Classic Poem

H ERE lies whom courtesy a Woman call'd,
In durance of a petticoat enthrall'd;
But she , asserting Nature's genial plan,
Was in the sex of intellect — a Man .
Her daring spirit was above restraint,
Forgave the Sinner — and provok'd the Saint:
In eloquence a Fox — and keen as Pitt ,
She temper'd Satire's edge with comic wit;
Oppression's foe, the helpless to defend,
Inflexible as enemy or friend.
She rul'd the circle with imperial pride,
And made her will the undisputed guide;
Was of no Church but that which Nature built,
Nor prayers nor blessings on the altar spilt.
On man she had opinions of her own,
Which made her passive — upon Hymen's throne ,
But was in theory a charter'd rake,
With feelings cold as Iceland's frozen lake.
Her taste was conflict; she of course oppos'd
The fact averr'd, the sentiment propos'd.
She laugh'd at bliss that soft endearments prove,
Nor ever dreamt of sympathy in love;
With graceful ease protection could impart,
But never touch'd one fibre of the heart.
A Russian Pioneer her limbs defin'd,
Herculean were the sinews of her mind;
Her independent genius, bold and free,
To knave and fool could never bend the knee.
" Just her conceptions, natural and great, "
Spoke their own language, and with sterling weight;
For arts and learning she abjur'd the taste,
Nor on the tinkling Muse a thought could waste;
Yet priz'd the vein that Sappho could inspire,
And blew the gifted Yorick's classic fire;
Explor'd each character, and through it saw,
Nor spar'd the Court , the Sceptre , and the Law .
In short, the mind's Linnaeus to perplex,
A sudden whim of Nature — chang'd the sex .