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[Page 66]
On a GOOD CONSCIENCE.
1 THE solid Joys of human Kind
2 Are those that flow from Peace of Mind;
3 For who the Sweets of Life can taste,
4 With Vice, and tim'rous Guilt, opprest?
5 'Tis Virtue softens all our Toils,
6 With Peace our Conscience crowns;
7 Gives Pleasure, when our Fortune smiles,
8 And Courage, when it frowns;
9 Calms ev'ry Trouble, makes the Soul serene,
10 Smooths the contracted Brow, and chears the Heart within.
11 WHILE guilty Minds, involv'd with Woe,
12 Anticipate the future Blow;
[Page 67]13 Which is (to make Damnation more complete)
14 The lesser Hell, in Passage to the great;
15 Bold and intrepid honest Men appear;
16 For, as they know no Evil, none they fear:
17 A glorious Shield of Virtue guards their Breast;
18 Arm'd with themselves, they always walk at Rest.
19 THUS, under bursting Clouds, and stormy Skies,
20 When Thunder roars, and Lightning flies,
21 Th'Imperial Eagles boldly rove,
22 Nor dread the firy Bolt of JOVE;
23 While meaner Birds in secret creep below;
24 And trembling fear, and often feel, the Blow.
About this text
Author: Stephen Duck
Themes:
virtue; vice
Genres:
topical verse
Text view / Document view
Source edition
Duck, Stephen, 1705-1756. Poems on several occasions: By Stephen Duck. London: printed for the author, 1736, pp. 66-67. xl,334,[2]p. ; 4⁰. (ESTC T90234; OTA K073280.000)
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 Stephen Duck
- The ABSENT LOVER. ()
- [Ad JOANNEM MILTONUM.] ()
- The ANSWER. ()
- AVARO and AMANDA. A POEM, in FOUR CANTO's, Taken from the Spectator, Vol. I. No. xi. ()
- CHLOE's CONQUEST. ()
- CONTENTMENT. ()
- A Description of a Journey To Marlborough, Bath, Portsmouth, &c. To the Right Honourable the Lord Viscount PALMERSTON. ()
- An EPIGRAM. ()
- FELIX and CONSTANCE. A POEM, taken from BOCCACE. ()
- GRATITUDE. A PASTORAL. ()
- Imitated from CLAUDIAN. ()
- An IMITATION Of the Sixteenth Ode Of the Second Book of HORACE. ()
- An Imitation of the Sixteenth Ode of the Third Book of HORACE. ()
- An Imitation of the Tenth Ode of the Second Book of HORACE. To the Right Hon. the Lord Viscount PALMERSTON. ()
- Occasion'd by a Dispute with a LADY. ()
- An ODE, presented to their Royal Highnesses the Prince and Princess of WALES, in Richmond Gardens, on Thursday, May 6. 1736. ()
- Of FRIENDSHIP. To CELIA. ()
- On a Screen, work'd in Flowers by Her Royal Highness ANNE, Princess of ORANGE. ()
- On Celia's Picture, drawn by Sir Godfrey Kneller. ()
- On Delia singing, and playing on Music. ()
- On FLORELLA's Birth-Day. ()
- On MITES. To a LADY. ()
- On Mrs. L—s. ()
- On MUSIC. ()
- On POVERTY. ()
- On RICHMOND PARK, and ROYAL GARDENS. ()
- On the Hon. Mrs. HORNER's Travelling for the Recovery of her Health. ()
- On the Marriage of his Serene Highness the Prince of Orange. ()
- On the QUEEN's Grotto, in RICHMOND Gardens. ()
- On Two Young Ladies leaving the Country. ()
- A PASTORAL ELEGY. ()
- PENELOPE to ULYSSES. Paraphras'd from OVID. ()
- A Poem on Her MAJESTY's Birth-Day. ()
- Proper Ingredients to make a Sceptic. ()
- The SHUNAMMITE. To Mrs. STANLEY. ()
- The THRESHER's LABOUR. To the Revd. Mr. STANLEY. ()
- To a Gentleman, who requested a Copy of Verses from the Author. ()
- To a Young LADY, who had a CUPID given Her. ()
- To DEATH. An IRREGULAR ODE. ()
- To His ROYAL HIGHNESS The DUKE of CUMBERLAND, On His BIRTH-DAY. ()
- To Mr. Winder, (now Fellow) of Corpus-Christi, Oxford; in Answer to a Latin Epistle, which he sent me. ()
- To Mr. WORSDALE: Occasion'd by seeing CELIA's Picture unfinish'd. Writ extempore at Kensington. ()
- To the Author of a Poem on the Duke of Lorrain's Arrival at the British Court. ()
- To the Rev. Dr. Freind, on his quitting Westminster School. ()
- To the Right Honourable William Clayton, Esq (now Lord Sundon) on his being Elected Representative in Parliament for Westminster without Opposition. ()
- TRUTH and FALSHOOD. A FABLE. ()
- The Two Beavers. A FABLE. ()
- VERSES to the Author, In IMITATION of HORACE's ODE on PINDAR. Apply'd to the Marriage of his Highness the Prince of Orange with ANNE, Princess Royal of Great Britain. ()