text,updated_at,metaphor,created_at,context,theme,reviewed_on,dictionary,comments,provenance,id,work_id
"A DIALOGUE
Says Body to Mind, ''Tis amazing to see,
We're so nearly related yet never agree,
But lead a most wrangling strange sort of life,
As great plagues to each other as husband and wife.
The fault's all your own, who, with flagrant oppression,
Encroach every day on my lawful possession.
The best room in my house you have seized for your own,
And turned the whole tenement quite upside down,
While you hourly call in a disorderly crew
Of vagabond rogues, who have nothing to do
But to run in and out, hurry-scurry, and keep
Such a horrible uproar, I can't get to sleep.
There's my kitchen sometimes is as empty as sound,
I call for my servants, not one's to be found:
They are all sent out on your ladyship's errand,
To fetch some more riotous guests in, I warrant!
And since things are growing, I see, worse and worse,
I'm determined to force you to alter your course.'
Poor Mind, who heard all with extreme moderation,
Thought it now time to speak, and make her allegation:
''Tis I that, methinks, have most cause to complain,
Who am cramped and confined like a slave in a chain.
I did but step out, on some weighty affairs,
To visit last night, my good friends in the stars,
When, before I was got half as high as the moon,
You despatched Pain and Languor to hurry me down;
Vi & Armis they seized me, in midst of my flight,
And shut me in caverns as dark as the night.'
''Twas no more,' replied Body, 'than what you deserved;
While you rambled abroad, I at home was half starved:
And, unless I had closely confined you in hold,
You had left me to perish with hunger and cold.'
'I've a friend,' answers Mind, 'who, though slow, is yet sure,
And will rid me at last of your insolent power:
Will knock down your walls, the whole fabric demolish,
And at once your strong holds and my slavery abolish:
And while in your dust your dull ruins decay,
I'll snap off my chains and fly freely away.'
(p. 168)",2013-06-04 15:10:00 UTC,"""I [the mind] did but step out, on some weighty affairs, / To visit last night, my good friends in the stars, / When, before I was got half as high as the moon, / You despatched Pain and Languor to hurry me down; / Vi & Armis they seized me, in midst of my flight, / And shut me in caverns as dark as the night.""",2009-09-14 19:36:56 UTC,I've included the complete poem,Dualism,2004-11-22,Inhabitants,"",Reading,12397,4685
"In Soto's bosom you may find
The glimmering of a worthy mind:
'Tis but a faint and feeble ray,
Imperfect as the dawning day;
Yet were the jarring passions tuned,
The soil from thorns and thistles clear,
Some latent virtue might appear.
I' th' morning catch him (early though,
Your bird will else be flown, I trow),
Ere he has reached the boozing-can,
You'll find the stamp of reasoning man:
Then see the wretch whom none can rule,
Ere night, a madman and a fool;
The witty Soto then you'll find
Just level with the brutal kind.
(ll. 1-16, p. 198 in Lonsdale)",2013-10-13 13:59:21 UTC,"""In Soto's bosom you may find / The glimmering of a worthy mind: / 'Tis but a faint and feeble ray, / Imperfect as the dawning day.""",2009-09-14 19:37:18 UTC,"","",2003-10-23,"","The dawning day is just when one should seek out Soto, if one hopes to ""find the stamp of reasoning man"" (l. 12). Later he's too drunk.",Reading,12707,4788
"So nothing shall tempt me from Harry,
His heart is as true as the sun:
Eve with Adam was ordered to marry;
This world it should end as begun.
(ll. 65-8, p. 237)",2009-09-14 19:37:34 UTC,"A heart may be ""as true as the sun""",2003-07-23 00:00:00 UTC,"","",,"","•Another candidate for a ""Natural Phenomena"" category. REVISIT.",Reading,12945,4851
"Now Night her highest Noon ascends,
And o'er the Globe her Shades extends:
While all her shining Lamps of Light,
The Soul to solemn Thought invite.
How were they made? by whom? or when?
And whence arose the Race of Men?
From ancient Chaos did they come?
Must Chaos be again their Tomb?
Who lighted up the vital Fire?
Whither again shall that retire?
On that important Question pause:
And learn that Nature had a Cause,
From whom the whole Creation springs;
The Cause of Causes and of Things.
The Mass in fun'ral Flames shall burn;
And rise a Phoenix from its Urn.
