Hail, gloomy shade! th' abode of modesty
Void of deceit; no glittering objects here
Dazzle the eyes; and thou, delightful Silence,
Silence, the great Divinity's discourse!
The angels' language, and the hermits' pride,
The help of waking wisdom, and its food;
In thee philosophers have justly plac'd
The sovereign good; free from the broken vows,
The calumnies, reproaches, and the lies
Of which the noisy babbling world complains.