Dr. Johnson's Works: Life, Poems, and Tales Part 8

[ee]

Si magna Asturii cecidit domus, horrida mater: Pullati proccres,--

[ff]

--Jam accurrit, qui marmora donet, Conferat impensas: hic &c.

[gg]

Hic modium argenti. Meliora, ac plura reponit Persicus...o...b..rum lautissimus--

[hh]

Si potes avelli Circensibus, optima Sorae, Aut Fabrateriae domus, aut Frusinone paratur, Quanti nunc tenebras unum conducis in annum.

Hortulus hic-- Vive bidentis amans et culti villicus horti; Unde epulum possis centum dare Pythagoreis.

[ii]

--Possis ignavus haberi Et subiti casus improvidus, ad coenam si Intestatus eas.--

[Transcriber's note: There is no Footnote [jj]]

[kk]

Ebrius, ac petulans, qui nullum forte cecidit, Dat poenas, noetem pat.i.tur lugentis amic.u.m Pelidae.--

[ll]

--Sed, quamvis improbus annis, Atque mero fervens, cavet hunc, quem coccina lae [Transcriber's note: remainder of word illegible]

Vitari jubet, et comitum longissimus ordo, Multum praeterca flammarum, atque aenca lampas,

[mm]

Nec tamen hoc tantum metuas: nam qui spoliet te, Non deerit, clausis domibus, &c.

[nn]

Maximus in vinclis ferri modus, ut timeas, ne Vomer deficiat, ne marrae et sarcula desint.

[oo]

Felices proavorum atavos, felicia dicas Saecula, quae quondam sub regibus atque tribunis Viderunt uno contentam carcere Romam.

[pp]

His alias poteram, et plures subnectere causas: Sed jumenta vocant--

[qq]

--Ergo vale nostri memor et, quoties te Roma tuo refici properantem reddet Aquino, Me quoque ad Helvinam Cererem vestramque Dianam Convelle a c.u.mis. Satirarum ego, ni pudet illas, Adjutor gelidos veniam caligatus in agros.

[A] Queen Elizabeth, born at Greenwich.

[B] The invasions of the Spaniards were defended in the houses of parliament.

[C] The licensing act was then lately made.

[D] _Our silenc'd._ [E] The paper which, at that time, contained apologies for the court.

[F] H--y's jest.

[G] And what their armies lost, their cringes gain [H] And _gain_ a kick.

[I] The Spaniards at this time were said to make claim to some of our American provinces.

[J] This was by Hitch, a bookseller. Justly observed to be no picture of modern manners, though it might be true at Rome. MS. note in Dr.

Johnson's hand-writing.

[K] And, while thy _beds_.

[L] And _plants_ unseen.

[M] A cant term in the house of commons for methods of raising money.

[N] The nation was discontented at the visits made by the king to Hanover.

[O] _Sustain'd_ the _balance_, but _resign'd_ the sword.

THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES;

IN IMITATION OF

THE TENTH SATIRE OF JUVENAL.

Let[a] observation, with extensive view, Survey mankind, from China to Peru; Remark each anxious toil, each eager strife, And watch the busy scenes of crowded life; Then say, how hope and fear, desire and hate O'erspread with snares the clouded maze of fate, Where wav'ring man, betray'd by vent'rous pride To tread the dreary paths, without a guide, As treach'rous phantoms in the mist delude, Shuns fancied ills, or chases airy good; How rarely reason guides the stubborn choice, Rules the bold hand, or prompts the suppliant voice.

How nations sink, by darling schemes oppress'd, When vengeance listens to the fool's request.

Fate wings with ev'ry wish th' afflictive dart, Each gift of nature, and each grace of art; With fatal heat impetuous courage glows, With fatal sweetness elocution flows, Impeachment stops the speaker's pow'rful breath, And restless fire precipitates on death.

[b]But, scarce observ'd, the knowing and the bold Fall in the gen'ral ma.s.sacre of gold; Wide wasting pest! that rages unconfin'd, And crowds with crimes the records of mankind; For gold his sword the hireling ruffian draws, For gold the hireling judge distorts the laws; Wealth heap'd on wealth, nor truth nor safety buys, The dangers gather as the treasures rise.

Let hist'ry tell where rival kings command, And dubious t.i.tle shakes the madded land, When statutes glean the refuse of the sword, How much more safe the va.s.sal than the lord; Low sculks the hind beneath the rage of power, And leaves the wealthy traitor in the Tower[c], Untouch'd his cottage, and his slumbers sound, Though confiscation's vultures hover round[d].

The needy traveller, serene and gay, Walks the wild heath, and sings his toil away.

Does envy seize thee? crush th' upbraiding joy; Increase his riches, and his peace destroy; [e]Now fears, in dire vicissitude, invade, The rustling brake alarms, and quiv'ring shade; Nor light nor darkness bring his pain relief, One shows the plunder, and one hides the thief.

[f] Yet still one gen'ral cry[g] the skies a.s.sails, And gain and grandeur load the tainted gales: Few know the toiling statesman's fear or care, Th' insidious rival, and the gaping heir.

[h]Once more, Democritus, arise on earth, With cheerful wisdom and instructive mirth, See motley life in modern trappings dress'd, And feed with varied fools th' eternal jest: Thou, who could'st laugh where want enchain'd caprice, Toil crush'd conceit, and man was of a piece; Where wealth, unlov'd, without a mourner died; And scarce a sycophant was fed by pride; Where ne'er was known the form of mock debate, Or seen a new-made mayor's unwieldy state; Where change of fav'rites made no change of laws, And senates heard, before they judg'd a cause; How would'st thou shake at Britain's modish tribe, Dart the quick taunt, and edge the piercing gibe?

