■
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 FREDERIC THOMAS BLANCHARD 
 ENDOWMENT FUND

 
 J, 
 
 EPISTLES 
 
 TO THE 
 
 GREAT, 
 
 FROM 
 
 4 R I S TIP PUS 
 
 I N 
 
 RETIREMENT.
 
 ! 
 CT 
 
 
 
 '
 
 EPISTLES 
 
 TO THE 
 
 GREAT, 
 
 FROM 
 
 ARISTIPPUS in Retirement. 
 
 •vivo et regno, fwiul ifta reltqui y 
 
 £$uce vos ad caelum effertis rumor e fecundo. hor. 
 
 a^i- 
 
 S. »■„/< JJi' 
 
 ' t-r^ntcn •'■'' 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for R. and J. D O D S L E Y, at %dly\-Ucad 
 
 in Pall-Matt, m.dcc.lvii,
 
 « . 
 
 •• - 
 
 ;, 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 i
 
 r/r 
 ADVERTISEMENT 07*3* 
 
 OF T H E 
 
 EDITOR. 
 
 TH E Species of Poetry, in which the fol- 
 lowing Epiftles are written, has been ufed r 
 with great Succefs among the French ', by Ciia- 
 pelle, Chaulieu, La Farre, Gresset, 
 Madam Deshoulieres, and others $ but I don't 
 remember to have feen it before in the Englijh 
 Language. The unconfin'd Return of the 
 Rhymes and Eafinefs of the Diction feem pecu- 
 liarly adapted to epiftolary Compofitions. Who 
 the Author is remains as great a Secret to the 
 Editor as to the Public j and, from what may 
 be collected out of an anonymous Letter fent 
 with the Manufcript, will continue fo to both,, 
 except the Perfons, to whom the Epiftles are 
 addrefs'd, mould do that Juftice. to the Author 
 which he denies himfelf,. 
 
 THE 
 
 8S5GS9
 

 
 THE 
 
 RETREAT 
 
 o F 
 
 ARISTIPPUS, 
 
 EPISTLE I. 
 
 To the RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 The EARL of ******* 
 
 Je vous Ihre mes reverie? 
 £%ue quelques verite's hardies^ 
 
 Vknnmt libremmt milanger, 
 
 Q rsset.
 
 >- 
 
 . 
 
 . 
 
 
 I 
 
 ■ 
 
 . 
 
 - 

 
 THE 
 
 RETREAT 
 
 O F 
 
 A R 1 S 7 I P P U S. 
 
 EPISTLE I. 
 
 To the RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 The EARL of ******* 
 
 N Courts, my Lord, let others lead 
 (Exchanging Happinefs for State, 
 Seiz'd with the Rage of being great) 
 
 The Croud of tinfel'd Slaves, who tread 
 
 The miry ministerial Road 
 
 To modern Honor's dark Abode, 
 
 B And
 
 [ ™] 
 
 And keep de fpis'd Society 
 
 With th' high-born vulgar of the Town, 
 
 By England's common Courtefy, 
 
 Politely call'd good Company, 
 
 To give bad Fellow/hip Renown ; 
 
 Remote from Politics and Strife, 
 
 From the dull Sons of Bus'nefs free, 
 
 Uncurtain-lcclur'd by a Wife, 
 
 Unfetter'd by domeftic Life, 
 
 To letter'd Eafe a Votary, 
 
 I pafs the pleafure-pinion'd Hours 
 
 'Twixt Epicurus' Myrtle Bow'rs 
 
 And Academus' palmy Grove, 
 
 Happy, from Seine's meandring Shores, 
 
 Thefo'J? to bring the Thes-pian Maids, 
 
 To play to Science and to Love 
 
 On Cyprian Pipes in British Shades* 
 
 
 No Levees here attend his Grace, 
 My-lording ev'ry Morn an Afs, 
 
 3 No
 
 I ir J 
 
 No Borough-mongers e'er appear, 
 
 Nor Office-Clerks with bufy Face, 
 
 To make Fools wonder as they pafs, 
 
 Whifper dull Nothings in his Ear. 
 
 The well-bred Infipidity 
 
 Of Town AfTemblies ne'er is heard, 
 
 And Candidates for Prelacy, 
 
 That fable, fupple, bowing Herd, 
 
 This filent Territory fly ; 
 
 For Bifhopricks are feldom found 
 
 In Realms of fcientific Ground. 
 
 No Doctor's medicinal Wig, 
 
 No titled Beggar's fuppliant Knee, 
 
 No Placeman's penflon'd Progeny, 
 
 No Citizen with Knighthood bis; 
 
 And newly purchas'd Pedigree, 
 
 No Vultures of the Human Race 
 
 From Temple or from Lincoln's-Inn, 
 
 No Pfeudo-Patriot out of Place, 
 
 B 2 Nor 

 
 Nor venal Senator that's in, 
 Difturb this amiable Retreat : 
 Only a Muse, a Love, or Grace, 
 In this calm Senate have a Seat. 
 Such Reprefentatives are free. 
 No Muse has lately been at Court, 
 Nor are the Graces better for't ; 
 Nor have the Loves {eptennially, 
 A Borough-Int'reft to fupport, 
 Mortgag'd their Healths or Property. 
 
