Odes.
89
False images our sight beguile,
But still we stumble thro' the gloom,
And Science seek, which still deludes the mind.
Yet, more enamour'd with the race, 50
With disproportion'd speed we urge the chase:
In vain! the various prey no bounds restrain;
Fleeting, it only leaves, t' increase our pain,
A cold unsatisfying scent behind.
But still we stumble thro' the gloom,
And Science seek, which still deludes the mind.
Yet, more enamour'd with the race, 50
With disproportion'd speed we urge the chase:
In vain! the various prey no bounds restrain;
Fleeting, it only leaves, t' increase our pain,
A cold unsatisfying scent behind.
VI.
Yet, gracious God! presumptuous man, 55
With random guesses, makes pretence
To sound thy searchless providence,
From which he first began:
Like hooded hawks we blindly tow'r,
And circumscribe, with fancy'd laws, thy pow'r. 60
Thy will the rolling orbs obey;
The moon, presiding o'er the sea,
Governs the waves with equal sway:
But man, perverse, and lawless still,
Boldly runs counter to thy will; 65
Thy patient thunder he defies,
Lays down false principles, and moves
By what his vicious choice approves,
And when he's vainly wicked thinks he's wise.
Yet, gracious God! presumptuous man, 55
With random guesses, makes pretence
To sound thy searchless providence,
From which he first began:
Like hooded hawks we blindly tow'r,
And circumscribe, with fancy'd laws, thy pow'r. 60
Thy will the rolling orbs obey;
The moon, presiding o'er the sea,
Governs the waves with equal sway:
But man, perverse, and lawless still,
Boldly runs counter to thy will; 65
Thy patient thunder he defies,
Lays down false principles, and moves
By what his vicious choice approves,
And when he's vainly wicked thinks he's wise.
VII.
Return, return, too long misled! 70
With filial fear adore thy God:
Ere the vast deep of heav'n was spread,
Return, return, too long misled! 70
With filial fear adore thy God:
Ere the vast deep of heav'n was spread,
