Classic Poem

G RACE , or Fury of the mind!
Well experienc'd, ill defin'd!
Come, with moral feelings bless'd,
Friendship's inmate, Virtue's guest!
Bring to Love's contested field
Panoply of sword and shield;
Smile at favourites who have err'd,
But resent the chilling word!
Give to Fancy all her scope,
Self-assur'd, and proud in hope,
That your lov'd in vain can roam
From the heart that is their home .
On the Zephyr's pinion sail;
Never trust the Northern gale!
Make the subject of thy fear
Not the disaffected ear;
Not the rambling eye or taste
When the new-born Daphne 's chac'd;
But the genius of the heart,
Which from thee must never part!
Thine is Love's imperial claim
To an undivided flame,
Never on a selfish throne
Making the belov'd his own.
Thou must guard his image too
With a never-sleeping view;
Unaveng'd no treason pass,
Caught in thy discerning glass;
Nor the passions overlook,
Which are blots in Friendship's book;
But, if truants from the chain,
Lead them with a gentle rein!
Drop the sword, and bind the sheath
In pacific Beauty's wreath,
Which can tempt the wandering lover,
And the fugitive recover!
Though inquisitor and spy,
Thou art Honour's firm ally;
Thine are spirits of the just,
And the champions of their trust.
Nothing subtle, nothing dark,
Is for their unerring mark;
Nor has earth a realm so wide
As the circle of their pride,
Which, to Love's reward or shame,
Chills the hope, or guides the aim.
Come, and be a dart like this!
Pledge and covenant of bliss!
Diffidence and fears refine,
To the Dove a Serpent join;
Truth's impressive stamp revere,
Self-examiner severe;
Till the lover and the lov'd
In the ordeal flame are prov'd!