68
SATYR.
205 And hangs his Soul upon as nice,
And subtle Curiosities,
As one of that vast Multitude,
That on a Needle's Point have stood:[1]
Weighs right and wrong, and true and false
210 Upon as nice and subtle Scales,
As those that turn upon a Plane
With th' hundredth Part of half a Grain;
And still the subtler they move,
The sooner false and useless prove.
215 So Man, that thinks to force and strain
Beyond its natural Sphere his Brain,
In vain torments it on the Rack,
And, for improving, sets it back;
Is ign'rant of his own Extent,
220 And that to which his Aims are bent,
Is lost in both, and breaks his Blade
Upon the Anvil, where 'twas made:
For as Abortions cost more Pain
Than vig'rous Births; so all the vain
225 And weak Productions of Man's Wit,
That aim at Purposes unfit,
Require more Drudgery, and worse
Than those of strong and lively Force.
And subtle Curiosities,
As one of that vast Multitude,
That on a Needle's Point have stood:[1]
Weighs right and wrong, and true and false
210 Upon as nice and subtle Scales,
As those that turn upon a Plane
With th' hundredth Part of half a Grain;
And still the subtler they move,
The sooner false and useless prove.
215 So Man, that thinks to force and strain
Beyond its natural Sphere his Brain,
In vain torments it on the Rack,
And, for improving, sets it back;
Is ign'rant of his own Extent,
220 And that to which his Aims are bent,
Is lost in both, and breaks his Blade
Upon the Anvil, where 'twas made:
For as Abortions cost more Pain
Than vig'rous Births; so all the vain
225 And weak Productions of Man's Wit,
That aim at Purposes unfit,
Require more Drudgery, and worse
Than those of strong and lively Force.
- ↑ 207, 208. As one of that vast Multitude:—That on a Needle's Point have stood:] This alludes to the whimsical Notions of the Rosicrucians about their aerial Spirits.
