[Page 197]
TO Thomas Gunston Esq
1700.
Happy Solitude.
Casimire Book 4. Ode 12. Imitated.Quid me latentem, &c.
I.
1 THE noisy World complains of me
2 That I should shun their Sight, and flee
3 Visits, and Crowds and Company.
[Page 198]4 GUNSTON, the Lark dwells in her Nest
5 Until she mount the Skies;
6 And in my Closet I could rest
7 Till to the Heavens I rise.
II.
8 Yet they will urge, "This private Life
9 " Can never make you Blest,
10 "And twenty Doors are still at Strife
11 " T' engage you for a Guest?
12 Friend, should you see the Louvre, or Whitehall
13 Open their Royal Gates, and call,
14 And wait for WATTS to come,
15 He has no Business there at all
16 Who finds so much at Home.
III.
17 When I within my self retreat,
18 I shut my Doors against the Great;
19 My busy Eyeballs inward roll,
20 And there with large survey I see
21 All the wide Theatre of Me,
22 And view the various Scenes of my retiring Soul;
23 There I walk o're the Mazes I have trod,
[Page 199]24 While Hope and Fear are in a doubtful Strife
25 Whether this Opera of Life
26 Be acted well to gain the Plaudit of my God.
IV.
27 There's a Day hastning, ('tis an Awful Day)
28 When the great Sovereign shall at large review
29 All that we speak and all we do,
30 The several Parts we act on this wide Stage of Clay:
31 These he approves, and those he blames,
32 And Crowns perhaps a Porter, and a Prince he Damns
33 O if the Judge from his tremendous Seat
34 Shall not condemn what I have done,
35 I shall be Happy tho' unknown,
36 Nor need the gazing Rabble, nor the shouting Street.
V.
37 I hate the Glory, Friend, that springs
38 From Vulgar Breath and empty Sound;
39 Fame mounts her upward with a Flatt'ring Gale
40 Upon her Airy Wings
41 Till Envy Shoots, and Fame receives the Wound;
42 Then her flagging Pinions fail,
[Page 200]43 Down Glory falls and strikes the Ground
44 And breaks her batter'd Limbs.
45 Rather let me be quite conceal'd from Fame;
46 How happy I should lye
47 In Sweet Obscurity,
48 Nor the Loud World pronounce my little Name!
49 Here I could live and dye alone;
50 Or if Society be due
51 To keep our Tast of Pleasure new,
52 GVNSTON, I'de live and die with you,
53 For both our Souls are one.
VI.
54 Here we could sit and pass the pleasing Hour,
55 And Pity Kingdoms and their Kings,
56 And smile at all their shining Things,
57 Their Toys of State, and Images of Power;
58 Vertue should dwell within our Seat,
59 Vertue alone could make it sweet,
60 Nor is her self secure but in a close Retreat.
61 While she withdraws from publick Praise
62 Envy perhaps would cease to rail,
[Page 201]63 Envy it self may innocently gaze
64 At Beauty in a Vail.
65 But if she once advance to Light,
66 Her Charms are lost in Envy's Sight,
67 And Vertue is the Mark of Universal Spight.
Text
- TEI/XML [chunk] (XML - 144K / ZIP - 15K) / ECPA schema (RNC - 357K / ZIP - 73K)
- Plain text [excluding paratexts] (TXT - 2.5K / ZIP - 1.5K)
Facsimile (Source Edition)
(Page images digitized from a copy in the Princeton Theological Seminary Library.)
Images
- Image #1 (JPEG - 938K)
- Image #2 (JPEG - 1.0M)
- Image #3 (JPEG - 1.1M)
- Image #4 (JPEG - 1.1M)
- Image #5 (JPEG - 1.0M)
All Images (PDF - 2.0M)
Source edition
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. 197-201. [20],267,[1]p.; 8⁰. (ESTC T82397; OTA K067329.000) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Princeton Theological Seminary Library.)
Editorial principles
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.
