work_id,theme,provenance,created_at,text,reviewed_on,id,comments,metaphor,dictionary,updated_at,context
3664,"","Searching ""mind"" and ""room"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2005-08-29 00:00:00 UTC,"What on Earth deserves our trust?
Youth and Beauty both are dust.
Long we gathering are with pain,
What one moment calls again.
Seven years childless, marriage past,
A Son, a son is born at last:
So exactly lim'd and fair,
Full of good Spirits, Meen, and Air,
As a long life promised,
Yet, in less than six weeks dead.
Too promising, too great a mind
In so small room to be confin'd:
Therefore, as fit in Heav'n to dwell,
He quickly broke the Prison shell.
So the subtle Alchimist,
Can't with Hermes Seal resist
The powerful spirit's subtler flight,
But t'will bid him long good night.
And so the Sun if it arise
Half so glorious as his Eyes,
Like this Infant, takes a shrowd,
Buried in a morning Cloud.",,9510,•Wow.,"""Too promising, too great a mind/ In so small room to be confin'd""",Rooms,2009-09-14 19:34:16 UTC,I've included entire poem
3665,"","Searching ""soul"" and ""room"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2005-08-29 00:00:00 UTC,"Shine out rich Soul! to greatness be,
What it can never be to thee,
An ornament; thou canst restore
The lustre which it had before
These ruines, own it and 'twill live,
Thy favour's more than Kings can give.
Hast more above all titles then
The bearers are above common men;
And so heroick art within,
Thou must descend to be a Queen.
Yet honour may convenient prove,
By giving thy Soul room to move:
Affording scene unto that mind,
Which is too great to be confin'd.
Wert thou with single vertue stor'd,
To be approv'd, but not ador'd;
Thou mightst retire, but who e're meant
A Palace for a Tenement?
Heaven has so built thee, that we find
Thee buried when thou art confin'd:
If thou in privacy would'st live,
Yet lustre to thy vertues give;
To stifle them for want of air,
Injurious is to Heavens care.
If thou wilt be immur'd, where
Shall thy obliging soul appear?
Where shall thy generous prudence be,
And where thy magnanimity?
Nay thy own Darling thou dost hide,
Thy self-denial is deny'd;
For he that never greatness tries,
Can never safely it despise.
That Antoninus writ well, when
He held a Scepter and Pen:
Less credit Solomon does bring
As a Philosopher than King;
So much advantage flows from hence,
To write by our Experience.
Diogenes I must suspect
Of envy, more than wise neglect,
When he his Prince so ill did treat,
And so much spurned at the great:
A censure is not clear from those
Whom Fate subjects, or does depose;
Nor can we greatness understand
From an opprest or fallen hand:
But 'tis some Prince must that define,
Or one that freely did resign.
A great Almanzor teaches thus,
Or else a Dionysius.
For to know Grandeur we must live
In that, and not in perspective;
Vouchsafe the tryal then, that thou
May'st safely wield, yet disallow
The World's temptations, and be still
Above whatever would thee fill.
Convince mankind, there's somewhat more
Great than the titles they adore:
Stand neer them, and 'twill soon be known
Thou hast more splendour of thy own;
Yield to the wanting Age, and be
Channel of true Nobility:
For from thy Womb such Heros need must rise,
Who Honours will deserve, and can despise.",,9511,"","""By giving thy Soul room to move: / Affording scene unto that mind, / Which is too great to be confin'd. [...]Thou mightst retire, but who e're meant / A Palace for a Tenement""","",2009-09-14 19:34:16 UTC,I've included entire poem
3666,"","Searching ""mind"" and ""cabinet"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2005-09-07 00:00:00 UTC,"If any could my dear Rosania hate,
They only should her Character relate.
Truth shines so bright there, that an Enemy
Would be a better Oratour then I.
Love stifles Language, and I must confess,
I had said more if I had loved less.
Yet the most critical who that Face see
Will ne're suspect a partiality.
Others by time and by degrees perswade,
But her first look doth every heart invade.
She hath a Face so eminently bright,
Would make a Lover of an Anchorite:
A Face where conquest mixt with modesty
Are both compleated in Divinity.
Not her least glance but sets a heart on fire,
And checks it if it should too much aspire.
Such is the Magick of her Looks, the same
Beam doth both kindle and refine our flame.
