Objects are clear proportion'd in degree,
To gen'ral use, or strong necessity,
Nor are two things so plainly understood,
As the worst evil and the greatest good;
If rescu'd from the misty breath of schools;
Men will but feel without the help of rules.
So unbewilder'd in the crooked maze,
Where guilt low sculks, and reptile cunning strays,
A nation's interest, and a people's rights,
Distinctly shine in nature's simple rights,
And claim in him who fairly acts his part,
Before a Lonsdale's head, a Lonsdale's heart.
But chief when snatch'd by heaven's preserving hand,
From the fell contests of each hostile land,
A happy island to th' incircling main
Trusts for a sure report and honest gain.