Remembrance dire of what they were, of what
They might have been, and bitter sense of what
They are, polluted, ruined, hopeless, lost,
With most repenting torment rend their hearts.
So God ordains, their punishment severe,
Eternally inflicted by themselves. --
'Tis this, this Virtue hovering evermore
Before the vision of the damned, and in
Upon their monstrous moral nakedness
Casting unwelcome light, that makes their wo,
That makes the essence of the endless flame.
Where this is, there is hell, darker than aught
That he, the bard three-visioned, darkest saw.

The place thou saw'st was hell; the groans thou heard'st

The wailings of the damned, of those who would
Not be redeemed, and at the Judgment Day,
Long past, for unrepented sins were damned. -
The seven loud thunders which thou heard'st, declare
The eternal wrath of the Almighty God.

But whence, or why they came to dwell in wo,
Why they curse God, what means the glorious morn
Of resurrection,-these a longer tale

Demand, and lead the mournful lyre far back
Through memory of sin and mortal man.
Yet haply not rewardless we shall trace
The dark disastrous years of finished Time:
Sorrows remembered sweeten present joy.
Nor yet shall all be sad; for God gave peace,
Much peace, on earth, to all who feared his name.

+

But first it needs to say, that other style And other language than thy ear is wont, Thou must expect to hear, the dialect

Of man; for each in heaven a relish holds

Of former speech, that points to whence he came. But whether I of person speak, or place,

Event or action, moral or divine;

Or things unknown compare to things unknown;
Allude, imply, suggest, apostrophize;

Ortouch, when wandering through the past, on moods
Of mind thou never felt; the meaning still,
With easy apprehension, thou shalt take. t
So perfect here is knowledge, and the strings
Of sympathy so tuned, that every word
That each to other speaks, though never heard
Before, at once is fully understood,

And every feeling uttered, fully felt.

So shalt thou find, as from my various song, That backward rolls o'er many a tide of years, Directly or inferred, thy asking, thou,

And wondering doubt, shalt learn to answer, while I sketch in brief the history of man.

THE

COURSE OF TIME.

BOOK II.

B

ARGUMENT.

The inspired Bard commences the history of man.-Description of Earth in her primeval state.-Powers and faculties of Man at his creation. The conditions on which he enjoyed the Divine favour -His disobedience and Fall.-Indignant astonishment of the newarrived at man's ingratitude.-The Bard unfolds the scheme of Redemption.-Rapturous wonder of the Sons of Heaven.-They learn that all men are not saved.-Man's perversity—The offer of free grace rejected by many.-Astonishment of the new-arrived, at man ever claiming to merit aught of his Maker.-The Bible given for a guide to man-Its spirit and contents-Warped by men to favour unbelief, and their various creeds, and interests. Superstitious rites-Idolatrous worship-Nature of Sin-Why enlightened, reasonable beings, deserting truth, were lost, in part explained-Exemplified in kings and men in power.Their love of spiritual domination-Picture of a corrupt, ambitious priest.-Free-will and moral responsibility of all mankind— Their self-delusion-All absorbed in Time's pursuits.-Presumption of mankind respecting the mysteries of religion.-Pride of the human heart—Pride the first cause of man's perdition.-The workings of this passion described-Its consequences—The infatuation of its delusions-Their ultimate tendency.-Pride, the cause of rebellion against God.