If she doth smile, no Painter e're would take
Another Rule when he would Mercy make.
And Heav'n to her such splendour hath allow'd,
That no one posture can her Beauty cloud:
For if she frown, none but would phansie then
Justice descended here to punish Men.
Her common looks I know not how to call
Any one Grace, they are compos'd of all.
And if we Mortals could the doctrine reach,
Her Eyes have language, and her Looks do teach.
And as in Palaces the outmost, worst
Rooms entertain our wonder at the first;
But once within the Presence-Chamber door,
We do despise what e're we saw before:
So when you with her Mind acquaintance get,
You'l hardly think upon the Cabinet.
Her Soul, that Ray shot from the Deity,
Doth still preserve its native purity;
Which Earth can neither threaten nor allure,
Nor by false joys defile it, or obscure.
The Innocence which in her heart doth dwell,
Angels themselves can only parrallel.
More gently soft then is an Evening-shower:
And in that sweetness there is coucht a Power,
Which scorning Pride, doth think it very hard
That Modesty should need so mean a Guard.
Her Honour is protected by her Eyes,
As the old Flaming Sword kept Paradise.
Such Constancy of Temper, Truth and Law,
Guides all her actions, that the World may draw
From her one Soul the noblest Precedent
Of the most safe, wise, vertuous Government.
And as the highest Element is clear
From all the Tempests which disturb the Air:
So she above the World and its rude noise,
Above our storms a quiet Calm enjoys.
Transcendent things her noble thoughts sublime,
Above the faults and trifles of the Time.
Unlike those Gallants which take far less care
To have their Souls, then make their Bodies fair;
Who (sick with too much leisure) time do pass
With these two books, Pride, and a Looking-glass:
Plot to surprize Mens hearts, their pow'r to try,
And call that Love, which is meer Vanity.
But she, although the greatest Murtherer,
(For ev'ry glance commits a Massacre)
Yet glories not that slaves her power confess,
But wishes that her Monarchy were less.
And if she love, it is not thrown away,
As many do, onely to spend the day;
But her's is serious, and enough alone
To make all Love become Religion.
And to her Friendship she so faithful is,
That 'tis her onely blot and prejudice:
For Envy's self could never errour see
Within that Soul, 'bating her love to me.
Now as I must confess the name of Friend
To her that all the World doth comprehend
Is a most wild Ambition; so for me
To draw her picture is flat Lunacy.
Oh! I must think the rest; for who can write
Or into words confine what's Infinite?",,9512,"•I've included thrice: Cabinet, Rooms, Presence-Chamber","""And as in Palaces the outmost, worst / Rooms entertain our wonder at the first; / But once within the Presence-Chamber door, / We do despise what e're we saw before: / So when you with her Mind acquaintance get, / You'l hardly think upon the Cabinet.""",Rooms,2009-09-14 19:34:16 UTC,I've included entire poem
3668,"","Searching ""breast"" and ""cabinet"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2005-09-07 00:00:00 UTC,"Soul of my Soul, my joy, my crown, my Friend,
A name which all the rest doth comprehend;
How happy are we now, whose Souls are grown
By an incomparable mixture one:
Whose well-acquainted Minds are now as near
As Love, or Vows, or Friendship can endear?
I have no thought but what's to thee reveal'd,
Nor thou desire that is from me conceal'd.
Thy Heart locks up my Secrets richly set,
And my Breast is thy private Cabinet.
Thou shed'st no tear but what my moisture lent,
And if I sigh, it is thy breath is spent.
United thus, what Horrour can appear
Worthy our Sorrow, Anger, or our Fear?
Let the dull World alone to talk and fight,
And with their vast Ambitions Nature fright;
Let them despise so Innocent a flame,
While Envy, Pride and Faction play their game:
But we by Love sublim'd so high shall rise,
To pity Kings, and Conquerours despise,
Since we that Sacred Union have engrost
Which they and all the factious World have lost.",,9516,"","""Thy Heart locks up my Secrets richly set, / And my Breast is thy private Cabinet.""","",2009-09-14 19:34:16 UTC,I've included entire poem
3670,"","Searching ""soul"" and ""window"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2006-01-25 00:00:00 UTC,"Luc.
Say, my Orinda, why so sad?
Orin.
Absence from thee doth tear my heart;
Which, since with thine it union had,
Each parting splits.
Luc.