 Led by unerring Nature's Voice, 
 I haunt Retirement's filent Shade, 
 Where, on the mofly Sopha laid, 
 Contentment's humble Lot and Choice, 
 I fee, thro' Contemplation's Eye, 
 The white-winged Cherub Innocence, 
 Heav'n's heart- enchanting Sweets difpenfe 
 On Peace's meek-ey'd Votary, 
 
 Here,
 
 C'3] 
 
 Here, undebauch'd by fpurious Art, 
 
 Great Nature reigns in ev 'ry Part, 
 
 Both when refulgent Titan's Beam 
 
 In high meridian Splendor glows, 
 
 And when pale Cynthia's maiden Gleam 
 
 O'er Night a filver Mantle throws. 
 
 The Natives of the neighb'ring Grove 
 
 Their Nuptials chaunt on vernal Sprays ; 
 
 Untaught by Ovid how to love, 
 
 True Paflion modulates their Lays. 
 
 From no Propertius polifh'd Strain, 
 
 The Linnet forms her temp'rate Note ; 
 
 From no Tibullus learns to plain 
 
 The widow'd Turtle's faithful Throat. 
 
 Each feather 'd Libertine of Air, 
 
 Gay as Catullus, loves and fings 5 
 
 Free as the Teian Sage from Care, 
 
 The Goldfinch claps his gilded Wings, 
 
 And wooes his Female to repair 
 
 To fhady Groves and cryftal Springs, Here
 
 [*4 J 
 
 Here blefs'd with Freedom and Content, 
 Untaught by devious Thought to ftray 
 Thro' Fancy's vifionary Way, 
 Thefe filvan Bards of Sentiment 
 Warble the Dictates of the Heart 
 Uninterrupted as they flow, 
 Or ftrongly high or fweetly low, 
 Unmeafur'd by the Rules of Art. 
 
 Such Scenes the Good have ever lov'd, 
 The Great have fought, the Wife approv'd. 
 Here Legiflators plann'd of old 
 The Pandects of immortal Laws ; 
 And mighty Chiefs and Heroes bold, 
 Withdrawn from popular Applaufe, 
 Firft having left their Countries free 
 From favage and from human Pefts, 
 O'er the fierce Tyrants in their Breafts 
 Gain'd a more glorious Victory. 
 
 Me-
 
 t*sl 
 
 Me thinks, I hear fome Courtier fay, 
 " Such Charms ideal ill agree 
 " With moderniz'd Gentility ; 
 " For now the witty, great, and gay, 
 " Think, what you call Simplicity, 
 " Dull Notions of Rufticity. 
 " In former Days a country Life, 
 " For fo time-honour'd Poets fing» 
 <c Free from Anxiety and Strife, 
 " Was blandifh'd by perpetual Spring.. 
 " There the fweet Graces kept their court, 
 " The Nymphs, the Fauns, and Dryads play^ 
 il Thither the Muses would refort, 
 " Apollo lov'd the fy Ivan Shade. 
 " The Gods and Heroes bwn'd a Paffion 
 " For Wives and Daughters of the Swains, 
 " And Heroines, whilft 'twas the FaJ]jion> 
 " Ridotto'd on the rural Plains, 
 
 iL The:
 
 [ i6] 
 
 <c The 'Squires were then of heav'nly Race, 
 
 " The Parfons fafhionable too, 
 
 <c Young Hermes had at Court a Place, 
 
 " Venus and Mars were Folks one knew. 
 
 " But long long lince thofe Times are o'er, 
 
 " No Goddefs trips it o'er the Lea, 
 
 " The Gods and Heroes are no more, 
 
 " Who danc'd to rural Minftrelfy. 
 
 " Our modern Dames of mortal Make 
 
 " Deteft the filent fad Abodes, 
 
 " And Peers, who rank below the Gods, 
 
 " Their folitary Seats forfake. 
 
 " For now 'tis quite another Cafe, 
 
 " The Country wears a diff 'rent Face. 
 
 " When fometimes, for Conveniency, 
 
 " Thither her Ladyfhip is fent, 
 
 " What Time the wifli'd-for Rent-day's nigh, 
 
 " Or Sol thro' Taurus mounts the Sky, 
 
 " Or George prorogues his Parliament, 
 
 3 " H «
 
 [17] 
 
 c Her beauteous Bofom heaves a Sigh, 
 
 * Five Months in ruftic Banifhment. 
 c Thither, alas ! no Vifcounts rove, 
 
 £ Nor heart-betwitching Col'nels come, 
 
 £ Dull is the Mufick of the Grove, 
 
 4 Unheeded fades the Meadow's Bloom. 
 
 £ The verdant Copfe may take the Birds, 
 
 * And Morning's Breath and Evening's Dew 
 ' To bleating Flocks and lowing Herds 
 
 f Be pleafant and be wholefome too j 
 c But how can thefe ('tis out of Nature) 
 c Have Charms for any human Creature ?" 
 
 Such are the Sentiments, I own, 
 Of all that lazy loit'ring Race, 
 Quite from Sir Thomas to his Grace, 
 Who never leave the guilty Town ; 
 But in the Purlieus of the Court, 
 By Knaves are fpaniel'd up and down, 
 To fetch and carry each Report. 
 
 C If
 
 
 [ is 3 
 
 If fuch as thefe want Company, 
 
 Who their own Thoughts like Spectres fear, 
 
 At that dull Seafon of the Year, 
 
 When Bus'nefs, or NecefTity, 
 
 Calls 'em to Country Refidence, 
 
 The human Animals may find, 
 
 Of equal Worth and equal Senfe, 
 
 Aflbciates deftin'd to their Kind ; 
 
 For in this rural Scenery 
 
 The Reprcfentativcs appear, 
 
 To Fancy's meditating Eye, 
 
 Of all the Knaves and Fools who bear 
 
 The Toils or Fopperies of Life, 
 
 The Sons of Indolence or Strife. 
 
