[Page 213]
CARE and GENEROSITY.
A FABLE.
1 OLD Care with Industry and Art,
2 At length so well had play'd his Part;
3 He heap'd up such an ample store,
4 That Av'rice cou'd not sigh for more:
5 Ten thousand flocks his shepherd told,
6 His coffers overflow'd with Gold;
7 The land all round him was his own,
8 With corn his crouded granaries groan.
[Page 214]9 In short so vast his charge and gain,
10 That to possess them was a pain;
11 With happiness oppress'd he lies,
12 And much too prudent to be wise.
13 Near him there liv'd a beauteous maid,
14 With all the charms of youth array'd;
15 Good, amiable, sincere and free,
16 Her name was Generosity.
17 'Twas hers the largess to bestow
18 On rich and poor, on friend and foe.
19 Her doors to all were open'd wide,
20 The pilgrim there might safe abide:
21 For th' hungry and the thirsty crew,
22 The bread she broke, the drink she drew;
23 There Sickness laid her aching head,
24 And there Distress cou'd find a bed. —
25 Each hour with an all-bounteous hand,
26 Diffused she blessings round the land:
27 Her gifts and glory lasted long,
28 And numerous was th' accepting throng.
29 At length pale Penury seiz'd the dame,
30 And Fortune fled, and Ruin came,
31 She found her riches at an end,
32 And that she had not made one friend. —
33 All cursed her for not giving more,
34 Nor thought on what she'd done before;
[Page 215]35 She wept, she rav'd, she tore her hair,
36 When lo! to comfort her came Care. —
37 And cry'd, my dear, if you will join,
38 Your hand in nuptial bonds with mine;
39 All will be well — you shall have store,
40 And I be plagu'd with Wealth no more. —
41 Tho' I restrain your bounteous heart,
42 You still shall act the generous part. —
43 The Bridal came — great was the feast,
44 And good the pudding and the priest;
45 The bride in nine moons brought him forth
46 A little maid of matchless worth:
47 Her face was mix'd of Care and Glee,
48 They christen'd her Oeconomy;
49 And styled her fair Discretion's Queen,
50 The mistress of the golden mean.
51 Now Generosity confin'd,
52 Is perfect easy in her mind;
53 She loves to give, yet knows to spare,
54 Nor wishes to be free from Care.
Source edition
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. 213-215. [16],230p.,plates; 4⁰. (ESTC T42626; OTA K041581.000) (Page images digitized from microfilm of a copy in the Bodleian Library [2799 d 134].)
Editorial principles
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Other works by Christopher Smart
- Against ILL-NATURE. (); ODE AGAINST ILL-NATURE. ()
- APOLLO and DAPHNE. An EPIGRAM. ()
- The BAG-WIG and the TOBACCO-PIPE. A FABLE. ()
- The DECISION. BALLAD III. ()
- The DISTRESSED DAMSEL. BALLAD VII. ()
- EPITHALAMIUM. ODE XI. ()
- The FAIR RECLUSE. BALLAD VIII. ()
- The FORCE of INNOCENCE. To Miss C—. BALLAD VI. ()
- THE HOP-GARDEN. A GEORGIC. In Two BOOKS. ()
- IDLENESS. ODE VII. ()
- THE JUDGMENT OF MIDAS. A MASQUE. ()
- The LASS with the golden Locks. BALLAD II. ()
- A MORNING PIECE, OR, AN HYMN for the HAY-MAKERS. ODE I. ()
- A NIGHT-PIECE; OR, MODERN PHILOSOPHY. ODE III. ()
- A NOON-PIECE; OR, The MOWERS at Dinner. ODE II. ()
- AN OCCASIONAL PROLOGUE and EPILOGUE TO OTHELLO, ()
- ODE ON ST. CECILIA's DAY. ()
- ODE IX. The Author apologizes to a Lady, for his being a little man. ()
- On an EAGLE confined in a College-Court. ODE XIII. ()
- On GOOD-NATURE. ()
- On Miss * * * *. ODE X. ()
- ON THE ETERNITY OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- On the Fifth of December, being the Birth-day of a beautiful young Lady. ODE V. ()
- ON THE GOODNESS OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- ON THE IMMENSITY OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- ON THE OMNISCIENCE OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- ON THE POWER OF THE SUPREME BEING. ()
- On the sudden Death of a CLERGYMAN. ODE IV. ()
- The PHYSICIAN and the MONKEY. An EPIGRAM. ()
- The PRETTY CHAMBERMAID: In Imitation of Ne sit Ancillae tibi amor pudori, &c. of Horace. ODE VI. ()
- The SILENT FAIR. BALLAD V. ()
- [A SONG to DAVID.] ()
- SWEET WILLIAM. BALLAD I. ()
- The TALKATIVE FAIR. BALLAD IV. ()
- To ETHELINDA, On her doing my Verses the honour of wearing them in her bosom. Written at Thirteen. ()
- To Miss — one of the Chichester Graces. BALLAD IX. ()
- To the reverend and learned Dr. WEBSTER, Occasioned by his Dialogues on ANGER and FORGIVENESS. ODE VIII. ()