. 361 MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS. which the rudest tongue of his own sex ought never to pronounce. At Other times you shall find some vile reproach on parti- cular persons left standing on the glass to be read by future comers; and thus the scandal is cotbveyedï.to multitudes in a long succession ; and every reader, by learning the unjust re- proach, may in some sense be said to increase the 'Writer's guilt. If they .must write the names of their mistresses 4Hí the win- dows, and describe their beauties there, let them do it in such language as may not offend the tongue of modesty to repeat, nor raise a blush on the cheek of virtue. " If fie muse lavish her immortal wit " To paint a fading face, " And the firm diamond the frail honours write " Upon the brittle glass, " Let no foul word pollute that heav'nly ray " Which makes the lines appear : " Lewdness would taint the sun-beams in their way, " Lewdness should ne''r be read but when keen lightnings play " To blast the writers hand, and shake his soul with fear." If they will write the name of a friend or a stranger there, let it be a name of worth and honour, let it be some example of virtue, and attended with a due encomium. Albinos. " Clear a's the glass, his spotless fame, " And lasting diamond writes his name." Or if a diamond must be used for a pen, and a pane of glass must be the tablet on which we write, I should rather choose that those pellucid mediums which transmit the light of heaven to our eyes, should convey some beam of sacred knowledge or some useful memento to the mind. " Words of eternal truth proclaim, " All mortal joys are vain : " A diamond -pen engraves the theme " Upon a brittle pane." XXXV. Against Lewdness. i WHY should you let your wander- ing eyes Entice your souls to shameful sin? Scandal and ruin are the prize, You take such fatal pains to win. 2 This brutal vice makes reason blind, And blots the naine with hateful stains; It wastes the flesh, pollutes the mind, And tears the heart',with racking pains. 3 Let David speak with deepest groans How i t estrang'd his soul from God, Made him complain of broken bones, And fill'd his house with wars and blood. 4 Let Solomon and Samson tell Their melancholy stories here. Slow bright they shone, how low they fell, When sin's vile pleasures cost them dear. 5 In vain you choose the darkest time, Nor let the sun behold the sight : In vain you hope to hide your crime Behind the curtains of the night :
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