It is a beam, which He on man lets fall,
Of light, by which He made and governs all. 
’Tis God alone should not offended be;
But we please others, as more great than He. 20
For a good cause, the sufferings of man
May well be borne; ’tis more than angels can. 
Man, since his fall, in no mean station rests,
Above the angels, or below the beasts. 
He with true joy their hearts does only fill,
That thirst and hunger to perform His will. 
Others, though rich, shall in this world be vex’d,
And sadly live in terror of the next. 
The world’s great conqu’ror[1] would his point pursue,
And wept because he could not find a new; 30
Which had he done, yet still he would have cried,
To make him work until a third he spied. 
Ambition, avarice, will nothing owe
To Heaven itself, unless it make them grow. 
Though richly fed, man’s care does still exceed;
Has but one mouth, yet would a thousand feed. 
In wealth and honour, by such men possess’d,
If it increase not, there is found no rest. 
All their delight is while their wish comes in;
Sad when it stops, as there had nothing been. 40
’Tis strange men should neglect their present store,
And take no joy but in pursuing more;
No! though arrived at all the world can aim;
This is the mark and glory of our frame,
A soul capacious of the Deity,
Nothing but He that made can satisfy. 
A thousand worlds, if we with Him compare, 47
Less than so many drops of water are. 
Men take no pleasure but in new designs;
And what they hope for, what they have outshines. 
Our sheep and oxen seem no more to crave,
With full content feeding on what they have;
Vex not themselves for an increase of store,
But think to-morrow we shall give them more. 
What we from day to day receive from Heaven,
They do from us expect it should be given. 
We made them not, yet they on us rely,
More than vain men upon the Deity;
More beasts than they! that will not understand
That we are fed from His immediate hand. 60
Man, that in Him has being, moves, and lives,
What can he have, or use, but what He gives? 
So that no bread can nourishment afford,
Or useful be, without His sacred Word.

[1] ‘Great conqueror’:  Alexander.

CANTO II.

Earth praises conquerors for shedding blood,
Heaven those that love their foes, and do them good. 
It is terrestrial honour to be crown’d
For strewing men, like rushes, on the ground. 
True glory ’tis to rise above them all,
Without th’advantage taken by their fall. 70
He that in sight diminishes mankind,
Does no addition to his stature find;
But he that does a noble nature show,