And ills foreseen the present bliss destroy.”
Or as elsewhere the same poet gloomily exclaims, and fruitlessly supplicates—
“O impotent estate of human life,
Where hope and fear maintain eternal strife!
Where fleeting joy does lasting doubt inspire,
And most we question what we most desire!
Amongst Thy various gifts, great Heaven, bestow
Our cup of love unmixed; forbear to throw
Bitter ingredients in; nor pall the draught
With nauseous grief.”