< Page:Pastorals Epistles Odes (1748).djvu
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EPISTLES.
63
The patron will his innocence protest,
And frown in earnest, though he smil'd in jest. 64
And frown in earnest, though he smil'd in jest. 64
Man, only from himself, can suffer wrong;
His reason fails, as his desires grow strong:
Hence, wanting ballast, and too full of fail,
He lies expos'd to ev'ry rising gale. 68
From youth to age, for happiness he's bound:
He splits on rocks, or runs his bark a-ground,
Or, wide of land, a desert ocean views,
And, to the last, the flying port pursues, 72
Yet, to the last, the port he does not gain,
And dying finds, too late, he liv'd in vain.
His reason fails, as his desires grow strong:
Hence, wanting ballast, and too full of fail,
He lies expos'd to ev'ry rising gale. 68
From youth to age, for happiness he's bound:
He splits on rocks, or runs his bark a-ground,
Or, wide of land, a desert ocean views,
And, to the last, the flying port pursues, 72
Yet, to the last, the port he does not gain,
And dying finds, too late, he liv'd in vain.
To
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