 Thus, for Example, we'll fuppofe 
 
 That folemn Owl's an Alderman, 
 
 Thofe gilded Butterflies are Beaux ; 
 
 That fable infeft Caravan, 
 
 A Company of Merchant Ants 
 
 Providing for their Neighbours Wants ; That 
 
 3
 
 C *9 ] 
 
 That Rook and filly Popin-jay 
 At Arthur's in the neighb 'ring Wood 
 Meet at the doling of the Day, 
 When, imitating Peers at Play, 
 'That cheats the other of his Food. 
 The Lawyer Kite and Client GooJe y 
 The Reynard Statefman faft and loofe, 
 Perform their Parts with nice Decorum ; 
 And that grave fapient-looking Afs y 
 At Quarter-Seffions, well might pafs 
 For a fage Juflice of the Quorum. 
 The chatt'ring Daws are Politicians y 
 The gloomy-viiion'd Moles Phyjiciam, 
 And the fly Snake, that crawls in Pride, 
 With Em 'raid Coat, and Eyes of Brafs, 
 
 Taught by 's Self to glide, 
 
 With reptile Wiles and reptile Pace, 
 Lurks an old Courtier in the Grafs, 
 As mean and faithlefs as his Grace. 
 
 C 2 But
 
 [ " ] 
 
 But let us pafs fuch Objects by, 
 Emblems of human Foolery, 
 Or Patterns of its Knavery 1 
 For other Images arife 
 To thofe, who inward turn their Eyes 
 To view th' Inhabitants of Mind; 
 "Where Solitude's calm Vot'ries find 
 Of Knowledge th' inexhauftcd Prize ; 
 And Truth, immortal Truth beftows, 
 Clad in aetherial Robes of Light, 
 Un- envied un-reprov'd Delight, 
 Pure as the Flakes of falling Snows. 
 
 On me, my Lord, on humble me 
 The hitelhttual Train attends ; 
 Science oft feeks my Company, 
 And Fancy's Children are my Friends. 
 Here blefs'd with Independency, 
 I look with Pity on the Great, 
 For who, that, in Tranquillity, Around
 
 [21 ] 
 
 Around him fees the Pleasures wait, 
 
 The Laughs and Graces at his Gate, 
 
 And little Loves attending nigh, 
 
 Or fondly hov'ring o'er his Head, 
 
 To wing his Orders thro' the Sky, 
 
 Whilft. warbling Muses round him fhed , ; ; 
 
 The Flowers of Immortality, 
 
 Would vvifh, in fplendid Poverty, 
 
 St. James's titled Badge to wear, 
 
 Diftinguifh'd, by a {liver Star, 
 
 From every other parifh P ? 
 
 Thanks to my Anceftors and Heav'n, 
 To me the happier Lot is giv'n, 
 In calm Retreat my Time to fpend 
 With rather better Company, ' 
 Than thofe who on the Court attend 
 In honorable Drudgery. 
 Warriors and Statefmen of old Rome 
 Duly obferve my Levee-Day, 
 
 3 And
 
 [ »1 
 
 And Wits from poliuVd Athens come, 
 Occafional Devoirs to pay. 
 With me great Plato frequent holds 
 Difcourfe on Immortality, 
 And Attic Xenophon unfolds 
 His Matter's true Philofophy ; 
 Caesar and Tully often dine, 
 Anacreon rambles in my Grove, 
 Sweet Horace drinks Falernian Wine, 
 Catullus makes on haycocks love. 
 With thefe, and fome a-kin to thefe, 
 The living Few who grace our Days, 
 I live in literary Eafe, 
 My chief Delight their Tafte to pleafe 
 With foft and unaffected Lays. 
 Thus, to each Vot'ry's Wifh, kind Fate 
 Divides the World with equal Line, 
 She bids Ambition, Care, and State, 
 Be the high Portion of the Great, 
 Peace, Friendfhip, Love, and Blifs be mine. 
 The End of the First Epistle.
 
 THE 
 
 TEMPER 
 
 O F 
 
 A R IS T I P P US 
 
 EPISTLE II. 
 
 T O T H £ 
 
 Honourable Mrs. *****•*. 
 
 ^uo me cunque rapit Tempeftas deferor hofpes. 
 
 HORAT,
 
 r 
 
 ■
 
 THE 
 
 TEMPER 
 
 O F 
 
 A R 1 S T I P P US. 
 EPISTLE II. 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Honourable Mrs. ***** 
 
 ¥$?frpW' v E oft, Melissa, heard you fay, 
 
 m 
 m 
 
 v%& 
 
 ft 
 
 ?wi 
 
 J|ip| " The World obferves I never wear 
 
 
 " An Afpe<5t gloomy or fevere, 
 
 u That, conftitutionally gay, 
 " Vv 7 hether dark Clouds obfcure the Sky, 
 " Or Phoebus gilds the Face of Day, 
 
 D 
 
 " In
 
 . [ *6 ] 
 
 u In practical Philofophy 
 
 11 Of Pleafure and Tranquillity, 
 
 " I pals the winged Years away." 
 
