From all which nature fairest knows,
The vernal blooms, the fummer rofe,
She draws her blameless wealth;
And, when the generous task is done.
She confecrates a double boon,
To pleasure and to health.
ODE II. N° I.
FOR THE WINTER SOLSTICE
DEC. II, M. DCC. XL.
NOW to the utmost southern goal
The Sun has trac'd his annual way,
And backward now prepares to roll,
And bless the North with earlier day.
Prone on Potofi's lofty brow,
Floods of fublimer fplendor flow,
Ripening the latent feeds of gold,
Whilft, panting in the lonely fhade,
The afflicted Indian hides his head,
Nor dares the blaze of noon behold.
But lo! on this deferted coaft,
How faint the light! how chill the air!
Lo! arm'd with whirlwind, hail, and froft,
Fierce winter defolates the year.
* This Ode was afterwards entirely altered; as may be seen in the following poem. The reader will not be displeased to fee it as it was originally written. N.
The fields refign their chearful bloom;
No more the breezes breathe perfume;
No more the warbling waters roll:
Defarts of fnow fatigue the eye;
Succeffive tempests bloat the sky,
And gloomy damps opprefs the foul.
But let my drooping genius rife, And hail the fun's remotest ray: Now, now he climbs the northern skies, To-morrow nearer than to-day. Then, louder howl the ftormy waste, Be fand and ocean worfe defac'd, Yet brighter hours are on the wing, And fancy, through the wintery gloom, Radiant with dews and flowers in bloom, Already hails the emerging Spring.
O fountain of the golden day, Could mortal vows but urge thy fpeed, How foon, before the vernal ray, Should each unkindly damp recede! How foon each tempeft hovering fly, That now, fermenting, loads the sky, Prompt on our heads to burst amain, 'To rend the foreft from the fteep, And, thundering o'er the Baltic deep, To 'whelm the merchant's hopes of gain!
But let not man's imperfect views,
Prefume to tax wife Nature's laws :
'Tis his with filent joy to use
The indulgence of the fovereign cause ;
Secure that from the whole of things
Beauty and good confummate springs,
Beyond what he can reach to know,
And that the Providence of heaven.
Has fome peculiar bleffing given
To each allotted ftate below.
Ev'n now how fweet the wintery night
Spent with the old illuftrious dead :
While, by the taper's trembling light,
I feem the awful courfe to tread;
Where chiefs and legiflators lie,
Whose triumphs move before my eye,
With every laurel fresh difplay'd:
While, charm'd, I rove in claffic fong,
Or bend to Freedom's fearless tongue,
Or walk the academic fhade.
THE radiant ruler of the year
At length his wintery goal attains ;
Seems to reverse the long career,
And northward bend his fteady reins.
Now, piercing half Potofi's height,
Prone rush the fiery floods of light
Ripening the mountain's filver ftores:
While in fome cavern's horrid shade,
The panting Indian hides his head,
And oft the approach of eve implores.
But lo, on this deferted coaft
How pale the fun! how thick the air!
Mustering his storms, a fordid host,
Lo, winter defolates the year:
The fields refign their latest bloom;
No more the breezes waft perfume,
No more the ftreams in mufic roll:
But fnows fall dark, or rains refound;
And, while great nature mourns around,
Her griefs infect, the human foul,
Hence the loud city's bufy throngs
Urge the warm bowl and splendid fire;
Harmonious dances, feftive fongs
Against the fpiteful heaven confpire:
Meantime perhaps with tender fears
Some village-dame the curfew hears,
While round the hearth her children play:
At morn their father went abroad;
The moon is funk, and deep the road;
She fighs, and wonders at his stay.
But thou, my lyre, awake, arise,
And hail the fun's returning force :
Even now, he climbs the northern skies,
And health and hope attend his course.
Then louder howl the aërial wafte,
Be earth with keener cold embrac'd,
-Yet gentle hours advance their wing;
And fancy, mocking winter's might,
With flowers and dews and streaming light
Already decks the new-born fpring.
O fountain of the golden day,
Could mortal vows promote thy speed,
How foon before thy vernal ray
Should each unkindly damp recede!
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