[Page 169]

Against Tears. The beginning of Ode 23. Book 4. of Casimire Imitated.
Si, quae flent mala, lugubres
Auferrent Oculi, &c.

TO Mrs. B. Bendish.

MADAM,
I.
1 COULD you perswade me Tears were Good
2 To wash our Mortal Cares away,
3 These Eyes of mine should weep a Flood,
4 And Stream into a Briny Sea.
II.
5 Or if these Orbs are hard and dry,
6 (These Orbs that never use to Rain)
7 I'de part with all I'me worth to buy
8 One Sovereign Drop for all my Pain.
[Page 170]
III.
9 Were both the Golden Indies mine,
10 I'de give both Indies for a Tear;
11 I'de Barter all but what's Divine,
12 Nor should I think the Bargain Dear.
IV.
13 But Tears, alas, are trifling Things,
14 They rather feed than heal our Woe;
15 From trickling Eyes new Sorrow springs,
16 As Weeds in Rainy Seasons grow.
V.
17 Thus Weeping urges Weeping on;
18 In vain our Miseries hope Relief,
19 For one Drop calls another down,
20 Till we are drown'd in Seas of Grief.
VI.
21 Then let your streaming Tears be staid,
22 Wear Native Courage on your Face:
23 These Vulgar Things were never made
24 For Souls of a Superior Race.
[Page 171]
VII.
25 If 'tis a Thorny Path you go,
26 And thousand Foes your Steps surround,
27 Stamp the Thorns down, Charge thro' the Foe:
28 The Hardest Fight is Highest Crown'd.

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Title (in Source Edition): Against Tears. The beginning of Ode 23. Book 4. of Casimire Imitated. Si, quae flent mala, lugubres Auferrent Oculi, &c.
Author: Isaac Watts
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Genres: hymn

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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. 169-171. [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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