Selected quad for the lemma: spirit_n
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A59294
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Azaria and Hushai a poem.
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Pordage, Samuel, 1633-1691?; Settle, Elkanah, 1648-1724.
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1682
(1682)
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Wing S2663; ESTC R25142
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24,530
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44
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let him know his Father was a King If that to Azaria were a Blot His Father made it when he him begot But Heav'n such Virtue moulded with his Soul That his aspiring Lust it did controul Thus to wise Hushai he repli'd I finde Yous Counsel is agreeing with my Mind And tho my Foes me an ill man do make My Loyalty I never will forsake Yet prudent Hushai do not Nature blame If I cannot unmov'd appear so tame As not to shew Resentment at my Shame Oh would to Heav'n I nee'r had been begot Or never had been born a Royal Blot My Father's Bloud runs thorow every Vein He form'd those Spirits which desire to reign Mount t'wards a Throne and sordid Earth disdain In Glory Fame Crowns Empire they delight And to all these they would assert my Right And my great Thoughts do whisper there is none Can be more neer a Father than his Son This prompts me to oppose Eliakim And never yield my Father's Crown to him But then one groveling thought strait pulls me down And throws me at a distance from the Crown Oh would to God And hete he stopt and sigh'd Whilst Hushai thus to the griev'd Prince repli'd Indeed great Prince it seemeth wondrous strange To all the World to see your Father's change To find the happy Love he us'd to show'r Like fruitful Rain on you to fall no more To see a Son the Father's dear Delight His pleasing Joy now banish'd from his sight Nature must in the Father deeply groan When from his Heart is rent so dear a Son Nor can I think tho he from you should part A Brother e'er can lie so near his Heart To work this Change your Foes much Art do use Their venom'd Tongues your Fathers Ears abuse And you of an aspiring mind accuse Justice in Amazia bears such sway That even Nature must to it give way H 'ad rather Nature sorce and part with you Than seem to rob another of his due He holds it just and as a thing divine To keep uubroken still the Royal Line Such an Example we can hardly find A King to 's Brother so exceeding kind When by it he doth so great hazard run Losing at once his People and his Son Grieve not great Prince at your unhappy Fate Let not your Birth your Vertue to abate It was not you that could your self create I should great folly shew should I repine At what I could not help and was no fault of mine Tho by your Mothers side your Birth was mean And tho your Mother no declared Queen If Heaven and your Father please you may By lawful Right Iudea's Scepter sway After that he is numbr'd with the Dead And his great Soul to Abraham's Bosom fled Posseffion of a Crown clears every Stain No blot of Birth to you can then remain What Pow'r on Earth by Right dares question you Or what your Father and Sanhedrim do Nor is your Birth to Heaven any let God Iepthtah once did o're Iudea set He was a Conquerour of a mighty Name And 's Mother no ways did eclipse his Fame Nor bar'd him from the Title of a King Nor those who after from his Loins did spring Nature may yet make your great Father kind And who can tell but he may change his mind When your succession shall be understood To be the Peoples Choice and for the Nations Good But let us leave what is to come to Fate Your Father's pleasure and God's will await Long may it be ere the King's life doth end On it our Peace and happiness depend Like Wheat full ripe with many years bow'd down Let him leave this for an immortal Crown And who can tell Heav'ns-will it may be too Eliakim may die before the King or you Think of no Titles while your Father lives Take not what an unjust Occasion gives For to take Arms you can have no pretence Tho it should be e'en in your own defence It better were without the Crown to die Than quit your Vertue and blest Loyaltie You with the numerous Peoples Love are blest Not of the Vulgars only but the Best I would not have you their kind Love repel Nor give encouragement for to rebel For their Affection which they wildly shew Is rendred by your Foes a Crime in you