Subjects and Mottoes of the Rambler.
XXXVIII. The advantages of mediocrity. An eastern fable.
Auream quifquis mediocratem
Diligit, tutus caret obfoleti
Sordibus tetti, caret invidendâ
Sobrius aula.
The man within the golden mean,
-Non tamen irritum, Quodcumque retro eft, efficiet ; neque Diffinget, infectumque reddet, Quod fugiens femel bora vexit. Be fair or foul, or rain or fhine, The joys I have poffefs'd in fpite of fate are Not heav'n itfelf upon the paft has pow'r, But what has been has been, and I have had my hour. DRYDEN. Vita fumma brevis, fpem nos vetat incoboare longam.
Hor. Life's fpan forbids thee to extend thy cares, And stretch thy hopes beyond thy years. CREECH, -Petite bine, juvenefque fenefque, Finem animo certum, miferifque viatica canis. Seek here, ye young, the anchor of your mind; Here, fuff'ring age, a blefs'd provifion find. J. E. XLII. The misery of a modifh lady in folitude.
Mibi tarda fluunt ingrataque tempora.
How heavily my time revolves along! J. E.
XLIII. The inconveniences of preci-
pitation and confidence.
Flumine perpetuo torrens folet acrius ire:
Sed tamen bæc brevis eft, illa perennis aqua. OVID. In courfe impetuous foon the torrent dries, The brook a conftant peaceful stream fupplies.
XLIV. Religion and Superftition; a
Όναρ ἐκ Διός ἐσι.
-Dreams defcend from Jove.
XLV. The caules of difagreement in marriage.
μπερ μεγίση γίγνεται σωτηρία,
Οταν γύνη πρὸς ἄνδρα μὴ διχοτατη.
This is the chief felicity of life,
That concord Imile on the connubial bed; But now 'tis hatred all.
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Nought from my birth or ancestors I claim ; All is my own, my honour and my fhame. F. XLVII. The proper means of regulating forrow.
Quamquam bis folatiis acquiefcam, debiliter & frangor eadem illé bumanitate quæ me, ut hoc ipfum permitterem, induxit. Non ideo tamen velim durior fieri : nec ignoro alios hujufmodi cafus rikil amplius vocare quam damnum ; eoque fibi magnes bomines & fapientes videri. Qui an magni fapientefque fint, nefcio: bomines non funt. Hominis eft enim affici doTore, fentire; refiftere tamen, & folatia admittere, non folutiis non eg.re. PLIN.
Thefe proceedings have afforded me fome comfort in my diftrefs; notwithstanding which, I am fill difpirited, and unhinged by the fame motives of humanity, that induced me to grant fuch indulgences. However, I by no means with to become lefs fucceptible of tenderness., I know thefe kind of mis"fortunes would be estimated by other perfons only as common loffes, and from fuch fenfations they would conceive themselves great and wife men. I fhall not determine either their greatnefs or their wifdem; but I am certain they have no humanity. It is the part of a man to be affected with griet; to feel forrow, at the fame time, that he is to refift it, and to admit of comfort. Earl of Orrery.
Si tempera longo Leniri poterit lacius, tu iperne morari; Grotius, Qui fapier fibi tempus erit. 'Tis long e'er time can mitigate your grief; To wifdom fly, fhe quickly brings relief. F. LEWIS. XLVIII. The miferies of an infirm conftitution.
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470
XLIX. A disquifition upon the value
of fame.
Subjects and Mottoes of the Rambler.
Non omnis moriar, multaque pars mei
Vitabit libitinam, ufque ego pofterå
Crefcam laude recens.
Whole Horace fhall not die; his fongs fhall fave
The greatest portion from the greedy grave.
CREECH.
L.A virtuous old age always reverenc'd.
Credebant boc grande nefas, & morte piandum,
Si juvenis vetulo non affurrexerat, atque
Barbato cuicunque puer, licet ipfe videret
Plura domi fraga, majores glandis acervos.
Juv.
