Selected poems ed by E Gosse Author:Thomas Gray Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: And happiness too swiftly flies, Thought would destroy their paradise. No more ; where ignorance is bliss, "Pis folly to be wise. HYMN TO ADVERSITY. Da... more »ughter of Jove, relentless Power, Thou Tamer of the human breast, Whose iron scourge and tort'ring hour The Bad affright, afflict the Best! Bound in thy adamantine chain, 5 The Proud are taught to taste of pain, And purple Tyrants vainly groan With pangs unfelt before, unpitied and alone. When first thy Sire to send on earth, Virtue, his darling Child, design'd, 10 To thee he gave the heav'nly Birth, And bad to form her infant mind. Stern rugged Nurse! thy rigid lore With patience many a year she bore : What sorrow was, thou bad'st her know, 15 And from her own she learn'd to melt at others' woe. Scared at thy frown terrific, fly Self-pleasing Folly's idle brood, Wild Laughter, Noise, and thoughtless Joy, And leave us leisure to be good. 20 Light they disperse, and with them go The summer Friend, the flatt'ring Foe ; By vain Prosperity received, To her they vow their truth, and are again believed. Wisdom in sable garb array'd 25 Immers'd in rapt'rous thought profound, And Melancholy, silent maid, With leaden eye, that loves the ground, Still on thy solemn steps attend : Warm Charity, the gen'ral Friend, 30 With Justice to herself severe, And Pity, dropping soft the sadly-pleasing tear. Oh, gently on thy Suppliant's head, Dread goddess, lay thy chast'ning hand! Not in thy Gorgon terrors clad, 35 Not circled with the vengeful Band (As by the Impious thou art seen) With thund'ring voice, and threat'ning mien, With screaming Horror's funeral cry, Despair, and fell Disease, and ghastly Poverty. 40 Thy form benign, oh Goddess, wear, Thy milde...« less