Classic Poem

While clear the night, and ev'ry thought serene,
Let fancy wander o'er the solemn scene:
And, wing'd by active contemplation, rise
Amidst the radiant wonders of the skies.

Here, C ASSIOPEIA fills a lucid throne,
There blaze the splendors of the Northern C ROWN :
While the slow car the cold T RIONES roll
O'er the pale countries of the frozen pole,
Whose faithful beams conduct the wand'ring ship,
Thro' the wide desart of the pathless deep.
Throughout the G ALAXY 's extended line,
Unnumber'd orbs in gay confusion shine:
Where ev'ry star that gilds the gloom of night
With the faint tremblings of a distant light,
Perhaps illumes some system of its own
With the strong influence of a radiant sun.

Plac'd on the verge, which T ITAN 's realm confines,
The slow revolving orb of S ATURN shines;
Where the bright pow'r, whose near approaching ray
Gilds our gay climates with the blaze of day,
On those dark regions glimmers from afar,
With the pale lustre of a twinkling star.
While, glowing with unmitigated day,
The nearer planets roll their rapid way.

Let stupid atheists boast th'atomic dance,
And call these beauteous worlds the work of chance:
But nobler minds, from guilt and passion free,
Where truth unclouded darts her heav'nly ray,
Or on the earth, or in the ætherial road,
Survey the footsteps of a ruling G OD :
Sole L ORD of nature's universal frame,
Thro' endless years unchangeably the same:
Whose presence, unconfin'd by time or place,
Fills all the vast immensity of space.
He saw while matter yet a chaos lay:
The shapeless chaos own'd his potent sway.
His single Fiat form'd th' amazing whole,
And taught the new-born planets where to roll:
With wife direction curv'd their steady course,
Imprest the central and projectile force,
Lest in one mass their orbs confus'd should run,
Drawn by th' attractive virtue of the sun,
Or quit the harmonious round, and wildly stray
Beyond the limits of his genial ray.

To thee, E NDYMION , I devote my song;
To minds like thee, these subjects best belong;
Whose curious thoughts with active freedom soar,
And trace the wonders of creating pow'r.
For this, some nobler pen shall speak thy fame;
But let the muse indulge a gentler theme,
While pleas'd she tells thy more engaging part,
Thy social temper and diffusive heart.
Unless these charms their soft'ning aid bestow,
Science turns pride, and wit a common foe.