And had not men the hoary head rever'd,
And boys paid rev'rence when a man appear'd,
Both must have died, tho' richer skins they
wore,
And faw more heaps of acorns in their store.
CREECH,
Lufifti fatis, edifii fatis, atque bibiẞti :
Tempus abire tibi eft.
You've had your share of mirth, of meat and drink :
'Tis time to quit the scene-'tis time to think. J. E. LI. The employments of a housewife in the country.
-Stultus labor eß ineptiorum. MART.
How foolish is the toil of trifling cares! J.E.
LII. The contemplation of the cala-
mities of others, a remedy for grief.
-Quoties flenti Thefeius beros,
Sifte modum, dixit; neque enim fortuna querenda
Sola tua eft fimiles aliorum refpice cafus,
Mitiùs fa feres.-
OVID.
How oft in vain the fon of Thefeus faid,
Thy ftormy forrows be with patience laid :
Nor are thy fortunes to be wept alone;
Weigh other's woes,and learn to bearthy own.
Сатсотт,
LIII. The folly and mifery of a spendthrift.
Φίδιο των κτιανῶν.
Hufband thy poffeffions.
J. LIV. A death-bed the true school of wildom. The effects of death upon the furvivors.
LV. The gay widow's impatience of
the growth of her daughter.
history of Mifs Maypole.
Maturo proprior define funeri
Inter ludere virgines,
Er fellis maculam fpargere candidis
Non fiquid Pholoen fatis
Et te, Chlori, decet.
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LVI. The neceffity of complaisance. The Rambler's grief for offending his correfpondents.
Valeat res ludicra, fi me
Palma negata macrum, donata reducit opimum.
Ho&a
Farewel the ftage; for humbly I disclaim
Such fond perfults of pleafure, or of fame,
If I must link in fhame, or fwell with pride,
As the gay palm is granted or deny'à.
FRANCIS LVII. Sententious rules of frugality. Non intelligunt homines quam magnum veðligal fit parfimonia. TULL.
The world has not yet learned the riches of frugality. J.
The translations of the Mottoes, and the Subjects, inferted Vol. xx. are all from the firft Vol. of the Edinburgh edition, but in the above we bave followed the London. It is not convenient to take notice how far the two Editions differ, but we cannot pass over the author's new traxflation of the Mottoes, to N° VII. and XI. nor belp avishing with the reader, that be would oblige the world with more of bis poetical compofitions.
N° VII. Motto.] 0 qui perpetua, &e. O Thou, whofe pow'r o'er moving worlds prefides,
Whofe voice created, and whose wisdom guides, On darkling man in pure effulgence shine, And chear the clouded mine with light divine, 'Tis thine alone to calm the pious breast With filent confidence and holy reft:
From thee, great God, we fpring, to thee we tend,
Path, motive, guide, original and end.
N° XI. Don Dindymen, &c.
Unlike the ribald, whofe licentious jeft,
Pollutes his banquet and infults his gueft;
From wealth and grandeur easy to defcend,
Thou joy'ft to lose the mafter in the friend:
We round thy board the cheerful menials fee,
Gay with the fmile of bland equality;
No focial care the gracious lord difdains;
Love prompts to love, and rev'rence rev'rence
gains,
472
To the Author of SIRIS. An ODE.
Poetical ESSAYS; OCTOBER 1752.
By the R. R. T. L. B. O. N.
Oui caduca follicitus times
Vita, benignis uíque laboribus
Fugare præfens imminentes
Corporibufque animifque peftes;
Mufis amicus, leniter audias
Vocem Camanæ, quæ fibi reddita
Jam ludit exultim, lyramque
Sufcitat, impatiens quietis.
Non fabulofis profiliens jugis,
Et docta labi murmure garrulo,
Nunc unda me multùm loquaces
Provocat ad numeros volentem ;
Sed lympha morbos eluere efficax,
Sed parta dulcis, te medico, falus ;
Sed muneris folantis ægrum
Confcia mens, modulatur ultrò
Carmen. Veternum trifte fugit retro,
Fervet renati fpiritus ingens,
Et fol inaffuetum renidens
Luce diem meliore velit.
