[Page 153]

Free Philosophy.

To the much Honoured Mr. Thomas Rowe. THE Director of my Youthful Studies.

I.
1 CUSTOM, that Tyranness of Fools,
2 That leads the Learned round the Schools
3 In Magick Chains of Forms and Rules,
4 My Genius storms her Throne:
5 No more ye Slaves with Awe profound
6 Beat the dull Track, nor dance the Round,
7 Loose Hands, and quit th' Inchanted Ground,
8 Knowledge invites us each alone.
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II.
9 I hate these Shackles of the Mind
10 Forg'd by the haughty Wise;
11 Souls were not born to be confin'd,
12 And led like Sampson Bound and Blind:
13 I love thy gentle Influence, ROWE,
14 Who only dost Advise:
15 Thy gentle Influence like the Sun
16 Only dissolves the Frozen Snow,
17 Then bids our Thoughts like Rivers flow,
18 And chuse the Channels where they run.
III.
19 Thoughts should be free as Fire or Wind;
20 The Pinions of a Single Mind
21 Will thro' all Nature fly:
22 But who can drag up to the Poles
23 Long fetter'd Ranks of Leaden Souls?
24 My Genius which no Chain controuls
25 Roves with Delight, or deep or high:
26 Swift I survey the Globe around,
27 Dive to the Centre thro' the Solid Ground,
28 Or travel o're the Sky.

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Title (in Source Edition): Free Philosophy.
Author: Isaac Watts
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Genres: address; ode

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Watts, Isaac, 1674-1748. Horæ lyricæ: Poems, chiefly of the lyric kind. In two books. ... By I. Watts. London: Printed by S. and D. Bridge, for John Lawrence at the Sign of the Angel in the Poultrey. MDCCVI., 1706, pp. 153-154. [20],267,[1]p.; 8⁰. (ESTC T82397; OTA K067329.000) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Princeton Theological Seminary Library.)

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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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