31.

There Plenty spreads her Wings around,
And broods upon the fertile Ground:
Without Expence, or Toil, or Care,
The fruitful Ground does all things bear:
It has an unexhausted Store;
The greedy cannot wish for more:
Sparkling Gems, and golden Oar,
Useful Corn, and gen'rous Wine,
Woods of Cedar, Oak, and Pine,
And lofty Groves for ever green,
With Beds of fragrant Flow'rs between;
Pure chrystal Springs, sweet cooling Streams,
Such as were once the Poets Themes.
See! see! melodious Birds are there;
They please the Eye, and charm the Ear;
And inoffensive Beasts their Pleasure mind,
Neither for Labour, nor for Food design'd:
They do not on each other prey,
But new, and better Laws obey;
Both Lambs and Lions there together play.

32.

O ye celestial Race!
By Providence design'd,
The blest Possessors of this happy Place,
You who like us did earthy Bodies wear,
Like us did human Frailties share,
And all the painful Ills of ling'ring Life did bear:
But now to nobler Posts consign'd,
Have left your cumbrous Flesh behind;
And now are cloth'd with radiant Light,
With Bodies active, pure, and bright;
Admire and praise that wondrous Love
Which has for you such Joys in Store:
When landed on that glorious Shore,
You'll think of your past Griefs no more:
Divine Munificence will prove
The blest Employment of your happy Hours,
And still exert your most exalted Pow'rs.

33.

No more with Trifles you'll be then in Love,
No more your former vain Pursuits approve:
No more endeavour to be rich and great;
And to your Cares a Prey,
In anxious Thoughts employ the Night,
And in Fatigues the Day:
No more such needless Toils repeat;
No more in Luxury delight:
No more be wretched by your Passions made,
Nor by your Appetites betray'd:
From all your Follies you'll abstain,
No more penurious be, nor vain,
Nor will you ever more complain:
Your former Pleasures will insipid prove,
No more than Dreams your waken'd Reason move;
New Objects wholly will ingross your Love:
Objects of which we can't Ideas frame,
And Joys, for which we cannot find a Name.

34.

Such Joys as here from Contemplation spring;
That best, that noblest Pleasure of the Mind,
Which keeps the Soul upon the Wing,
And will not be to any Place confin'd;
But range at large, as unrestrain'd as Thought, or Wind.
To you Delights 'twill ever yield:
'Twill lead you into Nature's boundless Field;
To you her various Beauties shew,
And let you her Arcanum view:
The Scenes of Providence display,
Before you all the Machines lay;
The whole Oeconomy Divine,
Where Art does in Perfection shine,
And where amaz'd you'll find
Wisdom and Goodness, with Almighty Pow'r combin'd:
Shew you the past Occurrences of Time,
From Natures Birth, to her Decay,
From the rude Chaos , to that last concluding Day,
Which sweeps both Men and all their vast Designs away:
Sights such as these, so wondrous, and sublime,
Will highest Transports raise,
And prove fit Matter for eternal Praise.

35.

There, with each other you'll with Joy converse,
And all the Warmth of sacred Love express:
Each Breast will with a holy Ardor flame,
Your Souls unite, and ever be the same:
Without Reserve, without Disguise you'll live,
No Artifice, no sep'rate Int'rest know;
You Heart for Heart will freely give,
And pay the Kindness which you owe.
That Friendship which from Virtue springs,
Immortal as its Cause does prove;
With it, Ten thousand Joys it brings,
Such Joys as Death cannot remove:
They will beyond the Grave remain,
And solace us above:
Where, for the Good we lov'd below,
We our Affection shall retain;
Which still to greater Heights shall rise,
Shall still more fervent grow,
And like the Glory of the Skies,
Shall no Decay, no Diminution know.

36.

Ye lofty Mountains whose aspiring Heights
Stop rising Vapors in their airy Flights;
Where when condens'd, from thence they flow,
And water all the Plains below.
To you, the mightiest Rivers owe their Birth,
And the most precious Treasures of the Earth:
Silver, and Gold, those Darlings of Mankind,
We in your wealthy Bowels find:
On us, you Copper, Iron, Lead and Tin bestow,
And there, both shining Gems, and useful Min'rals grow.
When from your airy Tops we look around,
On ev'ry side are pleasing Objects found,
Yonder, large Plains their verdant Beauties show,
And there, with noisie haste resistless Torrents flow:
Here, various Animals, and Herbs invite,
There, Towns we see, here Forests yield Delight,
And there, the mighty Ocean bounds our Sight.
As high above the Clouds your Heads you raise,
The wondrous Pow'r of your Creator praise;
Let thund'ring Blasts spread the loud Accents round,
And let each Hill return the joyful Sound.

