Page:The Pleasures of Imagination - Akenside (1744).djvu/112

Book III. Exalt her daring eye; then mightier far Will be the change, and nobler. Would the forms Of servile custom cramp her generous pow'rs: Would sordid policies, the barb'rous growth Of ignorance and rapine, bow her down To tame pursuits, to indolence and fear: Lo! she appeals to nature, to the winds And rowling waves, the sun's unwearied course, The elements and seasons: all declare For what th' eternal maker has ordain'd The pow'rs of man: we feel within ourselves His energy divine: he tells the heart, He meant, he made us to behold and love What he beholds and loves, the general orb Of life and being; to be great like him, Beneficent and active. Thus the men Whom nature's works can charm, with himself Hold converse; grow familiar, day by day, With his conceptions; act upon his plan; And form to his, the relish of their souls.