 In mofc, 'tis true, the human Senfe 
 Is fubjected to Smiles, or Tears, 
 To fwelling Pride, or trembling Fears 3 
 M By ev'ry fkyey Influence." 
 Cameleon-like their Souls agree 
 With all they hear and all they fee,. 
 Or, as one Inftrument reibunds,. 
 Another's Unifon of Sounds, 
 Their mutable Complexions carry 
 The Looks of Anger, Hope, and Joy ; 
 Juft as the Scenes around 'em vary, 
 Pleafures delight, or Pains annoy. 
 But I, by philofophic Mood, 
 Let the wife call it happy Folly, 
 Educe from ev'ry Evil Good, 
 And Rapture e'en from Melancholy* When.,,
 
 07] 
 
 When, in the filent Midnight Grove, 
 Sweet Philomela fvvells her Throat 
 With tremulous and plaintive Note, 
 Exprefiive of difaft'rous Love, 
 I with the pensive Pleasures dwell, 
 And, in their calm fequefter'd Cell, 
 Liften with rapturous Delight 
 To the foft Songfter of the Night. 
 Here Echo, in her mofiy Cave, 
 Symphonious to the love-born Song, 
 Warbles the vocal Rocks among, 
 Whilft gently-trickling Waters lave 
 The oak-fring'd Mountain's hoary Brow, 
 Whofe Streams, united in the Vale, 
 O'er pebbled Beds loquacious flow, 
 Tun'd to the fad melodious Tale 
 In Murmurs queruloufly flow. 
 And, whilft immers'd in Thought I lie. 
 From Ages pair and Realms unicen, 
 
 Da Then 
 
 2
 
 [ *8 ] 
 
 There moves before the mental Eye 
 The pleafing melancholy Scene 
 Of Nymphs and Youths unfortunate, 
 Whofe Stories live eternally, 
 Recorded in the Books of Fate 
 By Priefls of Immortality. 
 
 Thus, not by black Mifanthropy 
 Impell'd, to Caves or Rocks I fly ; 
 But when, by Chance or Humour led,. 
 My wand ring Feet thofe Regions tread, r 
 Taught by this gay Philofophy 
 To fliun the Fellow/hip of Care,. 
 I call into my Company 
 Such Pleafures as inhabit there.. 
 
 With Rebel-will I ne'er oppofe 
 The Current of my Defliny, 
 But, pliant as the Torrent flows, 
 Receive my Courfe implicitly, As,.
 
 [«9] 
 
 As, from fome (haded River's Side 
 
 If chance a tender Oiler's blown, 
 
 Subject to the controuling Tide, 
 
 Tli' obedient Shrub is carried down. 
 
 Awhile it floats upon the Streams, 
 
 By Whirlpools now is forc'd below, 
 
 Then mounts again where Titan's Beams 
 
 Upon the mining Waters glow. 
 
 Sweet flow'ry Vales it pafTes by, 
 
 Cities, and Solitudes by Turns, 
 
 Or where a dreary Defart burns 
 
 In forrowful Obfcurity. 
 
 For many a League the Wand'rer's borne^ 
 
 By Foreft, Wood, Mead, Mountain, Plain, 
 
 'Till, carried never to return, 
 
 'Tis buried in the boundlefs Mairu 
 
 Thus Aristippus forms his Plan; 
 
 To^ev'ry Change of Times and Fates 
 
 His Temper he accommodates ; 
 
 2 Not
 
 [ 3° ] 
 
 Not where he will, but where he can, 
 
 A daily Blifs he celebrates. 
 
 An Ofier on the Stream of Time, 
 
 This pliable Voluptu'ry 
 
 Is plcas'd with ev*ry Place and Clime, 
 
 For Blifs is his Philofophy ; 
 
 He fports where e'er the Current ftrays, 
 
 'Till fwallow'd are his jocund Days 
 
 In, Time's great Main, Eternity. 
 
 Let Worldlings hunt for Happinefs 
 With Pain, Anxiety, and Strife, 
 Thro' ev'ry thorny Path of Life, 
 And ne'er th' ideal Fair pofTefs ! 
 For who, alas ! their Paffions fend 
 The fleeting Image to purfue, 
 Thernfelves their own Dcfigns undo, 
 And in the Means deftroy the End ! 
 But I a finer Clue have found, 
 To guide me o'er the magic Ground ; For,
 
 [ 3i ] 
 
 For, feeing how this Deity 
 For ever roves at Liberty 
 Thro' Fancy's vifionary Road, 
 I never Wifdom's Schemes employ 
 To bind her matrimonially 
 To any Station's fix'd Abode, 
 But where I meet her I enjoy ; 
 And being free from Strife and Care, 
 Am fure to meet her ev'ry where. 
 
 The End of the Second Epistle.
 
 THE 
 
 APOLOGY 
 
 O F 
 
 4 R IS T I P P US. 
 
 EPISTLE III 
 
 T O 
 
 ********* JTgQ 
 
 D'autres font des vers par etude 
 fenfais pour me defennuyer. 
 
 CRESSET, 
 
 E

 
 
 
 
 A P 
 
 THE 
 
 LOGY 
 
 O F 
 
 A R 1 S T I P P US. 
 
 EPISTLE 
 
 T O 
 
 Esq. 
 
 IHOULD fupercilious Cenfors fay 
 
 e « His Youth is waining, 'tis not Time 
 
 " For Aristippus now vvitli Rhimc 
 " To while the ufelefs Hours away," 
 I might reply, I do no more 
 Than what my Betters did before ° y 
 
 E 2 That
 
 C 36 ] 
 
 That what at firft my Fancy led 
 
 This idle Bufinefs to purfuc, 
 
 Still makes me profecutc the Trade, 
 
 •Becaufe I've nothing elfe to do ; 
 
 But to the candid, Sir, and you, 
 
 A better Reafon I could give, 
 
 To whom a better Reafon's due, 
 
 That in thefe Meafures I convey 
 
 My gentle Precepts, how to live, 
 
 Clearer than any other Way. 
 
