ARISE, divine Urania, with new strains To hymn thy God, and thou, immortal Fame, Arise, and blow thy everlasting trump. All glory to th' Omniscient, and praise, And pow'r, and domination in the height! And thou, cherubic Gratitude, whose voice To pious ears sounds silverly so sweet, Come with thy precious incense, bring thy gifts, And with thy choicest stores the altar crown. Thou too, my Heart, whom he, and he alone, Who all things knows, can know, with love re- plete,
Regenerate, and pure, pour all thyself
OMNISCIENCE OF THE SUPREME A living sacritice before his throne:
And may th' eternal, high mysterious tree, That in the centre of the arched Heav'ns Bears the rich fruit of knowledge, with some branch
Stoop to my humble reach, and bless my toil!
When in my mother's womb conceal'd I lay A senseless embryo, then my soul thou knewst, And every faint idea yet unform'd. Knewst all her future workings, every thought, When up the imperceptible ascent Of growing years, led by thy hand, I rose, Perception's gradual light, that ever dawns Insensibly to day, thou didst vouchsafe, And teach me by that reason thou inspir'dst, That what of knowledge in my mind was low, Imperfect, incorrect-in thee is wonderous, Uncircumscrib'd, unsearchably profound, And estimable solely by itself.
What is that secret pow'r, that guides the brutes, Which ignorance calls instinct? 'Tis from thee, It is the operation of thine hands, Immediate, instantaneous; 'tis thy wisdom, That glorious shines transparent thro' thy works. Who taught the pye, or who forewarn'd the jay To shun the deadly nightshade? tho' the cherry Boasts not a glossier hue, nor does the plumb Lure with more seeming sweets the amorous eye, Yet will not the sagacious birds, decoy'd By fair appearance, touch the noxious fruit, They know to taste is fatal, whence alarm'd Swift on the winnowing winds they work their
I GIVE my Kislingbury estate to the university of Cambridge for ever: the rents of which shall be disposed of yearly by the vice-chancellor for the time being, as the vice-chancellor, master of Clare-hall, and the Greek professor for the time being, or any two of them, shall agree. Which three persons aforesaid shall give out a subject, which subject shall for the first year be one or other of the perfections or attributes of the Supreme Being, and so the succeeding years, till the subject is exhausted; and afterwards the subject shall be either Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell, Purity of Heart, &c. or whatever else may be judged by the vice-chancellor, master of Clare-hall, and Greek professor to be most conducive to the honour of the Su-Go to, proud reas'ner, philosophic man, [-No. preme Being and recommendation of virtue. And they shall yearly dispose of the rent of the above estate to that master of arts, whose poem on the subject given shall be best approved by them. Which poem I ordain to be always in English, and to be printed; the expense of which shall be deducted out of the product of the estate, and the residue given as a reward for the composer of the poem, or ode, or copy of
WE the underwritten, do assign Mr. Seaton's reward to C. Smart, M A. for his poem on The Omniscience of the Supreme Being, and direct the said poem to be printed, according to the tenor of the will.
J. WILCOX, vice-chancellor. T. FRANKLIN, Greek-professor.
Hast thou such prudence, thou such knowledge? Full many a race has fall'n into the snare Of meretricious looks, of pleasing surface, And oft in desert isles the famish'd pilgrim By forms of fruit, and luscious taste beguil'd, Like his forefather Adam, eats and dies. For why? his wisdom on the leaden feet Of slow experience, dully tedious, creeps, And comes, like vengeance, after long delay.
The venerable sage, that nightly trims The learned lamp, t'investigate the pow'rs Of plants medicinal, the earth, the air, And the dark regions of the fossil world, Grows old in following, what he ne'er shall find; Studious in vain! till haply, at the last He spies a mist, then shapes it into mountains, And baseless fabric from conjecture builds. While the domestic animal, that guards At midnight hours his threshold, if oppress'd
By sudden sickness, at his master's feet Begs not that aid his services might claim, But is his own physician, knows the case, And from th' emetic herbage works his cure. Hark, from afar the feather'd matron' screams, And all her brood alarms, the docile crew Accept the signal one and all, expert
In th' art of nature and unlearn'd deceit : Along the sod, in counterfeited death, Mute, motionless they lie; full well appriz'd, That the rapacious adversary's near.