Here you your Course must even steer and strait That you may not your Father's fears create Keep the Iews Love and not increase his Hate Leave for a while the City and the Court Go and divert your self with Country-sport Perhaps your Foes may then abate their spight And you may be forgot when out of sight By your Retirement you will let them see You 'd take away all cause of Jealousie That you like Absalom will never prove To court the head-strong Peoples factious Love Nor will I ever prove Achitophel To give you wicked Counsel to rebel Continue still your Loyalty be just And for the Crown God and your Vertue trust Endeavour not to take what may be giv'n Deserve it first and then receive 't from Heav'n He said And this Advice above the rest Suited with Azaria's Vertue best He was not stain'd with Cruelty or Pride A thousand Graces he possest beside To Vertue he was naturally inclin'd And Goodness clothed his heroick Mind His Kingly Vertues made him fit to reign Yet scorn'd by evil Arts the Crown to gain And tho he Empire to desire did seem His Loyalty was still more dear to him Therefore he did not court the Peoples Love Nor us'd their Pow'r his Rival to remove From 's Father he sought not their Hearts to steal Nor head a Faction mov'd by blinding Zeal But like a vertuous and a pious Son Sought all occasions of Offence to shun In private like a common man sat down His Peace his Rule his Loyalty his Crown Thus humble vertuous loyal void of Pride Most of the Iews he gained to his side Not factious Sects the Rabble or the rude Erring unthinking vulgar Multitude But the chief Tribes and Princes of the Land Who durst for Moses's ancient Statutes stand The pious just religious and the good Men of great Riches and of greater Bloud Did as one man themselves together joyn To stop the Baalites and Hell's curst design Not wicked or seduc'd by impious Arts But Loyal all and Patriots in their hearts For they beheld the Baalites foul intent Religion to o'rthrow and Government These at the Monarch's Power did not grutch Since bound by Laws he could not have too much What Laws prescribe they thought he well might have How could he else his Realm in danger save But Baal's or Egypt's Yoke they would refuse Not fitting for the Necks of free-born Iews They all resolve the King not to oppose Yet to defend the Nation from its Foes And were it not for those great worthy men The Iews distress'd and wretched soon had been Among the Rout perhaps there some might blend Whose int'rest made them Publick good pretend Weary
King submit But yet wise Hushai know I still do find My Birth has not so much debas'd my Mind To make me stoop to low or mean desires I feel my Fathers Royal Bloud inspires My depress'd Soul wipes off th' Ignoble Stain Renders me apt or not unfit to reign Of Davids Royal Bloud my self I own And with it never can disgrace the Throne Though my bold Spirits mounting thus do fly Towards the noble height of Sovereignty And that I feel my Fathers Bloud to rowl Through every Vein and animate my Soul Yet so much Loyalty is sown within My Breast I would not Empire gain with Sin For when my ambitious Thoughts begin to roam Their Forces I with that soon overcome Though to Gods Laws and to the King I yield To my known Foes I would not leave the Field I 'd not be trampled on by sordid Feet Nor take Affronts from every one I meet I 'd give no cause they should my courage doubt Nor to Rebellion push the vulgar Rout. I to my Father would give no offence Nor while he lives lay to the Crown pretence But since Life's sweet by Wisdom I 'd keep mine From Baalites Hate and Eliakim's Design This my wise Friend is my chief business now To take some sage and good Advice from you Hushai in silence heard the Prince and weigh'd Each word he spake then to him thus reply'd Great Prince th' Almighty has to you been kind Stamp'd Graces on your Body and your Mind As if he for your Head a Crown design'd We shall not search into Fates secret womb God alone knows the things that are to come But should you never sit on Davids Throne 'T is better to deserve than wear a Crown Of Royal Bloud and of great Birth you are Born under some benign auspicious Star Lov'd by the best and prais'd by every Tongue The glorious Subject of each worthy Song The young mans wish Joy of each warlike Wight The Peoples Darling and the Worlds Delight A Crowd of Vertues fill your Princely Breast And what appears more glorious than the rest You are of Truth and Loyalty possest That I