 Tor in the Pow'rs of Poetry, 
 
 Wit, Truth, and Pleafure blended lie, 
 
 As, in Italia's fertile Vales, 
 
 On the fame Tree, whiljl BloiToms blow, 
 
 The ripen'd Fruits ne&areous grow, 
 
 Fed by warm Suns and frefh'ning Gales. 
 
 Divineft Art ! to Mortals giv'n, 
 
 By thee, the brave, the good, the wife, 
 
 The fair, the learn'd, and witty, rife 
 
 From Earth's dull Sod, and people Heav'm Nor
 
 [ 37 3 
 
 Nor be't to thee imputed Blame, 
 That ever-barking Calumny, 
 And filthy-mouth' d Obfcenity, 
 Have oft ufurp'd thy injur' d Name ! 
 Alas ! the Drops which Morning fheds 
 With dewy Fingers on the Meads, 
 The Pink's and Vi'let's Tubes to fill, 
 Alike the noxious Juices feed 
 Of deadly Hemlock's pois'nous Weed, 
 And give 'em fatal Pow'r to kill ! 
 
 Imagination loves to trace 
 Reason's immortal Lineaments 
 In Fiction's necromantic Face, 
 When Probability affents. 
 The faireft Features Fiction wears, 
 When moft like Truth th' Inchantrefs looks, 
 As fwcet Narcissa's Shade appears, 
 In filent Lakes and cryftal Brooks, 
 
 :o
 
 [ 38 ] - 
 
 So like the Life, we fcarcely know 
 Where laft to fix our wav'ring Love,. 
 Whether upon the Form below, 
 Or on the real Nymph above. 
 In each an Angel's Face we fee, 
 Tho' for the Subftance breathe our Sighs, 
 E'en whilft we caft our longing Eyes 
 Down on the watry Imag'ry. 
 
 But fhould you afk me, why I choofe. 
 Of all the laurel'd Sifterhood 
 Th' Inhabitants of Pindus' Wood, 
 The leaft confiderable Mufe. 
 The Vi'lets round the Mountain's Feet,, 
 Whofe humble Gems unheeded blow, 
 Are to the Shepherd's Smell more fweet 
 Than lofty Cedars on its Brow. 
 Let the loud Epic found th' Alarms 
 Of dreadful War, and Heroes fprung 
 
 From
 
 C 39 J 
 
 From fome immortal Anceftry, 
 
 Clad in impenetrable Arms 
 
 By Vulcan forg'd, my Lyre is ftrung 
 
 With fofter Chords, my Muse more free 
 
 Wanders thro' Pindus' humbler Ways 
 
 In amiable Simplicity : 
 
 Unftudy'd are her artlefs Lays, 
 
 She afks no Laurel for her Brows ; 
 
 Carelefs of Cenfure or of Praife, 
 
 She haunts where tender Myrtle grows ; 
 
 Fonder of Happinefs than Fame 
 
 To the proud Bay prefers the Rofe, 
 
 Nor barters Pleafure for a Name. 
 
 On Nature's Lap reclin'd at Eafe, 
 
 I liften to her heav'nly Tongue, 
 
 From her derive the Pow'r to pleafe, 
 
 From her receive th' harmonious Time, 
 
 And what the Goddefs makes my Song 
 
 In unpremeditated Rhyme 
 
 Melli
 
 [ 4° ] 
 
 Mellifluous flows, whilft young Desire, 
 CulFd from the Elysian Bloom of Spring, 
 Strews Flow'rs immortal round my Lyre, 
 And Fancy's fportive Children bring, 
 From blofibm'd Grove and lilied Mead,, 
 Frefh fragrant Chaplets for my Head. 
 The moft, tho' fofteft of the Nine, 
 The gentle Mufe, fweet Euterpe,. 
 Queen of heart-foft'ning Melody, 
 Allures my Ear with Notes divine. 
 In my Retreat Euterpe plays, 
 Where Science, garlanded with Flow'rs, 
 Beneath the Shade of myrtle Bow'rs,. 
 Enraptured liflens to her Lays.. 
 
 This, pleafing Territory lies, 
 Unvifited by common Eyes, 
 Far from the Prude's affedted Spleen,. 
 Or Bigot's furly Godlinefs,, 
 
 Where
 
 [41] 
 
 Where no Coquettes, no Jilts are feen, 
 
 Nor folly- fetter'd Fops of Drefs j 
 
 Far from the vulgar High and Low, 
 
 The penfion'd great Man's Littlenefs ; 
 
 Or thofe, who, prone to Slav'ry, grow 
 
 Fit Tools of others Tyranny, 
 
 And, with a blind Devotion, bow 
 
 To wooden Blocks of Quality ; 
 
 Far from thofe Fools, who, blefs'd with Store, 
 
 Abfurdly hazard much for more, 
 
 Trufting at Play the Goddefs blind y 
 
 Or thofe who hazard nothing for't, 
 
 Making, not made of, her the Sport, 
 
 For, mould me look with Eyes unkind, 
 
 A fafe and ealy Way they find 
 
 How to correEl their Deity 
 
 By manual Dexterity ; 
 
 Far from the Land of Argument, 
 
 Where deep within their murky Cells, 
 
 F 'Figures
 
 [4* ] 
 
 Figures and bloated Tropes are pent, 
 And three-legg'd Syllogism dwells, 
 Where Catachresis long in Face, 
 And giant-fiz'd Hyperbole, 
 'Gainit Wit lead forth the wordy Race 
 Of fenfe-entangling Sophistry j 
 Far from the bubble-blowing Train 
 The School-men, fubtle and refln'd, 
 Who fvvell th' unintelledted Brain 
 With Puffs of theologic Wind ; 
 And all the Tribes of Pedantry, 
 Who Reason's Offspring try to bind 
 With cob- web Chains of Cafuiftry. 
 But, whilft fuch Drones are drove away, 
 The Fair, the Witty, and the Gay, 
 Each real Blifs of Life fupply. 
 
