GIVE me, ye Powers that rule in gentle hearts! The full design, complete in all its parts, Th' enthusiastic glow, that swells the soul -- When swell'd too much, the judgment to control -- The happy ear that feels the flowing force Of the smooth line's uninterrupted course; Give me, oh give! if not in vain the prayer, That sacred wealth, poetic worth to share -- Be it my boast to please and to improve, To warm the soul to virtue and to love; To paint the passions, and to teach mankind Our greatest pleasures are the most refined; The cheerful tale with fancy to rehearse, And gild the moral with the charm of verse. |