And wretched; Reason weeps at the survey.
The learn’d Lorenzo cries, “And let her weep,
Weak, modern Reason: ancient times were wise. 560
Authority, that venerable guide,
Stands on my part; the famed Athenian porch
(And who for wisdom so renown’d as they?)
Denied this immortality to man.”
I grant it; but affirm, they proved it too.
A riddle this!—have patience; I’ll explain.
What noble vanities, what moral flights,