Great as his boundless mind,
Who thought himself in one wide globe confined,
And for another pined;
Great as that spirit whose large powers roll
Through the vast fabric of this spacious bowl,
And tell the world as well as man can boast a soil.
24
Or thee above the common level set.
Pride, whose alloy does best endowments mar,
(As things most lofty smaller still appear)
With thee did no alliance bear.
Low merits oft are by too high esteem belied,
Whose owners lessen while they raise their price;
Thine were above the very guilt of pride,
Above all others, and thy own hyperbole:
In thee the widest extremes were joined,
The loftiest, and the lowliest mind.
Thus though some part of heaven's vast round
Appear but low, and seem to touch the ground,
Yet 'tis well known almost to bound the spheres,
'Tis truly held to be above the stars.
25
Thou stoodst at once secure
From all the flattery and obloquy of fame,
Its rough and gentler breath were both to thee the same:
Nor this could thee exalt, nor that depress thee lower;
But thou, from thy great soul, on both lookedst down,
Without the small concernment of a smile or frown.
Heaven less dreads that it should fired be
By the weak flitting sparks that upwards fly,
Less the bright goddess of the night
Fears those loud howlings that revile her light,
Than thou malignant tongues thy worth could I blast,
Which was too great for envy's cloud to overcast.
