[Page 47]

[MORAL SONG] III. The ROSE.

I.
1 HOW fair is the Rose? what a beautiful Flow'r?
2 The Glory of April and May:
3 But the Leaves are beginning to fade in an Hour,
4 And they wither and die in a Day.
II.
5 Yet the Rose has one powerful Virtue to boast,
6 Above all the Flowers of the Field:
7 When its Leaves are all dead, and fine Colours are lost,
8 Still how sweet a Perfume it will yield?
III.
9 So frail is the Youth and the Beauty of Men,
10 Tho' they bloom and look gay like the Rose:
11 But all our fond Care to preserve them is vain;
12 Time kills them as fast as he goes.
[Page 48]
IV.
13 Then I'll not be proud of my Youth or my Beauty,
14 Since both of them wither and fade:
15 But gain a good Name by well-doing my Duty;
16 This will scent like a Rose when I'm dead.

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Title (in Source Edition): [MORAL SONG] III. The ROSE.
Author: Isaac Watts
Themes:
Genres: song

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Source edition

Watts, Isaac, 1674-1748. Divine songs: attempted in easy language for the use of children. By I. Watts, D.D. London: Printed for J. Buckland; J. F. and C. Rivington; T. Longman; W. Fenner; T. Field; and E. and C. Dilly, 1777, pp. 47-48. xii,58,[2]p.; 12⁰. (ESTC T185045; OTA K123515.000) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Vet. A5 f.3516].)

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