37.

Ye lovely Greens, who cloath the Earth,
And to the Sun, and Moisture owe your Birth:
All you that are for use design'd,
The Pride of Meadows, where the bleating Cattle find
Enough their Hunger to suffice,
And still are blest with fresh Supplies:
Ye tender Herbs, who beauteous Flow'rs produce,
And ye, enrich'd with balmy Juice,
Who are with healing Virtues blest,
And you who for Delight were made,
For Ornament, or Shade,
With all th' odoriferous Kind:
To Heav'n from whence your Beauties came,
Your Thanks in pure Effluviums send;
Thither let all your Praises be addrest;
In plenteous Steams let them ascend,
And with an eager Swiftness fly
Thro' the soft yielding Skie.
Ye towring Trees, do you the same;
You, that with verdant Honours crown'd
Cast your wide spreading Branches round,
And from the Sun's too fervent Heat
Afford a welcom cool Retreat.
O ye lov'd Groves! my early dear Delight!
You to a thousand Joys invite:
Joys known but to a thoughtful Mind,
Which can within true Satisfaction find;
And needs no Foreign Help to make it blest,
But all-sufficient in its self can rest.

38.

Come all ye Fountains your due Tribute pay,
And let each River as it rolls along;
The universal Call obey,
And with the whole Creation join in one harmonious Song:
Thro all the bright Expanse above,
The boundless Theatre of Love,
Let the melodious Noise resound,
And spread the grateful Transports round:
Let Nature too her Homage pay
In ev'ry charming Lay.
Hear, O ye Seas! th' inviting Sound,
Let all your boistrous Roarings cease,
And let your watry Subjects taste the Sweets of Peace.
See! they attend! a sacred Silence reigns,
And Quiet sits triumphant on the liquid Plains.
Ye list'ning Waves, with a low murm'ring Voice,
Express your Thanks, and with the rest rejoice:
With you we'll join, and the great Subject raise:
Almighty Goodness claims the highest Praise.

39.

Ye Monarchs of the finny Race,
Who in the Northern Seas delight;
Where your huge Bodies fill a mighty Space,
And show like living Islands to the wond'ring Sight;
As you your Heads above the Waters raise,
Speak by your Gestures your Creator's Praise:
With you let ev'ry lesser Fish combine;
Such as in scaly Armour shine,
With those that near the Surface play,
And to the pleas'd Spectator's Sight,
Their beauteous Forms, and glitt'ring Finns display;
All such as in the Depths delight,
And thro' the weedy Lab'rinths stray;
Those who themselves in muddy Coverts hide,
And such as in strong pearly Shells reside;
With those that in the Rivers live,
Far distant from th' incroaching Tide;
Let all by Signs their Plaudits give:
Before his Throne their mute Devotion lay,
And, as they can, their silent Adoration pay.

40.

Ye pretty Rangers of the Air,
Who, unconfin'd, can at your Pleasure fly
Thro the wide Regions of the lower Sky:
And in pursuit of fresh Delight,
Or weary'd with your towring Flight,
Can to the Earth with Ease repair,
And feed on tempting Viands there;
And thence to silent Groves retire,
Where, undisturb'd, you sit and sing,
And welcom back the flow'ry Spring;
Or at the Summer's Warmth rejoice;
That Warmth, to which you owe the Fire
Which does harmonious Strains inspire.
Well-pleas'd with your delightful Choice,
From Bough to Bough you warbling fly;
While neighb'ring Hills return the Voice,
And to each charming Note reply.
As thus your happy Minutes glide along,
To Heav'n melodious Off'rings pay:
With you an equal Share
Let the whole Species bear;
The wild and tame, the beauteous, swift and strong;
Let all contribute to the Song:
And each in his peculiar way
To Heav'ns eternal King,
With cheerful Haste his vocal Tribute bring.