But, must the Soul, uncloth'd and cold,
Appear, her Maker to behold?
Or shall the gaping Grave restore,
The Robe of Flesh which once she wore?
O who shall paint her Shame and Fear?
Think, O my Soul! thou must be there;
And wish, too late, to lay aside
Thy Passions veil'd beneath thy Pride.
O God! if e'er my heedless Youth
Deny'd, or doubted of thy Truth,
If unrelenting or unjust
I spurn'd the Poor, or wrong'd my Trust,
For Hope I never shou'd presume;
But shrink to hide me in the Tomb:
Or to the Rocks and Mountains call
To whelm me in their gen'ral Fall.
Alas! the Frailties, which are mine,
I only can with Life resign:
When my chill Blood forgets to roll;
And Death benumbs my Sense and Soul.
These I commit to thee alone,
Thou public Victim to atone,
And judge triumphant on thy Throne.",2009-09-14 19:38:22 UTC,"""Now Night her highest Noon ascends, / And o'er the Globe her Shades extends: / While all her shining Lamps of Light, / The Soul to solemn Thought invite.""",2006-01-19 00:00:00 UTC,I've included the entire poem,"",,"","","Searching ""soul"" and ""lamp"" in HDIS (Poetry)",13422,5003
"No longer let my fleeting joys depend
On social or domestic ties!
Superior let my spirit rise,
Not in the gentle counsels of a friend,
Nor in the smiles of love expect delight:
But teach me in MYSELF to find
Whate'er can please or fill my mind.
Let inward beauty charm the mental sight;
Let godlike Reason, beaming bright,
Chase far away each gloomy shade,
Till VIRTUE's heav'nly form display'd
Alone shall captivate my soul,
And her divinest love possess me whole!
(pp. 184-5)",2011-12-19 14:40:13 UTC,"""Let inward beauty charm the mental sight; / Let godlike Reason, beaming bright, / Chase far away each gloomy shade, / Till VIRTUE's heav'nly form display'd / Alone shall captivate my soul, / And her divinest love possess me whole!""",2011-06-17 16:52:14 UTC,Stanza III,"",,Optics,"",Reading,18721,6947
"Grashoppers are musical; but Snails are dumb. The one rejoice in being wet; and the others, in being warm. Then the Dew calls out the one; and for this they come forth: but, on the contrary, the Noon-day Sun awakens the other; and in this they sing. If, therefore, you would be a musical and harmonious Person, whenever, in Parties of Drinking, the Soul is bedewed with Wine, suffer her not to go forth, and defile herself. But when, in Parties of Conversation, she glows by the Beams of Reason, then command her to speak from Inspiration and utter the Oracles of Justice.
(p. 475)",2011-06-21 17:07:03 UTC,"""But when, in Parties of Conversation, she glows by the Beams of Reason, then command her [the soul] to speak from Inspiration and utter the Oracles of Justice [like a Grasshopper].""",2011-06-21 17:07:03 UTC,"","",,Beasts,"",Reading,18750,6956
"No more to fabled names confin’d,
To Thee! Supreme, all-perfect mind,
My thoughts direct their flight:
Wisdom’s thy gift, and all her force
From Thee deriv’d, unchanging source
Of intellectual light!
