CANTO. IV.

TO Glory Man, or Misery is born,
Of his proud Foe the Envy or the Scorn;
Wretched he is, or happy in Extreme,
Base in himself, but great in Heav'ns esteem;
With Love, of all created things, the best,
Without it more pernicious than the rest.
For greedy Wolves ung…arded Sheep devour
But while their hunger lasts, and then give or'e;
Mans boundless Avarice his want exceeds,
And on his Neighbors, round about him, feeds:
His Pride, and vain Ambition are so vast,
That Deluge…like, they lay whole Nations wast;
Debauches and Excess, thô with less noise,
As great a portion of Mankind destroys.
The Beasts and Monsters, Hercules opprest,
Might in that Age, some Provinces infest;
These more de…ructive Monsters, are the Bane
Of ev'ry Age, and in all Nations reign;
But soon would vanish, if the World were blest
With Sacred Love, by which they are represt.
Impendent death, and guilt that threatens Hell,
Are dreadful guests, which here with Mortals dw…ll…,
And a … Conscience mingling with their Joy
Thoughts of Despair, do's their whole Life annoy:
But Love appearing, all those Terrors flie,
We live contented, and contented die;
They in whose breast, this sacred Love has place,
Death as a passage to their Joy embrace.
Clouds and thick Vapors which obscure the day,
The Suns victorious Beams may chase away;
Those which our Life corrupt, and darken, Love,
The Nobler Star, must from the Soul remove:
Spots are observ'd in that which bounds the year,
This brighter Sun moves in a boundless Sphere;
Of Heav'n the Joy, the Glory, and the Light,
Shines among Angels, and admits no Night.