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Phillis Wheatley - To the Rev. Dr. Thomas Amory
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To cultivate in ev`ry noble mind
Habitual grace, and sentiments refin`d,
Thus while you strive to mend the human heart,
Thus while the heav`nly precepts you impart,
O may each bosom catch the sacred fire,
And youthful minds to Virtue`s throne aspire!
    When God`s eternal ways you set in sight,
And Virtue shines in all her native light,
In vain would Vice her works in night conceal,
For Wisdom`s eye pervades the sable veil.

    Artists may paint the sun`s effulgent rays,
But Amory`s pen the brighter God displays:
While his great works in Amory`s pages shine,
And while he proves his essence all divine,
The Atheist sure no more can boast aloud
Of chance, or nature, and exclude the God;
As if the clay without the potter`s aid
Should rise in various forms, and shapes self-made,
Or worlds above with orb o`er orb profound
Self-mov`d could run the everlasting round.
It cannot be—unerring Wisdom guides
With eye propitious, and o`er all presides.
    Still prosper, Amory! still may`st thou receive

The warmest blessings which a muse can give,
And when this transitory state is o`er,
When kingdoms fall, and fleeting Fame`s no more,
May Amory triumph in immortal fame,
A nobler title, and superior name!
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