An EPISTLE to Sir ROBERT WALPOLE
On his first coming into POWER.
Quæ cenfet amiculus, ut fi
Cacus iter monftrare velit
HO' ftrength of genius, by experience taught,
Gives thee to found the depth of human thoughts
To trace the various workings of the mind,
And rule the secret springs that rule mankind;
(Rare gift!) yet, WALPOLE, wilt thou condefcend
To listen, if thy unexperienc'd friend
Can ought of use impart, tho' void of skill,
And win attention by fincere good-will:
For friendship fometimes want of parts fupplies;
The heart may furnish, what the head denies.
As when the rapid Rhone o'er fwelling tides
To grace old Ocean's court in triumph rides,
Tho' rich his fource, he drains a thoufand fprings,
Nor fcorns the tribute each small riv'let brings;
So thou shalt hence absorb each feeble ray,
Each dawn of meaning in thy brighter day;
Shalt like, or where thou canst not like, excuse
For no mean intereft fhall profane the mufe,
No malice wrapt in truth's difguife offend,
Nor flattery taint the freedom of the friend.
When first a generous mind furveys the great,
And views the crowds which on their fortune wait,
Pleas'd with the fhew (tho' little understood)
He only feeks the power, to do the good;
Thinks, till he tries, tis, godlike to difpofe,
And gratitude still springs where bounty fows;
That every grant fincere affection wins,
And where our wants have end, our love begins:
But thofe, who long the paths of ftate have trod,
Learn from the clamours of the murmuring crowd,
Which cram'd, yet craving ftill, their gates befiege,
Tis easier far to give than to oblige.
This of thy conduct seems the niceft part,
The chief perfection of the statesman's art;
To give to fair affent a fairer face,
And foften a refufal into grace;
But few there are that can be truly kind,
Or know to fix their favours on the mind.
Hence fome, whene'er they would oblige, offend,
And while they make the fortune, lofe the friend,
Still give unthank'd, ftill fquander, not beftow,
For great men want not what to give, but how.
The race of men that follow courts, 'tis true, Think all they get, and more than all, their due; Still afk, but ne'er confult their own deferts, And measure by their intereft, not their parts. From this mistake so many men we see But ill become the thing they wifh'd to be; Hence difcontent and fresh demands arife, More power, more favour in the great man's eyes; All feel a want, tho' none the caufe fufpects, And hate their patron for their own defects. Such none can pleafe, but who reforms their hearts, And when he gives them places, gives them parts.
As thefe o'erprize their worth, fo fure the great May fell their favour at too dear a rate.
When merit pines, while clamour is prefer'd,
And long attachment waits among the herd;
When no diftinction, where diftinction's due,
Marks from the many the fuperiour few;
When strong cabal constrains them to be just,
And makes them give at laft, because they muft;
What hopes that men of real worth fhould prize,
What neither friendship gives, nor merit buys?
The man who juftly o'er the world prefides,
His well-weigh'd choice with wife affection guides;
Knows when to ftop with grace, and when advance,
Nor gives from importunity, or chance;
But thinks how little gratitude is ow'd,
When favours are extorted, not bestow'd.
When, fafe on fhore ourselves, we fee the crowd
Surround the great, importunate and loud,
Through fuch a tumult, 'tis no easy task
To drive the man of real worth to ask :
Surrounded thus, and giddy with the show,
'Tis hard for great men rightly to beftow:
From hence fo few are skill'd in either cafe,
To ask with dignity, or give with grace.
Sometimes the great, feduc'd by love of parts,
Confult our genius, but neglect our hearts;
Pleas'd with the glittering sparks that genius flings,
They lift us tow'ring on their eagle's wings,
Mark out the flights, by which themselves begun,
And teach our dazzled eyes to bear the fun;
Till we forget the hand that made us great,
And grow to envy, not to emulate.
To emulate, a generous warmth implies,
To reach the virtues that make great men rife;
But envy wears a mean malignant face,
And 'aims not at their virtues, but their place.
Such to oblige how vain is the pretence,
When every favour is a fresh offence,
By which fuperiour pow'r is ftill imply'd,
And while it helps their fortune, hurts their pride:
Slight is the hate neglect or hardships breed,
But those who hate from envy, hate indeed.
Since fo perplext the choice, whom shall we truft, Methinks I hear thee cry?The brave and just ; The man by no mean fears or hopes controul'd, Who ferves thee for affection, not for gold.
We love the honeft and esteem the brave,
Defpife the coxcomb, but deteft the knave;
No fhew of parts the truly wife feduce,
To think that knaves can be of real ufe.
The man who contradicts the publick voice,
And ftrives to dignify a worthless choice,
Attempts a task that on that choice reflects,
And lends us light to point out new defects:
One worthless man that gains what he pretends,
Difgufts a thousand unpretending friends.
And fince no art can make a counter pass,
Or add the weight of gold to mimick brass,
When Princes to bad ore their image join,
They more debase the stamp, than raise the coin.
Be thine the care true merit to reward,
And gain the good, -nor will that task be hard;
Souls form'd alike so quick by nature blend,
An honest man is more than half a friend.
Him no mean views or haste to rise fhall fway
Thy choice to fully, or thy trust betray;
Ambition here shall at due distance ftand,
Nor is wit dangerous in an honeft hand.
Befides if failings at the bottom lie,
We view those failings with a lover's eye;
Tho' fmall his genius, let him do his best,
Our wishes and belief fupply the rest.
Let others barter fervile faith for gold,
His friendship is not to be bought or fold;
Fierce oppofition he unmov'd fhall face,
Modeft in favour, daring in difgrace;
To share thy adverfe fate alone pretend,
In pow'r a fervant, out of pow'r a friend.
Here shed thy favours in an ample flood,
Indulge thy boundless thirst of doing good;
Nor think that good alone to him confin'd,
Such to oblige, is to oblige mankind.
If thus thy mighty mafter's steps thou trace,
The brave to cherish, and the good to grace,
Long fhall thou ftand from rage and faction free,
And teach us long to love our king thro' thee;
Or fall a victim dangerous to the foe,
And make him tremble, when he ftrikes the blow;
While honour, gratitude, affection join
To deck thy close, and brighten thy decline.
(Illuftrious doom!) the great when thus displac'd,
With friendship guarded, and with virtue grac'd,
In awful ruin, like Rome's fenate, fall,
The prey and worship of the wondering Gaul.
No doubt, to genius fome reward is due, (Excluding that were fatyrizing you)
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