The seasons, with the life of the author: to which are added Hesiod, or the Rise of woman, and the Hermit, by Parnell; together with Henry and Emma, by Prior

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1808 - 339 pages

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Page 242 - Ah! little think the gay licentious proud, "Whom pleasure, power, and affluence surround ; They who their thoughtless hours in giddy mirth And wanton, often cruel, riot waste ;— Ah ! little think they, while they dance along, How many feel, this very moment, death And all the sad variety of pain...
Page 87 - Delightful task ! to rear the tender thought, To teach the young idea how to shoot, To pour the fresh instruction o'er the mind, To breathe th' enlivening spirit and to fix The generous purpose in the glowing breast.
Page 275 - But wandering oft, with brute unconscious gaze, Man marks not thee, marks not the mighty hand, That, ever busy, wheels the silent spheres; Works in the secret deep ; shoots, steaming, thence The fair profusion that o'erspreads the Spring...
Page 63 - Every copse Deep-tangled, tree irregular, and bush Bending with dewy moisture, o'er the heads Of the coy quiristers that lodge within, Are prodigal of harmony.
Page 177 - A native grace Sat fair-proportion'd on her polish'd limbs, Veil'd in a simple robe, their best attire, * Beyond the pomp of dress ; for loveliness Needs not the foreign aid of ornament, But is, when unadorn'd, adorn'd the most.
Page 39 - COME, gentle SPRING ! ethereal Mildness ! come, And from the bosom of yon dropping cloud, While Music wakes around, veil'd in a shower Of shadowing roses, on our plains descend.
Page 234 - Hush'd in deep silence, sleep ye when 'tis calm ? When from the pallid sky the sun descends, With many a spot, that o'er his glaring orb Uncertain wanders, stain'd ; red fiery streaks Begin to flush around.
Page 276 - Burst from the Groves! and when the restless day, Expiring, lays the warbling world asleep, Sweetest of birds! sweet Philomela, charm The listening shades, and teach the Night His praise. Ye chief, for whom the whole creation smiles, At once the head, the heart, and tongue of all, Crown the great hymn!
Page 292 - He stopp'd with silence, walk'd with trembling heart, And much he wish'd, but durst not ask to part ; Murmuring he lifts his eyes, and thinks it hard That generous actions meet a base reward. While thus they pass, the sun his glory shrouds, The changing skies hang out their sable clouds ; A sound in air presag'd approaching rain, And beasts to covert scud across the plain. Warn'd by the signs, the wandering pair retreat To seek for shelter at a neighboring seat.
Page 233 - Nature! great parent! whose unceasing hand Rolls round the seasons of the changeful year, How mighty, how majestic, are thy works ! With what a pleasing dread they swell the soul!

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