 Here the foft Patriarch of the Loves, 
 Honey 'd Anacreon, with the Doves 
 
 Of
 
 C 43 ] 
 
 Of Venus fluttering o'er his Head, 
 
 (Whilft ivy-crowned Hours around 
 
 The laughter-loving Graces lead 
 
 In fportive Ringlets to the Sound 
 
 Of Paphian Flutes) the Muse invites 
 
 To feftive Days and am'rous Nights. 
 
 Here tender Moscus loves to rove 
 
 Along the Meadows daified Side, 
 
 Where Streams of dimpling Waters glide 
 
 Under a cool and filent Grove. 
 
 Rapt in coeleftial Extafy 
 
 Sappho, whom all the Nine infpire, 
 
 Varies her am'rous Melody, 
 
 The Chords of whofe Idalian Lyre, 
 
 As changeful Paflions ebb or flow, 
 
 Struck with bold Hand now vibrate high, 
 
 Now modulated to a Sigh 
 
 They tremble languimingly low. 
 
 F 2 Horace,
 
 [ 44 ] 
 
 Horace, mild Suge, refin'd with Eafe, 
 
 The Doctor of Humanity, 
 
 Whofe Precepts, whilft they counfel, plcafe, 
 
 The Poet of Philofophy 
 
 Without the Jargon of the Schools 
 
 And fur-gown'd Pedant's bookifh Rules, 
 
 Here keeps his lov'd Academy ; 
 
 His Art fo nicely he conceals, 
 
 That Wifdom on the Bofom fteals, 
 
 And Men grow good infenfibly. 
 
 From cool Valclusa's lilied Meads 
 
 Soft Petrarch and his Laura come, 
 
 And e'en great Tasso fometimes treads 
 
 Thefe flow'ry Walks, and culls the Bloom 
 
 Of rural Groves, where heretofore 
 
 Each Muse, each Grace, beneath the Shade 
 
 Of myrtle Bow'rs, in fecret play'd 
 
 With an Idalian Paramour. 
 
 From 
 3
 
 [45 1 
 
 From filver Seine's tranfparent Streams, 
 
 With Rofes and with Lilies crown'd, 
 
 Breathing the fame heart-eafing Themes, 
 
 And tun'd in amicable Sound, 
 
 Soft Bands of kindred Spirits blow 
 
 Sweet Lydian Notes on Gallic Reeds, 
 
 Whofe Songs inftruct us how to know 
 
 Truth's Flow'rs from Affectation's Weeds. 
 
 Chapelle and Chaulieu firft appear, 
 
 Bachaumon and La Farre purfue, 
 
 The fmoothly-voic'd Pavillon too 
 
 With his admir'd Deshoulieres ; 
 
 Laftly, more fweet than weftern Wind 
 
 Breathes from the Vi'let's fragrant Beds, 
 
 When balmy Dews Aurora fheds, 
 
 Gres set's clear Pipe, diftincl: behind, 
 
 Symphonioufly combines in one 
 
 Each former Bards mellifluent Tone. 
 
 Gresset ! in whofe harmonious Verfe 
 
 The India n Bird mall never die, Tho*
 
 C 46 ;] 
 
 Tho' Death may percli on Ver-vhrt's Ilcarfe, 
 Fame's Tongue immortal mall rehearfe 
 His variable Loquacity. 
 
 Nor wanting are there Bards of Thames, 
 On rural Reed young Surry plays, 
 And Waller wooes the courtly Dames 
 With gay and unaffected Lays, 
 His carelefs Limbs fupinely laid 
 Beneath the Beech's leafy Shade. 
 Prior his carelefs Pipe applies 
 To foothe his jealous Cloe's Breaft, 
 And even Sacharissa's Eyes 
 To brighter Cloe's yield the Prize 
 Of Venus' foul-bewitching Ce/i. 
 Than thefe much greater Bards, I ween, 
 Whenever they will condefcend 
 Th' inferior Muses to attend, 
 Immortalize this humble Scene : 
 
 Shake- 
 4
 
 C 47 ] 
 
 Shakespear's and Drayton's fairy Crews 
 
 In midnight Revels gambol round, 
 
 And Pope's light Sylphids fprinkle Dews 
 
 Refrefhing on the magic Ground. 
 
 Nor 'fdains the Dryad Train of Yore, 
 
 And green-hair'd Naiads of the Flood, 
 
 To join with Fancy's younger Brood, 
 
 Which Brood the fweet Inchantrefs bore 
 
 To British Bards in After-times, 
 
 Whofe Fame fhall bloom in deathlefs Rhymes, 
 
 When Greece and Britain are no more. 
 
 Whilst fuch the Feafts of Fancy give, 
 Carelefs of what dull Sages know, 
 Amidft their Banquets I will live, 
 And, pitying, look on Pow'r below. 
 If ft ill the Cynic Cenfor fays, 
 That Aristippus' ufclefs Days 
 Pafs in melodious Foolery, 
 
 To
 
 C 48 ] 
 
 To make my lad Apology 
 
 - 
 
 Unanfvverably, I reply, 
 
 " Whatever has the Povv'r to blefs, 
 
 " By living having learnt to prize, 
 
 " Since Wifdom will afford me lefs 
 
 " Than what from harmlefs Follies rife, 
 
 " I cannot fpare from. Happinefs 
 
 " A Jingle Moment to be wife. 
 
