NIGHTINGALE NOBILITY—OATHS. 239 NIGHTINGALE. The melancholy Philomel Thus perch'd all night alone in shady groves, Southern's Disappointment. NOBILITY. Whoe'er amidst the sons Of reason, valour, liberty, and virtue, Displays distinguish'd merit, is a noble Of nature's own creating. Such have risen, Sprung from the dust; or where had been our honors ? Thomson's Coriolanus, a. 3, s. 3. Look round Among the titled great ones of the world, Do they not spring from some proud monarch's flat terer, Some favorite mistress, or ambitious minister, The ruin of his country, while their blood Rolls down thro' many a fool, thro' many a villain, To its now proud possessors ? Frances's Eugenia. O. OATHS. An oath is a recognizance to Heaven, To plead to the indictment of our crimes, That those who 'scape this world should suffer there. Southern's Oroonoko. : 240 OATHS OBEDIENCE-OMENS OPINIONS. Nay, but weigh well what you presume to swear! Oaths are of dreadful weight-and, if they are false, Draw down damnation. Savage's Sir Thomas Overbury. OBEDIENCE. Son of Heav'n and Earth, Attend that thou art happy, owe to God; Milton's Paradise Lost, b. 5. OMENS. I know not how it is; But a foreboding presses on my heart, Some spirits of the approach of things to be." 'Tis credible on record that great men Have awful warnings-that their souls, sublimed With disembodied beings-Brutus met Dead Cæsar at Philippi. OPINION. Sir A. Hunt's Julian. We all, my lords, have err'd. Men may, I find, be honest, tho' they differ. Thomson's Tancred and Sigismunda, a. 2, s. 4. For still the world prevail'd, and its dread laugh, Thomson's Seasons—Autumn. OPPORTUNITY-PAIN-PARTING, OPPORTUNITY, The old Scythians Painted blind Fortune's powerful hands with wings, 241 He loses them for ever. Chapman's Bussy D'Ambois. Accurs'd opportunity! The midwife and the bawd to all our vices : That work'st our thoughts into desires: desires P. PAIN. Sense of pleasure we may well Spare out of life perhaps, and not repine, Of evils, and excessive, overturns All patience. Milton's Paradise Lost, b. 6. PARTING. In taking leave, Thro' the dark lashes of her darting eyes, That you should know she left her soul behind her. Lee's Theodosius. My eyes wont lose the sight of thee, But languish after thine, and ache with gazing. Otway's Venice Preserved. M I part with thee As wretches that are doubtful of hereafter, Part with their lives, unwilling, loth and fearful, And trembling, at futurity. Rowe's Tamerlane, Oh! wherefore dost thou sooth me with thy softness? Why dost thou wind thyself about my heart, And make this separation painful to us? Rowe's Lady Jane Grey, a. 5, s. 1. Oh, had he ever lov'd, he would have thought Cibber's Casar in Egypt. Have not all past human beings parted, And must not all the present one day part? Byron's Sardanapalus, a. 4, s. 1. Let's not unman each other-part at once : PASSIONS. Ibid. a. 5, s. 1, Our passions always fatal counsels give, Still greater than they are. Higgon's Generous Conqueror. When head-strong passion gets the reins of reason, Ibid. While passions glow, the heart, like heated steel, When reason, like the skilful charioteer, And, spite of their licentious sallies, keep Young's Brothers, a. 3. How terrible is passion! how our reason Barford's Virgin Queen. The worst of slaves is he whom passion rules, Of friendship. Brooke's Earl of Warwick. Exalted souls, Have passions in proportion violent, Resistless, and tormenting: they're a tax And fortitude, and wisdom must support them. Lillo's Elmerick. But anxious study, discontent, and care, And spoil the lab'ring functions of their share. Armstrong's Art of Preserving Health, b. 4. |