Other works by Isaac Watts
- THE Absence of the Beloved. ()
- Against Tears. The beginning of Ode 23. Book 4. of Casimire Imitated. Si, quae flent mala, lugubres Auferrent Oculi, &c. ()
- BEWAILING My own Inconstancy. ()
- Breathing towards the Heavenly Country. Casimire. Book I. Od. 19. Imitated. Urit me Patriae Decor, &c. ()
- Brotherly Love. PSALM CXXXIII. ()
- Christ's Amazing Love AND My Amazing Coldness. ()
- Confession and Pardon. ()
- A CRADLE HYMN. ()
- THE Day of Judgment. An ODE, Attempted in English Sapphick. ()
- DEATH A Welcome Messenger. ()
- THE Death of MOSES, Deut. xxxii. 49, 50. and xxxiv. 5, 6. ()
- THE Divine Sovereignty. ()
- Doubts and Fears SUPPRES'D. PSALM III. ()
- Duty to God and our Neighbour. ()
- AN ELEGY ON THE Reverend Mr. Tho. Gouge. ()
- AN EPITAPH ON King WILLIAM III. Of Glorious Memory, Who Died March 8th. 1701. ()
- Forsaken, yet Hoping. ()
- Free Philosophy. ()
- FRIENDSHIP. ()
- A Funeral POEM ON Thomas Gunston Esq ()
- THE GLORIES of GOD Exceed all Worship. ()
- GOD Appears most Glorious IN OUR Salvation by CHRIST. ()
- GOD Incomprehensible. ()
- GOD Sovereign and Gracious. ()
- GOD's Infinity. ()
- THE HAPPY SAINT AND Cursed Sinner. PSALM I. ()
- THE HAZARD OF Loving the Creatures. ()
- [Hymn I.] The Hosanna; or Salvation ascribed to CHRIST. ()
- [Hymn II.] GLORY to the FATHER and the SON, &c. ()
- AN Hymn of Praise TO The God of ENGLAND, FOR Three Great Salvations. (VIZ.) ()
- JESUS THE Only SAVIOUR. ()
- The Law and Gospel. ()
- LONGING FOR HEAVEN, OR, THE Song of Angels Above. ()
- LONGING FOR The Second Coming OF CHRIST. ()
- THE Love of CHRIST ON His CROSS AND On His THRONE. ()
- [MORAL SONG] I. The SLUGGARD. ()
- [MORAL SONG] II. Innocent Play. ()
- [MORAL SONG] III. The ROSE. ()
- [MORAL SONG] IV. The THIEF. ()
- [MORAL SONG] V. The ANT or EMMET. ()
- [MORAL SONG] VI. Good Resolutions. ()
- ON The Sudden Death OF Mrs. Mary Peacock. ()
- Our Saviour's Golden Rule. ()
- THE PLEASURE OF Love to CHRIST Present or Absent. ()
- Praise to the LORD FROM All NATIONS. PSALM C. ()
- THE REVERSE; ON THE View of some of my Friends remaining Comforts. ()
- Sick of Love. Solom. Song, i. 3. ()
- SICKNESS GIVES A Sight of HEAVEN. ()
- A Sight of CHRIST. ()
- Sincere Praise. ()
- Sitting in an Arbour. ()
- SONG I. A general Song of Praise to GOD. ()
- SONG II. Praise for Creation and Providence. ()
- SONG III. Praise to GOD for our Redemption. ()
- SONG IV. Praise for Mercies Spiritual and Temporal. ()
- A Song of Praise TO GOD. PSALM C. In Trissyllable Feet. ()
- SONG V. Praise for Birth and Education in a Christian Land. ()
- SONG VI. Praise for the Gospel. ()
- SONG VII. The Excellency of the BIBLE. ()
- SONG VIII. Praise to GOD for learning to Read. ()
- SONG IX. The All-seeing GOD. ()
- SONG X. Solemn Thoughts of GOD and Death. ()
- SONG XI. Heaven and Hell. ()
- SONG XII. The Advantages of early Religion. ()
- SONG XIII. The Danger of Delay. ()
- SONG XIV. Examples of early Piety. ()
- SONG XV. Against Lying. ()
- SONG XVI. Against Quarrelling and Fighting. ()
- SONG XVII. Love between Brothers and Sisters. ()
- SONG XVIII. Against Scoffing and calling Names. ()
- SONG XIX. Against Swearing, and Cursing, and taking God's Name in vain. ()
- SONG XX. Against Idleness and Mischief. ()
- SONG XXI. Against Evil Company. ()
- SONG XXII. Against Pride in Clothes. ()
- SONG XXIII. Obedience to Parents. ()
- SONG XXIV. The Child's Complaint. ()
- SONG XXV. A MORNING SONG: ()
- SONG XXVI. An EVENING SONG. ()
- SONG XXVII. For the LORD's-DAY MORNING. ()
- SONG XXVIII. For the LORD'S-DAY EVENING. ()
- THE Sufferings and Glories OF CHRIST. A SONG In Trisyllable Feet. ()
- A SUMMER EVENING. ()
- The TEN COMMANDMENTS, out of the Old Testament, put into short Rhyme for Children. ()
- TO David Polhill Esq ()
- TO David Polhill Esq ()
- TO Dr. JOHN SPEED of Southampton. ()
- TO Dr. Thomas Gibson. ()
- TO Her MAJESTY. ()
- TO John Hartopp Esq ()
- TO John Hartopp Esq ()
- TO Mr. A. S. and Mr. T. H. ()
- TO Mr. C. and S. Fleetwood. ()
- TO Mr. Henry Bendish. ()
- TO Mr. John Lock Retired from The World of Business. ()
- TO Mr. JOHN SHUTE ON Mr. LOCK's Dangerous Sickness sometime after he had retired to study the Scriptures. ()
- TO Mr. Nicholas Clark. ()
- TO Mr. Robert Atwood. ()
- TO Mr. William Blackbourn. ()
- TO My Brothers E. and T. W. ()
- TO My Sisters S. and M. W. ()
- TO Nathanael Gould Esq ()
- TO THE Discontented and Unquiet. ()
- TO THE Reverend Mr. B. Rowe. ()
- To the Reverend Mr. John Howe. ()
- To the Right Honourable JOHN Lord CUTTS. [At the Siege of Namure.] ()
- THE Transcendent Glories OF THE DEITY. ()
- THE Universal Hallelujah, OR, PSALM 148. PARAPHRAS'D. ()
- UPON The Dismal Narrative OF THE Afflictions of a Friend. ()
- Wishing him ever with me. ()
- A Word of Warning, OR Few Happy Marriages. ()