 The End of the Third E?istle, 
 
 ■
 
 'f
 
 THE 
 
 
 ALL 
 
 O F 
 
 ARISTIPPUS. 
 EPISTLE IV. 
 
 T O 
 
 MARK AKENSIDE, M.D. 
 
 By the AUTHOR of the three former 
 EPISTLES of ARISTIPPUS. 
 
 AXAPIC AE TIC nE$TKQC 
 
 M£0ETP. nOlHM A 
 
 ODE HENR. STPEHANI. 
 
 
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 Z, TV £> 7V\- 
 
 Printed for R. and J. D o d s l e y, in Pail' Mall. 
 
 M. DCC. LVJII.
 
 
 THE 
 
 c 
 
 A 
 
 L L 
 
 O F 
 
 ARISTIPPUS. 
 
 EPISTLE IV. 
 
 To MARK AKENSIDE, M.D. 
 
 i^^THOU, for whom the British bays 
 
 I IS! Bloom in thefe unpoetic days, 
 
 a 
 9f 
 
 f. 
 
 
 |gg Whofe early genius glow'd to follow 
 The arts thro' nature's ancient ways, 
 Twofold difciple of Apollo ! 
 
 Shall Aristippus' eafy lays, 
 Trifles of philofophic pleafure 
 Compos'd in literary leifure, 
 Afpire to gain thy deathlefs praife ? 
 
 u
 
 (6) 
 
 If thy nice ear attends the ftrains 
 This carelcfs bard of nature breathes 
 On Cyprian flute in Albio?!^ plains, 
 By future poets myrtle wreaths 
 Shall lone be fcatter'd o'er his urn 
 In annual folcmnity, 
 And marble Cupids, as they mourn, 
 Point where his kindred afhes lie. 
 
 Whilst thro' the tracks of endlefs day 
 Thy mufe mall, like the bird of Jove, 
 Wing to the fource of light her way 
 And bring from cloudlcfs realms above, 
 Where Truth's feraphic daughters glow, 
 Another Promethean ray 
 To this benighted globe below, 
 Mine, like foft Cytherea's dove, 
 Contented with her native grove, 
 Shall fondly foothe th' attentive ears 
 Of life's way-wearied travellers, 
 
 And,
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 And, from the paths of faniied woes, 
 
 Lead 'em to the ferene abode 
 
 Where real blifs and real good 
 
 In fweet fecurity repofe ; 
 
 Or, as the lark with matin notes, 
 
 To youth's new voyagers, in fpring, 
 
 As over head in air me floats, 
 
 Attendant on unruffled wing, 
 
 Warbles inartificial joy, 
 
 My mufe in tender (Trains mall fing 
 
 The feats of Venus' winged boy, 
 
 Or how the nimble-footed Hours, 
 
 With the three Graces knit in dance, 
 
 Follow the goddefs Elegance 
 
 To Hebe's court in Paphian bow'rs. 
 
 Nor let the fupercilious wife 
 And gloomy fons of melancholy 
 Thefe unaffected lays defpife 
 As day-dreams of melodious folly. 
 
 Reason.
 
 (8) 
 
 Reason a lovelier afpecr. wears 
 
 The Smiles and Muses when between, 
 
 Than in the Stoic's rigid mien 
 
 With beard philofophiz'd by years ; 
 
 And Virtue moaps not in the cell 
 
 Where cloifter'd Pride and Penance dwell, 
 
 But, in the chariot of the Loves, 
 
 She triumphs innocently gay, 
 
 Drawn by the yok'd Idalian doves, 
 
 Whilft young Affections lead the way 
 
 To the warm regions of the heart, 
 
 Whence felfafh fiends of Vice depart, 
 
 Like fpedTres at th' approach of day. 
 
 Should any infidel demand, 
 Who fneers at our poetic heav'n, 
 Whether from ordination given 
 By prelates of the Thespian land, 
 Or infpiration from above, 
 (As modern methodifts derive 
 
 Their
 
 ( 9 ) 
 
 Their light from no divine alive) 
 I hold the great prerogative 
 T'interpret fage Anacreon's writ, 
 Or glofs upon Catullus' wit, 
 Prophets that heretofore were fent, 
 And finally require to fee 
 Credentials of my embafly, 
 Before his faith could yield afTent, 
 Convincing reafons I would give 
 From a fhort tale fcarce credible, 
 But yet as true and plaufible, 
 As fome which catholics believe, 
 That I was calld by Jove's beheil 
 A Paphian and a Delphian Priefl. 
 
 Once when by Trent's pellucid ftreams, 
 In days of prattling infancy, 
 Led by young wondring Exstasy, 
 To view the fun's refulgent beams 
 
 B As
 
 ( io ) 
 
 As on the fportive waves they play'd 
 
 Too far I negligently ftray'd, 
 
 The god of day his lamp withdrew, 
 
 Evening her dufky mantle fpread, 
 
 And from her moifVned treffes fhed 
 
 Refrefhing drops of pearly dew. 
 
 Clofe by the borders of a wood, 
 
 Where an old ruin'd abbey flood, 
 
 Far from a fondling mother's fight, 
 
 With toil of childifh fport opprefs'd 
 
 My tender limbs funk down to reft 
 
 'Midft the dark horrors of the night. 
 
