Sages Rebus

Rebus - 1786

Take the name of that planet which sages declare
Has the guidance of madmen, the seas & the fair.
The monarch whose sway with the globe
      was extended
And yet on his favour no mortal depended.
The flow'r whose tints in yr cheeks sweetly glow
And the word maidens mean when they faintly cry no!
The region which FREEDOM has called her own
Where her standard high waves o'er her
      deep-rooted throne
Where the maidens are constant & faithful the swains
And the cadence of rapture is rung o'er the plains.
That period when Phoebus to meet keener fires
Down! down to his Thetis in glory retires
And the sage whose great soul rang'd thro
      ether on high
Scann'd ev'ry far planet & measur'd the sky.

That part of creation the fairest & best
Who gives to the whole all its flavour & zest.
The prince of the fairies that fanciful sprite
Whose empire begins & decays with the night.
That feeling ecstatic which heav'n design'd
As the greatest & best of its gifts to mankind.
The country whose elegance, beauty & science
Have signed a bond of perpetual alliance.

Where Captains & lawyers & jurymen join
To establish the rights of the people divine.
The mountain where Jove as recorded in story
Sits wrapt with his eagle & Juno in glory.
That goddess refulgent whose ray thro the gloom
Of error's dark midnight can light up a noon.
Then close the enigma by adding the name
Of as jovial a creature as sings on the plain.
Joy laughs in his breast - health lives in his eye
And sorrow flys scowling whenever he's nigh.

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