Rais'd by fuch powerful verse, that ancient Rome
May blush no lefs to fee her wit o'ercome.

Some men their fancies, like their faith, derive,
And think all ill but that which Rome does give ;
The marks of Old and Catholick would find;
To the fame chair would truth and fiction bind.
Thou in those beaten paths disdain'st to tread,
And scorn'ft to live by robbing of the dead.
Since time does all things change, thou think'ft not fit
This latter age should see all new but wit;
Thy fancy, like a flame, its way does make,
And leave bright tracks for following pens to take.
Sure 'twas this noble boldness of the Muse
Did thy defire to seek new worlds infuse;
And ne'er did Heaven so much a voyage bless,
If thou canst plant but there with like success.

AN ANSWER то

A COPY OF VERSES SENT ME TO JERSEY.

S to a northern people (whom the fun

As

Uses just as the Romish church has done

Her prophane laity, and does affign,
Bread only both to serve for bread and wine)
A rich Canary fleet welcome arrives ;
Such comfort to us here your letter gives,
Fraught with brisk racy verses; in which we
The foil from whence they came tafte, fmell, and fee:

Such

Such is your prefent to us; for you must know,
Sir, that verfe does not in this ifland grow,
No more than fack: one lately did not fear
(Without the Muses' leave) to plant it here;
But it produc'd fuch base, rough, crabbed, hedge-
rhymes, as ev'n fet the hearers' ears on edge :
Efquire, the
Year of our Lord fix hundred thirty-three.
Brave Jersey Mufe! and he 's for this high style
Call'd to this day the Homer of the Isle.
Alas! to men here no words lefs hard be

Written by

To rhyme with, than * Mount Orgueil is to me
Mount Orgueil ! which, in scorn o' th' Mufes' law,
With no yoke-fellow word will deign to draw.
Stubborn Mount Orgueil! 'tis a work to make it
Come into rhyme, more hard than 'twere to take it.
Alas! to bring your tropes and figures here,
Strange as to bring camels and elephants were;
And metaphor is fo unknown a thing,

'Twould need the preface of " God fave the King." Yet this I'll fay, for th' honour of the place, That, by God's extraordinary grace

(Which shows the people have judgment, if not wit) The land is undefil'd with Clinches yet;

Which, in my poor opinion, I confess,

Is a moft fingular bleffing, and no less
Than Ireland's wanting fpiders. And, fo far
From th' actual fin of bombaft too they are,

The name of one of the castles in Jersey.

(That other crying fin o' th' English Mufe)
That even Satan himself can accuse

None here (no not so much as the divines)
For th' motus primò primi to strong lines.
Well, fince the foil then does not naturally bear
Verfe, who (a devil) should import it here?
For that to me would feem as strange a thing
As who did first wild beafts into islands bring;
Unless you think that it might taken be
As Green did Gondibert, in a prize at sea :
But that's a fortune falls not every day;

'Tis true Green was made by it; for they fay The parliament did a noble bounty do,

[too.

And gave him the whole prize, their tenths and fifteens

THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE.

THAT THERE IS NO KNOWLEDGE.

Against the Dogmatists.

HE facred tree 'midft the fair orchard grew;

TH

The Phoenix truth did on it reft,

And built his perfum'd neft;

That right Porphyrian tree which did true Logick fhew.

Each leaf did learned notions give,
And th' apples were demonstrative;
So clear their colour and divine,

The very shade they caft did other lights out-fhine.

"Tafe

"Taste not," said God; "'tis mine and angels' meat;

"A certain death doth fit,

"Like an ill worm, i' th' core of it.

"Ye cannot know and live, nor live or know and eat." Thus fpoke God, yet man did go

Ignorantly on to know;

Grew fo more blind, and the

Who tempted him to this, grew yet more blind than he.

The only science man by this did get,

Was but to know he nothing knew:

He ftrait his nakedness did view,

His ignorant poor estate, and was asham'd of it.

Yet searches probabilities,

And rhetorick, and fallacies,

And feeks by useless pride,

With flight and withering leaves that nakedness to hide.

"Henceforth," faid God, "the wretched fons of earth "Shall fweat for food in vain,

"That will not long sustain;

"And bring with labour forth each fond abortive birth. "That ferpent too, their pride,

"Which aims at things deny'd;

"That learn'd and eloquent luft

"Inftead of mounting high, fhall creep upon the duft.”

R E A S 0 N.

THE USE OF IT IN DIVINE MATTERS.

SOME

COME blind themselves, 'caufe poffibly they may Be led by others a right way;

They build on fands, which if unmov'd they find, 'Tis but because there was no wind.

Lefs hard 'tis, not to err ourselves, than know
If our forefathers err'd or no.

When we truft men concerning God, we then
Truft not God concerning men,

Visions and inspirations fome expect
Their courfe here to direct ;

Like fenfeless chemifts their own wealth destroy,

Imaginary gold t' enjoy:

So ftars appear to drop to us from sky,
And gild the paffage as they fly;

But when they fall, and meet th' opposing ground,
What but a fordid flime is found?

Sometimes their fancies they 'bove reafon fet,

And faft, that they may dream of meat ; Sometimes ill fpirits their fickly fouls delude, And baftard forms obtrude:

So Endor's wretched forcerefs, although

She Saul through his disguise did know, Yet, when the devil comes up difguis'd, the cries, "Behold! the Gods arife."

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