sister thought
Of boundless time. Thus, by kind Nature's skill,
To man unlabour'd, that important guest,
Eternity, finds entrance at the sight:
And an eternity, for man ordain'd,
Or these his destined midnight counsellors, 1180
The stars, had never whisper'd it to man.
Nature informs, but ne'er insults, her sons.
Could she then kindle the most ardent wish
To disappoint it?--That is blasphemy.
Thus, of thy creed a second article,
Momentous, as th' existence of a God,
Is found (as I conceive) where rarely sought;
And thou may'st read thy soul immortal, here.
Here, then, Lorenzo! on these glories dwell;
Nor want the gilt, illuminated, roof, 1190
That calls the wretched gay to dark delights.
Assemblies?--This is one divinely bright;
Here, unendanger'd in health, wealth, or fame,
Range through the fairest, and the Sultan scorn;
He, wise as thou, no crescent holds so fair,
As that, which on his turban awes a world;
And thinks the moon is proud to copy him.
Look on her, and gain more than worlds can give,
A mind superior to the charms of power.
Thou muffled in delusions of this life! 1200
Can yonder moon turn ocean in his bed, 1201
From side to side, in constant ebb, and flow,
And purify from stench his watery realms?
And fails her moral influence? wants she power
To turn Lorenzo's stubborn tide of thought
From stagnating on earth's infected shore,
And purge from nuisance his corrupted heart?
Fails her attraction when it draws to heaven?
Nay, and to what thou valuest more, earth's joy?
Minds elevate, and panting for unseen, 1210
And defecate[66] from sense, alone obtain
Full relish of existence undeflower'd,
The life of life, the zest of worldly bliss:
All else on earth amounts--to what? to this:
"Bad to be suffer'd; blessings to be left:"
Earth's richest inventory boasts no more.
Of higher scenes be, then, the call obey'd.
O let me gaze!--Of gazing there's no end.
O let me think!--Thought too is wilder'd here;
In midway flight imagination tires; 1220
Yet soon reprunes her wing to soar anew,
Her point unable to forbear, or gain;
So great the pleasure, so profound the plan!
A banquet, this, where men, and angels, meet,
Eat the same manna, mingle earth and