But who inform'd her of the approaching danger, Who taught the cautious mother that the hawk Was hatcht her foe, and liv'd by her destruction? Her own prophetic soul is active in her, And more than human providence her guard. When Philomela, e'er the cold domain Of crippled winter 'gins t' advance, prepares Her annual flight, and in some poplar shade Takes her melodious leave, who then's her pilot? Who points her passage thro' the pathless void To realms from us remote, to us unknown? Her science is the science of her God. Not the magnetic index to the north E'er ascertains her course, nor buoy, nor beacon, She Heav'n-taught voyager, that sails in air, Courts nor coy west nor east, but instant knows What Newton, or not sought, or sought in vain2.
Illustrious name, irrefragable proof
Of man's vast genius, and the soaring soul! Yet what wert thou to him, who knew his works, Before creation form'd them, long before He measur'd in the hollow of his hand Th' exulting ocean, and the highest Heav'ns He comprehended with a span, and weigh'd The mighty mountains in his golden scales: Who shone supreme, who was himself the light, Ere yet Refraction learn'd her skill to paint, And bend athwart the clouds her beauteous bow. When Knowledge at her father's dread com- mand
Resign'd to Israel's king her golden key, Oh to have join'd the frequent auditors In wonder and delight, that whilom heard Great Solomon descanting on the brutes! Oh how sublimely glorious to apply To God's own honour, and good will to man, That wisdom he alone of men possess'd In plenitude so rich, and scope so rare! How did he rouse the pamper'd silken sons Of bloated ease, by placing to their view The sage industrious ant, the wisest insect, And best economist of all the field! Tho' she presumes not by the solar orb To measure time and seasons, nor consults Chaldean calculations, for a guide;
Yet conscious that December's on the march Pointing with icy hand to want and woe, She waits his dire approach, and undismay'd Receives him as a welcome guest, prepar'd Against the churlish winter's fiercest blow, For when, as yet the favourable Sun Gives to the genial earth th' enlivening ray, Not the poor suffering slave, that hourly toils
1 The hen turkey,
2 The longitude,
To rive the groaning earth for ill-sought gold, Endures such trouble, such fatigue, as she; While all her subterraneous avenues, And storm-proof cells, with management most
And unexampled housewifry, she forms, Then to the field she hies, and on her back, Burden immense! she bears the cumbrous corn, Then many a weary step, and many a strain, And many a grievous groan subdued, at length Up the huge hill she hardly heaves it home: Nor rests she here her providence, but nips With subtle tooth the grain, lest from her garner In mischievous fertility it steal,
And back to day-light vegetate its way.
Go to the ant, thou sluggard, learn to live, And by her wary ways reform thine own. But, if thy deaden'd sense, and listless thought More glaring evidence demand; behold, Where yon pellucid populous hive presents A yet uncopied model to the world! There Machiavel in the reflecting glass May read himself a fool. The chymist there May with astonishment invidious view His toils outdone by each plebeian bee, Who, at the royal mandate, on the wing From various herbs, and from discordant flow'rs A perfect harmony of sweets compounds.
Avaunt Conceit, Ambition take thy flight Back to the prince of vanity and air! Oh! tis a thought of energy most piercing, Form'd to make pride grow humble; form'd to
Its weight on the reluctant mind, and give her A true but irksome image of herself. Woful vicissitude! when man, fail'n man, Who first from Heav'n, from gracious God him- self, [brutes Learn'd knowledge of the brutes, must know by Instructed and reproach'd, the scale of being; By slow degrees from lowly steps ascend, And trace Omniscience upwards to its spring! Yet murmur not, but praise-for tho' we stand Of many a Godlike privilege amerc'd
By Adam's dire transgression, tho' no more Is Paradise our home, but o'er the portal Hangs in terrific pomp the burning blade; Still with ten thousand beauties blooms the Earth,
With pleasures populous, and with riches crown'd, Still is there scope for wonder and for love Ev'n to their last exertion-show'rs of blessings Far more than human virtue can deserve, Or hope expect, or gratitude return. Then, O ye people, O ye sons of men, Whatever be the colour of your lives, Whatever portion of itself his wisdom Shall deign t' allow, still patiently abide,
And praise him more and more; nor cease ta chant
All glory to the Omniscient, and praise, And pow'r, and domination in the height! Aud thou, cherubic Gratitude, whose voice
To pious ears sounds silverly so sweet. Come with thy precious incense, bring thy gifts, And with the choicest stores the altar crown,
Fall headlong in one horrible cascade, 'Twere but the echo of the parting breeze,
POWER OF THE SUPREME BEING, When Zephyr faints upon the lily's breast,
MR. SEATON'S WILL,
Dated Oct. 8, 1738.
