy dog! the beggar at his door,
And envy'd thirst and hunger to the poor.
Or shall we ev'ry decency confound,
Thro' taverns, ftews, and bagnios take our round,
Go dine with Chartres, in each vice out-do
K-l's lewd cargo, or Ty-y's crew,

From Latian Syrens, French Circæan feasts,
Return well travell'd, and transform'd to beafts,
Or for a titled punk, or foreign flame,
Renounce our country, and degrade our name!
If, after all, we must with Wilmot own,
The cordial drop of life is love alone;
And Swift cry wifely: » Vive la Bagatelle «!
The man that loves and laughs, muft fure do well.
Adieu-if this advice appear the worst,

E'en take the counsel which I gave you first :
Or better precepts if you can impart,

Why do, I'll follow them with all my heart.

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