Attentive truth and nature to descry, And pierce each scene with philosophick eye; To thee were solemn toys, or empty show, The robes of pleasure, and the veils of woe: All aid the farce, and all thy mirth maintain, Whose joys are causeless, or whose griefs are vain.

Such was the scorn that fill'd the sage's mind, Renew'd at ev'ry glance on human kind; How just that scorn, ere yet thy voice declare, Search ev'ry state, and canva.s.s ev'ry pray'r.

[i]Unnumber'd suppliants crowd preferment's gate, Athirst for wealth, and burning to be great; Delusive fortune hears th' incessant call, They mount, they s.h.i.+ne, evaporate, and fall.

On ev'ry stage the foes of peace attend, Hate dogs their flight, and insult mocks their end.

Love ends with hope, the sinking statesman's door Pours in the morning wors.h.i.+pper no more; For growing names the weekly scribbler lies, To growing wealth the dedicator flies; From ev'ry room descends the painted face, That hung the bright palladium of the place; And, smok'd in kitchens, or in auctions sold, To better features yields the frame of gold; For now no more we trace in ev'ry line Heroick worth, benevolence divine: The form, distorted, justifies the fall, And detestation rids th' indignant wall.

But will not Britain hear the last appeal, Sign her foes' doom, or guard her fav'rites' zeal?

Through freedom's sons no more remonstrance rings, Degrading n.o.bles and controling kings; Our supple tribes repress their patriot throats, And ask no questions but the price of votes; With weekly libels and septennial ale, Their wish is full to riot and to rail.

In full-blown dignity, see Wolsey stand, Law in his voice, and fortune in his hand; To him the church, the realm their pow'rs consign, Through him the rays of regal bounty s.h.i.+ne; Turn'd by his nod the stream of honour flows, His smile alone security bestows.

Still to new heights his restless wishes tow'r, Claim leads to claim, and pow'r advances pow'r; Till conquest, unresisted, ceas'd to please, And rights, submitted, left him none to seize.

At length his sov'reign frowns--the train of state Mark the keen glance, and watch the sign to hate.

Where'er he turns, he meets a stranger's eye, His suppliants scorn him, and his followers fly; Now drops, at once, the pride of awful state, The golden canopy, the glitt'ring plate, The regal palace, the luxurious board, The liv'ried army, and the menial lord.

With age, with cares, with maladies oppress'd, He seeks the refuge of monastick rest: Grief aids disease, remember'd folly stings, And his last sighs reproach the faith of kings.

Speak thou, whose thoughts at humble peace repine, Shall Wolsey's wealth, with Wolsey's end, be thine?

Or liv'st thou now, with safer pride content, [k]The wisest justice on the banks of Trent?

For, why did Wolsey, near the steeps of fate, On weak foundations raise th' enormous weight?

Why but to sink beneath misfortune's blow, With louder ruin to the gulfs below?

[l]What gave great Villiers to th' a.s.sa.s.sin's knife, And fix'd disease on Harley's closing life?

What murder'd Wentworth, and what exil'd Hyde, By kings protected, and to kings allied?

What but their wish indulg'd in courts to s.h.i.+ne, And pow'r too great to keep, or to resign?

[m]When first the college rolls receive his name, The young enthusiast quits his ease for fame; [n]Through all his veins the fever of renown Spreads from the strong contagion of the gown; O'er Bodley's dome his future labours spread, And [o]Bacon's mansion trembles o'er his head.

Are these thy views? Proceed, ill.u.s.trious youth, And virtue guard thee to the throne of truth!

Yet, should thy soul indulge the gen'rous heat Till captive science yields her last retreat; Should reason guide thee with her brightest ray, And pour on misty doubt resistless day; Should no false kindness lure to loose delight, Nor praise relax, nor difficulty fright; Should tempting novelty thy cell refrain, [p]And sloth effuse her opiate fumes in vain; Should beauty blunt on fops her fatal dart, Nor claim the triumph of a letter'd heart; Should no disease thy torpid veins invade, Nor melancholy's phantoms haunt thy shade; Yet hope not life, from grief or danger free, Nor think the doom of man revers'd for thee: Deign on the pa.s.sing world to turn thine eyes, And pause awhile from letters, to be wise; There mark what ills the scholar's life a.s.sail, Toil, envy, want, the patron, and the gaol[q].

See nations, slowly wise and meanly just, To buried merit raise the tardy bust.

If dreams yet flatter, once again attend, Hear Lydiat's life, and Galileo's end[r].

Nor deem, when learning her last prize bestows, The glitt'ring eminence exempt from woes; See, when the vulgar scape[s], despis'd or aw'd, Rebellion's vengeful talons seize on Laud.

From meaner minds though smaller fines content, The plunder'd palace, or sequester'd rent; Mark'd out by dang'rous parts, he meets the shock, And fatal learning leads him to the block: Around his tomb let art and genius weep, But hear his death, ye blockheads, hear and sleep.

[t]The festal blazes, the triumphal show, The ravish'd standard, and the captive foe, The senate's thanks, the gazette's pompous tale, With force resistless o'er the brave prevail.