"Twere but the ceasing of some instrument, When the last ling'ring undulation
Dies on the doubting ear, if nam'd with sounds So mighty! so stupendous! so divine! But not alone in the aerial vault Does he the dread theocracy maintain; For oft, enrag'd with his intestine thunders, He harrows up the bowels of the Earth, And shocks the central magnet-Cities then Totter on their foundations, stately columns, Magnific walls, and heav'n-assaulting spires. What tho' in haughty eminence erect Stands the strong citadel, and frowns defiance On adverse hosts, though many a bastion jut Forth from the ramparts elevated mound, Vain the poor providence of human art, And mortal strength how vain! while underneath Triumphs his mining vengeance in th' uproar Of shatter'd towers, riven rocks, and mountains, With clamour inconceivable uptorn, And hurl'd adown th' abyss. Sulphureous pyrites Bursting abrupt from darkness into day, With din outrageous and destructive ire Augment the hideous tumult, while it wounds Th' afflicted ear, and terrifies the eye And rends the heart in twain. Twice have we felt, Within Augusta's walls twice have we felt Thy threaten'd indiguation, but ev'n thou, Incens'd Omnipotent, art gracious ever: Thy goodness infinite but mildly warn'd us With mercy-blended wrath: O spare us still, Nor send more dire conviction: we confess
I GIVE my Kislingbury estate to the university of Cambridge for ever: the rents of which shall be disposed of yearly by the vice-chancellor for the time being, as he the vice-chancellor, the master of Clare-hall, and the Greek professor for the time being, or any two of them, shall agree. Which three persons aforesaid shall give out a subject, which subject shall for the first year be one or other of the perfections or attri- | bates of the Supreme Being, and so the succeeding years, till the subject is exhausted; and afterwards the subject shall be either Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell, Purity of Heart, &c. or whatever else may be judged by the vicechancellor, master of Clare-Hall, and Greek professor to be most conducive to the honour of the Supreme Being and recommendation of virtne. And they shall yearly dispose of the rent of the above estate to that master of arts, whose poem on the subject given shall be best approved by them. Which poem I ordain to be always in English, and to be printed; the expense of which shall be deducted out of the product of the estate, and the residue given as a reward for the composer of the poem,or ode, or copy of verses. WE the underwritten do assign Mr. Sea-That thou art he, th' Almighty: we believe: ton's reward to C. Smart, M. A. for his poem on The Power of the Supreme Being, and direct the said poem to be printed, according to the teuor of the will.
P. YONGE, vice-chancellor. J. WILCOX, master of Clare-Hall. THO. FRANKLIN, Greek professor.
TREMBLE,thou Earth!" th' anointed poet said, "At God's bright presence, tremble, all ye mountains,
And all ye hillocks on the surface bound." Then once again, ye glorious thunders, roll, The Muse with transport hears ye, once again Convulse the solid continent, and shake, Grand music of Omnipotence, the isles. 'Tis thy terrific voice; thou God of power, 'Tis thy terrific voice; all Nature hears it Awaken'd and alarm'd; she feels its force, In every spring she feels it, every wheel, And every movement of her vast machine. Behold! quakes Apennine, behold! recoils Athos, and all the hoary-headed Alps Leap from their bases at the godlike sound. But what is this, celestial though the note, And proclamation of the reign supreme, Compar'd with such as, for a mortal ear Too great, amaze the incorporeal worlds? Shou'd Ocean to his congretated waves Call in each river, cataract, and lake, And with the watery world down a huge rock VOL. XVI.
For at thy righteous power whole systems quake, For at thy nod tremble ten thousand worlds.
Hark! on the winged whirlwind's rapid rage, Which is and is not in a moment-bark! On the hurricane's tempestuous sweep he rides Invincible, and oaks and pines and cedars And forests are no more. For conflict dreadful! The West encounters East, and Notus meets In his career the Hyperborean blast. The lordly lions shudd'ring seek their dens, Who dar'd the solar ray, is weak of wing, And fly like tim'rous deer; the king of birds, And faints and falls and dies;-while he supreme Stands stedfast if in the centre of the storm. Wherefore, ye objects terrible and great, Ye thunders, earthquakes, and ye fire-fraught wombs
Of fell volcanoes, whirlwinds, hurricanes, And boiling billows hail! in chorus join To celebrate and magnify your Maker, Who yet in works of a minuter mould Is not less manifest, is not less mighty.
