Classic Poem

A Paraphrastical Poem on Sundry Passages in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Why shou'd I, anxious after Happiness,
Pursue wrong Ways, or right without Success?
Why fret and toil in Scarches long and vain,
Since a Director I with Ease may gain?
A skillful Guide, made by Experience wise,
That costly Med'cine for mis-judging Eyes.
The Traveller bewilder'd asks the Way,
And cautious shuns the Path where others stray:
Come then, My Soul, exempt from every Care,
Come, to the Royal Preacher lend an Ear;
Attend the Monarch, whose unbounded Mind
Made one Experiment for all Mankind,
Past thro' the Lab'rinths that ensnare the Wise,
Try'd all that's charming in the Miser's Eyes,
Undaunted climb'd bright Honour's steep Ascent,
And thro' the Round of sensual Pleasures went;
Listen, while grey Experience tells the Truth;
Nor fear Deception from her faithful Mouth.

In happy C ANAAN , the World's Paradise,
Where constant Harvests of rich Plenty rise;
Where candid Milk and pleasant Honey flows
In luscious Streams, and ev'ry Pleasure grows:
In sacred S ALEM , the belov'd and great,
Where Canaan 's Blessings all collected meet;
Where H E who Empires crushes and sustains,
Tremendous in His awful Temple reigns,
And Clouds of sacred Incense early rise,
Breathing Perfumes to the propitious Skies;
Where foreign Merchants vend their richest Store,
And Ophir-Ships import their golden Oar;
The Fear and Wonder of the Nations round,
Profuse in Wealth with endless Honours crown'd;
Where, yearly, tributary Princes meet,
To pay their Homage at their Sov'reign's Feet;
There first my Lungs the vital Ether drew,
And there the Light of Life first blest my View.
Sprung from a Royal Sire, a Glorious Crown
By heav'nly Designation was my own;
Millions of loyal Heroes thro' the Land
Confirm'd my Throne, and stoopt to my Command;
The Sons of Jacob , Favourites of the Skies!
At whose dread Name each Tyrant shrinks and dies,
Mov'd at my Nod, their Sov'reign Law, my Will,
The Dictates of my Tongue, their Oracle:
While neighb'ring Sceptres yielded to my Sway,
Ambitious of the Honour to obey;
And gentle Peace her downy Pinions spread,
Shadowing the Throne, and hovering round my Head,
Nature and Art with Emulation strove,
T' advance my Bliss, and every Grief remove.
My Mind enlighten'd with a heav'nly Ray,
Was calm as midnight Hours, and bright as Day,
Deep as the vast Abyss, and vigorous as May;
Freed from the Freaks of young Impertinence,
And ripen'd by Experience into Sense.
Thrice happy State! below but seldom found!
A Heav'nly Paradise on earthly Ground!

Come then, My Soul, this Season sure was lent
To qualifie me for Experiment;
That Men from my Experience may discern.
Where lies their Bliss, and what to follow learn:
Come, in this happy Juncture, let us try
Wherein the Happiness of Man does lie;
Pursue that unknown Something , whether hid
She in the Bosom of the Wife abide,
Or lie conceal'd in the enchanting Stream
Of sensual Joys, where the Luxurious swim:
Extend thy Searches wheresoe'er the Ray
Of yon' bright Sun extends, and kindles Day:
The dear, coy Nymph, which Mortals never saw,
Where'er she lurks, from her Retirements draw.
I said — — And as an Eagle, Hunger-smit,
Pours all his nimble Vigour into Flight,
And thro' airial Fields pursues his Prey,
Swift as a Sun-Beam in the Blaze of Day:
So flew my curious Mind thro' all the Plains,
Where, in alluring Glory, S CIENCE reigns;
With contemplative Eyes the Works explor'd,
With which this spacious Universe is stor'd;
The hidden Causes and the Ends of Things,
And Order which from their Contexture springs;
The Powers of immaterial Essences,
And puzzling intellectual Mysteries;
The Properties of Matter and its Laws,
And each Phaenomenon from unseen Cause:
The Wonders of the Planetary World,
The Rules by which their ample Orbs are hurl'd;
The boundless Regions of the fixed Stars,
And Comets scatt'ring Pestilence and Wars.
Descending thence, I took a wide Survey
Of this vast Earth, and the unbounded Sea;
From the tall Cedars that luxuriant spread
Their stately Branches on Libanus ' Head,
To the small Hyssop blooming on the Wall
Mould'ring to Dust, and nodding to its Fall,
My Search extended: — While each studious Sage
As my Assistant gladly did engage;
To their learn'd Lectures eager I attend,
Embrace what's right; what's corrigible, mend;
Hypotheses upon Hypotheses
They raise, and the well-fram'd Illusions please.
My Enquiries thus finish'd I begun
To view th' extensive Circuit I had run;
If haply in the Maze of studious Thought
True Happiness may with Success be sought:
When struck, amaz'd, I call'd my Mind aside,
And pausing deep — — — thus cry'd;

