■■i 





SECOND ODE 



AGAINST 



WAR. 



i 



How mild the Sun's meridian rays! 



How blue the Heavens! how soft the Breeze 

 That o'er the waving forest plays, 

 And gently curls the ripling seas! 

 But soon Novembers wint'ry hour, 

 Arm'd with the Tempest's tyrant power, 

 Shall rouse the clouds' embattled host, 

 Sweep from the woods their leafy pride, 

 And dash the wave's infuriate tide 

 Against the howling coast! 



So in each Ship's stupendous womb, 

 Now gently floating on the deep, 

 Peaceful, as in the silent tomb 

 The Demons of Destruction sleep ; 

 But wak'd by Wars terrific roar, 

 Prompt o'er each desolated shore 

 Their ^/-directed flight to urge, 

 And leading Slaughter's horrid train, 

 With hecatombs of warriors slain, 

 To load th' empurpled surge ! 



What though at warlike Gallia's chiefs * 

 The spear of vengeance Britain aims, 



" " " r i ■ a LlV nf war Thev only consider it as a natural evil, 



* It is really astonishing to think with what CO,*** f^^J^^Ziy, that cannot he said, of the Best of Beinos 

 and that Almichtv Goo wiUs it, and, therefore, "1*^1^1 evil, whieh arises out of the human Heart alone, , a want 

 w hich one would be ashamed to aser.be to the worst - d ^ * a enorant ambition of rulers, forgetful of the people s good, 

 of judgment and of reason. The origin o ^wars proceed fromthe ^nora ^ climatE8> whereby the 



V*. natural world, our bountiful <feM ^^^S^jU ^products, so that by exciting a reciprocal 

 inhabitants of different countries may supply **££££ \ nd Zversally benevolent. 



■ a f„, thrv mav carrv on an intercourse mutually beneficial, anaun j difference of talents; and, if I maybe 



" N Tmor % evl wherl there is no remarkable difference of soil or of climates, « *£F5X2L of latitude between Norwich 

 allowed The pression, a wonderful variety of strata in the human n^-fhus *£JjLfc use of in both places, wool, flax, and silk, 

 tTmleJr, and the variation of soil, are ^^JS^SSS. SSL* which are thousands of miles apart could 

 are just the same; yet so different : « JPfrJSKI the c pitals of two neighbouring kingdoms instead of to. and 

 haraly exhibit a greater contrast. -Now had Norwicl and Mane '^ been J progn0 sticated, that the flourishing state of the one 

 union, we should have heard of nothing but ^'"J^^^^^t^d in the most doleful accents, concerning the, 

 portended the downfal of the other; each would have had the r ^pecive P te were in any degree popular, each would 



own loss of trade, and of the tomidableprogr^ ^^^^1 .. L^> est C.kth.oo."-" We must destroy our 



jSTS^W^ - S= - for either of them to have gone to war than there is at 



present. ,. . „ fhpv mieht p i ain ly see, that there is no one argument for inducing different 



P In short, if mankind would but open their eyes, hey "J^g '»' country, town, village, nay, and every shop among our- 

 nations to figlt for the sake of trade, but which woiM j^H^-JJJJ ^ . $ ^ ^ of ^ or adv antage 

 selves, to be engaged in civil and intestine ■wan > for ' >'^ a ™ Znent from these unnatural and foolish contests, but which would con- 

 ai^^iSSS SlSPSSL makilg war with each other on the like pretext. 



mi 



m 



■ 



