434525On the Goodness of the Supreme Being1756Christopher Smart
ON THE GOODNESS OF THE SUPREME BEING.
POETICAL ESSAY. By CHRISTOPHER SMART, M. A. Of Pembroke Hall in the University of Cambridge.<> TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF DARLINGTON THIS ESSAY ON The GOODNESS of the SUPREME BEING. Is Inscribed, By His Lordship's Most obliged, And obedient Servant,
C. SMART.
Orpheus, for[1]so the Gentiles call'd thy name,
Israel's sweet Psalmist, who alone couldst wake
Th'inanimate to motion; who alone
The joyful hillocks, the applauding rocks, 5 And floods with musical persuasion drew;
Thou who to hail and snow gav'st voice and sound,
And mad'st the mute melodious! — greater yet
Was thy divinest skill, and rul'd o'er more
Than art or nature; for thy tuneful touch 10 Drove trembling Satan from the heart of Saul,
And quell'd the evil Angel: — in this breast
Some portion of thy genuine spirit breathe,
And lift me from myself, each thought impure
Banish; each low idea raise, refine, 15 Enlarge, and sanctify; — so shall the muse
Above the stars aspire, and aim to praise
Her God on earth, as he is prais'd in heaven.
Immense Creator! whose all-powerful hand
Fram'd universal Being, and whose Eye 20 Saw like thyself, that all things form'd were good;
Where shall the tim'rous bard thy praise begin,
Where end the purest sacrifice of song,
And just thanksgiving? — The thought — kindling light,
Thy prime production, darts upon my mind 25 Its vivifying beams, my heart illumines,
And fills my soul with gratitude and Thee.
Hail to the chearful rays of ruddy morn,
That paint the streaky East, and blithsome rouse
The birds, the cattle, and mankind from rest! 30 Hail to the freshness of the early breeze,
And Iris dancing on the new--fall'n dew!
Without the aid of yonder golden globe
Lost were the garnet's lustre, lost the lilly,
The tulip and auricula's spotted pride; 35 Lost were the peacock's plumage, to the sight
So pleasing in its pomp and glossy glow.
O thrice-illustrious! were it not for thee
Those pansies, that reclining from the bank,
View thro' th'immaculate, pellucid stream 40 Their portraiture in the inverted heaven,
Might as well change their triple boast, the white,
The purple, and the gold, that far outvie
The Eastern monarch's garb, ev'n with the dock,
Ev'n with the baneful hemlock's irksome green. 45Without thy aid, without thy gladsome beams
The tribes of woodland warblers wou'd remain
Mute on the bending branches, nor recite
The praise of him, who, e'er he form'd their lord,
Their voices tun'd to transport, wing'd their flight, 50And bade them call for nurture, and receive;
And lo! they call; the blackbird and the thrush,
The woodlark, and the redbreast jointly call;
He hears and feeds their feather'd families,
He feeds his sweet musicians, — nor neglects 55Th'invoking ravens in the greenwood wide;
And tho' their throats coarse ruttling hurt the ear,
They mean it all for music, thanks and praise
They mean, and leave ingratitude to man;--
But not to all,--for hark! the organs blow 60Their swelling notes round the cathedral's dome,
And grace th'harmonious choir, celestial feast
To pious ears, and med'cine of the mind;
The thrilling trebles of the manly base
Join in accordance meet, and with one voice 65All to the sacred subject suit their song:
While in each breast sweet melancholy reigns
Angelically pensive, till the joy
Improves and purifies; — the solemn scene
The Sun thro' storied panes surveys with awe, 70And bashfully with-holds each bolder beam.
Here, as her home, from morn to eve frequents
The cherub Gratitude; — behold her eyes!
With love and gladness weepingly they shed
Extatic smiles; the incense, that her hands 75Uprear, is sweeter than the breath of May
Caught from the nectarine's blossom, and her voice
Is more than voice can tell; to him she sings,
To him who feeds, who clothes and who adorns,
Who made and who preserves, whatever dwells 80In air, in stedfast earth, or fickle sea.
O He is good, he is immensely good!
Who all things form'd, and form'd them all for man;
Who mark'd the climates, varied every zone,
Dispensing all his blessings for the best 85In order and in beauty: — raise, attend,
Attest, and praise, ye quarters of the world!
Bow down, ye elephants, submissive bow
To him, who made the mite; tho' Asia's pride,
Ye carry armies on your tow'r-crown'd backs, 90And grace the turban'd tyrants, bow to him
Who is as great, as perfect and as good
In his less-striking wonders, till at length
The eye's at fault and seeks th'assisting glass.
Approach and bring from Araby the blest 95The fragrant cassia, frankincense and myrrh,
And meekly kneeling at the altar's foot
Lay all the tributary incense down.
Stoop, sable Africa, with rev'rence stoop,
And from thy brow take off the painted plume; 100 With golden ingots all thy camels load
T'adorn his temples, hasten with thy spear
Reverted, and thy trusty bow unstrung,
While unpursu'd the lions roam and roar,
And ruin'd tow'rs, rude rocks and caverns wide 105 Remurmur to the glorious, surly sound.
And thou, fair Indian, whose immense domain
To counterpoise the Hemisphere extends,
Haste from the West, and with thy fruits and flow'rs,
Thy mines and med'cines, wealthy maid, attend. 110More than the plenteousness so fam'd to flow
By fabling bards from Amalthea's horn
Is thine; thine therefore be a portion due
Of thanks and praise: come with thy brilliant crown
And vest of fur; and from thy fragrant lap 115 Pomegranates and the rich ananas pour.
But chiefly thou, Europa, seat of grace
And Christian excellence, his goodness own,
Forth from ten thousand temples pour his praise;
Clad in the armour of the living God 120 Approach, unsheath the spirit's flaming sword;
Faith's shield, Salvation's glory, — compass'd helm
With fortitude assume, and o'er your heart
Fair truth's invulnerable breast-plate spread;
Then join the general chorus of all worlds, 125 And let the song of charity begin
In strains seraphic, and melodious pray'r.
``O all-sufficient, all beneficent,
``Thou God of Goodness and of glory, hear!
``Thou, who to lowliest minds dost condescend, 130``Assuming passions to enforce thy laws,
``Adopting jealousy to prove thy love:
``Thou, who resign'd humility uphold,
``Ev'n as the florist props the drooping rose,
``But quell tyrannic pride with peerless pow'r, 135 ``Ev'n as the tempest rives the stubborn oak.
``O all-sufficient, all-beneficent,
``Thou God of Goodness, and of glory, hear!
``Bless all mankind, and bring them in the end
``To heav'n, to immortality, and Thee!
1756
Notes
↑Note: See this conjecture strongly supported by Delany, in his Life of David. [The note is probably by the Author].
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
