His lovely daughter, lovelier in her tears, 375
  The fond companion of his helpless years,
  Silent went next, neglectful of her charms,
  And left a lover’s for a father’s arms. 
  With louder plaints the mother spoke her woes,
  And blessed the cot where every pleasure rose, 380
  And kissed her thoughtless babes with many a tear,
  And clasped them close, in sorrow doubly dear,
  Whilst her fond husband strove to lend relief
  In all the silent manliness of grief.

  O luxury! thou cursed by Heaven’s decree, 385
  How ill exchanged are things like these for thee! 
  How do thy potions, with insidious joy,
  Diffuse their pleasure only to destroy! 
  Kingdoms by thee, to sickly greatness grown,
  Boast of a florid vigor not their own. 390
  At every draught more large and large they grow,
  A bloated mass of rank unwieldy woe;
  Till sapped their strength, and every part unsound,
  Down, down they sink, and spread a ruin round.

  Even now the devastation is begun, 395
  And half the business of destruction done;
  Even now, methinks, as pondering here I stand,
  I see the rural virtues leave the land. 
  Down where yon anchoring vessel spreads the sail,
  That idly waiting flaps with every gale, 400
  Downward they move, a melancholy band,
  Pass from the shore, and darken all the strand. 
  Contented toil, and hospitable care,
  And kind connubial tenderness, are there;
  And piety with wishes placed above, 405
  And steady loyalty, and faithful love. 
  And thou, sweet Poetry, thou loveliest maid,
  Still first to fly where sensual joys invade;
  Unfit in these degenerate times of shame
  To catch the heart, or strike for honest fame; 410
  Dear charming nymph, neglected and decried,
  My shame in crowds, my solitary pride;
  Thou source of all my bliss, and all my woe,
  That found’st me poor at first, and keep’st me so;
  Thou guide by which the nobler arts excel, 415
  Thou nurse of every virtue, fare thee well! 
  Farewell, and O! where’er thy voice be tried,
  On Torno’s cliffs,[27] or Pambamarca’s side,[28]
  Whether where equinoctial fervors glow,
  Or winter wraps the polar world in snow, 420
  Still let thy voice, prevailing over time,
  Redress the rigors of the inclement clime;
  Aid slighted truth with thy persuasive strain;
  Teach erring man to spurn the rage of gain;
  Teach him, that states of native strength possessed, 425
  Though very poor, may still be very blest;
  That trade’s proud empire hastes to swift decay,
  As ocean sweeps the labored mole[29] away;
  While self-dependent power can time defy,
  As rocks resist the billows and the sky. 430