uspense corrupt the stagnant mind?
Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate,
Roll darkling down the torrent of his fate?
Must no dislike alarm, no wishes rise,
No cries invoke the mercies of the skies?
Inquirer, cease; petitions yet remain
Which heav'n may hear; nor deem religion vain.
Still raise for good the supplicating voice,
But leave to heav'n the measure and the choice.
Safe in his pow'r, whose eyes discern afar
The secret ambush of a specious pray'r;
Implore his aid, in his decisions rest,
Secure, whate'er he gives, he gives the best.
Yet, when the sense of sacred presence fires,
And strong devotion to the skies aspires[gg],
Pour forth thy fervours for a healthful mind,
Obedient passions, and a will resign'd;
For love, which scarce collective man can fill;
For patience, sov'reign o'er transmuted ill;
For faith, that, panting for a happier seat,
[hh]Counts death kind nature's signal of retreat:
These goods for man the laws of heav'n ordain;
These goods he grants, who grants the pow'r to gain;
With these celestial wisdom calms the mind,
And makes the happiness she does not find.

FOOTNOTES
[a] Ver. 1--11.
[b] Ver. 12--22.
[c] In the first edition, "the _bonny_ traitor!" an evident
allusion to the Scotch lords who suffered for the rebellion in 1745.
[d] Clang around.
[e] New fears.
[f] Ver. 23-37.
[g] Yet still the gen'ral cry.
[h] Ver. 28-55.
[i] Ver. 56--107.
[Transcriber's note: There is no Footnote [j]]
[k] The richest landlord.
[l] Ver. 108--113.
[m] Ver. 114--132.
[n]
_Resistless burns the_ fever of renown,
_Caught_ from the strong contagion of the gown.

Mr. Boswell tells us, that when he remarked to Dr. Johnson, that
there was an awkward repetition of the word spreads in this passage,
he altered it to "Burns from the strong contagion of the gown;" but
this expression, it appears, was only resumed from the reading in
the first edition.
[o] There is a tradition, that the study of friar Bacon, built on an
arch over the bridge, will fall, when a man greater than Bacon shall
pass under it. To prevent so shocking an accident, it was pulled
down many years since.
[p] And sloth's _bland_ opiates _shed_ their fumes in vain.
[q] The _garret_ and the gaol.
[r] See Gent. Mag. vol. lxviii. p. 951, 1027.
[s] This was first written, "See, when the vulgar scap_ed_;" but,
as the rest of the paragraph was in the present tense, he altered it
to scape_s_; but