Survey the magnet's sympathetic love, That wooes the yielding needle; contemplate Th' attractive amber's power, invisible Ev'n to the mental eye; or when the blow Sent from th' electric sphere assaults thy frame, Show me the hand, that dealt it !-baffled here By his omnipotence, Philosophy
Slowly her thoughts inadequate revolves, [her, And stands, with all his circling wonders round Like heavy Saturn in th' etherial space Begirt with an inexplicable ring.
If such the operations of his power, Which at all seasons and in ev'ry place (Rul'd by establish'd laws and current nature) Arrest th' attention! Who? O who shall tell His acts miraculous, when by his own decrees Repeals he, or suspends, when by the hand Of Moses or of Joshua, or the mouths Of his prophetic seers, such deeds he wrought, Before th' astonish'd Sun's all-seeing eye, That faith was scarce a virtue. Need I sing
The fate of Pharaoh and his numerous band Lost in the reflux of the watry walls,
That melted to their Auid state again?
Need I recount how Sampson's warlike arm With more than mortal nerves was strung t' o'erthrow
Idolatrous Philistia? Shall I tell
How David triumph'd, and what Job sustain'd? -But, O supreme, unutterable mercy! O love unequal'd, mystery immense,
I GIVE my Kislingbury estate to the university of Cambridge for ever: the rents of which shall be disposed of yearly by the vice-chancellor for the time being, as he the vice-chancellor, the master of Clare-hall, and the Greek professor for the time being, or any two of them, shall agree. Which three persons aforesaid shall give out a subject, which subject shall for the first year be one or other of the perfections or attributes of the Supreme Being, and so the suc-.
Which angels long t'unfold! 'tis man's redemp-ceeding years, till the subject is exhausted; and
That crowns thy glory, and thy pow'r confirms, Confirms the great, th' uncontroverted claim. When from the Virgin's unpolluted womb, Shone forth the Sun of Righteousness reveal'd And ou benighted reason pour'd the day; "Let there be peace" (he said) and all was calm Amongst the warring world-calm as the sea, When "Feace, be still, ye boisterous winds," he cry'd,
And not a breath was blown, nor murmur heard. His was a life of miracles and might, And charity and love, ere yet he taste
The bitter draught of death, ere yet he rise Victorious o'er the universal foe, And Death, and Sin and Hell in triumph lead. His by the right of conquest is mankind, And in sweet servitude and golden bonds Were ty'd to him for ever.-O how easy Is his ungalling yoke, and all his burdens 'Tis ecstacy to bear! Hiin, blessed Shepherd, His flocks shall follow through the maze of life, And shades that tend to day-spring from on high; And as the radiant roses, after fading, In fuller foliage and more fragrant breath Revive in smiling spring, so shall it fare With those that love him-for sweet is their sa- vour,
And all eternity shall be their spring. Then shall the gates and everlasting doors, At which the King of Glory enters in,
Be to the saints unbarr'd: and there, where pleasure
Boasts an undying bloom, where dubious hope Is certainty, and grief-attended love
Is freed from passion-there we'll celebrate With worthier numbers, him, who is, and was, And in immortal prowess King of Kings Shall be the Monarch of all worlds for ever,
afterwards the subject shall be either Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell, Purity of Heart, &c. or whatever else may be judged by the vice-chancellor, master of Clare-hall, and Greek professor. to be most conducive to the honour of the Supreme Being and recommendation of virtue, And they shall yearly dispose of the rent of the above estate to that master of arts, whose poem on the subject given shall be best approved by Which poem I ordain to be always in English, and to be printed; the expense of. which shall be deducted out of the product of the estate, and the residue given as a reward for the composer of the poem, or ode, or copy of
ORPHEUS, for the Gentiles call'd thy name', Israel's sweet psalmist, who alone could wake Th' inanimate to motion; who alone - The joyful hillocks, the applauding rocks, And floods with musical persuasion drew; Thou, who to hail and snow gav'st voice and sound, And mad'st the mute melodious !—greater yet Was thy divinest skill, and rul'd o'er more Than art or nature; for thy tuneful touch Drove trembling Satan from the heart of Saul, And quell'd the evil angel :-in this breast Some portion of thy genuine spirit breathe, And lift me from myself; each thought impure Banish; each low idea raise, refine,
Enlarge, and sanctify;-so shall the Muse
GOODNESS OF THE SUPREME BEING, Above the stars aspire, and aim to praise
To the right honourable the earl of Dar: lington this essay on the Goodness of the Supreme
Her God on Earth, as he is prais'd in Heaven. Immense Creator! whose all-powerful hand
'See this conjecture strongly supported by DeJany in his Life of David.
