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SCIENCE. A POEM.
BY FRANCIS HOPKINSON, Esq
Doctrina sed Vim promovet insitam.
Rectique Cultus Pectora roborant.
HOR.
PHILADELPHIA: Printed by WILLIAM DUNLAP, in Market-Street MDCCLXII.
[Page iii]
To the Honorable JAMES HAMILTON,
Esq William Allen, Richard Peters, Benjamin Franklin, William Coleman, Alexander Stedman, William Plumsted, Edward Shippen, Thomas Willing, William Coxe, Abraham Taylor, Benjamin Chew, Thomas Cadwallader, Joseph Turner, and Thomas Leech,
Esquires. Dr. Thomas Bond,
Dr. Phineas Bond,
Dr. William Shippen, Thomas White, Philip Syng, John Inglis, Samuel M
cCall,
Gentlemen; and the Reverend Mr. Jacob Duchè,
Trustees of the COLLEGE
and ACADEMY
of PHILADELPHIA. AND TO
The Reverend William Smith,
D. D. Provost, the Reverend Francis Alison,
D. D. Vice-Provost, the Reverend Ebenezer Kinnersly,
M. A. John Beveridge,
M. A. and Hugh Williamson,
M. A. Professors in the said COLLEGE.
[Page iv]
GENTLEMEN,
GENTLEMEN,
IT is not without great Expectations from your Candour and Indulgence, that I am encouraged to lay this little Poem at your Feet.
I do not flatter myself that your Institution will hereby derive any additional Lustre; but only take this Opportunity of publickly acknowledging my Affection and Gratitude to that Seat of SCIENCE.
May all your Undertakings for its Advancement meet with more than expected Success: And may it never want Friends to support it with equal Zeal, but greater Abilities than I can boast.
I am,
GENTLEMEN, Your most obliged humble Servant,
F. H.
[Page]
SCIENCE. A POEM.
THOU Goddess oft invok'd! who loves to stray
With light-wing'd FANCY thro' th'Elysian Way:
Whether it chance to please the youthful Queen,
With airy Step to grace the rural Scene;
Or softly languish thro' the breezy Grove,
In all the dying tenderness of Love;
Or,
Moon-light wandring by the Surf-beat Shoar,
Attend the Waters melancholy Roar—
[Page 6]Thou who canst bid the eager Spirit rise,
And dip her Plumage in the dewy Skies;
Once more propitious to my Pray'r attend!
Once more, CELESTIAL MUSE! thy Influence lend.
FAIR SCIENCE softning, with reforming Hand,
The native Rudeness of a barbarous Land;
Her radiant Throne, uprais'd by Pow'r divine;
Her numerous Sons low bending at her Shrine
I sing—Oh could my artless Numbers seem
To flow inspir'd, and equal to my Theme!
YE Friends of
Learning patronize my Song,
To
You the tributary Strains belong.
But chiefly THOU, beneath whose gentle Sway
The Muse delights to swell the pleasing Lay;
Glad
Science THEE shall her MAECENAS hail,
Wisdom shall smile, and heav'nly
Truth prevail.
[Page 7]
IN yonder Dome—it boasts no pompous Name,
Yet not the less shall swell the Page of Fame—
In yonder Dome, with modest Beauty crown'd,
Whose sober Walls it's ample Area bound,
Bright
Sicence dwells—how honour'd the Retreat
Where
Science deigns to fix her fav'rite Seat!
High from her Throne she beams celestial Day,
And distant Lands confess th'enliv'ning Ray:
The
Graces ever in her Presence stand,
And
Virtue blooms beneath her nursing Hand.
THERE first her youthful Vot'ry learns to please
By just Expression, and becoming Ease—
Delightful Task! with early Care to teach,
His lisping Tongue, Propriety of Speech—
See on the Stage the little Hero stands
With Eyes uplifted, and extended Hands:
[Page 8]Or from his Lips
Pope's liquid Numbers flow
In Streams mellifluous—see the conscious Glow
Burns on his Cheek; perhaps the Strains inspire
The infant Raptures of poetic Fire;
Perhaps 'tis Modesty, with native Grace
Bids rising Blushes tinge his youthful Face:
Or now the
Force of Eloquence he tries,
And
Attic Lightnings kindle in his Eyes;
Methinks I see the deep-touch'd Senate glow,
Whilst mimic Thunders threaten from his Brow:
Or now his infant Tongue, in borrow'd Lays,
Swells the
smooth Tribute of his MAKER'S Praise;
See all the Ardor of the
Saint exprest,
As if the Numbers fir'd his little Breast.
