Of plantane shades, and to the listening deer,
The tale of slighted vows and love's disdain
Resound soft warbling all the live-long day:
Consenting Zephyr sighs; the weeping rill
Joins in his plaint, melodious; mute the groves ;
And hill and dale with all their echoes mourn.
Such and so various are the tastes of men.

565

Oh! blest of heav'n, whom not the languid songs Of luxury, the Siren! not the bribes

Of sordid wealth, nor all the gaudy spoils

570

Of pageant honour, can seduce to leave

Those ever blooming sweets, which from the store
Of nature fair imagination culls

To charm the enliven'd soul! What though not all

Of mortal offspring can attain the heights

575

Of envied life; though only few possess

Patrician treasures or imperial state;
Yet nature's care, to all her children just,
With richer treasures and an ampler state
Endows at large whatever happy man

Will deign to use them. His the city's pomp,
The rural honours his. Whate'er adorns
The princely dome, the column and the arch;
The breathing marbles and the sculptur'd gold,
Beyond the proud possessor's narrow claim,

580

585

His tuneful breast enjoys. For him, the spring
Distils her dews, and from the silken gem
Its lucid leaves unfolds; for him, the hand

Of autumn tinges every fertile branch

With blooming gold and blushes like the morn.
Each passing hour sheds tribute from her wings;
And still new beauties meet his lonely walk;
And loves unfelt attract him. Not a breeze
Flies o'er the meadows, not a cloud imbibes
The setting sun's effulgence, not a strain

590

595

From all the tenants of the warbling shade

Ascends, but whence his bosom can partake

Fresh pleasure, unreprov'd. Nor thence partakes

Fresh pleasure only; for the attentive mind,

By this harmonious action on her pow'rs,

600

Becomes herself harmonious; wont so oft
In outward things to meditate the charm
Of sacred order, soon she seeks at home
To find a kindred order, to exert
Within herself this elegance of love,

605

This fair inspir'd delight: her temper'd pow'rs
Refine at length, and every passion wears
A chaster, milder, more attractive mien.
But if to ampler prospects, if to gaze
On nature's form, where, negligent of all
These lesser graces, she assumes the port
Of that eternal Majesty that weigh'd

610

The world's foundations, if to these the mind

Exalt her daring eye; then mightier far

Will be the change, and nobler. Would the forms

615

Of servile custom cramp her generous pow'rs?

Would sordid policies, the barbarous growth

Of ignorance and rapine, bow her down

To tame pursuits, to indolence and fear!

Lo! she appeals to nature, to the winds

620

And rolling waves, the sun's unwearied course,
The elements and seasons: all declare
For what th' eternal Maker has ordain'd

The pow'rs of man: we feel within ourselves

His energy divine; he tells the heart;

625

He meant, he made us to behold and love

What he beholds and loves, the general orb
Of life and being; to be great like him,
Beneficent and active. Thus the men

Whom nature's works can charm, with God himself

630

Hold converse; grow familiar, day by day

With his conceptions; act upon his plan;

And form to his, the relish of their souls.

THE

TASK,

A POEM

IN SIX BOOKS.

BY WILLIAM COWPER,

OF THE INNER TEMPLE, ESQ.

With England's bard, with Cowper, who shall vie?
Original in strength and dignity;

With more than painter's fancy blest, with lays

Holy, as saints, to heaven, expiring raise.

Pursuits of Literature, dial. 4. prop. fn.

PUBLIC LIBRARY

163657

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATION8. 1899.

ARGUMENT OF THE FIRST BOOK.

Historical deduction of seats, from the stool to the Sofa.-A School-boy's ramble.-A walk in the country.The scene described.--Rural sounds as well as sights delightful.--Another walk.-Mistake concerning the charms of solitude correted.-Colonnades commended.-Alcove, and the view from it.--The wilderness.--The grove. The thresher.--The necessity and the benefits of exercise.-The works of nature superior to, and in some instances inimitable by, art.-The wearisomeness of what is commonly called a life of pleasure.-Change of scene sometimes expedient.-A common described, and the character of crazy Kate introduced.—Gipsies. -The blessings of civilized life.—That state most favourable to virtue.-The South Sea islanders compassionated, but chiefly Omai.His present state of mind supposed.-Civilized life friendly to virtue, but not great cities.Great cities, and London in particular, allowed their due praise, but censured.-Fete champetre.-The book concludes with a reflection on the fatal effects of dissipation and effeminacy upon our public measures.