Fram'd universal being, and whose eye
Saw like thyself, that all things form'd were good;
Where shall the tim'rous bard thy praise begin, Where end the purest sacrifice of song,
And just thanksgiving ?-The thought-kindling light,
Thy prime production, darts upon my mind Its vivifying beams, my heart illumines, And fills my soul with gratitude and thee. Hail to the cheerful rays of ruddy morn,
That paint the streaky east, and blithsome
The birds, the cattle, and mankind from rest! Hail to the freshness of the early breeze, And Iris dancing on the new-fall'n dew! Without the aid of yonder golden globe Lost were the garnet's lustre, lost the lily, The tulip and auricula's spotted pride; Lust were the peacock's plumage, to the sight So pleasing in its pomp and glossy glow. O thrice-illastrious! were it not for thee Those pansies, that reclining from the bank, View through th' immaculate, pellucid stream Their portraiture in the inverted Heaven, Might as well change their triple boast, the white,
The purple, and the gold, that far outvie The eastern monarch's garb, ev'n with the dock, Ev'n with the baneful hemlock's irksome green. Without thy aid, without thy gladsome beams The tribes of woodland warblers would remain Mute on the bending branches, nor recite The praise of him, who, e'er he form'd their lord,
Their voices tun'd to transport, wing'd their flight, And bade them call for nurture, and receive; And lo! they call; the blackbird and the thrush, The woodlark, and the redbreast jointly call; He hears and feeds their feather'd families, He feeds his sweet musicians,-nor neglects Th' invoking ravens in the greenwood wide; And though their throats coarse ruttling hurt the
They mean it all for music, thanks and praise They mean, and leave ingratitude to man;- But not to all,-for hark! the organs blow Their swelling notes round the cathedral's dome, And grace th' harmonious choir, celestial feast To pious ears, and med'cine of the mind; The thrilling trebles and the manly base Join in accordance meet, and with one voice All to the sacred subject suit their song: While in each breast sweet melancholy reigns Angelically pensive, till the joy
Improves and purifies ;-the solemn scene The Sun through storied panes surveys with awe, And bashfully with-holds each bolder beain. Here, as her home, from morn to eve frequents The cherub Gratitude ;-behold her eyes! With love and gladness weepingly they shed Ecstatic smiles; the incense, that her bands Uprear, is sweeter than the breath of May Caught from the nectarine's blossom, and her voice
Is more than voice can tell; to him she sings, To him who feeds, who clothes and who adorns,
Who made and who preserves, whatever dwells In air, in steadfast earth, or fickle sea. O he is good, he is immensely good!
Who all things form'd, and form'd them all for
Who mark'd the climates, varied every zone, Dispensing all his blessings for the best In order and in beauty :-raise, attend, Attest, and praise, ye quarters of the world! Bow down, ye elephants, submissive bow To him, who made the mite; though Asia's pride, Ye carry armies on your tow'r-crown'd backs, And grace the turban'd tyrants, bow to him Who is as great, as perfect and as good In his less striking wonders, till at length The eye's at fault and seeks the assisting glass. Approach and bring from Araby the blest The fragrant cassia, frankincense and myrrh, And meekly kneeling at the altar's foot Lay all the tributary incense down. Stoop, sable Africa, with rev'rence stoop, And from thy brow take off the painted plume; With golden ingots all thy camels load T' adorn his temples, hasten with thy spear Reverted, and thy trusty bow unstrung, While unpursu'd the lions roam and roar, And ruin'd tow'rs, rude rocks and caverns wide Remurmurto the glorious, surly sound. And thou, fair India, whose immense domain To counterpoise the hemisphere extends, Haste from the west, and with thy fruits and
With fortitude assume, and o'er your heart Fair truth's invulnerable breast-plate spread! Then join the general chorus of all worlds, And let the song of charity begin In strains seraphic, and melodious pray'r. "O all-sufficient, all beneficent, Thou God of goodness and of glory, hear! Thou, who to lowliest minds dost condescend, Assuming passions to enforce thy laws, Adopting jealousy to prove thy love: Thou, who resign'd humility uphold, Ev'n as the florist props the drooping rose, But quell tyrannic pride with peerless pow'r, Ev'n as the tempest rives the stubborn oak, O all-sufficient, all-beneficent, Thou God of goodness and of glory, hear! Bless all mankind, and bring them in the end. To Heav'n, to immortality, and thee!"
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