VI. But o'er th' affections too she claims the sway, The radiations vanish from her Sun-bright eye, But let the skilful bard appear, And pour the sounds medicinal in her ear; Notes that mean a world of woe; She too shall sympathize, she too shall moan, But hark the temple's hollow'd roof resounds, He pours his strains along, He trills the weak enervate strains, And dwell delighted on her name. Blow on, ye sacred organs, blow, Thy pow'r shall last, thy bays shall bloom, GRAND CHORUS. When Death shall blot out every name, &c. HYMN TO THE SUPREME BEING, ON RECOVERY FROM A DANGEROUS FIT OF ILLNESS. TO DOCTOR JAMES. DEAR SIR, HAVING made an humble offering to him, without whose blessing your skill, admirable as it is, would have been to no purpose, I think myself bound by all the ties of gratitude, to render my next acknowledgments to you, who, under God, restored me to health from as violent and dan gerous a disorder, as perhaps ever man survived. And my thanks become more particularly your just tribute, since this was the third time, that your judgment and medicines rescued me from the grave, permit me to say, in a manner almost miraculous. If it be meritorious to have investigated medicines for the cure of distempers, either overlooked or disregarded by all your predecessors, millions yet unborn will celebrate the man, who wrote the Medicinal Dictionary, and invented the Fever Powder. Let such considerations as these, arm you with constancy against the impotent attacks of those whose interest interferes with that of mankind; and let it not displease you to have those for your particular enemies, who are foes to the public in general. It is no wonder, indeed, that some of the retailers of medicines should zealously oppose whatever might endanger their trade; but 'tis amazing that there should be any physicians mercenary and mean enough to pay their court to, and ingratiate themselves with, such persons, by the strongest efforts to prejudice the inventor of the Fever Powder at the expense of honour, dignity, and conscience. Believe me however, and let this be a part of your consolation, that there are very few physicians in Britain, who were born gentlemen, and whose fortunes place them above such sordid dependen "And must I go," th' illustrious mourner cry'd, "I who have serv'd thee still in faith and truth, Whose snow-white conscience no foul crime has died From youth to manhood, infancy to youth, Like David, who have still rever'd thy word The sovereign of myself and servant of the Lord!" The judge Almighty heard his suppliant's moan, Repeal'd his sentence, and his health restor'd; The beams of mercy on his temples shone, Shot from that Heaven to which his sighs had The Sun retreated at his maker's nod [soar'd; And miracles confirm the genuine work of God. But, O immortals! What had Ito plead [lance, When Death stood o'er me with his threat'ning When reason left me in the time of need, And sense was lost in terrour or in trance, My sinking soul was with my blood inflam'd, And the celestial image sunk,defac'd and maim'd. I sent back memory, in heedful guise, To search the records of preceding years; But who are they, that bid affliction cease!- Yet hold, presumption, nor too fondly climb, Who diffidently hopes he's Christ's own care— O all-sufficient Lamb! in death's dread hour Thy merits who shall slight, or who can doubt thy power? But soul-rejoicing health again returns, The blood meanders gentle in each vein, The lamp of life renew'd with vigour burns, And exil'd reason takes her seat againBrisk leaps the heart, the mind's at large once more, To love, to praise, to bless, to wonder and adore. 1 Hezekiah vi. Isaiah xxxviii. 3 Gen. viii. 7. 4 Gen. xxxii. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. * Isaiah, chap. xxxviii. He rais'd the lame, the lepers he made whole, And to the blind gave or restor❜d the day,Nay more,-far more unequal'd pangs sustain'd, Till his lost fallen flock his taintless blood regain'd. My feeble feet refus'd my body's weight, Nor wou'd my eyes admit the glorious light, My nerves convuls'd shook fearful of their fate, My mind lay open to the powers of night. He pitying did a second birth bestow A birth of joy-not like the first of tears and woe. Ye strengthen'd feet, forth to his altar move; * Quicken, ye new-strung nerves, th' enraptur'd lyre; Ye Heav'n-directed eyes, o'erflow with love; Glow, glow, my soul, with pure seraphic fire; Deeds, thoughts, and words no more his mandates break, But to his endless glory work, conceive, and speak. O! penitence, to virtue near allied, Thou can'st new joys e'en to the blest impart; The list'ning angels lay their harps aside To hear the music of thy contrite heart; Of elements, the limpid fount that flows; What can with great Leviathan compare, Who takes his pastime in the mighty main? What, like the Sun, shines thro' the realms of air, And gilds and glorifies th' ethereal plain ?