ODE to VIRTUE.

I

Hail daughter of th'etherial sky,
Hail everlasting purity,
To thee the seraphs and archangels sing,
Peace to thy altar shall her off'rings bring,
Free from every earthly woe,
From every ill that reigns below,
Welcome thou sweet celestial guest,
Receive me to thy gentle breast.

II

Instruct my unexperienc'd heart,
And all thy precious gifts impart,
That my fond soul may learn of thee to prize,
Joys, which alone from thy fair laws arise,
To thee, my willing heart aspires,
Thy name, my tender bosom fires,
Teach me, then teach me, by thy sacred rules,
To shun with scorn, the empty joys of fools.

III

Learn me to tread the paths of truth,
And rectify my erring youth,
That under thy supreme, discerning eye,
Thy precepts may each action dignify,
And in life's perplexing maze,
May'st thou guide my blinded ways,
That free from art, from falsehood or disguise,
Thy solid joys my soul shall learn to prize.