Desire and Love

When thrô your veins the blood impetuous flows, And all the heat of youthful vigor knows: When nature joyous feels the young desire; And lovely Syrens for the kindling fire: Heed well your steps; of ev'ry wile beware; Their laughing eyes; their wanton looks and air: Their laughing eyes, their looks and air conspire, To kindle in the breast love's fiercest fire: Heed well your steps; beware of all their wiles; Their lovely voice, and their all-charming smiles: Their charming smiles subdue the heedless youth, And make him swerve from virtue and from truth: His op'ning ear their lovely voices charm; And with their music all his pow'rs disarm: Disarm of virtue; which in youth appears, More lovely, and more graceful than in years: Disarm of virtue; which alone can give A joy, that shall all other joys outlive; A joy, that shall increase with growing age; Nor fail us when we quit this mortal stage.

Ne'er let a harlot, by a close embrace Once stain thy virtue, or thy name disgrace: Resist her charms, by reason's dictates sway'd; Nor by her form, thô matchless, be betray'd: Lend not an ear to her delusive tongue, Perverse in wit, and eloquently wrong: Nor let thy heart, attracted by her charms, Resign thee to her all-enslaving arms: Lest in life's prime — when nature gay appears, And, full of joy, unnumber'd beauties wears— Thy full-orb'd sun, thô gloriously it shine, Should in the morning of thy days decline: When health's full spring, which can alone supply The stream of pleasure, shall be quickly dry; When ev'ry source of joy, so fast they flow, Shall be all spent, or run at best, but slow: When pain shall seize thee, in that early stage, And quick reduce thee to the state of age.

Desire, uncheck'd by reason's rightful sway, And deaf to what it's sacred precepts say, Will rise to frenzy and to fury grow; And, far from yielding joy, all joy o'er throw: When such it's rage, o'er ev'ry bound it leaps; And, spurning virtue's nod, the empire keeps: Thus uncontrol'd, to madness 'twill inflame; Defeat it's end; and frustrate all it's aim: Thus uncontrol'd, 'twill ev'ry mis'ry breed; And, in the end, to sure destruction lead.

Now view the maid, the love-inspiring maid, With virtue and with modesty array'd: Survey her matchless form; her mind survey; And all their beauty in full light display. Her matchless form, display'd in open light, Attracts the eye, and charms the ravish'd sight. Survey'd and re-survey'd from feet to head, A thousand nameless beauties round her spread: See down her neck the charming locks descend; And, black as jet, in waving ringlets end: The jetty locks, as down her neck they flow, The lovely white to great advantage show: Her comely neck, with symmetry and grace. Rises majestic on it's noble base; And, like a column of superior art, Does to the eye 2 fine effect impart: Her piercing eyes their harmless lightning play; And dart around a joy-diffusing ray: Her cheeks, adorn'd with lovely white and red, May vie with roses in their flow'ry bed: Her coral lips, whene'er she speaks, disclose The finest iv'ry in concentric rows: Her tempting breasts in whiteness far outgo The op'ning lilly, and the new faln snow: Her tempting breasts the eyes of all command, And gently rising court the am'rous hand: Their beauty and proportion strike the eye, And art's best skill to equal them defy.

These matchless charms, which now in bloom appear, Are far exalted by the dress they wear: With virtue robe'd, with modesty attir'd, They're more and more by all mankind admir'd: With virtue robe'd, with modesty array'd, They're in the fairest light to all display'd: True virtue and true modesty inspire With love sincere, unmix'd with base desire; Set off the beauties of her lovely face; And give each feature a peculiar grace: Each feature sheds a joy-inspiring ray; And all around are innocently gay: Each feature speaks the goodness of her mind; By pride untainted, gen'rous, frank and kind. How full of innocence her sprightly eye! Which with the dove's in innocence may vie; From falshood and from guile how free her heart! How free from cunning, and intriguing art! How sweet her kiss! than honey far more sweet; And like her lips exempt from all deceit: Her lips far sweeter odours breath around, Than e'er exhal'd from India's od'rous ground: More sweet than e'er perfum'd the spicy coast; More sweet than fam'd Arabia can boast. Than roses far more grateful is her smile; And more than roses can the sense beguile.

These are her charms—her charms as bright appear As yonder stars that deck heav'n's sparkling sphere; And, like to her's, which bròt down fabled JOVE, Conquer the breast least capable of love.

These num'rous charms, distinguish'd in their kind, Are all eclips'd by her superior mind. Endow'd with ev'ry female excellence, Good nature, prudence, virtue and good sense, She sees without a frown a sister's charms, And thô a rival takes her to her arms: She looks around; each scene of life reviews; And with a heedful step her course pursues: She views her heart with circumspective eyes; And by true wisdom's laws her conduct tries. From noble or ignoble lineage sprung, Vice in her presence dares not move it's tongue; Aw'd by her presence, at her feet as dead The monster lies; nor dares to lift it's head. When from her lips the words harmonious flow, They're fraught with sense, and with ideas glow: Ideas—bright with truth's coelestial ray; And clear as Phoebus in meridian day. Thus virtue, sense, good nature, prudence—join'd, Display the rare endowments of her mind: Endowments—which, from nature thô they came, Improv'd by wisdom, spread abroad her fame. From nature's hand, which ev'ry good bestows, Thô charm on charm in such profusion flows; She's not elate, she's not debas'd, with pride; Nor lets it in her charms triumphant ride: But modesty and kind deportment reign In all she does, and just applauses gain.

These and a thousand nameless charms conspire To waken in the breast love's gen'rous fire. Shut not to love, inspiring love, thy breast; But, open to it's tenderness, be blest: It's sacred flame, when uncorrupt and pure, Shall raise thy heart, and ev'ry joy insure: It's sacred flame shall mollify thy breast, And make it suitable to be impress'd With principles—just, gen'rous, public, free; That lead to union with Society; That lead to pleasures social and refin'd; Enlarge the heart; and elevate the mind.