[Page 111]
The Mid-Night Thought.
1 NOw that the twinkling stars Essay
2 A Faint Resemblance of the Day,
3 Shewn fairer now for being beset
4 With Night (like Diamonds in jett)
5 Let me Repos'd within this Grove,
6 The Solemn season There Improve.
7 Restless alas! from Sun to Sun,
8 A Round of Business I have run:
9 Whilst others slept projecting Lay,
10 Yet since I THOUGHT how many a day!
11 How long since I did meditate
12 Of Life, of Death, and Future state?
13 Approaching Fate his Pace will keep,
14 Let Mortalls Watch, or let them Sleep.
15 What Sound is That? — a Passing Bell!
16 Then to Eternity Farewell!
[Page 112]17 Poor Soul, Thou'rt at thy Crisis now,
18 And one short Hour thy Doom shall show,
19 Eternall Bliss, or endless Woe!
20 If Virtue's Lore Thou hast despiz'd,
21 How Wou'd That Virtue now be priz'd!
22 Or say, Thou didst in our Loose Age,
23 On her forsaken Side Engage,
24 Wouldst Thou the dear Remembrance now,
25 For the Worlds Monarchie Forgoe?
26 What other Medicine canst Thou find
27 T'asswage the Feavour in thy mind?
28 Now Wakened Conscience speaks at Large,
29 And envious Fiends inhance the Charge!
30 Let the bold Atheist now draw neer,
31 Thy chill and drooping spirits to cheer;
32 His Briskest Wine and Witt to Thee
33 Will now alike Insipid be!
34 Where is the Lawless Hectring Brave
35 That from th' Arrest of Death can save?
36 Wh' Attempt a Rescue Here, will fail,
37 And this grim Serjeant takes no Bail.
Source edition
Tate, Nahum, c. 1652-1715. Poems by N. Tate. London: Printed by T.M. for Benj. Tooke ..., 1677, pp. 111-112. [15],133p. (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Harding C 2953].)
Editorial principles
Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. 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 Nahum Tate
- Advice to a Friend, designing to Publish his Poems. ()
- Amor Sepulchralis. ()
- The Amorist. ()
- The Amusement. ()
- The Banquet. ()
- The Beldam's Song. ()
- The Challenge. ()
- The Choice. ()
- The Confinement. ()
- The Counter-Turn. ()
- The Cure. A Dialogue. ()
- Dialogue. Alexis and Laura. ()
- Disappointed. ()
- The Disconsolate. ()
- The Discovery. ()
- Disswasion of an Aged Friend from Leaving his Retirement. ()
- The Dream. ()
- The Escape. ()
- The Gold-hater. ()
- The Gratefull Shepheard. ()
- The Hurricane. ()
- The Ignorant. ()
- The Inconstant. A Paraphrase on the XV. Epod of Horace. ()
- The Indispos'd. ()
- The Ingrates. ()
- The Installment. ()
- Laura's Walk. ()
- The Male Content. ()
- [Martial] Lib. 1. Epigr. CX. De Issa Catellâ Publij. ()
- [Martial] Lib. 1. Epigr. IX. ()
- [Martial] Lib. 1. Epigr. XIV. De Arriâ & Paeto. ()
- [Martial] Lib. 9. Epigr: VI. ()
- [Martial] Lib. XI. Epigr. XCV. Translated in Dialogue. ()
- [Martial] Lib. XI. Epigr. XLIII. ()
- The Match. ()
- Melancholy. ()
- ODE. To my Ingenious Friend Mr. Flatman. ()
- Of the Ape and the Fox. A Paraphrase on one of the Centum Fabulae. ()
- Of the Few Adherers to Virtue. ()
- On a deform'd Old Baw'd designing to have her Picture drawn. ()
- On a Diseased Old Man, who Wept at thought of leaving the World. ()
- On a Grave Sir retiring to Write in Order to undeceive the World. ()
- On an Old Miser that Hoarded his Treasure in a Steel Chest, and bury'd it. ()
- On Sight of some Martyr's Sepulchres. ()
- On Snow fall'n in Autumn, and dissolv'd by the Sun. ()
- ON THE Present Corrupted State OF POETRY. ()
- The Parting. ()
- The Pennance. ()
- The Politicians. ()
- The Prospect. ()
- Recovering from a Fit of Sickness. ()
- The Request. ()
- The Requitall. ()
- The Restitution. ()
- The Round. ()
- The Search. ()
- Sliding on Skates in very hard Frost. ()
- Strephon's Complaint on quitting his Retirement. ()
- The Surprizal. ()
- The Tear. ()
- The three First Verses of the 46th Psalm Paraphras'd. ()
- To a Desponding Friend. ()
- TO Mr. THOMAS FLATMAN ON HIS Excellent POEMS. ()
- The Unconfin'd. ()
- The Usurpers. ()
- The Vision, Written in a dangerous fit of Sickness. ()
- The Vow-Breaker. ()
- The Voyagers. ()