On the Goodness of the Supreme Being

POETICAL ESSAY. By CHRISTOPHER SMART, M. A. Of Pembroke Hall in the University of Cambridge.<> TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF DARLINGTON THIS ESSAY ON The GOODNESS of the SUPREME BEING. Is Inscribed, By His Lordship's Most obliged,  And obedient Servant, C. SMART. Orpheus, for so the Gentiles call'd thy name, Israel's sweet Psalmist, who alone couldst wake Th'inanimate to motion; who alone The joyful hillocks, the applauding rocks, And floods with musical persuasion drew; Thou who to hail and snow gav'st voice and sound, And mad'st the mute melodious! — greater yet Was thy divinest skill, and rul'd o'er more Than art or nature; for thy tuneful touch Drove trembling Satan from the heart of Saul, And quell'd the evil Angel: — in this breast Some portion of thy genuine spirit breathe, And lift me from myself, each thought impure Banish; each low idea raise, refine, Enlarge, and sanctify; — so shall the muse Above the stars aspire, and aim to praise Her God on earth, as he is prais'd in heaven.

Immense Creator! whose all-powerful hand Fram'd universal Being, and whose Eye Saw like thyself, that all things form'd were good; Where shall the tim'rous bard thy praise begin, Where end the purest sacrifice of song, And just thanksgiving? — The thought — kindling light, Thy prime production, darts upon my mind Its vivifying beams, my heart illumines, And fills my soul with gratitude and Thee. Hail to the chearful rays of ruddy morn, That paint the streaky East, and blithsome rouse The birds, the cattle, and mankind from rest! Hail to the freshness of the early breeze, And Iris dancing on the new--fall'n dew! Without the aid of yonder golden globe Lost were the garnet's lustre, lost the lilly, The tulip and auricula's spotted pride; Lost were the peacock's plumage, to the sight So pleasing in its pomp and glossy glow. O thrice-illustrious! were it not for thee Those pansies, that reclining from the bank, View thro' th'immaculate, pellucid stream Their portraiture in the inverted heaven, Might as well change their triple boast, the white, The purple, and the gold, that far outvie The Eastern monarch's garb, ev'n with the dock, Ev'n with the baneful hemlock's irksome green. Without thy aid, without thy gladsome beams The tribes of woodland warblers wou'd remain Mute on the bending branches, nor recite The praise of him, who, e'er he form'd their lord, Their voices tun'd to transport, wing'd their flight, And bade them call for nurture, and receive; And lo! they call; the blackbird and the thrush, The woodlark, and the redbreast jointly call; He hears and feeds their feather'd families, He feeds his sweet musicians, — nor neglects Th'invoking ravens in the greenwood wide; And tho' their throats coarse ruttling hurt the ear, They mean it all for music, thanks and praise They mean, and leave ingratitude to man;-- But not to all,--for hark! the organs blow Their swelling notes round the cathedral's dome, And grace th'harmonious choir, celestial feast To pious ears, and med'cine of the mind; The thrilling trebles of the manly base Join in accordance meet, and with one voice All to the sacred subject suit their song: While in each breast sweet melancholy reigns Angelically pensive, till the joy Improves and purifies; — the solemn scene The Sun thro' storied panes surveys with awe, And bashfully with-holds each bolder beam. Here, as her home, from morn to eve frequents The cherub Gratitude; — behold her eyes! With love and gladness weepingly they shed Extatic smiles; the incense, that her hands Uprear, is sweeter than the breath of May Caught from the nectarine's blossom, and her voice Is more than voice can tell; to him she sings, To him who feeds, who clothes and who adorns, Who made and who preserves, whatever dwells In air, in stedfast earth, or fickle sea. O He is good, he is immensely good! Who all things form'd, and form'd them all for man; Who mark'd the climates, varied every zone, Dispensing all his blessings for the best In order and in beauty: — raise, attend, Attest, and praise, ye quarters of the world! Bow down, ye elephants, submissive bow To him, who made the mite; tho' Asia's pride, Ye carry armies on your tow'r-crown'd backs, And grace the turban'd tyrants, bow to him Who is as great, as perfect and as good In his less-striking wonders, till at length The eye's at fault and seeks th'assisting glass. Approach and bring from Araby the blest The fragrant cassia, frankincense and myrrh, And meekly kneeling at the altar's foot Lay all the tributary incense down. Stoop, sable Africa, with rev'rence stoop, And from thy brow take off the painted plume; With golden ingots all thy camels load T'adorn his temples, hasten with thy spear Reverted, and thy trusty bow unstrung, While unpursu'd the lions roam and roar, And ruin'd tow'rs, rude rocks and caverns wide Remurmur to the glorious, surly sound. And thou, fair Indian, whose immense domain To counterpoise the Hemisphere extends, Haste from the West, and with thy fruits and flow'rs, Thy mines and med'cines, wealthy maid, attend. More than the plenteousness so fam'd to flow By fabling bards from Amalthea's horn Is thine; thine therefore be a portion due Of thanks and praise: come with thy brilliant crown And vest of fur; and from thy fragrant lap Pomegranates and the rich ananas pour. But chiefly thou, Europa, seat of grace And Christian excellence, his goodness own, Forth from ten thousand temples pour his praise; Clad in the armour of the living God Approach, unsheath the spirit's flaming sword; Faith's shield, Salvation's glory, — compass'd helm With fortitude assume, and o'er your heart Fair truth's invulnerable breast-plate spread; Then join the general chorus of all worlds, And let the song of charity begin In strains seraphic, and melodious pray'r. ``O all-sufficient, all beneficent, ``Thou God of Goodness and of glory, hear! ``Thou, who to lowliest minds dost condescend, ``Assuming passions to enforce thy laws, ``Adopting jealousy to prove thy love: ``Thou, who resign'd humility uphold, ``Ev'n as the florist props the drooping rose, ``But quell tyrannic pride with peerless pow'r, ``Ev'n as the tempest rives the stubborn oak. ``O all-sufficient, all-beneficent, ``Thou God of Goodness, and of glory, hear! ``Bless all mankind, and bring them in the end ``To heav'n, to immortality, and Thee!