Classic Poem

O THOMAS , I hope you'll become
My only, my dear little boy;
A hopeful and dutiful son,
And fill your glad parents with joy.

reason and knowledge shall dawn,
with pleasure espy,
By the rays that appear in the morn,
That the noon will produce a bright sky.

May kind Heaven protract my short span,
Till I deeply impress on thy mind,
Thy duty to God , and to man,
With sentiments just and refin'd.

I'll bid thee adore the Great Cause,
Who thy joys, or thy woes can increase;
Know well and then practice his laws,
As the only sure passage to peace.

The Volume Celestial explore,
For precepts transcendent thence flow,
'Twill bid thee in principle soar,
From all that's disgraceful or low.

'Twill teach to each act and design,
Let honor and truth be your guide,
In virtue, and properly shine,
And thus to excel, be your pride.

By guile, or hypocrisy, try
To increase nor your name, nor your chest;
And for fraud, let it never come nigh,
Nor stain for a moment your breast.

Be open, and clear as the day,
Low art and duplicity scorn;
For this will a meanness betray,
But that will your conduct adorn.

If knowledge you wish to obtain,
Let the sun seldom find you in bed;
With vigour impregnate each vein,
And with wisdom impregnate your head.

For e'er may my T HOMAS be found,
With the wife and the good of the age;
If with these you do not abound,
Converse with the well written page.

In aught that through life you pursue,
Which reason or prudence inspire;
Be active and vigilant too,
And conquest succeeds your desire.

Should e'er you behold the dear maid,
Whose charms shall dispose you to love,
Bid reason come into your aid,
And then if you fully approve,

With courage your passion disclose,
With honour pursue till you've won,
But prove not her worst of all foes,
To leave her deceiv'd or undone.

To inferiors be gentle and kind,
Benevolent too if you can;
To equals the free unconfin'd,
Obliging disintr'ested man,

To all whom dame Fortune shall place,
In stations above my dear boy,
Due deference shew with a grace,
That declares there's no guilt to annoy.

With modest becoming respect,
While integrity sits on your brow;
All cringing and fawning reject,
As dastardly sordid and low.

Act thus, and you're equal to Kings,
In the noblest part, the interior,
And those who want emptier things,
Deserve not the name of superior.

Thus with a countenance clear as the sun,
And a heart and a conduct the same,
Let your progress in life be begun,
And conclude with as noble a flame.