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TO PIETY.
::Hail, gentle piety! pure spirit, hail!
Divine preceptor of the christian's life,
Companion of the good, guide of the "blest:
Appointed by the God of boundless nature.
Touched by thy golden wand each passion dies;
Fierce anger—deadly hatred—enviousness—
Pride—scorn—deceit—and all the evil train
That dim the mind and mar th' immortal soul.
Morality and virtue mark thy path;
Truth is thy compass, which unerring points
To other worlds,—to life and bliss eternal.
Divine preceptor of the christian's life,
Companion of the good, guide of the "blest:
Appointed by the God of boundless nature.
Touched by thy golden wand each passion dies;
Fierce anger—deadly hatred—enviousness—
Pride—scorn—deceit—and all the evil train
That dim the mind and mar th' immortal soul.
Morality and virtue mark thy path;
Truth is thy compass, which unerring points
To other worlds,—to life and bliss eternal.
The human mind, though clogged with mortal clay,
Borne on thy lofty pinions, mounts above
This transitory spot, with airy thought
Traversing worlds unknown; and, free as light,
Revels in boundless space,—enjoying scenes
Of perfect bliss in bright futurity.
Borne on thy lofty pinions, mounts above
This transitory spot, with airy thought
Traversing worlds unknown; and, free as light,
Revels in boundless space,—enjoying scenes
Of perfect bliss in bright futurity.
Oh, Piety! pure spirit—ever kind,—
Guide every action of my fleeting life,
And, when the task of living shall be o'er,
Bring to my soul, in bright reality,
The scenes which, through thy aid, I long have viewed.
Guide every action of my fleeting life,
And, when the task of living shall be o'er,
Bring to my soul, in bright reality,
The scenes which, through thy aid, I long have viewed.