 As Horace erft by fabled doves 
 
 With fpring's firft leaves was mantled o'er 
 
 A wand'rer from his native groves, 
 
 A like regard the British Loves 
 
 To me their future poet bore, 
 
 Nor left me guardianlefs alone, 
 
 For tho' no Nymph or Faun appear'd, 
 
 Nor
 
 ( » ) 
 
 Nor piping Satyr was there heard, 
 And here the Dryads are unknown; 
 Yet, natives true of English ground, 
 Sweet Elves and Fays in mantles green, 
 By fhepherds oft in moonlight feen, 
 And dapper fairies danc'd around. 
 The nightingale, her love-lorn lay 
 Negledling on the neighboring ipray, 
 Strew'd with frefh flow'rs my turfy bed, 
 And, at the firfl approach of morn, 
 The red-breaft ftript the fragrant thorn 
 On rofes wild to lay my head. 
 Thus, as the wondring rufticks fay, 
 In fmiling fleep they found me laid 
 Beneath a bloffom'd hawthorn's made, 
 Whilft fportive bees, in myftic play, 
 With honey fill'd my little lips 
 Blent with each fweet that Zephyr fips 
 From flow'ry cups in balmy May, 
 
 B 2 Fro.v;
 
 ( « ) 
 
 From that blefs'd hour my bofom glov/d 
 Ere vanity or fame in'fpir'd, 
 
 1th unaffected tranfpoits hVd, 
 And from my tongue untutor'd flow'd, 
 In childhood's inattentive -days, 
 The lifping notes of artlefs lays. 
 Nor have thefe dear enchantments ceas'd, 
 For what in innocence beg;an 
 Still with increafing years increas'd, 
 And youth's warm joys now charm the man. 
 Perhaps this fondly -fofter'd flame, 
 E'en when in dufl my body's laid, 
 Will o'er the tomb preferve it's fame, 
 And glow within my future made. 
 If thus, as Poets have agreed 
 The foul, when from the body freed, 
 In t' other world confines her blifs 
 To the fame joys me lov'd in this, 
 Thine, when fhe's pafs'.d the Stygiax flood, 
 Shall, 'midft the patriot chiefs of old, 
 
 The
 
 ( 13 ) 
 
 The wife, the valiant, and the good, 
 
 (Great names in deathlefs archives roll'd !) 
 
 Strike with a mailer's mighty hand 
 
 Thy golden lyre's profoundeft chords, 
 
 And fafcinate the kindred band 
 
 With magic of poetic words. 
 
 Ravifh'd with thy mellifluent lay 
 
 Plato and Virgil mall entwine 
 
 Or olive and the Mantuan bay 
 
 A never-fading crown for thee, 
 
 And learn'd Lucretius fhall reiio-n 
 
 Among the foll'wers of the Nine, 
 
 His philofophic dignity. 
 
 For tho' his faithful pencil drew 
 
 Nature's external fymmetry, 
 
 Yet to the Mind's capacious view, 
 
 That unccnhn'd expatiates 
 
 O'er mighty Nature's wondrous whole. 
 
 Thy nicer flroke delineates 
 
 The finer features of the Soul. 
 
 And 3
 
 ( i4 ) 
 
 And, whilft the Theban bard to thee 
 Shall yield the bold JEolian lyre, 
 Horace (hall hear attentively 
 Thy finger touch his fofter wire 
 To more familiar harmony. 
 Mean while thy Aristippus' (bade 
 Shall feek where fvveet Anacreon plays, 
 Where Ciiapelle fpends his feftive days, 
 Where lies the vine-impurpled glade 
 By tuneful Chaulieu vocal made, 
 Or where our Shenstone's mofly cell, 
 Or where the fair Deshoulieres ftrays, 
 Or Hammond and Pavillon dwell, 
 And Gresset's gentle fpirit roves 
 Surrounded by a group of Loves 
 With rofes crown' d. and afphodel. 
 
 Let the furr'd pedants of the fchools, 
 In learning's formidable mow, 
 
 Full
 
 ( i5 ) 
 
 Full of wife faws and bookifh rules, 
 
 The meagre dupes of mifery grow, 
 
 A lovelier dodtrine I profefs 
 
 Than their dull fcience can avow ; 
 
 All that belongs to happinefs 
 
 Their heads are welcome flili to know y 
 
 My heart's contented to pojfefs. 
 
 For in foft elegance and eafe,. 
 
 Secure of living whilrt I live, 
 
 Each momentary blifs I feize, 
 
 Ere thefe warm faculties decay, 
 
 The fleeting moments to deceive 
 
 Of human life's allotted day. 
 
 And when th' invidious hand of Time 
 
 By flealth fhall lilver o'er my head, 
 
 Still Pleasure's rofy walks I'll tread, 
 
 Still with the jocund Muses rime, 
 
 And haunt the green Idalian bow'rs 3 . 
 
 Whilft wanton boys of Paphos' court 
 
 In myrtles hide my ftaff for fport, 
 
 And coif me, where I'm bald, with flow'rs,
 
 ( 16 ) 
 
 Thus to each happy habit true, 
 Preferring happinefs to pow'r, 
 Will Aristippus e'en purfue 
 Life's comforts to the lateft hour, 
 Till age (the only malady 
 Which thou and mcd'cine cannot cure,- 
 Yet what all covet to endure) 
 This innocent voluptu'ry 
 Shall, from the Laughs and Graces here, 
 With late and lenient change remove, 
 To regions of Elysian air, 
 Where Shades of mortal Pleasures rove, 
 Deftin'd, without alloy, to (hare 
 Eternal joys of mutual love, 
 Which iranjitory were above. 
 
 The End of the Fourth Epistle.
 
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