3333 
 C331 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 7 
 5 
 
 Celesia 
 Indolence
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 'A 'N 'ssnaejAj ^^^ 
 tlJONia lilHdWVT"
 
 INDOLENCE 
 
 A 
 
 POEM. 
 
 B Y 
 
 The Author of Almida, 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for T. B E C K E T, in the Strand* 
 MDCCLXXII.
 
 SSSf 
 [ 3 ] ^^^^ 
 
 INDOLENCE: 
 
 OEM. 
 
 L 
 
 E T loftier Poets touch a bolder firing, 
 
 Hail, Indolence, thy powerful charms I fing ; 
 In foothing ftrains majeftically flow, 
 O teach thefe numbers without art to flow ! 
 May they fteal gently thro' each tranquil brcafl. 
 And lull by foft degrees the Soul to reft. 
 
 Bear me, O Mufe ! to fome fequefter'd Scene, 
 Where Meditation dwells, with eye ferene ; 
 Let Indolence prepare her placid Charms, 
 And elbow Chairs extend their willing arms ; 
 
 Let 
 8B5379
 
 4 INDOLENCE. 
 
 Let the foft Down in fwclling Cufliions fpread, . 
 
 Support elaflic the reclining head, 
 
 And Books appear, an ample various pile, 
 
 To feafl the Mind vvithout the Body's toil. 
 
 There free from Rumour, and from anxious flrife. 
 Let me glide gently down the Stream of life, 
 Hear, as from far, the human tempeft beat ; 
 Efcap'd and fhelter'd in my calm Retreat, 
 From Pride's bold wifh. Ambition's ardent claim, 
 The gufts of Paflion, and the tliirfl of Fame. 
 
 And fay ye Wife of this enlighten'd Age, 
 Poets, or Moralifts, Divine, or Sage ; 
 Ye thinking, a6ling, philofophic Crew, 
 Who different follies, different ways purfue ; 
 What is the prize ye all pufh on to feize, 
 What but repofe at lafl:, and purchas'd eafe ? 
 Latent in every breaft this paffion lies. 
 It prompts the Brave, the Silly, and the Wife ; 
 
 TI^
 
 INDOLENCE. ^ 
 
 The Warrior owns it in the noify Camp, 
 Pale Students court it o'er the midnight lamp : 
 'Tis imag'd too in Nature's general doom, 
 A weary day, that clofes in the Tomb ! 
 
 Lured by the hope of Glory, or of Wealth, 
 Man rifks the firft of bleflings, Life and Health ; 
 Infatiate ftill, he feeks fome abfent good. 
 Dares the rough Defart, or the treach'rous Flood ; 
 Nor fears, by Hope's deceitful Voice led on, 
 Zembla's cold Blaft, or Afric's raging Sun : 
 Where Ethiopia's putrid fens exhale. 
 The fudden death, in each infected gale, 
 Fearlefs he treads, imbibes the fetid fteam, 
 Then finks at once, and ends the bufy dream. 
 
 O Indolence ! thou balm by Heav'n defign'd 
 To quench the raging pafHons of the mind ; 
 Would toiling mortals thy foft influence own, 
 What fhining mifchiefs had remain'd undone I 
 
 B Spain's
 
 6 INDOLENCE. 
 
 Spain's ardent Sons, had not in queft of Ore, 
 Sought with advent' rolls feet, that peaceful Shore, 
 •Where Incas dwelt, the gentleft of mankind. 
 And limple faith, to giiiltlefs manners join'd ; 
 Till Europe's Chiefs, by Crimes to them unknown, 
 Dragg'd the Peruvian Monarch from his Throne, 
 Spread death and rapine thro' th' affrighted land, 
 And impious ! boafted it was Heav'n's command. 
 
 In every age the Wife, a chofen train, 
 
 O facred Peace ! have hail'd thy golden reign ; 
 
 Even the ftern Stoic plann'd for this his Rules, 
 
 And Grecian eloquence infpir'd her Schools ; 
 
 In floth fupreme the Epicurean Gods, 
 
 Supinely happy in their blefl: abodes. 
 
 Left human things at random Chance to go, 
 
 And fcorn'd the plague of ruling aught below. 
 