Sed unde fulget largior ætheris
Profpectus? Ut vidiffe juvat facras
Sedes piorum, quot repertis!
Artibus excoluere vitam!
NEWTONUS illic plurima cogitans,
Viroque charus BOYLIUS comes,
Et SYDENHAMO juncta magni
HIPPOCRATIS fpatiatur umbra.
Hos tu fequutus, forte pari doces,
Quæ flamma magno corpore mifceat
Se rerum, & illabens per artus
Totam agitet foveatque molem.
Hinc fuavis halat gratia floribus,
Plantafque radix prodiga parturit ;
Ufufque in humanos, per omnem
Nata viret medicina campum.
Sed quanta conftat laus, Abies, tibi,
Ligno falubri! Te pofitum die
Natura faufto deftinavit
Stare decus Borealis ora.
Dilecta filvæ filia, turgidis
Seu læta velis, montis & ardui
Nivale contemnens cacumen
Fluctibus imperiofa furgis ;
Trunco cadenti feu pretium arrogas,
Et præparato membra dari rogo
Urenda nil mærens, ab ipfis
Ducis opes medicata flammis. Liquente torrens en! pice turbidus Erumpit; undam rivus agit niger, Secumque curfu concitato
Fert gravidas oleo favillas. Mox arboris tu proditor intimæ, Attemperatâ rité fagax aquâ,
Oftendis interpres, liquorum
Quid valeat fociatus amnis ;
Queis lympha prægnans particulis mitet,
Quæ cærulo vis infita poculo,
Timbuta fumis, fedet ignes
Ignea prætereunte fucco.
Notam medelam da, puer, ocius,
Hoc fonte manans certa fluit falus :
Beatus hinc, uvas nitentes,
Galle, tibi minus invidebo.
Jam, jam æltuantes frigus amabile
Venas pererrat, flammaque mox calet
Mollis viciffim, fpirituque
Æthereo recreat medullas.
Formas medendi, mille vafer modis,
Tentet latentes Chemicus artifex :
Sin arte Naturæ, tuâque
Porrigitur medicina fimplex.
Cohors recedit torrida febrium;
Recline fenfim fe caput erigit,
Languore pullo; defluitque
Articulis inimicus humor.
Durare nimbos fic ratis impotens,
Quaffata vento, & faucia vermibus,
Secura fi, portu occupato,
Induerit piceos amictus;
Relapfa in æquor fert latus arduum,
Fiditque collis nauta tenacibus,
Impune; nec circum furentes
Uneta ratis metuit procellas,
TRANSLATED.
Thouwhofe
inglorious
And ceafelefs toils by blefling to be blest,
Friend of the mufe accept the verse the brings,
With wonted rapture fir'd, again the fings.
No fabled waters of the Arian hill,
That glide loquacious, in a prattlingrill,
Excite my lays refponfive to the found;
To prompt my fong fuperior Atreams are found;
The ftreams I quaff, which fierce difcale reprefs,
Thou giv'ft the cup, and I new health poffefs.
My conscious heart with joy the bounty feels,
Spontaneous verfe my gratitude reveals:
My languid veins new bounding fpirits (well,
And o'er my eyes now hov'ring glooms difpel.
But, whence this wider profpect of the fkies?
Where thine enthron'd the righteous & the wife!
What joy to count the mighty fires of art,
Who could to life the joys of life impart!
There Newton, ftudious with extenfive aim,
And Boyle, the friend of man, my rev'rence
claim :.
There great Hippocrates, with Syd nham join's,
Shares the fweet friendship of a kindred mind.
Their fteps thou following, haft like them dif-
play'd
[bey'd,
The laws which heav'n, earth, air, and feas o-
Haft taught what quick'ning flame, what ac-
Pervading nature, animates the whole,
The finewy limbs with vital forcé diftends;
Blows in the flow'r, and in the root defcends:
Poetical ESSAYS; OCTOBER 1752.
The plant fill varies as our wants require,
And gives us cloathing, med'cine, food, and fire,
But chief the lofty Fir; falubrious tree!
