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From the soft Bed, O youthful Maid,
Whereon thy Limbs now lie,
Permission ever to arise,
The cruel Fates deny:
For first shall Death thy lifeless Limbs
Subdue without Remorse,
And his fell Scythe shall to the Grave
Consign thy breathless Corse.
The PORTER.
_Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I will give
you Rest._
MATTHEW xi. 28.
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Hither advance, ye weary Throng,
And quick my Steps attend,
Who under Loads of so great Weight,
With weary Shoulders bend.
Traffic and Gain your anxious Thoughts
Did long enough possess,
Your Breasts the Cares which these produce
No longer shall distress.
The PEASANT.
_In the Sweat of thy Face shalt thou eat Bread._
GENESIS iii. 19.
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Bread for thyself, by Labour great,
Thou shalt thyself obtain;
And from the Ground, without great Toil,
No Sustenance shalt gain.
After long Use of Things below,
And num’rous Labours past,
Pale Death to all thy Cares and Toils
Shall put an End at last.
The CHILD.
_Man that is born of a Woman, is of few Days, and full of Trouble. He
cometh forth like a Flower, and is cut down: He fleeth also as a Shadow,
and continueth not._
JOB xiv. 1.
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Man, who conceiv’d in the dark Womb,
Into the World is brought,
Is born to Times with Misery,
And various Evil fraught.
And as the Flow’r soon fades and dies,
However fair it be,
So sinks he also to the Grave,
And like a Shade does flee.
The SWISS SOLDIER.
_When a strong Man armed keepeth his Palace, his Goods are in Peace. But
when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh
from him all his Armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his Spoils._
LUKE xi. 21, 22.
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Undaunted and secure in Arms,
While Strength and Life remain,
The brave his Mansions, and his Wealth
In Safety shall maintain.
But Death with greater Force shall wage
Against him War ere long,
And, for the Grave, shall cause him quit
His Post, no longer strong.
The GAMESTERS.
_For what is a Man profited, if he shall gain the whole World, and lose
his own Soul?_
MATTHEW xvi. 26.
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If the destructive Art of Dice
Could Wealth immense insure,
Or Man the World by Dice could gain,
What Good would it procure?
His Soul this Practice will destroy,
Entangled in its Snare,
A Loss which no Art, Fraud, or Chance,
Is able to repair.
The DRUNKARDS.
_And be not drunk with Wine, wherein is Excess._
EPHESIANS v. 18.
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With Wine’s Excess your Souls to drench,
Ye mortal Throng, forbear;
For Luxury of every Kind,
And raging Lust is there.
Lest Death assail you unprepar’d,
Oppress’d with Sleep and Wine,
And, in a Vomit soul, your Souls
Compel you to resign.
The FOOL.
_He goeth after her as an Ox goeth to the Slaughter, or as a Fool to the
Correction of the Stocks._
PROVERBS vii. 22.
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No Life so sweet as to be mad,
And no one Thing to know;
But this is far remov’d from best,
As Mad-men’s Actions shew.
Secure of Fate the witless Fool
Like sportive Lambkins treads,
And knows not that his ev’ry Step
To Death’s sad Portals leads.
The THIEF.
_O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me._
ISAIAH xxxviii. 14.
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Men to destroy with fell Intent,
The Thief by Night does rise;
But now to spoil an aged Dame
Of a full Basket tries.
I suffer Wrong, she cries, and God
Sends Death to her Relief,
Who, by the Hangman’s certain Gripe,
Strangles the greedy Thief.
The BLIND MAN.
_If the Blind lead the Blind, both shall fall into the Ditch._
MATTHEW xv. 14.
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The blind Man to a Guide as blind
Himself does here commit;
Both wanting Sight, they here descend
Into the fatal Pit.
For, while the Man does vainly hope
Success his Steps attends,
Into the Darkness of the Grave
He suddenly descends.
The CHARIOTEER.
_And he sunk down in his Chariot._