(p. 67)",2011-06-23 19:46:37 UTC,"""No more to fabled names confin’d, / To Thee! Supreme, all-perfect mind, / My thoughts direct their flight: / Wisdom’s thy gift, and all her force / From Thee deriv’d, unchanging source / Of intellectual light!""",2011-06-23 19:46:37 UTC,"","",,"","",Reading,18797,6972
"Don't think me insolently pert upon old people. Believe me, a virtuous and wise old age is the object of my sincerest reverence and highest esteem. I confess the great advantage which experience gives to a good understanding, and the happy opportunities which that calm season of life allows for the greater progress of virtue, and for a more uninterrupted attention to the duties of religion. I think it is reasonable to suppose, that as it is the grand business of our lives to endeavour to rise by degrees to that stale of excellence and happiness which is the ultimate end of our being, he who has made this his vocation, and has spent his life in pressing forward to the prize of his high calling, will be nearer the attainment of perfection in an advanced age, than he who has but begun his race can be, with whatever ardour and diligence he sets out. But yet, my dear Sir, you who have by an amazing strength of thought and penetration, and unwearied observation, gained so much more knowledge of the world, and of the human heart, than the longest life gives to others; whose zeal for doing good, whose benevolence and friendship have all the warmth of youth, though guided by maturest judgment; who have too much real dignity to need to usurp upon our respect, or to exact that deference to your years which is due to your wisdom and virtue; you, I say, may speak impartially on this subject, and I may tell to you, without fear of offending, my observations on those who claim our acquiescence in all their opinions, from their superiority of years and experience. And you will shew me where my observations are false, and teach me how to make the best use of those which are true. What shall I think of human nature, and how shall I avoid dreading the continuance of my life, lest, instead of improving, I should be more and more corrupted by the world; more selfish, more ungenerous, more contracted in my views, more earthly in my affections, when I see those who in their youth had hearts capable of delicate sentiments, who were open, generous, sincere, and benevolent, gentle, cheerful, and agreeable in their tempers, innocent in their manners, and unaffected in their piety; when I see these very people, in an advanced age, grown cold to all tender and good affections; close and designing; covetous and mean; insensible to the pains of others, and slow, if not unwilling, to relieve them; rigid in their precepts, yet self-indulgent, full of reverence for themselves, and of contempt for youth, peevish, imperious, tyrannical, and self-conceited, yet manifestly weak in judgment, and dull of apprehension? I am sure you must have known instances of such who, in the early part of their lives, obtained, and perhaps deserved, the former character, sunk into the sad, the pitiable state I have described, in their last stage. Is it that a long commerce with the world does indeed corrupt the heart; and extinguish by degrees those sparks of light, those inclinations to good, which were implanted in our minds? Or is it rather to be attributed to the seeds of original evil, which grow with our years, and overspread the whole soul? But though there are some instances of this melancholy change for the worse, there are doubtless many of improvement and reformation; therefore perhaps this observation may be to no purpose here, unless it shews that a superiority of years does not always give real superiority; and that parents are sometimes the less qualified to judge of the real good and happiness of their children for being so much older than they, for having lost the tenderness and sensibility of their hearts, without adding much to the strength and capacity of their heads.
(p. 62-5)",2011-06-27 18:21:18 UTC,"""Is it that a long commerce with the world does indeed corrupt the heart; and extinguish by degrees those sparks of light, those inclinations to good, which were implanted in our minds?""",2011-06-27 18:21:18 UTC,"","",,"","",Reading,18822,6983
"O Pow'r Supreme! incline a gracious Ear,
And now accept my penitential Prayer:
After the many Days, which I must own,
Alas! unvalu'd, and unheeded gone;
After the many restless Nights I've spent,
In anxious Care, in raving Discontent,
Contending with a wild, a fierce Desire,
The Flame of Love, which set my Soul on Fire;
While Laura's Image only fill'd my Breast,
An Image I too fondly have caress'd;
Oh let me now thy tender Mercy find,
With thy free Grace illuminate my Mind,
Let me no more the Slave of Passion be,
But turn my wand'ring Thoughts to Heav'n and thee;
Then shall my cruel Foe, abash'd, recede,
Finding his artful Snares are vainly spread.
Of rolling Years, eleven are past in Pain,
Since I was doom'd to wear the galling Chain:
The Chain which am'rous Minds are forc'd to bear,
Still to the most Submissive, most severe.
On my degen'rate Sorrow Pity take,
And from the Maze of Error bring me back:
With noblest Objects all my Thoughts inspire,
Let him, alone, be all my Soul's Desire,
Who on this Day his Sacred Life resign'd,
And suffer'd on the Cross for lost Mankind.",2011-07-18 14:33:09 UTC,"""Oh let me now thy tender Mercy find, / With thy free Grace illuminate my Mind, / Let me no more the Slave of Passion be, / But turn my wand'ring Thoughts to Heav'n and thee.""",2011-07-18 14:33:09 UTC,"","",,Fetters,"",Searching in HDIS (Poetry),18895,7007
"Ye Fair, who strive with Darts to arm,
The languid Beauties of your Eyes,
Of Isabellas learn to charm,
Like hers the ravish'd Soul surprize;
Her Mind does all their glorious Beams dispense,
Bright as they are they owe their Rays to Sense.
(p. 27)",2013-10-14 02:31:32 UTC,"""Her Mind does all their glorious Beams dispense, / Bright as they are they owe their Rays to Sense.""",2013-10-14 02:31:32 UTC,"","",,"","",ECCO-TCP,22978,7721