THE

VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES,

IN IMITATION OF THE

TENTH SATIRE OF JUVENAL.

L

ET* obfervation with extenfive view,

Survey mankind, from China to Peru;
Remark each anxious toil, each eager ftrife,
And watch the bufy fcenes of crowded life;
Then say how hope and fear, defire and hate,
O'erfpread with fnares 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 chafes airy good.

How rarely reason guides the stubborn choice,
Rules the bold hand, or prompts the fuppliant voice,
How nations fink, by darling schemes opprefs'd,
When vengeance liftens to the fool's request.
Fate wings with ev'ry wish th' afflictive dart,
Each gift of nature, and each grace
With fatal heat impetuous courage glows,
With fatal sweetness elocution flows,
Impeachment ftops the fpeaker's pow'rful breath,
And restless fire precipitates on death.

* Ver. 1-11,

of art,

But

*But fcarce obferv'd, the knowing and the bold, Fall in the gen'ral maffacre of gold;

Wide-wafting peft! that rages unconfin'd,

And crowds with crimes the records of mankind;
For gold his fword the hireling ruffian draws,
For gold the hireling judge diftorts the laws;
Wealth heap'd on wealth, nor truth nor fafety buys,
The dangers gather as the treasures rife.

Let hift'ry tell where rival kings command,
And dubious title fakes the madded land,
When ftatutes glean the refufe of the sword,
How much more fafe the vaffal than the lord;
Low foulks the hind beneath the rage of pow'r,
And leaves the wealthy traitor in the Tow'r,
Untouch'd his cottage, and his flumbers found,
Tho' confifcation's vultures hover round.

The needy traveller, ferene and gay,

Walks the wild heath, and fings his toil away.
Does envy feize thee? crufh th' upbraiding joy,
Increase his riches and his peace deftroy,
Now fears in dire viciffitude invade,

The rufiling brake alarms, and quiv'ring fhade,
Nor light nor dark nefs bring his pain relief,
One fhews the plunder, and one hides the thief.
Yet ftill one gen'ral cry the fkies affails,
And gain and grandeur load the tainted gales;
Few know the toiling fatefinan's fear or care,
Th' infidious rival and the gaping heir.

Once mere, Democritus, arife on earth,
With cheerful wifdom and inftructive mirth,

* Ver. 12-22. + Ver. 23-27. + Ver. 28---55.

See

See motley life in modern trappings drefs'd,
And feed with varied fools th' eternal jeft:

Thou who couldit laugh where want enchain'd caprice,

Toil crufh'd conceit, and man was of a piece;
Where wealth unlov'd without a mourner dy'd;
And fearce a fycophant was fed by pride;
Where ne'er was known the form of mock debate,
Or feen a new-made mayor's unwieldy state;
Where change of fav'rites made no change of laws,
And fenates heard before they judg'd a caufe;
How wouldst thou fhake at Britain's modifh tribe,
Dart the quick taunt, and edge the piercing gibe?
Attentive truth and nature to defcry,
And pierce each fcene with philofophick eye.
To thee were folemn toys or empty fhow,
The robes of pleafure and the veils of woe:
All aid the farce, and all thy mirth maintain,
Whofe joys are caufelefs, or whofe griefs are vain.
Such was the icorn that fill'd the fage's mind,
Renew'd at ev'ry glance on human kind;
How juft that fcorn ere yet thy voice declare,
Search every flate, and canvafs ev'ry pray'r.

* Unnumber'd fuppliants crowd Preferment's gate,
A thirst for wealth, and burning to be great;
Delufive Fortune hears th' inceffant call,
They mount, they fhine, evaporate, and fall.
On ev'ry stage the foes of peace attend,

Hate dogs their flight, and infult mocks their end. Love ends with hope, the finking ftatefman's door Pours in the morning worshipper no more;

* Ver. 56-107.

For

For growing names the weekly fcribbler lies,
To growing wealth the dedicator flies;

From ev'ry room defcends the painted face,
That hung the bright palladium of the place,
And fmoak'd in kitchens, or in auctions fold,
To better features yields the frame of gold;
For now no more we trace in ev'ry line
Heroick worth, benevolence divine:
The form diftorted juftifies the fall,
And deteftation rids th' indignant wall.

But will not Britain hear the laft appeal,
Sign her foes doom, or guard her fav'rites zeal ?
Thro' Freedom's fons no more remonftrance rings,
Degrading nobles and controuling kings;

Our fupple tribes reprefs their patriot throats,
And afk no queftions but the price of votes ;
. With weekly libels and feptennial ale,
Their wish is full to riot and to rail.

In full-blown dignity, fee Wolfey stand,
Law in his voice, and fortune in his hand :
To him the church, the realm, their pow'rs confign,

Thro' him the rays of regal bounty fhine,

Turn'd by his nod the stream of honour flows,

His fimile alone fecurity bestows:

Still to new heights his reftlefs wifhes tow'r,
Claim leads to claim, and pow'r advances pow'r ;
Till conqueft unrefifted ceas'd to please,
And rights fubmitted, left him none to seize.
At length his fov'reign frowns-the train of ftate
Mark the keen glance, and watch the sign to hate.
Where-e'er he turns he meets a stranger's eye,
His fuppliants fcorn him, and his followers fly;
Now drops at once the pride of awful state,
The golden canopy, the glitt'ring plate,

The

The regal palace, the luxurious board,
The liv'ried army, and the menial lord.
With age, with cares, with maladies opprefs'd,
He feeks the refuge of monaftick rest.
Grief aids difeafe, remember'd folly ftings,
And his laft fighs reproach the faith of kings.
Speak thou, whofe thoughts at humble peace repine,
Shall Wolfey's wealth, with Wolfey's end be thine?
Or liv'st thou now, with fafer pride content,
The wifeft juftice on the banks of Trent?
For why did Wolfey near the fteeps of fate,
On weak foundations raife th' enormous weight?
Why but to fink beneath misfortune's blow,
With louder ruin to the gulphs below?

What gave great Villiers to th' affaffin's knife,
And fix'd difeafe on Harley's clofing life?
What murder'd Wentworth, and what exil'd Hyde,
By kings protected, and to kings ally'd?
What but their with indulg'd in courts to fhine,
And pow'r too great to keep, or to refign?

When first the college rolls receive his name, The young enthusiast quits his ease for fame; Refiftless burns the fever of renown,

Caught from the ftrong contagion of the gown: - O'er Bodley's dome his future labours fpread, And Bacon's manfion trembles o'er his head. Are these thy views? proceed, illuftrious youth, And Virtue guard thee to the throne of Truth!

There is a tradition, that the ftudy of friar Bacon, built on an arch over the bridge, will fall, when a man greater than Bacon fhall pafs under it.