Thence iffu'd forth, at great Macpherfon's call,
That old, new, epic paftoral, Fingal;
Thence Malloch, friend alike of church and state,
Of Chrift and Liberty, by grateful Fate
Rais'd to rewards, which, in a pious reign,
All darling infidels should seek in vain;
Thence fimple bards, by fimple prudence taught,
To this wife town by fimple patrons brought,
In fimple manner utter fimple lays,
And take, with fimple penfions, fimple praise.
Waft me, fome Mufe, to Tweed's infpiring stream,
Where all the little groves and graces dream;
Where, flowly winding, the dull waters creep,
And feem themselves to own the pow'r of fleep;
Where, on the furface, lead like feathers fwims,
There let me bathe my yet unhallow'd limbs,
As once a Syrian bath'd in Jordan's flood,
Wafh off my native ftains, correct that blood,
Which mutinies at call of English pride,
And, deaf to prudence, rolls a patriot tide.
From folemn thought, which overhangs the brow
Of patriot care, when things are-God knows how;
From nice trim points, where Honour, flave to rule,
In compliment to Folly, plays the fool;
From thofe gay fcenes where Mirth exalts his pow'r,
And eafy Humour wings the laughing hour;
From thofe foft better moments, when defire
Beats high, and all the world of man's on fire;
When mutual ardours of the melting fair
More than repay us for whole years of care,
At Friendship's fummons will my Wilkes retreat,
And fee, once feen before, that ancient feat,
That ancient feat, where Majefty display'd
Her enfigns long before the world was made!
Mean, narrow maxims, which enflave mankind!
Ne'er from its blas warp thy fettled mind;
Not dup'd by party, nor Opinion's flave,
Thofe faculties which bounteous Nature gave
Churchill. Thy honeft fpirit into practice brings.
Nor courts the fimile nor dreads the frown of kings,
Let rude licentious Englifhmen comply
With Tumult's voice, and curfe they know not why;
Unwilling to condemn, thy foul difdains
To wear vile Faction's arbitrary chains,
And ftrictly weighs, in apprehenfion clear,
Things as they are, and not as they appear.
With thee good humour tempers lively wit,
Enthron'd with judgment Candour loves to fit,
And Nature gave thee, open to distress,
A heart to pity, and a hand to bless.
Oft' have I heard thee mourn the wretched lot
Of the poor, mean, defpif'd, infulted Scot,
Who, might calm reafon credit idle tales,
By rancour forg'd, where prejudice prevails,
Or ftarves at home, or practifes, thro' fear
Of starving, arts which damn all confcience here.
When fcribblers, to the charge by int'reft led,..
The fierce North-Briton foaming at their head,
Pour forth invectives, deaf to Candour's call,
And, injur'd by one alien, rail at all;
On Northern Pifgah when they take their ftand,
To mark the weakness of that Holy Land,
With needlefs truths their libels to adorn,
And hang a nation up to public fcorn,
Thy gen'rous foul condemns the frantic rage,
And hates the faithful but ill-natur'd page.
The Scots are poor, cries furly English pride;
True is the charge, nor by themselves deny'd.
Are they not then in ftricteft reafon clear,
Who widely come to mend their fortunes here?.
If, by low fupple arts fuccefsful grown,
They fapp'd our vigour to increase their own;
1f, mean in want, and infolent in pow'r,
They onely fawn'd more furely to devour,
Rous'd by fuch wrongs, fhould Reason take alarm,
And ev'n the Mufe for public fafety arm?
But if they own ingenuous Virtue's fway,
And follow where true honour points the way;
If they revere the hand by which they're fed,
And bless the donors for their daily bread,
Or, by vaft debts of higher import bound,
Are always humble, always grateful, found;
If they, directed by Paul's holy pen,
Become difcreetly all things to all men,
That all men may become all things to them,
Envy may hate, but Juftice can't condemn.
