And then to kill employ the mildest way.
This reason teaches; this the soul desires;
This God commands, and good of man requires.
The wise no torment wantonly dispense
To any creature, which has life or sense.
All creatures God commits to human care;
And all of these our pity ought to share.

And he, who plagues a beast without good cause,
Is but a beast; but lacks the hoofs or claws.
'Tis surely not the great Jehovah's plan,

To arm such villains with the brain of man :
Why give the means to do licentious wrong?
Let knaves be weak, and let the good be strong.
Where chance or fortune gives such monsters arms
They torture life, and fill the world with harms.

Of all the gems which deck the human breast,
Unfeign'd (85) compassion still becomes it best.
Nothing more useful has its dwelling there;
Nothing more lovely can adorn the fair.
What greater gift could heaven itself bestow,
When from it blessings through all nature flow?
If all possess'd it, all would find repose:
For virtue rests, where pure compassion glows.
O blest compassion, ev'ry creature's sense!
It feels for all, and all draw blessings thence :
Feels others wants, and moves with heavenly zeal
To end the woes, which men or nations feel.
Nay, longs to see the drowning fly releas'd;
And cures with joy the pains of man or beast.
But cruel men will still delight to wrong,

Both man and beast, and all their woes prolong.
They neither move to serve the common weal,
Nor bate one pang which other mortals feel.
Self love conducts them, this, their only guide,
Conducts the wolf, and ev'ry brute beside.
But cruel deeds are inconsistent too,
With all religion that is just or true.
Frequenting churches, therefore can't excuse;
Nor save one soul, whom cruel deeds amuse.
No, though they pray'd at church three times a day,
It could not wipe so foul a stain away.

And, therefore, christian, pagan, jew and turk,
Should act with mercy in their daily work.
without it, all religious rites (86) are vain :
Without it, none can be exempt from pain.
Can men be sav'd, whom cruelty delights,
Because they cheat the crowd by useles rites ?
If cruel men for future mercy call,

And thus receive what they deny'd to all;
Then, notwithstanding all the wrongs they do,
All men will find a sure salvation too.
But nature, speaking, says it can't be so;
Man can't do wrong, and yet unpunish'd go.
If man be fix'd forever here on earth,

Its wrongs will punish those, who gave them birth:
For when they rise to light and life again,

Their wrong's (87) descendants must produce their pain.
For bad examples prompt to evil deeds :

Hence, wrong from wrong, and crime from crime proceeds All unbelievers, therefore, ought to know

That they at least, should never fail to shew
To ev'ry creature, which may feel distress,
A fear to injure and a wish to bless.

Nor have the orthodox less cause to, fear,
Whose wilful crimes before their God appear.
If crimes are number'd by omniscient eyes,
And at the awful day of judgment rise,

To measure out each culprit's length of pain,
How vast the torment, and how small the gain.
In short, whatever future state may be,
All men, if men their interest could see,
Would use their power to lessen ev'ry grief,
And give each sense within their reach relief:
would ease life's pains, wherever life is found,
On sea and land, in water, air, and ground,
For thus would man, avoid those shameful crimes,
Which somewhere bring the pains of future times.
No matter when, nor where these pains arise:
If here, in hell, or far beyond the skies:
By just procedure, man would 'scape them all,
And gently down the ebbing current fall.
Would' shun the rocks and gulfs on either side,
Along the stream of life's eventful tide.

As most of all the ills and woes of man,
Result from schemes, which kings or monarchs plan;
The first great duty which to man we owe,
Is that which lays these haughty blockheads low.
For he who bends, and regal power obeys,
Should not expect in peace to end his days.

Peace makes the friends of human rights increase
Hence monarchs dread the joyful days of peace:
And kindle war, if not for useless fame,
To make the people abject, poor and tame ;
That they may rule them, as their whims incline;
And prate of grace, and call their power divine.
But men, not lost to ev'ry sense of shame,
Would not insult us with so false a claim.
Such strange relations can't subsist between
The purest being and the most obscene.
But if we credit what these kings relate,
The might suppose they fix'd the laws of fate;
Conducted comets through the boundless sky,
And fix'd the suns, and caus'd the moons to fly;
With countless systems fill'd the vast expance,
And bade the planets round their suns advance;
Link'd all the orbs which fill the starry sky,
By strong attraction's wondrous, mistic tie;
Made suns, like hearts, distribute cordial fires
To warm each system, just as health requires :
And next, on earth, display'd their plastic powers,
And fix'd the laws of herbage, trees, and flowers,
Gave trees and plants,and all the brutes we find,
The power to grow and propagate their kind;
Impress'd each seed with certain laws to guide
The germ, which issues from its op'ning side;
To form the plant exactly like its sire,
And draw sweet juices from the filthy mire.
Some kings indeed have try'd to rule the waves,
But found them less obsequious than slaves.

They caus'd mankind in late and former days,
With fulsome rites to solemnize their praise.
And yet these kings, or rather would (88) be gods,
Are merely men, and soon must turn to clods.
They would be gods, but can't control the gnat,
Thich flies about, and dines on royal fat.
The very tenure, under which they claim
Proves all usurpers, who have borne the name:
Yes, monarchs, sophis, sultans, czars and kings,
Are all usurpers, and illegal things:

For legal acts beget no kings on earth,
Hence kings are not legitimate in birth.

If men are either slaves or tyrants here, They toil in anguish, or exist in fear. If such are wretched, let their wretched state Teach you, O freemen, ere it be too late. With constant zeal, O guard each sacred right, And save your children from monarchal night. Be always watchful; know your present bliss, And from your councils, ev'ry knave dismiss, If some are worthy, yet examples dread; With too much power, invest no human head. The wise, who know that men are apt to slide To cruel deeds, ambition, pomp, and pride, Will give no power which they can't divest, Nor trust too far, those even deem'd the best. They trust no power which they might revoke. To bend their necks beneath the galling yoke : But edg'd with virtue's just, indignant ire,