 Behold ! the Convent's ftately Walls arife. 
 Its fpacious Columns tow'ring to the Skies : 
 
 There
 
 INDOLENCE. 7 
 
 There Lazinefs in faintly triumph dwells, 
 And rules obedient Hermits, in their Cells. 
 There the rich Abbot, free from every Care, 
 In hafte to dine, breaks the unfiniili'd pray'r ; 
 Tired with the labour of a long repaft, 
 On fome foft Couch, his weary limbs are caft : 
 Stretch'd in v^oluptuous dignity he lies. 
 Thrones, Mitres, Titles, fwim before his eyes; 
 Or founds feraphic tremble in his ears, 
 The Angel's Song ; the Mufic of the Spheres. 
 No anxious thought difturbs the foft Repofe, 
 Deep on his Cheek the living Crimfon glows ; 
 Health's frefheft bloom, enlivens all his frame. 
 And round his temples, plays the fmiling dream. 
 Far from the reach of human hopes, or fears, 
 No Orphan's cry, no Widow's moan he hears ; 
 In him no figh, th' idea fad creates, 
 Of failing Nations, or of ruin'd States : 
 
 Wrapt
 
 8 INDOLENCE. 
 
 Wrapt in indifference, and in pious pride, 
 Pray'rs, Sleep, and Eating all his hours divide. 
 
 By Nature's hand deep grav'd in every brcafl, 
 
 Springs native Indolence and love of reft. 
 
 Stretch' d to the North, where frigid Greenland lies, 
 
 Shivering: and bleak, beneath inclement fkies : 
 
 Urg'd by Neceflity's fevere commands, 
 
 On the lone rock, the penlive Savage ftands ; 
 
 A wild and chearlefs profpedt lies around. 
 
 Of naked Cliffs with gelid horrors crown'd ; 
 
 'Tis not the barren landfcape gives him pain, 
 
 Winter's ftern Child ! he mocks its fierceft reign : 
 
 He lighs to view the labour of the day, 
 
 To earn with weary fteps, a fcanty prey ; 
 
 At eve returning with his fhaggy Spoil, 
 
 Content he fings, nor thinks of future toil ; 
 
 Hunger
 
 INDOLENCE. 9 
 
 Hunger his food, fatigue his bed prepares, 
 And Sleep profound, obliterates all his Cares *. 
 
 What are the charms of greatnefs, love, or power ? 
 A moment's joy, the triumph of an hour : 
 All that Profperity's wide wi£h attains. 
 What Fancy grafps at, or v/hat Luck obtains, 
 Are cheating pleafures : Indolence alone. 
 Thro' Life infures Felicity our own. 
 
 All human baubles are too dearly bought, 
 That jQiake our peace, or prompt th' uneafy thought ; 
 While the warm hope we form, the future Scheme, 
 Death hovers round, and mocks the tranfient dream ; 
 
 * Their difpofition feems to be a compound of the fanguine and 
 phlegmatic. In the morning, v/hen they ftand filent, .-'.nd penfive upon 
 fome eminence, and take a furvey of the ocean and the weather, they 
 appear melancholy and dejeded, becaufe.the labours and the danger of 
 the day ftand in profpect before them : But when they return at night, 
 efpecially if they have been fuccefsful, they are chearful, and converfable. 
 
 Hiftory of Greenland, by David Crantz. 
 
 C Pale-
 
 lo INDOLENCE. 
 
 Pale-eyed Oblivion follows at his fide, 
 
 And finks to diifl, whole Mountains rais'd by Pride. 
 
 Say, why fhould Fame the Sage's wifli engage ? 
 A vain exiftence in another age : 
 Can thofe fair Wreaths that deck the Hero's Tomb, 
 Chear the drear void, or animate its gloom ? 
 Sacred to Worth, or rais'd by Fricndfhip's hand, 
 In filent eloquence cold Statu.;s Hand ; 
 Far more perfuaiive are the Truths they teach. 
 Than all the pomp ExprefTion's art can reach ; 
 The fculptur'd leflbn preaches to the eye. 
 Points out the long repofe, and fhews it nigh ; 
 For fancied bleiUngs, bids us ceafe to ilave, 
 Fame's loudeft trumpet cannot reach the grave. 
 
 Even thofe with Heav'n's diftinguifli'd gifts endued, 
 Are fcann'd by Cenfure, or by Hate purfued : 
 Safe from the tempeft's blafl:, or bruifing hail. 
 Blows the low Violet in the fhadow'd vale ; 
 
 While
 
 INDOLENCE. ii 
 
 While tlie tall Cyprefs, or the lofty Oak, 
 
 Brave the red Light'ning, and attrad: its Stroke. 
 
