S. AUGUST.

Consider, O man, what thou wert before thy birth, aud what thou art from thy birth to thy death, and what thou shalt be after death: thou wert made of an impure substance, cloathed and nourished in thy mother's blood,

EPIG. 1.

Forbear, fond taper: what thou seek'st, is fire:
Thy own destruction's lodg'd in thy desire,
Thy wants are far more safe than their supply:
He that begins to live, begins to die.

GEN.

GEN. i. 3.

And God said, Let there be light; and there was tight

TH

1.

HIS flame-expecting taper hath at length Received fire, and now begins to burn : It hath no vigour yet, it hath no strength;

Apt to be puff'd and quench'd at ev'ry turn :

It was a gracious hand that thus endow'd [shroud This snuff with flame: but mark, this hand doth Itself from mortal eyes, and folds it in a cloud.

2.

Thus man begins to live. An unknown flame
Quickens his finish'd organs, now possest
With motion; and which motion doth proclaim
An active soul, though in a feeble breast;

But how, and when infus'd, ask not my pen;
Here flies a cloud before the eyes of men :
I cannot tell thee how, nor canst thou tell me when,

3.

Was it a parcel of celestial fire,

Infus'd by heav'n into this fleshly mould ?
Or was it (think you) made a soul iritire?
Then, was it new created or of old?
Or is't a propagated spark, rak'd out
From nature's embers? While we go about
By reason to resolve, the more we raise a doubt.

If

4.

If it be part of that celestial flame,

It must be ev'n as pure, as free from spot, As that eternal fountain whence it came :

If pure and spotless, then whence came the blot * ? Itself being pure, could not itself defile;

Her

Nor hath unactive matter pow'r to soil

pure

and active form, as jars corrupt their oil.

5.

Or if it were created tell me when :

If in the first six days, where kept till now?
Or if thy soul were new created, then
Heav'n did not all, at first, he had to do :
Six days expired, all creation ceas'd;

All kinds, ev'n from the greatest to the least,
Were finish'd and complete before the day of rest.

6.

But why should man, the lord of creatures, want
That privilege which plants and beasts obtain?
Beasts bring forth beasts, the plant a perfect plant,
And ev'ry like brings forth her like again;

Shall fowls and fishes, beasts and plants convey
Life to their issue, and man less than they?
Shall these get living souls, and man dead lumps of clay?

7.

Must human souls be generated, then?

My water ebbs; behold a rock is nigh:
If nature's work produce the souls of men,
Man's soul is mortal: all that's born must die.

What shall we then conclude? what sunshine will
Disperse this gloomy cloud? till then be still,

My vainly-striving thoughts; lie down, my puzzled

* Blet? i. e. original depravity.

[quill.

ISIDOR.