would cherish in you that would raise To an admired height that I would chiefly praise Let Fools and Politicians scorn Fair Vertue which doth best a Prince adorn Whilest you her bright and shining Robes put on You will appear more great than Solomon Let not Great Prince the Fumes of Vulgar Praise Your bolder Spirits to Ambition raise We cannot see into the Mist of Fate Till time brings forth you must expecting wait But Fortune rather Providence not Chance The constant stout and wise doth still advance Let your quick Eye be to her Motions tied But still let Noble Vertue be your Guide For when that God and Vertue points the way There can be then no danger to obey But here in Wisdoms School we ought to learn How we 'twixt Good and Evil may discern For noble Prince you must true difference make Lest for the one the other you mistake You must not think you may your self advance By laying hold on every proffer'd chance Tho Fortune seems to smile and egg you on Let Vertue be your Rule and Guide alone Thus David for his Guide his Vertue took Nor was by Fortune's proffer'd Kindness shook His Vertue and his Loyalty did save King Saul when Fortune brought him to his Cave And if that I may to you Counsel give You should without a Crown for ever live Rather than get it by the Peoples Lust Or purchase it by ways that are unjust David your Ancestor from whom you spring Would never by Rebellion be made King But long in Gath a Warring Exile stay'd Till for him God a lawful way had made In Hebron full of Glory and Renown He gain'd at last and not usurpd the Crown By full Consent he did the same obtain And Heav'n's anointing Oyl was not in vain I once did seem to Amazia dear Who me above m'ambitious hopes did rear I serv'd him then according to my skill And bow'd my mind unto my Sov'raigns Will Too neer the Soveraign Image then I stood To think that every Line and Stroke was good Some Daubers I endeavoâ—r'd to remove And to amend their Artless Errours strove My Skill in secret these with slander wound With every Line I drew still faults were found Till wearied I at last my Work gave o're And Amazia I shall say no more Did me to my lov'd Privacy restore For this they think I must my Vertue change For Envy Malice and for sweet Revenge Me by themselves they judg who would do so And cause the King suspect me for his Foe But by th' advice I give you best will find Th'Integrity and Plainness of my Mind And that I harbour not that vile intent Their Poets and their Malice do invent Far be 't from me to be like Cursed Cham A good Son strives to hide his Father's shame A King the Father of his Country is His shame is every Act he doth amiss Good and just Kings God's Image bear but when Their Frailties let us see they are but Men We cannot every Action so applaud As if it came from an unerring God Kings have their Passions and deceiv'd may be When b' others Ears and Eyes they hear and see For Sycophants of Courts the Bane and Curse Make all things better then they are or worse To Evil prone to Mischief ever bent Th'all Objects with false colours represent The Guilty clear condemn the Innocent Thus noble Prince they you and me accuse With all the Venome Malice can infuse Baal's Priests Hell and our Foes new Arts have got The filthy Reliques of their former Plot Whereby they would our Lives in danger bring And make us cursed Traytors to the King What mayn't these cunning men hope to atchieve When by their Arts few men their Plot believe When b'horrid ways not known to Iews before Their Plot 's transform'd and laid now at our door But fear not Sir we have a sure Defence The Peoples Love God Law and Innocence Keep fast your Vertue and you shall be blest And let alone to God and time the rest The noble Youth with Vertues Robes arrai'd Consider'd well what the wise Hushai said Desire of Power though of Celestial Birth Below is ever intermixt with Earth And all who do to hight of Place aspire Have earthly smoak mixt with their mounting Fire Praise may debauch and strong Ambition blind Where heav'nly Vertue does not guard the Mind But Azaria so well understood He left the Evil and embrac'd the Good Tho in his breast aspiring thoughts he found Yet Loyalty still kept them within bound And tho he might have Empire in his Eye When to it by his bloud allay'd so nigh Yet in his Soul such Virtue did remain He by Rebellion would not Empire gain Through every Vein his Loyal Bloud did run Yet Royal too as Amazia's Son About his noble heart he felt it spring Which