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On GOOD-NATURE.

I.
1 HAIL cherub of the highest Heav'n,
2 Of look divine, and temper ev'n,
3 Celestial sweetness, exquisite of mien,
4 Of ev'ry virtue, ev'ry praise the queen!
II.
5 Soft gracefulness, and blooming youth,
6 Where, grafted on the stem of truth,
7 That friendship reigns, no interest can divide,
8 And great humility looks down on pride.
III.
9 Oh! curse on Slander's vip'rous tongue,
10 That daily dares thy merit wrong;
11 Ideots usurp thy title, and thy frame,
12 Without or virtue, talent, taste, or name.
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IV.
13 Is apathy, is heart of steel,
14 Nor ear to hear, nor sense to feel,
15 Life idly inoffensive such a grace,
16 That it shou'd steal thy name and take thy place?
V.
17 No — thou art active — spirit all —
18 Swifter than light'ning, at the call
19 Of injur'd innocence, or griev'd desert,
20 And large with liberality's thy heart.
VI.
21 Thy appetites-in easy tides
22 (As reason's luminary guides)
23 Soft flow — no wind can work them to a storm,
24 Correctly quick, dispassionately warm.
VII.
25 Yet if a transport thou canst feel
26 'Tis only for thy neighbours weal:
27 Great, generous acts thy ductile passions move,
28 And smilingly thou weep'st with joy and love.
VIII.
29 Mild is thy mind to cover shame,
30 Averse to envy, slow to blame,
31 Bursting to praise, yet still sincere and free
32 From flatt'ry's fawning tongue, and bending knee.
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IX.
33 Extensive, as from west to east,
34 Thy love descends from man to beast,
35 Nought is excluded little, or infirm,
36 Thou canst with greatness stoop to save a worm.
X.
37 Come, goddess, come with all thy charms
38 For Oh! I love thee, to my arms —
39 All, all my actions guide, my fancy feed,
40 So shall existence then be life indeed.

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Title (in Source Edition): On GOOD-NATURE.
Author: Christopher Smart
Themes: virtue
Genres: ode

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Smart, Christopher, 1722-1771. Poems on several occasions: By Christopher Smart, A. M. Fellow of Pembroke-Hall, Cambridge. London: printed for the author, by W. Strahan; and sold by J. Newbery, at the Bible and Sun, in St. Paul’s Church-Yard, MDCCLII., 1752, pp. []-3. [16],230p.,plates; 4⁰. (ESTC T42626; OTA K041581.000) (Page images digitized from microfilm of a copy in the Bodleian Library [2799 d 134].)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

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