There he first conceives 140
True being, and an intellectual world
The same this hour and ever. Thence he deems
Of his own lot; above the painted shapes
That fleeting move o'er this terrestrial scene
Looks up; beyond the adamantine gates
Of death expatiates; as his birthright claims
Inheritance in all the works of God;
Prepares for endless time his plan of life,
And counts the universe itself his home.
Whence also but from Truth, the light of minds, 150
Is human fortune gladden'd with the rays
Of Virtue? with the moral colours thrown
On every walk of this our social scene,
Adorning for the eye of gods and men
The passions, actions, habitudes of life,
And rendering earth like heaven, a sacred place
Where Love and Praise may take delight to dwell?
Let none with heedless tongue from Truth disjoin
The reign of Virtue. Ere the dayspring flow'd,
Like sisters link'd in Concord's golden chain, 160
They stood before the great Eternal Mind,
Their common parent, and by him were both
Sent forth among his creatures, hand in hand,
Inseparably join'd; nor e'er did Truth
Find an apt ear to listen to her lore,
Which knew not Virtue's voice; nor, save where Truth's
Majestic words are heard and understood,
Doth Virtue deign to inhabit.
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