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will; Bid thy wild passions all be still; Know God--and bring thy heart to know The joys which from Religion flow: Then every Grace shall prove its guest, And I'll be there to crown the rest.' Oh! by yonder mossy seat, In my hours of sweet retreat; 50 Might I thus my soul employ, With sense of gratitude and joy! Raised as ancient prophets were, In heavenly vision, praise, and prayer; Pleasing all men, hurting none, Pleased and bless'd with God alone: Then, while the gardens take my sight With all the colours of delight; While silver waters glide along, To please my ear, and court my song: 60 I'll lift my voice, and tune my string, And Thee, Great Source of Nature! sing. The sun, that walks his airy way, To light the world, and give the day; The moon, that shines with borrow'd light; The stars, that gild the gloomy night; The seas, that roll unnumber'd waves; The wood, that spreads its shady leaves; The field, whose ears conceal the grain, The yellow treasure of the plain;-- 70 All of these, and all I see, Should be sung, and sung by me: They speak their Maker as they can, But want, and ask, the tongue of man. Go, search among your idle dreams, Your busy, or your vain extremes; And find a life of equal bliss, Or own the next begun in this! * * * * * THE HERMIT. Far in a wild, unknown to public view, From youth to age a reverend hermit grew; The moss his bed, the cave his humble cell, His food the fruits, his drink the crystal well: Remote from man, with God he pass'd the days, Prayer all his business, all his pleasure praise. A life so sacred, such serene repose, Seem'd heaven itself, till one suggestion rose: That vice should triumph, virtue vice obey, This sprung some doubt of Providence's sway; 10 His hopes no more a certain prospect boast, And all the tenor of his soul is lost: So when a smooth expanse receives impress'd Calm Nature's image on its watery breast, Down bend the banks, the trees depending grow, And skies beneath with answering colours glow: But if a stone the gentle scene divide, Swift ruffling circles curl on every side, And glimmering fragments of a broken sun, Banks, trees, and skies, in thick disorder run. 20 T
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