The Poetical Works of William Cowper

If he wish to instruct, he must learn to delight;
Smooth, ductile, and even, his fancy must flow,
Must tinkle and glitter like gold to the sight,
And catch in its progress a sensible glow.

After all, he must beat it as thin and as fine

As the leaf that enfolds what an invalid swallows; For truth is unwelcome, however divine,

And unless you adorn it, a nausea follows.

TO THE REV. MR. NEWTON,

RECTOR OF ST. MARY WOOLNOTH.

SAYS the Pipe to the Snuff-box, "I can't understand
What the ladies and gentlemen see in your face,
That you are in fashion all over the land,

And I am so much fallen into disgrace.

"Do but see what a pretty contemplative air

I give to the company,-pray do but note 'em,

You would think that the wise men of Greece were all there, Or, at least, would suppose them the wise men of Gotham.

My breath is as sweet as the breath of blown roses,
While you are a nuisance where'er you appear;
There is nothing but snivelling and blowing of
Such a noise as turns any man's stomach to hear.'

Then, lifting his lid in a delicate way,

noses,

And opening his mouth with a smile quite engaging, The Box in reply was heard plainly to say,

"What a silly dispute is this we are waging!

"If you have a little of merit to claim,

You may thank the sweet-smelling Virginian weed; And I, if I seem to deserve any blame,

The before-mentioned drug in apology plead.

"Thus neither the praise nor the blame is our own, No room for a sneer, much less a cachinnus;

We are vehicles, not of tobacco alone,

But of any thing else they may choose to put in us. May 28, 1782.

A SIMILE LATINISED.

SORS adversa gerit stimulum, sed tendit et alas :
Pungit api similis, sed velut ista fugit..

VERSES TO THE MEMORY OF DR. LLOYD,*

SPOKEN AT THE WESTMINSTER ELECTION NEXT
AFTER HIS DECEASE.

ABIIT senex! periit senex amabilis !
Quo non fuit jucundior.
Lugete vos, ætas quibus maturior
Senem colendum præstitit;
Seu quando, viribus valentioribus
Firmoque fretus pectore,
Florentiori vos juventute excolens
Curâ fovebat patriâ ;

Seu quando, fractus, jamque donatus rude,
Vultu sed usque blandulo,

Miscere gaudebat suas facetias
His annuis leporibus.

Vixit probus, purâque simplex indole,
Blandisque comis moribus,

Et dives æquâ mente-charus omnibus,
Unius auctus munere.

Ite tituli meritis beatioribus

Aptate laudes debitas!

Nec invidebat ille, si quibus favens
Fortuna plus arriserat.

Placide senex! levi quiescas cespite,
Etsi superbum nec vivo tibi
Decus sit inditum, nec mortuo
Lapis notatus nomine.

THE SAME IN ENGLISH.

OUR good old friend is gone, gone to his rest,
Whose social converse was, itself, a feast.
O ye of riper age, who recollect

How once ye loved, and eyed him with respect,
Both in the firmness of his better day,

While yet he ruled you with a father's sway,
And when, impaired by time and glad to rest,
Yet still with looks in mild complacence drest,

I make no apology for the introduction of the following lines, though I have never learned who wrote them. Their elegance will sufficiently recommend them to persons of classical taste and erudition, and I shall be happy if the English version that they have received from me be found not to dishonour them. Affection for the memory of the worthy man whom they celebrate alone prompted me to this endeavour.-W. COWPER.

He was Usher and Under-master of Westminster nearly fifty years, and retired from his occupation when he was near seventy, with a handsome pension from the king. [Hayley.]

He took his annual seat and mingled here
His sprightly vein with yours—now drop a tear.
In morals blameless as in manners meek,

He knew no wish that he might blush to speak,
But, happy in whatever state below,

And richer than the rich in being so,

Obtained the hearts of all, and such a meed
At length from one,* as made him rich indeed.
Hence, then, ye titles; hence, not wanted here;
Go, garnish merit in a brighter sphere,
The brows of those whose more exalted lot

He could congratulate, but envied not.

Light lie the turf, good senior! on thy breast,
And tranquil as thy mind was be thy rest!

Though, living, thou hadst more desert than fame,
And not a stone now chronicles thy name.

FRIENDSHIP.

WHAT Virtue, or what mental grace,

But men unqualified and base

Will boast it their possession?

Profusion apes the noble part
Of Liberality of heart,

And Dulness of Discretion.

If every polished gem we find,
Illuminating heart or mind,
Provoke to imitation,

No wonder friendship does the same,
That jewel of the purest flame,

Or rather constellation.

