'T THE NATIVITY. Poeme Heroique Vol. 4. § 4. IS Folly all let me no more be told Of Parian porticos, and roofs of gold; Delightful views of Nature dress'd by Art, Enchant no longer this indiff'rent heart; The Lord of all things, in his humble birth, Makes mean the proud magnificence of Earth; The straw, the manger, and the mould'ring wall, Eclipse its lustre; and I scorn it all. Canals, and fountains, and delicious vales, Green slopes, and plains whose plenty never fails; Deep rooted groves, whose heads sublimely rise, Earth-born, and yet ambitious of the skies; Th' abundant foliage of whose gloomy shades, Vainly the sun in all its pow'r invades ; Where warbled airs of sprightly birds resound; Whose verdure lives while winter scowls around t B |