And pierce each scene with philosophic eye,

To thee were solemn toys, or empty show,

The robes of pleasure and the veils of woe:

All aid the farce, and all thy mirth maintain,

Whose joys are causeless, and whose griefs are vain.

Such was the scorn that fill'd the sage's mind,

Renew'd at ev'ry glance on human kind;

How just that scorn ere yet thy voice declare,

Search ev'ry state, and canvass ev'ry pray'r:

Unnumber'd suppliants crowd Preferment's gate,