No knave but boldly will pretend
The requisites that form a friend,
A real and a sound one;
Nor any fool he would deceive,
But prove as ready to believe,

And dream that he had found one.

Candid, and generous, and just,
Boys care but little whom they trust,-
An error soon corrected;

For who but learns in riper years
That man, when smoothest he appears,
Is most to be suspected?

But here again a danger lies,
Lest, having misapplied our eyes,
And taken trash for treasure,
We should unwarily conclude
Friendship a false ideal good,
A mere Utopian pleasure.

An acquisition rather rare
Is yet no subject of despair;
Nor is it wise complaining,
If either on forbidden ground,
Or where it was not to be found,
We sought without attaining.
No Friendship will abide the test
That stands on sordid interest,
Or mean self-love erected;
Nor such as may a while subsist
Between the sot and sensualist,

For vicious ends connected.

Who seeks a friend should come dis-
posed

To exhibit, in full bloom disclosed,
The graces and the beauties
That form the character he seeks;
For 'tis a union that bespeaks
Reciprocated duties.

* See the note to the Latin copy.

Mutual attention is implied,
And equal truth on either side,

And constantly supported; 'Tis senseless arrogance to accuse Another of sinister views,

Our own as much distorted.

But will Sincerity suffice?
It is indeed above all price,

And must be made the basis; But every virtue of the soul

Must constitute the charming whole, All shining in their places.

A fretful temper will divide
The closest knot that may be tied,
By ceaseless sharp corrosion;
A temper passionate and fierce
May suddenly your joys disperse
At one immense explosion.

In vain the talkative unite
In hopes of permanent delight;
The secret just committed,
Forgetting its important weight,
They drop through mere desire to prate,
And by themselves outwitted.

How bright soe'er the prospect seems, All thoughts of friendship are but dreams,

If Envy chance to creep in ;
An envious man, if you succeed,
May prove a dangerous foe indeed,

But not a friend worth keeping.

As Envy pines at good possessed,
So Jealousy looks forth distressed
On good that seems approaching,
And if success his steps attend,
Discerns a rival in a friend,

And hates him for encroaching.
Hence authors of illustrious name,
Unless belied by common fame,

Are sadly prone to quarrel,
To deem the wit a friend displays
A tax upon their own just praise,
And pluck each other's laurel.
A man renowned for repartee
Will seldom scruple to make free
With Friendship's finest feeling ;

To prove at last my main intent
Needs no expense of argument,
No cutting and contriving-
Seeking a real friend, we seem
To adopt the chymists' golden dream,
With still less hope of thriving.

Sometimes the fault is all our own,
Some blemish in due time made known
By trespass or omission :
Sometimes occasion brings to light
Our friend's defect, long hid from sight,
And even from suspicion.

Then judge yourself, and prove your man As circumspectly as you can,

And, having made election, Beware no negligence of yours, Such as a friend but ill endures, Enfeeble his affection.

That secrets are a sacred trust,

That friends should be sincere and just,
That constancy befits them,
Are observations on the case
That savour much of commonplace,
And all the world admits them.

But 'tis not timber, lead, and stone, An architect requires alone

To finish a fine buildingThe palace were but half complete, If he could possibly forget

The carving and the gilding.

The man that hails you Tom or Jack,
And proves by thumps upon your back
How he esteems your merit,

Is such a friend that one had need
Be very much his friend indeed,
To pardon or to bear it.

As similarity of mind,

Or something not to be defined, First fixes our attention;

1782.

So manners decent and polite,
The same we practised at first sight,
Must save it from declension.

Some act upon this prudent plan,
Say little, and hear all you can ;'
Safe policy, but hateful.

So barren sands imbibe the shower,
But render neither fruit nor flower,—
Unpleasant and ungrateful.

The man I trust, if shy to me,
Shall find me as reserved as he,
No subterfuge or pleading
Shall win my confidence again;
I will by no means entertain
A spy on my proceeding.

These samples-for alas! at last
These are but samples, and a taste
Of evils yet unmentioned -
May prove the task a task indeed,
In which 'tis much if we succeed,
However well-intentioned.

Pursue the search, and you will find
Good sense and knowledge of mankind
To be at least expedient,
And, after summing all the rest,
Religion ruling in the breast
A principal ingredient

The noblest Friendship ever shown
The Saviour's history makes known,
Though some have turned and turned
it ;

And, whether being crazed or blind,
Or seeking with a biassed mind,

Have not, it seems, discerned it.

O Friendship! if my soul forego
Thy dear delights while here below,
To mortify and grieve me,
May I myself at last appear
Unworthy, base, and insincere,
Or may my friend deceive me!

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