In tiresome Labours of the busy Brain
I seek for Bliss; but ah! I seek in vain.
Insinuating Sorrows still pervade
The knowing Heart, and contemplative Head.
This curious Itch is never satisfy'd
With what is known, if aught continues hid,
But eager pants and reaches after more,
Pronouncing all in vain it knew before.
Alass! what Glooms still hover o'er my Soul!
And blended Clouds in close Succession roll!
The clea est of my vast Discoveries lie
Involv'd in Doubts and dark Uncertainty;
And most of Things are wrapt in solid Glooms,
Where a bright Beam of Knowledge never comes,
Conceal'd forever from th' enquiring Sight
In Caverns of imperviable Night.
The anxious Mind intense in the Pursuit,
Faints with the Toil, but never tastes the Fruit;
Perplexing Thoughts still ravage thro' the Brain,
And twinge the Spirit with acutest Pain;
And Melancholy, nurs'd with studious Care,
Often erects her sooty Banner there;
Hollow and sunk the poring Eye appears,
And the dull Image of her Sorrows wears.
In Parts superior, then, what Profit lies?
Alas! how small the Pleasure to be wife?
'Tis but to know how little can be known,
To see our Ignorance and Weakness shown;
To chase a Phantom, which our Chase outflies,
And leaves us lagging, distant from the Prize.

This fail'd; I try'd one more Experiment,
Still in Pursuit of Happiness intent.
Delicate Mirth array'd in tempting Smiles,
Pleasures surrounding in delicious Rills,
Facetious Jests, and Laughter op'ning wide
Her sprightly Jaws, with Hands on every Side,
Present themselves, and promise perfect Bliss:
I try'd, — — but found them lying Vanities.
This empty Mirth tends but to make me sad,
And thou, unthinking Laughter! too, art mad.

Her Vigour next the generous Grape bestow'd,
And sprightly Wine in liberal Glasses glow'd:
My Palate I indulg'd; yet, left Excess
Shou'd cloy my Taste, and make the Pleasure less,
Or Wisdom with intemperate Vapours blind,
And in luxurious Puddles drown the Mind,
My Reason still her Government maintain'd,
And the bold Licence of the Taste restrain'd.
But Happiness in Luxury and Wine
I seek in vain, and Bliss is too Divine
To lurk in Grapes: the Pleasures of the Taste
Degrade the Man , and only suit the Beast .

To Architecture next I turn'd my Mind,
And Palaces magnificent design'd.
Columns were rais'd, which spacious Roofs o'erspread;
Sculpture and Paint their various Charms display'd;
Marble was taught to live, and Shade and Light
With fair Illusions pleas'd the ravish'd Sight.
And shining Gold its yellow Radiance spread
Thro' all the Buildings: Burnish'd Brass display'd
Its rougher Glories: All the Charms of Art
Blaz'd on my Eye, and sought to win my Heart.
But all the Pomp of glitt'ring Roofs and Walls,
Of stately Chambers and embellish'd Halls
Is nought but Vanity and empty Shew,
And never free from rude, intrusive Woe.
Shy Happiness abhors this useless State,
And shuns the gaudy Buildings of the Great.
Wood, Brass and Gold, by all the Powers of Art
However form'd, can never case the Heart.

Then in the sylvan Scene I sought for Bliss;
I made me Vineyards, and I planted Trees.
Unwithering Verdure, and eternal Blooms
Form'd lovely Prospects, and diffus'd Perfumes.
Perpetual Spring her numerous Beauties strew'd
Thro' all my Groves, and blest the waving Wood.
Refreshing Rills, thro' various Pipes convey'd,
Their chearing Moisture thro' the Forest spread,
And, murmuring, sooth'd the Ear; while Zephyrs mild
Panted and breath'd thro' all the pleasant Wild.
Here oft' I walk'd in sacred Solitude,
And, unmolested, Happiness pursu'd; —
In vain; for Happiness cou'd not be found
Among the Groves in this delightful Ground.

I try'd the Pomp and Equipage of State.
Obsequious Crowds did in long Order wait
Around my sumptuous Table, and abroad
When Pleasure call'd me, dazzled all the Road:
Domestics home-born, and from every Clime,
Of either Sex the Beauty and the Prime,
Form'd my illustrious Retinue, and stood
Waiting my Will, observant of my Nod.
But ah! this proud Magnificence of State
Can never make my Happiness compleat.