What Joy to hear, what Rapture to behold
The graceful Bard—so young and yet so bold
In
Virtue's Cause—bright
Truth shall soon inspire
The lively Ardors of a
real Fire.
[Page 9]
BUT now glad
Science to his riper Age
Unlocks the Treasures of the
Classic Page.
Sweet
Heliconian Draughts enrich his Soul;
From the pure Stream he drinks without Controul.
Virgil for him awakes the tuneful Lyre;
And lavish
Pindar pours out all his Fire—
Pious
Aeneas! who attends thy Woe
But deeply feels the sympathetic Glow?
Thro' ev'ry Page engaging Virtues shine,
And frequent Precepts grace each moral Line.
Whilst
Horace leads the
Lyric Muse along,
With careless Ease attunes the pleasing Song;
Th'unlabour'd Thought, harmoniously exprest,
Gives gayer Transports to the youthful Breast.
Homer more boldly strikes the
Epic String—
Swift are we born upon his rapid Wing
[Page 10]Where bleeding Heroes stain th'empurpled Ground,
And angry Gods are heard in Thunder round.
Now fearless grown the Student loves t'engage
More arduous Heights—the
Mathematic Page
Invites his riper Reason to explore
The mazy Windings of her subtle Lore:
The pleasing Toil delights th'enquiring Youth,
And
Science guides him to th'entangled Truth.
AT length behold to his astonish'd Eye,
Nature's vast Volume all expanded lye.
From each
Effect, he strives to know the
Cause,
And deeply searches her mysterious Laws.
Earth, Air nor Sea, nor Heav'n's extended Space
Can bound the Search of Man's aspiring Race.
Upward he lifts the
Astronomic Eye,
Surveys those Worlds of Light that roll on High;
[Page 11]Mid Suns and blazing Stars he dares to rove,
And learns th'important Laws by which they move;
Sits in the Center, wrapt in Thought profound,
And views the radiant System rolling round.
To REASON's Eye there shall the Cause appear
Why various Seasons form the changing Year.
SPRING first, in Mantle green, and Garlands gay,
Sweet-smelling as she passes, leads the Way;
With breezy Call awakes each rural Sound,
And fills with Music, Woods and Valleys round.
Then
Summer comes light-clad in glowing Red,
Whilst the thick Foliage nods around her Head;
With lavish Bounty from her Lap she pours
Luxuriant Gifts of Herbage, Fruit and Flowers.
In yellow Garb, see
Autumn next appear,
To crown with Plenty the rejoicing Year;
[Page 12]O'er new reap'd Fields with airy Step she roves,
And paints with various Hue the fading Groves.
Then boist'rous
Winter howls along the Plain,
Affrighted Vegetation shrinks again
Back into Earth—Woods, Hills and Valleys stand
Stripp'd of their Pride by his relentless Hand;
In icy Bonds he holds the Water's Fall,
And in his snowy Mantle wraps them all.
THUS shall his Eye important Truths pursue,
And in HIS Works the Great CREATOR view.
The painted Birds that wing the liquid Sky;
The varied Flowers that glow with grateful Dye;
The clustring Fruits that smile in Plenty round;
The Herbs medicinal that strew the Ground;
ALL must the
Philosophic Bosom move
To Wonder, Gratitude and glowing Love.
[Page 13]
AND now the Pupil takes his boldest Flight;
See him adventrous scale the tow'ring Height
Of
Ethic Learning—more extensive Fields,
More pleasing Views the boundless Prospect yields.
His Searches now pursue a nobler Plan;
Now comes that grand Enquiry—WHAT IS MAN?
How form'd? By whom?—Thence shall he learn to know
From his
Connections, what great
Duties flow!
What
Pow'rs are giv'n those
Duties to fulfil;
How form the
Judgment; How direct the
Will.
When
Passion to indulge; when to restrain;
And how his HAPPINESS SUPREME obtain;
What is the Nature of his NOBLER PART;
Why with Ambition throbs his anxious Heart
To draw the Midnight Curtains of the Tomb,
And look for Judgment, and a World to come.