 Superior Talents are but fhining Snares, 
 
 A tempting path, yet ftrew'd with bitter Cares ; 
 
 Malice, or Pride, are Merit's conftant foes, 
 
 Nought but Obfcurity infures Repofe ; 
 
 Tho' Virtue prompts, or Wifdom guides our aim. 
 
 Envy's envenom'd touch can blaft our fame : 
 
 Not death itfelf, that Monfler can afiliage. 
 
 Quench her fierce torch, or hufli her Serpent's Rage, 
 
 The Fault remember'd, when the Man's forgot. 
 
 Her baneful Snakes fhall haunt that facred fpot, 
 
 Hallow'd by grief, where friends or parents mourn, 
 
 Hifs near the grave, and twine around the urn. 
 
 Sure fome ftrange tafte in diflant pleafure lies, 
 We turn indignant from an eafy prize ; 
 In wild anxiety thro' life we roam. 
 Peace is defpis'd, becaufe 'tis found at home. 
 
 See
 
 12 INDOLENCE. 
 
 Sec mad Delire with haftj fteps advance, 
 Darting on every lide his eager glance ; 
 One blclling got is foon infipid grown, 
 Nothing he values, if 'tis once his own ; 
 Each fplendid bleiling, every human toy, 
 Attradls his wifh, and draws his greedy eye ; 
 He feizes all that tempts on Fortune's road. 
 Then finks unequal to the various load. 
 
 Th' Hiftoric page lies open to the eye. 
 And of this truth, can various proofs fupply ; 
 That thofe who hope v/ith happinefs to meet, 
 Muft turn to find her, to that calm retreat. 
 Where far from Scenes, where bufy fools refort, 
 With Peace, and Indolence, fhe keeps her Court. 
 
 If princely rule, or empire unconfin'd. 
 Could fix the wifh, or fatisfy the mind ; 
 See cloth'd in Majefty's moft ample Robe, 
 Spain's famous Monarch, Lord of half the Globe : 
 
 Yet
 
 INDOLENCE, 13 
 
 Yet preft by Care, he fighs beneath a Crown, 
 
 And longs to lay the fplendid burden down ; 
 
 To Philip's fteady hand the Sceptre yields, 
 
 And far from Care, near fair Placentia's fields, 
 
 A Convent's folitary fhade he fought. 
 
 Where Contemplation dwells, and pious thoughts 
 
 Yet in his bofom glows a latent fire. 
 
 By turns a Sage, a Monarch, or a Friar ; 
 
 Thro' all the maze of changing thought it works, 
 
 Plays round his heart, and in each vifion lurks. 
 
 For this the Coffin *, and the mournful Herfe, 
 Are brought to grace his fancy's folemn farce : 
 Aloft to Heav'n thick Clouds of Incenfe roll. 
 And founds funereal ftrike the raptur'd Soul ; 
 Priefts clad in black, a venerable train ! 
 Difplay the pomp of death without its pain t 
 
 * Charles the Vth had his obfequies performed in his life-time, and. 
 aflifted at them. 
 
 D While
 
 14 INDOLENCE. 
 
 While aweful ftrains from fable Altars rife, 
 111 holy pantomime the Hero lies ; 
 Affects on all the dreary Scene to fmile, 
 Joins the fad hymn, and lights the funeral pile. 
 
 Lo wife Chriftina ! weary of her State, 
 And of the tirefome talk of being great ; 
 Averfe to Tumults, and to noify Wars, 
 Tir'd of rough Heroes, and eternal Jarrs ; 
 To fair Italia's blifsful climes fhe flew, 
 And from a Throne, and regal Cares withdrew, 
 Refolv'd no more, o'er ftubborn Swedes to reign, 
 She fought the Mufes, and increas'd their train. 
 
 As flames in fpiral wavings, flill afcend, 
 
 So foars Ambition's wiih, and knows no end ; 
 
 Whate'er the partial hand of Hcav'n can grant, 
 
 Is but the opening to another want ; 
 
 Hope with impatient wings outfl:rips the Wind, 
 
 And leaves calm Thought, and Reafon far behind. 
 
