AN ELEGY On the truly Hon [...] and greatly Beloved Sir WILLIAM JONES, Who [...] the 2d. 1682.
When the great, [...] Wise and Just.
Laid down his Earthly Body [...] the Dust,
And that his Soul fled from th [...] Mortal Stage.
The Downs great Glory, Honour of our Age;
Our Country, tho of such a Man berest,
Mourn'd not, whilst that the Learned Jones was left
But now alas! what Tears will England shed,
Now Jones a Patriot of his Country's dead!
Bewail'd thou art by all that understood
Thy Worth, by all the Loyal and the Good;
By all who in the Loyal Sphear do move,
By all who truly King and Country Love,
By all who stand up for the Protestant Cause,
By all who love Religion and our Laws:
By all who hate an Arbitrary Sway,
And scorn like Slaves hard, Papal Laws t' obey.
Some men there are, but wicked men they be,
Who weep not, but [...] this loss to see;
These for shell [...] strive,
Hopeless to effect it whilst you were alive:
They knew your worth, and did your Learning dread,
Triumphing Tories now that you are dead.
Papists will now their wicked Hopes renew,
And their designs of Ruine fresh pursue;
Now Jones is gone, who like a solid Rock,
Their furious Tydes and raging Billows broke;
For with his Learned Knowledg in the Law,
He th' undermining Tories kept in awe.
These men who never from reproach refrain,
Will try in vain this great Mans Fame to stain;
And now he's gon against him durt will fling,
And with devouring Mouthes Te Denm sing.
In spite of these our Muse her voice shall raise,
In midst of Tears shall sing his juster Praise;
And whilst they envy his immortal Fame,
She shall repeat his never dying Name;
A name in which an hidden charm doth lye,
And which, tho he is gone, shall never dye.
Here needs no daubing Flattery to paint
A Vicious Mortal for a very Saint;
No Poets Art to praise him now he's gon [...]
Who had so many virtues of his own.
And to the Laws, which he well understood,
He us'd his Knowledg still in doing good.
Conscience he joyn'd with Law, that made him Just,
And all, his Honesty and Skill might Trust.
True to his Client, spar'd no Pains nor Care,
A modest and good Pleader at the Bar:
He nee'r with wicked Arts wire-draw'd the Laws,
With querks gain'd Credit by an unjust Cause.
He could from Fees in an ill Cause abstain,
Conscience he had, nor greedy was of gain:
When from the Bar he to the Bench was brought,
Still the same man, he acted as he ought;
An eye to Honesty and Justice bore,
The same in Scarlet, what he was before,
Unshaken, uncorrupted there be sate,
Honour alone and a good Name he got.
Zealous for Justice he was always seen,
His hands from tempting Bribery were clean;
Nor for ten Thousand Guinies giv'n would he
Condemn the Guiltless, or the Guilty free,
Such was his Justice and Integrity:
But quietly he left that higher Stage,
Not fit for it in this corrupted Age,
He saw th' Intreagues, was honest, had no itch
By unjust means to become Great or Rich.
He Honour, Law, and Justice made his Rule,
And knew not how to be a Knave or Fool:
Rather with Honour chose obscure to dwell,
Than Great, and send his Conscience down to Hell.
When in the Noble Senat of the Land
He did a Pillar of his Country stand;
He boldly always spake, and with applause,
In favour of Religion and the Laws.
To had designing men a chrome he gave,
Spar'd no man who his Country would enslave.
To th' English Liberties was still a Friend,
Peace, Unity, and Justice, was his End:
None could his Zeal or Courage there abate,
He Papists and Idolatry did Hate,
Saw the designs of the whole wicked brood,
And stoutly all their wicked Arts withstood.
To a vast bulk would swell my slender verse,
Should I this great mans Virtues all rehearse:
But he is gone, and Death has cut his Thread,
And to our Grief the Learned Jones is Dead.
But tho we are of this great man bereft,
Behind him Fame and Honour he has left,
Which to his Name Eternal Life shall give,
And's Memory shall in spite of Tories Live.
An EPITAPH.
THE Good, the Just, the Learned Jones lyes here,
Whom all good men did Love, all bad men Fear.
In quiet may his Sacred Ashes lye,
Since 'tis ordain'd the best of men must dye:
But his immortal Mind did here o'recome
All mortal things, and lies not in this Tomb.
That now's inlarg'd, boundless, unconfin'd,
And left the jarring factious World behind.
Approach his Grave, the Loyal, Good, and Just,
And let no Popish Tory touch his dust.
Rich, Good, Belov'd he dy'd; and what is more,
A Lawyer, and left largely to the Poor.
Here full of Fame and Worth his Ashes rest,
Whilst his great Soul's in Triumph with the Blest.
London Printed for Langley Curtis. 1682.