Date: 1759
"That a Man may be scarce less ignorant of his own powers, than an Oyster of its pearl, or a Rock of its diamond; that he may possess dormant, unsuspected abilities, till awakened by loud calls, or stung up by striking emergencies, is evident from the sudden eruption of some men, out of perfec...
preview | full record— Young, Edward (bap. 1683, d. 1765)
Date: 1806
"Shall the caprice of nature, the deep tint / Of sultry climes, the feature varying, / Or the uncultur'd mind, endure the scourge / Of sordid tyranny, or heap the stores / Of his fair fellow man, whose ruddy cheek / Knows not the tear of pity; whose white breast / Conceals a heart, than adamant m...
preview | full record— Robinson [Née Darby], Mary [Perdita] (1758-1800)
Date: 1824
"'I rose; and, bending at her sweet command, / Touched with faint lips the cup she raised, / And suddenly my brain became as sand / 'Where the first wave had more than half erased / The track of deer on desert Labrador; / Whilst the wolf, from which they fled amazed, / 'Leaves his stamp visibly u...
preview | full record— Shelley, Percy Bysshe (1792-1822)
Date: 1868
"The strong man arm'd this moment bind, / The bold usurper of Thy throne, / His armour seize, the carnal mind, / The unbelieving heart of stone, / Out of my flesh the evil tear, / And pluck my soul out of the snare."
preview | full record— Wesley, John and Charles
Date: 1942
"I shall keep them [my thoughts] to myself for a time, and when I am older / They will shine as a white worm shines under a green boulder."
preview | full record— Smith, Stevie (1902-1971)
Date: 1992
"Only behind a waterfall of brutal and pleasurable sensations, thought Patrick, accepting the leather-clad menu without bothering to glance up, could he hide from the bloodhounds of his conscience. . There, in the cool recess of the rock, behind that heavy white veil, he would hear them yelping a...
preview | full record— Edward St. Aubyn (b. 1960)