 Immortal
 
 INDOLENCE. 15 
 
 Immortal Henry ! Britain's warlike boaft, 
 "Who led her gallant Chiefs to Gallia's Coaft ; 
 Whilft France to Heav'n addrefl the fruitlefs Vow, 
 Fortune the Garland wove, to deck thy brow : 
 Gaul's haughty Genius bends beneath thy Sword, 
 Her Sceptre yields, and owns Thee for her Lord. 
 Yet all this blaze of Glory could not fave 
 Thy blooming honours from an early grave ! 
 Toil and ungenial Air, on foreign ground, 
 Unftrung each nerve : With vernal Laurels crown'd, 
 On Pain's fad Couch, he droops the languid head, 
 Fix'd is each pulfe, and every hope is fled ! 
 Deform'd with rage, and big with favage deeds, 
 A dreadful Scene to Henry's death fucceeds ; 
 By Faction fir'd, or by Diffention tore, 
 Difcord alternate fhakes each rival Shore : 
 But flop . . . nor let it feem the gentle Mufe, 
 The praife to Valour facred, can refufe ; 
 
 111
 
 i6 INDOLENCE. 
 
 In peaceful ftrains, (he only means to fliew, 
 What bufy horrors from Ambition flow. 
 
 May Henry's deeds, in Fame's bright page enroll'd, 
 To future times in aweful fong be told ! 
 And let Britannia's lateft Sons be taught, 
 The glorious A<3:s their early Fathers wrought. 
 
 From Scene to Scene, by reftlefs Fancy drove, 
 Or ftruggling in the Net his paflions wove ; 
 The adtive Soul no tranquil moment knows, 
 Throngs eager forward, and abhors repofe : 
 Yet all the bleflings Heav'n to Man defign'd, 
 Within a narrow circle are confin'd ; 
 And fpite of all that foaring Pride can teach, 
 The good it means us, lies within our reach. 
 
 When wild Confufion rules with horrid fway. 
 The trembling Mufes wing their timid way, 
 The focial Virtues follow in their train ; 
 Thefe are thy offspring, Peace ! and feek thy Reign. 
 
 'Twas
 
 INDOLENCE. 17 
 
 'Twas the unruly bufy thought gave birth, 
 To half thofe Evils which infed; the Earth ; 
 Man never eafy in his proper feat, 
 A6ts daring Crimes, and Flatt'ry calls him great ; 
 But Reafon's piercing look, with eye fevere, 
 Spies Pride and Envy thro' the Veils they wear ; 
 Sees buflling Saints in holy mifchief deal, 
 And defolate whole Nations out of Zeal ; 
 Grafp without trembling Heav'n's avenging Rod, 
 As if 'twas Man's to vindicate a God ! 
 
 What frantic paflion led th' intrepid Swede, 
 On hoftile Shores, 'midft barbarous foes to bleed ? 
 Far wifer fure, had he in tranquil eafe, 
 Plann'd gentle Laws, and fmiling arts of Peace : 
 Council and Wifdom with true Courage dwell, 
 Hero's by thefe untaught to Madmen fwell. 
 
 E Thus
 
 i8 INDOLENCE. 
 
 Thus Alexander eager for a Name, 
 
 O'erturn'd whole Cities, vidlims to his Fame -, 
 
 A new Achilles, ardent to deftroy, 
 
 Aftonifh'd Nations dread the fate of Troy ; 
 
 Thro' Lands remote he founds the fwift alarm, 
 
 Whole Nations fink beneath his dreadful arm ; 
 
 The peaceful Shore, the cultivated Plain, 
 
 Swells a red Mountain, reeking with the Slain ; 
 
 At ev'ry ftep, the dreadful havoc fpreads, 
 
 And Defolation follows as he treads ! 
 
 But He whofe aweful frown fhakes Heav'n with fear, 
 
 Appals the Conqueror in his fierce Career, 
 
 Quick thro' his bofom fhoots the glowing pain, 
 
 * High beats the fever in each throbbing vein t 
 
 * Alexander the Great died of a fever in the prime of life, and in the 
 midft of his conquefts. 
 
 ' ' Its
 
 INDOLENCE. 19 
 
 Its \l'ild extremes he proves by dreadful turns. 
 Now iced he fhivers, and now raving burns 5 
 Thin flying Mifts, and Clouds before him fwim, 
 While Death creeps flowly thro' each ftiff'ning limb ; 
 The direful Sifters cut the vital thread, 
 And Night eternal doles round his head. 
 Thus eager mortals toiling to be great, 
 With headlong fteps anticipate their fate. 
 
 In the dark windings of a Cromwel's Soul, 
 
 What bufy fchemes of a£Hve mifchief roll ! 
 
