Classic Poem

XI.

Turn then, ye erring Pilgrims! turn,
Who perfect bliss on earth pursue:
Her steps ye never shall discern;
To Heav'n the radiant Cherub flew,
When Adam fell. Go seek her there
By humble virtue, ardent prayer,
And Charity's directing light.
Not unregarded shall ye sigh:
Faith wafts your wishes to the sky,
And years of endless joy shall your desires requite.

XII.

No more of partial evil tell,
Suppress the false repining lay:
Will not Eternity dispell
The sorrows of life's little day?
Ev'n Death, the last resisting foe;
To Her resigns his cbon bow,
And nerveless drops his murd'rous hand.
The Christian, by her name impell'd,
Fenc'd by devotion's sacred shield,
Dares the seducing world and hell's infernal band.

XIII.

Along the pilgrimage of life
To heav'n, submissive, see him go,
Secure from passion's mental strife
He feels not passion's restless woe:
If to his lot indulgent heav'n
A path less intricate has giv'n,
And strew'd it with some casual flowers;
Grateful he crops the blossoms fair,
And cultivates those plants with care
Whose fragrance will revive in heav'n's ambrosial bowers.

XIV.

But if through desarts, wild and rude,
With dangers fraught, his journey lies,
His mind, each rebel thought subdu'd,
An intellectual calm supplies;
While Innocence, with gentle beam,
Attracts affection and esteem,
Still to the virtuous sufferer given.
Such are the antidotes to woe
These sublunary scenes bestow;
Such is our portion here; and our reversion, Heaven.