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CONVERSATION.

Nam neq; me tantum venientis fibilus auftri,
Nec percufla juvant flutú tam litora, nec quæ
Saxofas inter decurrunt flumina valles.

T

VIRG. ECL. 5.

HOUGH nature weigh our talents, and difpenfe

To ev'ry man his modicum of sense,

And Converfation in its better part,
May be efteem'd a gift and not an art,
Yet much depends, as in the tiller's toil,

On culture, and the fowing of the foil.
Words learn'd by rote, a parrot may rehearse,
But talking is not always to converse,

Not

Not more distinct from harmony divine,
The conftant creaking of a country fign..
As alphabets in ivory employ,

Hour after hour, the yet unletter'd boy,
Sorting and puzzling with a deal of glee
Those feeds of fcience call'd his ABC;
So language in the mouths of the adult,
Witness its infignificant refult,

Too often proves an implement of play,
A toy to fport with, and pafs time away.
Collect at evening what the day brought forth,
Comprefs the fum into its folid worth,

And if it weigh th' importance of a fly,
The scales are false, or Algebra a lie.
Sacred interpreter of human thought,
How few respect or use thee as they ought!
But all shall give account of ev'ry wrong,
Who dare dishonour or defile the tongue,
Who prostitute it in the cause of vice,
Or fell their glory at a market-price,

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Who vote for hire, or point it with lampoon,

The dear-bought placeman, and the cheap buffoon.

There is a prurience in the speech of some,

Wrath stays him, or elfe God would ftrike them dumb;
His wife forbearance has their end in view,
They fill their measure and receive their due.
The heathen law-givers of ancient days,
Names almost worthy of a Chriftian's praise,
Would drive them forth from the refort of men,

And shut up ev'ry fatyr in his den.

Oh come not ye, near innocence and truth,

Ye worms that eat into the bud of youth!
Infectious as impure, your blighting pow'r
Taints in its rudiments the promis'd flow'r,
1ts odour perifh'd and its charming hue,
Thenceforth 'tis hateful for it smells of you.
Not ev❜n the vigorous and headlong rage
Of adolescence or a firmer age,
Affords a plea allowable or juft,

For making speech the pamperer of luft;

But

But when the breath of age commits the fault,
'Tis naufeous as the vapor of a vault.

So wither'd ftumps difgrace the fylvan fcene,
No longer fruitful and no longer green,
The faplefs wood, divested of the bark,
Grows fungous, and takes fire at ev'ry spark.

Oaths terminate, as Paul obferves, all ftrife-
Some men have furely then a peaceful life;
Whatever fubject occupy discourse,

The feats of Veftris or the naval force,
Affeveration bluft'ring in your face
Makes contradiction fuch an hopeless case
In ev'ry tale they tell, or false or true,
Well known, or fuch as no man ever knew,
They fix attention, heedless of your pain
With oaths like rivets forc'd into the brain;
And ev'n when fober truth prevails throughout,
They fwear it, 'till affirmance breeds a doubt.
A Perfian, humble servant of the fun,
Who though devout yet bigotry had none,

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Hearing a lawyer, grave in his addrefs,
With adjurations ev'ry word impress,
Supposed the man a bishop, or at least,
God's name fo much upon his lips, a priest;
Bowed at the clofe with all his graceful airs,
And begg'd an int'reft in his frequent pray'rs.

Go, quit the rank to which ye stood preferr❜d,
Henceforth affociate in one common herd;

Religion, virtue, reafon, common sense,
Pronounce your human form a falfe pretence,
A mere difguife in which a devil lurks,
Who yet betrays his fecret by his works.

Ye pow'rs who rule the tongue, if fuch there are, And make colloquial happiness your care,

Preferve me from the thing I dread and hate,

A duel in the form of a debate ;

The clash of arguments and jar of words,

Worfe than the mortal brunt of rival fwords,

Decide no queftion with their tedious length,

For oppofition gives opinion ftrength,

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