26
The ART of
B. II.
Farewel, etherial fields! the humbler arts
10Of life; the table and the homely Gods,
Demand my song. Elysian gales adieu!
The blood, the fountain whence the spirits flow.
The generous stream that waters every part,
And motion, vigor, and warm life conveys
15To every particle that moves or lives;
This vital fluid, thro' unnumber'd tubes
Pour'd by the heart, and to the heart again
Refunded; scourg'd for ever round and round,
Enrag'd with heat and toil, at last forgets
20Its balmy nature; virulent and thin
It grows; and now, but that a thousand gates
Are open to its flight, it would destroy
The parts it cherish'd and repair'd before.
Besides, the flexible and tender tubes
25Melt in the mildest, most nectareous tide
That
