Good Wor'ster thus supports his drooping age,
Far from court-flatt'ry, far from party rage;
He, who in youth a tyrant's frown defy'd,
Firm and intrepid on his country's side,
Her boldest champion then, and now her mildest guide.
O gen'rous warmth! O sanctity divine!
To emulate his worth, my friend, be thine:
Learn from his life the duties of the gown;
Learn not to flatter, nor insult the crown;
Nor basely servile court the guilty great,
Nor raise the Church a rival to the State:
To Error mild, to Vice alone severe,
Seek not to spread the law of Love by Fear.
The priest, who plagues the world, can never mend:
No foe to Man was e'er to God a friend:
Let reason and let virtue faith maintain,
All force but theirs is impious, weak, and vain.
Me other cares in other climes engage,
Cares that become my birth, and suit my age;
In various knowledge to improve my youth,
And conquer Prejudice, worst foe to Truth;
By foreign arts domestick faults to mend,
Enlarge my notions, and my views extend;
The useful science of the world to know,
Which books can never teach, or pedants shew.