 Nor check 'd by dangers, nor by Confcience aw'd. 
 
 With wary fteps in crooked paths he trod ; 
 
 Till rais'd by crafty Arts he flood alone, 
 
 Crufh'd regal power, and trampl'd on the Throne. 
 
 Yet fuch the fortune of ill gotten Power, 
 
 Joy is not his, nor is the peaceful hour ; 
 
 Remorfe
 
 20 
 
 INDOLENCE. 
 
 Remorfc and Fear diftend his gloomy breaft, 
 Sit on his pillow, and deflroy his reft : 
 Bv pale Sufpicion's icy terrors fhook, 
 He darts the fullen glance, the doubting look ; 
 Of treacherous friends, or fancied foes afraid. 
 He loaths Society, and feeks the fhade. 
 But Peace in vain he feeks ; fad forms arife, 
 And howling Furies follow as he flies. 
 
 Often has Truth in pleaflng Fidlion dreft, 
 
 The Conflid painted of th' impaflion'd breaft. 
 
 With toil inceflant, and eternal thirft, 
 
 Sad Sifyphus, and Tantalus are curft ; 
 
 One pants, as upwards the vaft weight he heaves, 
 The other gafping courts th' illufive waves : 
 Thus toiling up the Hill of Life we groan. 
 While Difappointment backward rolls the Stone ; 
 
 Or
 
 INDOLENCE. 21 
 
 Or inly pining in the midft of Joys, 
 Still as we grafp th' evafive blifs, it flies. 
 
 Not fo the Man whofe placid moments fly, 
 In pleaflng Indolence. With tranquil eye. 
 He marks the hand of Time, as thro' the bound 
 Of earth he leads the circling Seafons round : 
 Patient of evils which he cannot fliun, 
 His days in fweet Serenity move on. 
 To Care a fl:ranger, undifturb'd he fees 
 The lamp of Life burn low by flow degrees. 
 
 But thus while bor'n on Fancy's wing I rove, 
 And fportive flng that Indolence I love ; 
 Not fordid Sloth, but philofophic reft. 
 The inward Sunfliine of th' unrufil'd breaft ; 
 Paflions juft fann'd, not roughen'd by deflre, 
 Thefe are my theme : for thefe I touch the Lyre. 
 
 F Far
 
 22: INDOLENCE. 
 
 Far be from mc ! the wi{h to Self confin'd, 
 The dull ftagnation of th' unfeeling mind ; 
 The earth-born Wretch, amidft Mankind alone. 
 The Stoic art of freezing Men to Stone. 
 
 The real Sage avoids the World's vain noife, 
 Yet ftill a Man, he courts its purer Joys ; 
 Wifdom and Truth are his ; the ufeful thought, 
 The a6l benevolent by Virtue taught. 
 
 O facred Virtue ! at thy found I feel 
 Unwonted tranfports thro' my bofom fteal ; 
 Fain would the Mufe with energy divine, 
 The Verfe ennobling glow along the line ! 
 O hrft, and choiceft prefent to Mankind ! 
 Pure emanation of th' eternal Mind ! 
 Thro' every Age, in every Breaft the fame. 
 No doubtful Being, no invented Name ; 
 
 Witncfs
 
 INDOLENCE. 2 
 
 Witnefs the tear fpontaneous taught to flow, 
 For forrows not our own, the Strangers woe : 
 The Joy fincere at fight of others bleft, 
 The patient fmile of Goodnefs, tho' diftreft ; 
 The glow inefFable that fills the Mind, 
 For noble adtions done ; th' inquiry kind, 
 Where virtuous Want droops with dejedled eye, 
 Sheds the fad tear, and breathes the lonely figh ; 
 The heart-exalting blifs from Friendship felt. 
 When kindred Souls in foft effufion melt ; 
 The holy Love expanfive for our kind, 
 Like Heav'n's wide look, embracing all Mankind : 
 Thefe, Virtue, thefe are thine. But here the Mufe, 
 Unequal to her theme, no more purfues : 
 Some abler Bard a nobler itrain fhall raife, 
 Whilil I in filence meditate thy Praife. 
 
 T H E E N D. 
 
 .T
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 TTVn^ERSiTY OF CALI! ORNIX
 
 PR Celesia - 
 
 3339 
 
 C33i 
 
 Indolence 
 
 
 
 BIN^' 
 
 
 19 195fl 
 
 PR 
 
 3339 
 C33i 
 
 3 1158 00989 9112