What strains of grateful praife are due to thee:
To thee, the glory of the north defign'd,
Set in fome hour mark'd out to bless mankind.
O! faireft fav'rite daughter of the grove!
Whether o'er fwelling feas thou joy'ft to rove,
To rife, exulting in thy turgid fails,
And fcorn the fnow-top'd Alps as humble vales;
Or whether, greatly glorying in thy fall.
Thy limbs are giv'n Hygeia to recal;
From thee ftill boundless treafures mortals gain,
Delight in health, and foothing cafe in pain.
Behold of liquid pitch the torrent flows,
The black waves labour with convulfive throes,
Now the rich oyl the tortur'd embers yield,
In vain within the living tree conceal'd.
Thy fearching foul difcover'd its recefs,
And, mixt with water, taught its pow'r to blefs,
Difplay'd the vital virtue that remains
In juice, which art from flaming forefts drains,
Shew'd the Cerulean cup-boy, fill it high,
The fov'reign draught shall lasting health fupply;
Blefs'd as I quaff, I envy France no more,
Of rip'ning vineyards all the fhining store;
Ev'n now how cooling thro' my veins it flows;
How with innoxious heat by turns it glows!
Th' etherial fpirit life's due mean maintains,
And ends,which chymifts vainly boaft,it gains.
For nature works by fimple means her end,
Thy art, thus fimple, still is nature's friend.
The dreaded troops of ardent Febris fly,
The languid head is rais'd, and clofing eye;
Pain, fickness, all the horrid train retire,
And hostile humours thro' the limbs perfpire.
Thus, the fhip toft by ftorms, of worms the prey,
If cloath'd in pitch when late the gains the bay:
To fea returns and fearless gives her fide
To the white furges of the raging tide:
The pilot fmiles beneath a low ring fky,
And winds and waves the fheuting crew defy.
HORACE, ODE XIV. B. 2, imitated.
OW fwiftly glide the fleeting years!
Nor virtue, piety, nor tears,
Their rapid courfe can stay.
Time blafts, alas! the fairell face,
Death haftens on with steady pace,
To fummon us away.
He mocks the feeble pow'rs of man;
Nor all the richest treasures can
Protract the final doom:
The rich, the poor, the great, the fmall,
Muft yield obedience to his call,
And fill alike the tomb.
What tho' we fhun the ftormy fea!
What tho,where thund'ring canons play, ́
From death the coward flies?
Death clole purlues, a ruthlefs foe,
And where he leaft expects the blow,
In bed the daftard dies.
Then must we leave thofe darling joys,
Qur tender wile, our prattling boys,
Which form'd our blifs before:
All muft at last from earth retreat;
Our stately house, our peaceful feat,
Shall know us then no more.
The waving wood, the fhady grove,
With all the fcenes of focial love,
We muft for ever leave.
And while we moulder into earth,
Our fprightlier heirs with wanton mirth
Shall riot o'er our grave.
Roxburghshire, Sept. 15, N.S.
A MORNING HYMN.
OFT on the downy bed I fell,
Sweet fleep! and wifh'd for you.
There fafe my maker made me dwell,
And fafe I leave it too.
Nor wifh'd I long fweet fleep in vain,
In fleep thefe eye lids clofe :
Nor mental, nor corporeal pain,
Prevented my repofe.
Go, darkness, with thy raylefs crown,
Go rule the western fkies:
The pow'r that bids their fun go down,
On Britain bids it rife.
Let me devote the morning ray
To thought or deed divine;
And may my virtue like the day,
To full perfection fhine!
To this day nothing let me owe,
Then let the length'ning fhadows grow,
Still paying e'er 'tis palt:
And ev'ning blush its laft.
Then (fince myself I cannot keep
Ev'n one fhort moment thro")
Watch me thofe eyes that never sleep
Till morning beams anew.
Lord, watch me to the gates of death,
And thro' those gates defend!
Thou gav't, and, when thou tak'ft my
breath,
My God! be thou my friend.
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