— Yet what are these to man, who bears the sway; For all was made for him-to serve and to obey. Thus in high Heaven charity is great, Faith, hope, devotion hold a lower place; On her the cherubs and the seraphs wait, Her, every virtue courts, and every grace; See! on the right, close by th' Almighty's throne, In him she shines confest, who came to make her known. s Pind. Olymp. 1. Deep-rooted in my heart then let her grow, ON THE ETERNITY OF THE SUPREME A POETICAL ESSAY. A CLAUSE OF MR. SEATON's WILL, Or what can thoughts (tho' wild of wing they rove May then the youthful, uninspired bard He may-if thou, who from the witless babe Ordainest honour, glory, strength and praise, Uplift th' unpinion'd Muse, and deign t'assist, Great Poet of the Universe, his song. Before this earthly planet wound her course Before "the morning-stars together sang" All wisdom and omnipotence thou art. As when these worlds began? Cou'd aught retard 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-Ten thousand times more active than the Sun, Thou reign'd, and with a mighty hand compos'd butes of the Supreme Being, and so the succeeding years, till the subject is exhausted; and Systems innumerable, matchless all, afterwards the subject shall be either Death, All stampt with thine uncounterfeited seal. 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 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 verses. WE the underwritten, do assign Mr. Seaton's reward to C. Smart, M. A. for this poem on The Eternity of the Supreme Being and direct the said poem to be printed, according to the tenor of the will. EDM. KEENE, vice-chancellor. March 25, 1750. HAIL, wond'rous Being, who in pow'r supreme Luke vii. 41, 42, 43. But yet (if still to more stupendous heights A day shall come when all this Earth shall pe rish, Nor leave behind ev'n Chaos; it shall come Th' enormous blaze of the destructive flames.- In vain ye swell; will a few drops suffice To quench the inextinguishable fire? Ye mountains, on whose cloud-crown'd tops the cedars Are lessen'd into shrubs, magnific piles, Nor shall the verdant vallies then remain More largely and with filial tears must weep, Nor thou, illustrious monarch of the day; But tho' the Earth shall to the centre perish, Nor leave behind ev'n Chaos; tho' the air With all the elements must pass away, Vain as an ideot's dream; tho' the huge rocks, That brandish the tall cedars on their tops, With humbler vales must to perdition yield; Tho' the gilt Sun, and silver-tressed Moon With all her bright retinue, must be lost; Yet thou, Great Father of the world, surviv'st Eternal, as thou wert: yet still survives The soul of man immortal, perfect now, And candidate for unexpiring joys. He comes! He comes! the awful trump I hear; The flaming sword's intolerable blaze I see; He comes! th' archangel from above. "Arise, ye tenants of the silent grave, Awake incorruptible and arise; From east to west, from the antarctic pole To regions hyperborean, all ye sons, Ye sons of Adam, and ye heirs of Heav'nArise, ye tenants of the silent grave, Awake incorruptible and arise." 'Tis then, nor sooner, that the restless mind Shall find itself at home; and like the ark Fix'd on the mountain-top, shall look aloft O'er the vague passage of precarious life; And, winds and waves and rocks and tempests past, Enjoy the everlasting calm of Heav'n: 'Tis then, nor sooner, that the deathless soul Shall justly know its nature and its rise: View him with fearful love; let truth pronounce, ON THE IMMENSITY OF THE SUPREME BEING, A POETICAL ESSAY. A CLAUSE of MR. SEATON'S WILL, Dated Oct. 8. 1738. 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 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 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 verses. WE the underwritten do assign Mr. Seaton's reward to C. Smart, M. A. for his poem on The Immensity of the Supreme Being, and direct the said poem to be printed, 'Tis then the human tongue new-tun'd shall give according to the tenor of the will. Praises more worthy the eternal ear. Yet what we can, we ought;-and therefore, EDM. KEENE, vice-chancellor. ONCE more I dare to rouse the sounding string, List ye! how Nature with ten thousand tongues Begins the grand thanksgiving. Hail, all hail, Ye tenants of the forest and the field! O thou, who or the lambkin, or the dove, Albeit he there with angels, and with saints Whether the mind along the spangled sky Still faithful, still inconstant to the Sun; arm Curb the wild winds and discipline the billows, Oh! cou'd I search the bosom of the sea, Down the great depth descending; there thy works Wou'd also speak thy residence; and there And shrubs, with amber, from the pearl-pav'd bottom Rise richly varied, where the finny race Hence thro' the genial bowels of the Earth Of kindred jasper-Nature in them both Of God himself-for God himself is there. 'Thro' beds of magnets, minerals and spar, His lordly head uprears, and branching arms And pastoral magnificence he stands Gives liberty her utmost scope to range, Which the vague mind attract and still suspend [cherry Go bid Vitruvious or Palladio build So fearfully, so wonderfully made, |