‘Of manners gentle, of affections mild;
In wit a man, ſimplicity a child;
Above temptation in a low eſtate,
And uncorrupted even amongſt the great;
A ſafe companion, and an eaſy friend,
Unblamed thro’ life, lamented in thy end:
Theſe are thy honours! not that here thy buſt
Is mix’d with heroes, or with kings thy duſt,
But that the worthy and the good ſhall ſay,
Striking their penſive boſoms—here lies Gay;’
Then follows this farther inſcription,
Here lie the aſhes of Mr. John Gay;
The warmeſt friend;
The moſt benevolent man:
Who maintained
Independency
In low circumſtances of fortune;
Integrity
In the midſt of a corrupt age;
And that equal ſerenity of mind,
Which conſcious goodneſs alone can give
Thro’ the whole courſe of his life.
Favourite of the muſes
He was led by them to every elegant art;
Refin’d in taſte,
And fraught with graces all his own:
In various kinds of poetry
Superior to many,
Inferior to none,
His works continue to inſpire
What his example taught,
Contempt of folly, however adorned;
Deteſtation of vice, however dignified;
Reverence of virtue, however diſgraced.
