V.

E. of ROCHESTER.

On SILENCE.

I.

ILENCE! coeval with Eternity;

SILE

ere Thou wert, ere Nature's felf began to be, 'Twas one vaft Nothing,all,and all flept fast in thee.

II.

Thine was the sway, ere heav'n was form'd, or earth,

Ere fruitful Thought conceiv'd creation's birth, Or midwife Word gave aid, and spoke the infant forth.

III.

Then various elements, against thee join'd,
In one more various animal combin'd,

And fram'd the clam'rous race of bufyHuman-kind.

IV.

The tongue mov'd gently firft, and speech was low,

"Till wrangling Science taught it noise and show, And wicked Wit arose, thy most abusive foe.

V..

But rebel Wit deferts thee oft' in vain;
Loft in the maze of words he turns again, 14
And feeks a furer ftate, and courts thy gentle reign.
VI.

Afflicted Senfe thou kindly doft set free,
Opprefs'd with argumental tyranny,

And routed Reafon finds a safe retreat in thee.

VII.

With thee in private modest Dulness lies,

And in thy bofom lurks in Thought's disguife;

Thou varnisher of Fools, and cheat of all the Wife!

VII.

Yet thy indulgence is by both confeft;
Folly by thee lies fleeping in the breast,

And 'tis in thee at last that Wisdom feeks for rest.

IX.

Silence the knave's repute, the whore's good 25

name,

The only honour of the wishing dame ;
Thy very want of tongue makes thee a kind of

Fame.

X.

But could'st thou feize fome tongues that now are free,

How Church and State fhould be oblig'd to thee? AtSenate,and atBar,how welcome would'ft thou be?

XI.

Yet speech ev'n there, fubmiffively withdraws, From rights of fubjects,and the poor man's caufe: Then pompous Silence reigns, and ftills the noisy Laws.

XII.

Past services of friends, good deeds of foes, What Fav'rites gain, and what the Nation owes, Fly the forgetful world, and in thy arms repose.

XIII.

The country wit, religion of the town,

The courtier's learning, policy o'th' gown,

Are beft by thee exprefs'd; and shine in thee alone.

XIV.

The parfon's cant, the lawyer's sophistry,

Lord's quibble, critic's jeft; all end in thee, All reft in peace at laft, and fleep eternally.

ARTEMISIA.

T

HO' Artemifia talks, by fits,
Of councils, claffics, fathers, wits;
Reads Malbranche, Boyle, and Locke:
Yet in fome things methinks the fails,
"Twere well if she would pare her nails,
And were a cleaner fmock.

Haughty and huge as High-Dutch bride,
Such naftiness, and fo much pride

Are oddly join'd by fate:

On her large fquab you find her fpread,
Like a fat corpse upon a bed,

That lies and ftinks in ftate.

She wears no colours (fign of grace)
On any part except her face;

All white and black befide:
Dauntless her look, her gefture proud,
Her voice theatrically loud,

And masculine her ftride.

5

10

15

So have I feen, in black and white
A prating thing, a Magpye hight,
Majestically stalk;

A ftately, worthless animal,
That plies the
the tongue, and wags
All flutter, pride, and talk.

the tail,

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