Into our places, ftates, and beds, they creep;"
They've sense to get what we want sense to keep.
Once, be the hour accurs'd! accurs'd the place!
I ventur'd to blafpheme the chofen race.
Into thofe traps, which men, call'd Patriots, laid,
By fpecious arts unwarily betray'd,
Madly I leagu'd against that facred earth,
Vile parricide! which gave a parent birth:
But fhall I meanly error's path pursue,
When heav'nly Truth prefents her friendly clue?
Once plung'd in ill, fhall I go farther in?
To make the oath, was rafh; to keep it, fin.
Backward I tread the paths I trode before,
And calm Reflection hates what Paffion fwore.
Converted (bleffed are the fouls which know
Thofe pleasures which from true converfion flow,
Whether to reafon, who now rules my breast,
Or to pure faith, like Lyttleton and Weft,)
Paft crimes to expiate, be my present aim,
To raile new trophies to the Scotish name;
To make (what can the proudeft Mufe do more?)
Ev'n Faction's fons her brighter worth adore;
To make her glories, ftamp'd with honeft rhymes,
In fulleft tides roll down to latest times.
Prefumptuous wretch ! and fhall a Mufe like thine,
An English Mufe! the meaneft of the Nine,
»Attempt a theme like this? Can her weak ftrain
Expect indulgence from the mighty Thane?
Churchill.. Should he from toils of government retire,
And for a moment fan the poet's fire;
Should he, of fciences the moral friend,
Each curious, each important, fearch fufpend,
Leave unaffifted Hill of herbs to tell,
And all the wonders of a cocklefhell,
"Having the Lord's good grace before his eyes,
"Would not the Home ftep forth, and gain the prize?
Or if this Wreath of honour might adorn
The humble brows of one in England born, ,,Prefumptuous ftill thy daring muft appear; „Vain all thy tow'ring hopes, whilst I am here."
Thus fpake à form, by filken fmile, and tone
Dull and unvary'd, for the Laureat known,
Folly's chief friend, Decorum's eldest son,
In ev'ry party found, and yet of none.
This airy fubftance, this fubftantial fhade,
Abafh'd I heard, and with respect obey'd
(Von Dr. Samuel Johnson, (geboren 1709, geftor; ben 1784,) einem Manne, der sich als Sprachforscher, Kunstrichter und wißiger Schriftsteller so ungemein auszeich nete, und dessen sämmtliche Werke Sir John Hawkins im Jahr 1786 in zwölf Bänden herausgab, hat man verschieds ne, mit verdientem Beifall aufgenommene, Satiren, die anfänglich einzeln, und hernach in der bekannten Dodsleyiz schen Sammlung, englischer Gedichte, abgedruckt wurden. Eine der schönften darunter ist die auf die Eitelkeit menschlicher Wünsche, eine freie Nachahmung der oben ftellenweise gelieferten zehnten Satire Juvenal's, mit der man die hier aus jener gelieferten Proben des Anfanges und Schluss ses vergleichen kann.)
THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES.
Let *) obfervation with extensive view
Survey mankind from China to Peru;
Remark each anxious toil, each eager ftrife,
And watch the bufy fcene of human life;
Then fay how hope and fear, defire and hate,
O'erfpread with inares the clouded maze of fate,
Where wav'ring man, betray'd by vent'rous pride,
To tread the dreary paths without a guide;
As treach'rous phantoms in the mift delude,
Shuns fancied ills, or chafes airy good.
How rarely reafon guides the ftubborn choice,
Rules the bold hand, or prompts the fuppliant voice,
How nations fink, by darling schemes opprefs'd,
When vengeance liftens to the fool's request.
Fate wings with ev'ry wish th' afflictive dart,
Each gift of nature, and each grace of art,
With fatal heat impetuous courage glows,
With fatal fweetnefs elocution flows;
Impeachment ftops the speaker's pow'rful breath,
And restless fire precipitates on death.
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