With every planet that around him burns,
Burst into birth-enstamp'd upon the whole
Marks of his love, and Paradise appear'd.
Beasts, that are now the terror of mankind,
Then frolick'd round their calm and happy home,
The loved companions of their daily walk;
And all around was joy, unmingled joy,
How wide diffused; and oh! how great the sum;
From the ephemera fluttering into life,
Whose being closes with the close of day,
Through the extended scale of nature's tribes
That wing the air, that float along the stream,
Or tread the verdant mead: Creation all
Then teem'd with life, with cheerful happy life,
And man supremely blest, he nobly lived
To triumph in existence, free to sport
And revel as imagination led,
Or, with superior reason for his guide,
Gifted with power to choose or to reject,
The proffer'd pleasure or the wary snare.
Form'd in the image of his God; endow'd
With faculties of sight to range at large
The horizon's bound, or dart the aspiring eye
Into the starry sphere; alone possess'd
Of speech, sweet speech-communion intimate
Of kindred souls, and infinite delight.
Say, ye bright orbs, as lucidly ye roll,
What harmony pervades your glittering spheres?
And thou, great source of day, impart to man
Thy glorious purpose from creation's birth.
What were the lustre of the finest eye
Without thy beams? Darkness had cover'd all,
Earth had withheld the bounties of her womb,
And kindred elements refused to bless.
But vivified by thee, this globe retains
Of Paradise some lovely traces still;
And every atom of our circling sphere
Enkindles at thy smiles. And thou, pale Moon,
And ye resplendent stars, that, hung on high,
Guide the bold mariner through untried seas,
Or lead the soul, on contemplation's wing,
In holy musings to the mercy seat;
Ye tell distinctively of love divine.
The Elements their share of bounties yield; The Air, with gentle and salubrious breeze, Invigorates and nurtures all around;
Conveys the Sun-beam and the genial rain;
It drives the vessel through opposing seas,
Assists the lark in her ascending flight,
And bears the eagle to the blaze of day.
Earth teems with grateful produce, and returns
A thousand fold the tribute she receives.
She guards the embrio plant from wintry storms,
And when reviving spring expands the germ,
Gives from her bosom liberal supplies,
And clothes creation in its rich attire.
The waters flow with blessings; they supply
The cheap and wholesome aliment, and join
Far distant lands in one contiguous chain.
Fire, the great vital principle of life,
Keeps the empurpled stream in healthful flow.
Mark how for man the Elements combine Exalted uses: for him the air becomes Saturate with odours; echoes the lute,
Or vibrates to the harp's melodious sound:
By its rare fluid it diffuses wide
The glorious light of day; and when oppress'd
By vapours, or by pestilential taint,
How bursts the storm, or hurricane to clear
And bid life glow again with rosy health.
By reason led, man o'er creation reigns,
Classes her various tribes, assigns to each
Its proper soil, its aspect, and its clime:
He can behold in nature's tender green
Charms which the browsing animals ne'er know,
And from the fruitful vine extract a juice
To cheer and brighten dark and wintry days.
He rules the Ocean, draws the unwieldy whale
From his deep haunts o'ercanopied with ice
In rocks enthroned: He builds those moving worlds
Which traverse pathless seas, no pilot there
But the benignant gems that shine around
And the unerring magnet,-certain guides
That waft the daring soul on safety's wing
Through untrack'd ways to new discover'd lands.
Ev'n the portentous and destructive flame
By man directed serves for noblest ends;
Condensing steam he gains a powerful force:
By science, and by long experience taught,
He dares to call the forked lightnings down.
What adaptations vast and wonderful Nature exhibits! View her in her works. The insect tribe, who, ever on the wing,
Flit through their summer life, have each their food
Appropriate; mark the industrious bee
Seek the wild thyme, or from the loaded flower
Extract its sweets, which born on busy wing
To her ingenious, and compact domain,
Becomes a treasure to sagacious man ;
Who, oft ungrateful for the bounteous feast,
Rewards the giver with untimely death.
Oh! spare thy benefactor, and thy shame,
And spare the portion of their honey'd store
Which winter life requires; Spring will return,
And well repay thy care.-In warmer skies
The silkworm spins its soft, encircling web
Uninjur'd by the storms, and chilling cold,
Which, in our rougher clime, full oft deform
The gilded radiance of a summer's day.
|