But Music, sure, that calms the boist'rous Breast,
And sooths tumultuous Passions into Rest,
That charms deep-fixt Anxieties away,
Makes even moping Melancholy gay;
The Hero's Breast with martial Ardour fires,
And dire Despair herself with Ease inspires:
Music will breathe refin'd, exalted Bliss
Into my Soul, and lull me into Peace:
I said. The Masters of the tuneful Art
The utmost Pow'rs of Harmony exert.
In sweetly-varying Strains the Music floats,
While various Instruments try various Notes.
But all these Strains are useless; I despair
To find true Bliss in modulated Air.

Hitherto disappointed, I'll behold
My vast Possessions, and unnumber'd Gold.
The Riches of the World are in my Hand;
Surrounding Monarchs, aw'd at my Command,
With Wealth immense my spacious Treasures fill,
And yield their choicest Blessings to my Will.
My Cattle graze upon a thousand Hills,
And seed unnumber'd in the fertile Vales.
So various, so unbounded is my Store,
The greediest Wish can comprehend no more.
But still unsatisfy'd, from the Survey
Scornful I turn'd my weary Eyes away,
And cry'd, Bliss is not made of Dust and glitt'ring Clay .

Thus freely I indulg'd my Eyes to roll,
And gave unbridl'd Licence to my Soul.
Whate'er insatiate Appetite could crave,
With lib'ral Hand, without Restraint, I gave.
Not to indulge a Lust, was my Design,
But act the Philosophic Libertine:
I paus'd, I reason'd, and with Eye intense
Observ'd the Issue of th' Experiments.
But when the tedious Circuit I review'd,
And all the anxious Labours I pursu'd,
In which my restless Spirit toil'd with Pain,
Seeking for Bliss with eager Wish in vain;
I saw that all beneath the lower Skies
Is abstract Vanity of Vanities.
Oppressive Sorrows and Vexations grow
In ev'ry State, in ev'ry Clime below.
Nor for themselves need future Ages try
Th' Experiment; for all is Vanity.
Anxieties in all Things earthly dwell,
Which All alas! can feel, but none can tell.

No Novelties present themselves to View,
To tempt succeeding Ages to renew
Th' Experiment, or Bliss below pursue.
In dull Succession early Pleasures run
In the same tedious Circle ever.
The Ear with antiquated Harmonies
Is cloy'd, and with accustom'd Sights the Eyes.
The ever-moving Wheels of Nature run
In the same Tract; in the same Tract the Sun.
Rolls on his tiresome, everlasting Round;
And still we tread the same old-fashion'd Ground.

Besides; the Intervals of Bliss we find
Are short, uncertain, varying as the Wind.
Death unsuspected in close Ambush lurks,
And undermining still, our Ruin works.
Whether we laugh or weep, or wake or sleep,
He haunts us, ready on his Prey to leap
So the unthinking Rovers of the Air,
Caught unexpected, flutter in the Snare.
So finny Shoals rush heedless into Death,
Dragg'd to the Land, and gasp in vain for Breath.

But see! above the Earth, beyond the Skies,
What charming Scenes, what brighter Prospects rise!
There the Paternal Mind, the Source of Good,
Feeds His own Offspring with immortal Food.
There Happiness in full Perfection grows;
And restless Souls enjoy a calm Repose;
A Bliss proportion'd to the widest Wish;
Ever enjoy'd, yet ever new and fresh.
Hail happy Realms! the Bliss we seek below
In vain, is only to be found in you.

Soon (welcome Prospect!) the bright Hour will come
That wafts us to our blest celestial Home.
Soon into Dust this brittle Frame will fall;
The Soul return to her Original;
Return exulting from her long Exile
In this dark Dungeon, and laborious Toil:
There dwell forever with her Father-G OD ,
And find the Bliss before not understood.

Then since the Happiness of Mortals lies
Beyond the Bounds of these inferior Skies,
The only Happiness they here can share,
Is for those blissful Regions to prepare.

Thro' various Mazes then at length we come
To this Conclusion as the total Sum.

Fear thy Creator God with filial Awe,
And all thy Life observe His holy Law.

Chuse as thy constant Path this heav'nly Plan;
'Tis the whole Duty, the whole Bliss of Man;
The only Point where Happiness is fixt,
Pleasures in this World, greater in the next.
Tir'd of my fruitless Searches, here I rest,
With this Discovery pleas'd, content and blest,