Classic Poem

Oh, greatly bless'd! who can, as fate requires,
By ductile wisdom , temper your desires!
Balanc'd, within , you look abroad , serene,
And, marking both extremes, pass, clear, between .
Oh! could your lov'd example teach your skill!
And, as it moves my wonder , mend my will!
Calm would my passions grow: my lot might please ;
And my sick soul should think itself, to ease ,
But to the future , while I strain my eye,
Each present good slips, undistinguish'd by .
Still, what I would , contends with what I can ;
And my wild wishes leap the bounds of Man .

I F in my power it lies, to limit hope ,
And my unchain'd desires can fix a scope:
This were my choice — Oh, friend , pronounce me poor:
For I have wants , which wealth can never cure!
Mean is that soul , which its own good can fill ;
A prosp'rous world , alone, could feast my will.
He's poor , at best, who others misery sees,
And wants the wish'd-for power , to give it ease .
He's rich , who sole-supreme, and unconfin'd,
Can, with unbounded influence, bless mankind .
A glory this! unreach'd — but on a throne!
All were enough — but less, than ALL , is none
This my first wish — But, since 'twere wild and vain ,
To grasp at glitt'ring clouds with fruitless pain ;
More safely low , let my next prospect be:
And life's mild evening this fair sun-set see.
Far, from a L ORD 'sloath'd neighbourhood — a state ,
Whose little greatness is a pride , I hate!
On some lone wild , should my strong house be plac'd ,
Surrounded, by a vast, and healthy, waste:
Sterile and coarse , the untry'd soil should be;
But forc'd to flourish, and subdued by me .
Seas, woods, meads, mountains, gardens, streams, and skies,
Shou'd, with a changeful grandeur, charm my eyes,
Still, where I mov'd, new marks of my past pains,
Shou'd plume the mountain tops, and paint the plains:
Greatly obscure , and shunning courts , or name ,
Widely befriended , but escaping fame .
Peaceful, in studious quiet , would I live ;
Lie hid, for leisure ; and grow rich, to G IVE .