The
RAKE
.
By
a
Lady
in
NEW
ENGLAND
.
—
Video
meliora
proboque
,
Deteriora
sequor
.
HOR.
AN
open
heart
,
a
generous
mind
,
But
passion's
slave
,
and
wild
as
wind
:
In
theory
,
a
judge
of
right
;
Tho'
banish'd
from
its
practice
quite
:
So
loose
,
so
prostitute
of
soul
,
His
nobler
wit
becomes
the
tool
Of
every
importuning
fool
:
A
thousand
virtues
misapply'd
;
While
reason
floats
on
passion's
tide
:
The
ruin
of
the
chaste
and
fair
;
The
parent's
curse
,
the
virgin's
snare
:
Whose
false
example
leads
astray
The
young
,
the
thoughtless
,
and
the
gay
:
Yet
,
left
alone
to
cooler
thought
,
He
knows
,
he
sees
,
he
feels
his
fault
;
He
knows
his
fault
,
he
feels
,
he
views
,
Detesting
what
he
most
pursues
:
His
judgment
tells
him
,
all
his
gains
For
fleeting
joys
,
are
lasting
pains
:
Reason
with
appetite
contending
,
Repenting
still
,
and
still
offending
:
Abuser
of
the
gifts
of
nature
,
A
wretched
,
self-condemning
creature
,
He
passes
o'er
life's
ill-trod
stage
;
And
dies
,
in
youth
,
the
prey
of
age
!
The
scorn
,
the
pity
of
the
wise
,
Who
love
,
lament
him
—
and
despise
!