[Page 14]
WHAT Joys from such important Knowledge flow;
See in his Visage conscious Virtue glow.
His Views enlarge; enlightned is his Mind;
More warm his
Heart; his
Passions more refin'd;
RELIGION kindles her celestial Ray;
And TRUTH breaks on him in a Flood of Day.—
PIERIAN MUSE! thy Favour still prolong,
And let thy Presence animate my Song!—
NOW
Science joys to call the Youth her own,
And crowns with Laurel her adopted Son:
His
Alma Mater now prepares to shed
Her rich Rewards on his distinguish'd Head.
The vaulted Roof, the rising Anthems rend,
And pressing Crowds the solemn Scene attend.
Prepar'd for Action now he takes the Field,
And
Speculation must to
Practice yield.
[Page 15]High on the Stage, and graceful to the View—
"Adieu! dear Seat of Bliss, he cries, Adieu!"
Pathetic Sorrows in his Bosom swell,
And, with reluctant Voice, he sighs a last Farewell.
WHAT means my trembling Pulse and throbbing Breast?
Why is the Scene to me so strong exprest?
Fancy again renews the awful Rite;
Th'encircling Audience swims before my Sight.
Once more my Heart beats quick with anxious Fear;
Once more methinks the solemn Charge I hear—
*"Go forth my Sons, our first, our early Pride!
"Thro' Life's dark Maze, be
Virtue still your Guide:
"Without RELIGION
Learning is but vain,
"And fruitless Toil,
Philosophy to gain:
[Page 16]" 'Tis not sufficient that the
Right you know,
"Your
Conduct ever must your
Knowledge show.
"Should injur'd FREEDOM for Assistance cry,
"Nor
Eye, nor
Ear, nor
Hand, nor
Heart deny;
"With pious Zeal upraise her drooping Head:
"THERE'S nought but VICE and TYRANNY to dread."—
BLEST
Institution! Nurse of
Liberty!
My Heart, my grateful Heart shall burn for
thee.
No common Pride I boast, no common Joy,
That
thy Instructions did my Youth employ:
Tho' not the
first among thy Sons I prove,
Yet well I feel I'm not the
last in Love.
Oh may'st thou still in Wealth and Power encrease,
And let thy sacred Influence never cease!
IT must be so, prophetic Fancy cries,
See other
Popes, and other
Shakespears rise;
[Page 17]Each sage
Philosopher, each learn'd
Divine,
And
patriot Worthies, an illustrious Line:
All
those, who nobly fill Fame's ample Page
Again revive to grace a future Age—
Blest Institution hail! methinks I see
The shining Throng ascribe their Birth to THEE.
THOU
Schuylkill, from whose Clifts I love to view
Thy gurgling Stream it's rocky Way pursue,
Shall own
[...]e Change—the savage Yell no more
With rougher Sounds shall rend thy rugged Shoar.
Oh let thy Groves their richest Beauties wear,
And for approaching happier Times prepare.
ALONG thy Banks the pensive Bard shall stray,
Sweep the sweet Lyre, and wake the tuneful Lay;
Echo shall love to catch the melting Sound,
And bid it soften all thy Rocks around.
[Page 18]Ev'n now thy flow'ry Paths I see him tread,
And pluck thy Laurels to adorn his Head:
How shall thy Waves elate flow proudly by,
And grow more turgid, but to catch his Eye.
Thy rural Scenes shall flourish in his Song,
And each romantic Height his Strains prolong.
THERE, whilst his Breast with sacred Ardor burns,
RELIGION, JUSTICE, LIBERTY, by Turns,
And SCIENCE too, in more harmonious Strains,
Shall sweetly warble to the Woods and Plains.
PERHAPS the Bard, when highest Noon prevails,
Beneath some Shade shall court refreshing Gales;
And, whilst his wand'ring Fancy roves more free,
May chance to think on earlier Times, and me—
Presumptuous Thought! shall my unpractis'd Lay
Be born in Safety down
Time's rapid Way;
[Page 19]And still the Rocks of
Criticism fly,
Or fearless pass
Oblivion's Quicksands by.
Enough for me, if, with the least Regard,
The
Friends of
Science shall my Song reward.
No speedy Death my artless Strains shall know,
Nor without Honour will my Numbers flow,
If thus indulgent THEY shall not refuse
To smile propitious on my humble Muse.
FINIS.