Page:Works of Voltaire Volume 36.djvu/94

Newton has fixed the bounds of thy career,
Move on, and rule the day, the month and year:
Earth change thy form, and let thy masses weight,
Sinking the Pole the Equator elevate;
Pole, which seem motionless to every eye,
The Bear, that frozen constellation, fly;
And let your long protracted periods last,
Till numberless revolving years are past.
What noble objects these! what high delights!
Feels the rapt soul filled with such glorious light!
The mind let loose from its corporeal chains,
A conversation with its God maintains.
How couldst thou say, whilst yet in tender youth,
Receive these treasures of eternal truth,
Shun pleasures which consume our youthful days,
And to such views sublime thy genius raise;
With Newton tread paths ne'er trod before,
And nature's winding labyrinth explore?
May I with you her temple penetrate,
And to all France these truths sublime relate;
Whilst Algarotti, whose instructions please,
This stranger to the Tiber's shore conveys:
Let him with flowers adorn her beauteous face,
Compass in hand, her lineaments I'll trace:
With my rough pencil I'll express each line,
None can embellish beauty so divine.