The introduction. No man happy, that has not conquered the fears of death. The inability of the Epicurean scheme to accomplish that end. Religion only capable of subduing those fears. The hypothesis of Epicurus concerning the formation of the universe shown to be absurd. I. In a more general survey of the parts of the universe. I. By a more close and strict examination of his scheme. The principle of motion not accounted for by that scheme; nor the determination of it one way. Pondus, gravity, innate mobility, words without a meaning. Descent of atoms; upwards and downwards, a middle or centre absurdly asserted by Epicurus in infinite space. His hypothesis not to be supported, whether his matter be supposed finite or infinite. His ridiculous assertion relating to the diurnal and annual motion of the sun. The impossibility of forming the world by the casual concourse of atoms. They could never meet if they moved with equal speed. Primitive atoms, being the smallest parts of matter, would move more slowly than bodies of greater bulk, which have more gravity; yet these are absurdly supposed to move the swiftest. His assertion, that some primitive atoms have a direct, and others an inclining motion, implies a contradiction. Lucretius's explanation of this inclining motion of some first atoms not intelligible. The inexplicable difficulty of stopping the atoms in their flight, and causing them to settle in a formed world. The ponderous earth not to be sustained in liquid air. The Epicurean formation of the heavens very ridiculous. No account given by the Epicureans how the sun and stars are upheld in fluid ether. Their idle account of the formation of the air. The variety of figure and size given by Epicurus to his atoms, a convincing proof of wisdom and design. Another proof is the disproportion of the moist and dry atoms in the
formation of the earth. His ludicrous and childish account of the formation of the hollow for the sea. No account given by Epicurus, or his followers, of the motion of the heavenly orbs, particularly of the sun.
CARUS, we grant no man is bless'd, but he Whose mind from anxious thoughts of death is free.
Let laurel wreaths the victor's brows adorn,
Sublime through gazing throngs in triumph borne ;
Let acclamations ring around the skies,
While curling clouds of balmy incense rise;
Let spoils immense, let trophies gain'd in war,
And conquer'd kings, attend his rolling car;
If dread of death still unsubdued remains,
And secret o'er the vanquish'd victor reigns;
The' illustrious slave in endless thraldom bears
A heavier chain than his led captive wears.
With swiftest wing, the fears of future fate
Elude the guards, and pass the palace gate;
Traverse the lofty rooms, and uncontroll'd
Fly hovering round the painted roofs, and bold
To the rich arras cling, and perch on busts of gold;
Familiar horrors haunt the monarch's head,
And thoughts, ill-boding, from the downy bed
Chase gentle sleep; black cares the soul infest,
And broider'd stars adorn a troubled breast:
In vain they ask the charming lyre, in vain
The flatterer's sweeter voice, to lull their pain;
Riot and wine but for a moment please;
Delights they oft enjoy, but never ease.
What are distinction, honour, wealth, and state, The pomp of courts, the triumphs of the great;
The numerous troops, that envied thrones secure,
And splendid ensigns of imperial power?
What the high palace, rear'd with vast expense,
Unrivall❜d art, and luxury immense,
With statues graced, by ancient Greece supplied,
With more than Persian wealth, and Tyrian pride?
What are the foods of all delicious kinds,
Which now the huntsman, now the fowler, finds;
The richest wines, which Gallia's happy field,
Which Tuscan hills, or thine, Iberia, yield?
Nature depraved abundance does pursue;
Her first and pure demands are cheap and few.
What health promotes, and gives, unenvied peace,
Is all expenseless, and procured with ease.
Behold the shepherd, see the' industrious swain
Who ploughs the field, or reaps the ripen'd grain,
How mean, and yet how tasteful is their fare!
How sweet their sleep! their souls how free from
They drink the streaming crystal, and escape
The inflaming juices of the purple grape ;
And, to protect their limbs from rigorous air,
Garments, their own domestic work, they wear:
Yet thoughts of death their lonely cots molest,
Affright the hind, and break the labourer's rest.
Since these reflections on approaching fate
Distrust and ill-presaging care create ;
"Tis clear we strive for happiness in vain,
While fears of death within insulting reign.
But then Lucretian wits absurdly frame,
To sink those inbred fears, their impious scheme.
To chase the horrors of a conscious mind,
They desperate means and wild expedients find;
The hardy rebels aiming to appease
Their fierce remorse, and dream a while at ease,
Of crying guilt the' avenging power disown,
And pull their high Creator from his throne;
That done, they mock the threats of future pain,
As monstrous fictions of the poet's brain.
Thy force alone, Religion! Death disarms,
Breaks all his darts, and every viper charms;
Soften'd by thee, the grisly form appears
No more the horrid object of our fears;
We, undismay'd, this awful power obey,
That guides us through the safe, though gloomy
way,
Which leads to life, and to the blest abode Where ravish'd minds enjoy, what here they own'd, a GOD!
Regard, ye sages of Lucretian race,
Nature's rich dress; behold her lovely face,
Look all around, terrestrial realms survey,
The isles, the rivers, and the spacious sea;
Observe the air, view with attentive eyes
The glorious concave of the vaulted skies;
Could these from casual hits, from tumult those,
arise?
Can rule and beauty from distraction grow?
Can symmetry from wild confusion flow?
When atoms in the' unmeasured space did rove,
And in the dark for doubtful empire strove;
Did intervening chance the feuds compose,
Establish friendship, and disarm the foes?
Did this the ancient darksome horrors chase,
Distinction give, and spread celestial grace
O'er the black districts of the empty space?
Could atoms, which, with undirected flight, Roam'd through the void, and ranged the realms of night,
Of reason destitute, without intent,
Deprived of choice, and mindless of event,
In order march, and to their posts advance,
Led by no guide, but undesigning chance?
What did the entangled particles divide,
And sort the various seeds of things allied?
To make primeval elements select
All the fit atoms, and the' unfit reject?
Distinguish hot from cold, and moist from dry,
Range some to form the earth, and some the sky?
From the embrace, and gloomy arms, of night,
What freed the glimmering fire, and disengaged
the light?
[take?
Could Chance such just and prudent measures
To frame the world, such distribution make?
If to your builder you will conduct give,
A power to choose, to manage, and contrive;
Your idol Chance, supposed inert and blind,
Must be inroll'd an active conscious mind.
Did this, your wise and sovereign architect,
Design the model, and the world erect?
Were by her skill the deep foundations laid,
The globes suspended, and the heavens display'd,
By what elastic engines did she rear
The starry roof, and roll the orbs in air?
On the formation of the earth reflect;
Is this a blind fortuitous effect?
Did all the grosser atoms, at the call
Of Chance, file off, to form the ponderous ball, And undetermined into order fall?
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