Thou ne'er canst doubt the existence of a GOD, Nor how th' Almighty by his creature man Delighteth to be honor'd, how obey'd:
Assur'd of that the onward path is clear,
With scarce one winding to confound thy choice;
And that his fallen children may not swerve,
Or swerving, plead in ign'rance of their crime-
A monitor in ev'ry breast he plac'd,
A touchstone, simple, terrible and sure
In the deep central chamber of the heart,
Too seldom tried, and by man conscience call'd:
Refer thy purpose to that upright judge,
That honest arbiter 'twixt Heav'n and thee,
And what it sanctions, thou shalt never rue;
What unapprov'd commit, for ever feel;
The crime long past 'twill unrelaxing lash;
The meditated purpose hourly jog!-
But 'tis not mine the enlighten'd daring task,
Nor modestly presuming wilt be thine,
Further to say what boasted doctrine's best,
What certain tenet's right, what precept's pure;
And little boots it haply to enquire:
Zealots have quarrel'd on this mighty theme,
In learning foolish, and in faith profane,
With such envenom'd enmity and gall
As plainly prov'd them destitute of that
Excelling charity! the Christian's boast!
High Heaven's own attribute-and most divine!
In obstinate contention blindly bled,
And proselytes in every age obtain❜d,
To swell the current of that purple stream,
Which for opinion hath so freely flow'd!—
Let others then their wedded course pursue;
And without jostling, prithee shape thine own:
Devotion dwells not with external shew,
Nor often leaves the heart to grace the tongue;
Yet ne'er forget thy duty to thy God!
Oh! ne'er with Man the social compact break!
In speculation no religion lies,
No madman's theories its truths embrace;
Conviction only can th' impression make,
Conviction certain to the judgment sound;
Or never shall thy soul its power confess,
Never thy spirit its delights enjoy,
In all its purity and heavenly force :
Fix'd is no faith, and thou art yet to chuse
If full conviction sanction not the mode:
Yet for the fix'd one wage no wordy war;
Nor hazard yet for politics thy peace ;
Sources of endless mischief and debate;
Topics on which e'en friendship often jars→→
And love itself but seldom's known to chime:
Discord once struck, most dissonant and dire;
Prolong'd with wrath as difficult to stop :
On such nice, tender, ticklish subjects then,
The rous'd impatient sentiment restrain ;
Or once compell'd with prudent caution give:
But when the general weal endanger'd stands;
Decided then the holy cause espouse;
Unflinching then thy fix'd opinion broach,
And certain of the right, that right maintain :
Yet in the height of argument and war
Remember man is fallible-and when
Passion o'er proof attempteth to prevail,
Pity the violence that seeks to hide
Its conscious weakness in the blust' ring storm :-
The hallow'd cause no vehemence requires,
Either to justify, or else explain;
Truth still immutable knows no extremes,
Betray'd thereto, with quick corrective thought,
Fix a strong muzzle on thy rising wrath ;-
Disarm'd and cool, thy conduct then review--
If good thy cause, collected still support,
But ah! if bad-support it not at all.—
What more remains-let SHAKSPERE'S golden lines, From old Polonius' lips, thy thoughts engage; That shrewd old statesman, falsely deem'd buffoonA son had he, and thus his precepts ran"Give thy thoughts no tongue,
"Nor any unproportion'd thought his act : "Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar : "The friends thou hast and their adoption tried, “Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel; "But do not dull thy palm with entertainment "Of each new-hatch'd unfledg'd comrade. Beware "Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in,
"Bear it, that the opposer may beware of thee. "Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice: "Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. "Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
"But not express'd in fancy, rich not gaudy* :
"For the apparel oft proclaims the man;
"And they in France, of the best rank and station,
"Are most select and generous, chief in that.
"Neither a borrower, nor a lender be;
"For loan oft loses both itself and friend;
"And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
"This above all,-To thine own self be true;
"And it must follow, as the night the day,
"Thou canst not then be false to any man.
"Farewell! my blessing season this in thee!"
And in thy soul, my Box, my blessing too!-
Unerring truth this little code avows
Of precepts pure, of axioms wond'rous wise,
Which for thy government is all thou need'st:
Yet every line of his immortal page
As thou would'st work thy everlasting peace,
This couplet only wou'd I alter-Remember, Boy, he was the son of the Chamberlain to the Danish King,—repairing to luxurious France!Thou, the offspring of a Playerthe scene Old England-a difference vast!-therefore say I
Simple thy garments as thy taste can form,
To purse proportion'd ever--good not gaudy.
For ever ponder-evermore revere !
There nature analyze-there man explore!-
One only word remains―remember well
In thine own nature lie the latent seeds
Of good and ill-of misery and joy!
On thine own skill the culture chief depends;
'Tis thine to counteract the stealth of time,
And make him move obedient to thy will,
And say "which grain shall grow, and which shall not"
What vice entangle, and what virtue shoot;
For that which fatten will the noxious weed,
Will to the flower luxuriant growth impart;
The common germ of one imperfect soil!
Such my dear Box, the fond advice I give;
Such are the ills I warn thee how to shun,
And such the ills thy virtue shall assail;
Such are the goods I wish thee to enjoy,
And such the means those comforts to ensure !
The first of which thy prudent mind I trust
By most successful effort will resist-
With the same sanguine soul the other seek,
And seeking sanguinely, as sure atchieve!
Enraptur'd fancy hails the coming scene,
And hope exulting sanctions what she forms!
Thy Father hopes it-thou the hope hast rais'd;
'Tis much he hopes-defeat not thou his wish:
Let not maternal fondness lose its care;
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