And can we part?
Orin.
Our Bodies must.
Luc.
But never we:
Our Souls, without the help of Sense,
By wayes more noble and more free
Can meet, and hold intelligence.
Orin.
And yet those Souls, when first they met,
Lookt out at windows through the Eyes.
Luc.
But soon did such acquaintance get,
Not Fate nor Time can them surprize.
Orin.
Absence will rob us of that bliss
To which this Friendship title brings:
Love's fruits and joys are made by this
Useless as Crowns to captiv'd Kings.
Luc.
Friendship's a Science, and we know
There Contemplation's most employ'd.
Orin.
Religion's so, but practick too,
And both by niceties destroy'd.
Luc.
But who ne're parts can never meet,
And so that happiness were lost.
Orin.
Thus Pain and Death are sadly sweet,
Since Health and Heav'n such price much cost.",,9518,"","""And yet those Souls, when first they met, / Lookt out at windows through the Eyes.""",Rooms,2009-09-14 19:34:16 UTC,""
3794,"","Searching ""conque"" and ""heart"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2005-02-09 00:00:00 UTC," Hail bright Urania! Erato hail!
Melpomene, Polymnia, Euterpe, hail!
And all ye blessed powers that inspire
The Heaven-born Soul with intellectual fire;
Pardon my humble and unhallow'd Muse,
If she too great a veneration use,
And prostrate at your best lov'd Darling's feet
Your holy Fane with sacred honour greet:
Her more than Pythian Oracles are so divine,
You sure not onely virtually are
Within the glorious Shrine,
But you your very selves must needs be there.
The Delian Prophet did at first ordain,
That even the mighty Nine should reign,
In distant Empires of different Clime;
And if in her triumphant Throne,
She rules those learned Regions alone,
The fam'd Pyerides are out-done by her omnipotent Rhime.
In proper Cells her large capacious Brain
The images of all things does contain,
As bright almost as were th'Ideas laid,
In the last model e'er the World was made.
And though her vast conceptions are so strong,
The powerfull eloquence of her charming tongue
Does, clear as the resistless beams of day,
To our enlightned Souls the noble thoughts convey;
Well chosen, well appointed, every word
Does its full force and natural grace afford;
And though in her rich treasury,
Confus'd like Elements great Numbers lie,
When they their mixture and proportion take,
What beauteous forms of every kind they make!
Such was the Language God himself infus'd,
And such the style our great Forefather us'd,
From one large stock the various sounds he fram'd,
And every Species of the vast Creation nam'd.
While most of our dull Sex have trod
In beaten paths of one continued Road,
Her skilfull and well manag'd Muse
Does all the art and strength of different paces use:
For though sometimes with slackned force,
She wisely stops her fleetest course,
That slow but strong Majestick pace
Shews her the swiftest steed of all the chosen Race.
",,9764,"","""In proper Cells her large capacious Brain / The images of all things does contain, / As bright almost as were th'Ideas laid, / In the last model e'er the World was made.""",Rooms,2009-09-14 19:34:27 UTC,Stanza IV.
3853,"",Reading. Text from EEBO. http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A27305,2005-10-09 00:00:00 UTC,"At these Words she rose from his Feet, and snatching him in her Arms, he cou'd not defend himself from receiving a thousand Kisses from the lovely Mouth of the charming Wanton; after which, she ran her self, and in an instant put out the Candles. But he cry'd to her, In vain, O too indiscreet fair One; in vain you put out the Light; for [Page 51] Heaven still has Eyes, and will look down upon my broken Vows. I own your Power, I own I have all the Sense in the World of your charming Touches; I am frail Flesh and Blood, but yet--yet--yet I can resist; and I prefer my Vows to all your powerful Temptations.--I will be deaf and blind, and guard my Heart with Walls of Ice, and make you know, that when the Flames of true Devotion are kindled in a Heart, it puts out all other Fires; which are as ineffectual, as Candles lighted in the Face of the Sun.--Go, vain Wanton, and repent, and mortifie that Blood which has so shamefully betray'd thee, and which will one Day ruin both thy Soul and Body.--
(pp. 50-1)",2010-07-01,9899,"•See also Aphra Behn. Oroonoko and other Writings. Ed. Paul Salzman. Oxford: OUP, 1994.
•I've included twice: Wall of Ice and Flame","""I will be deaf and blind, and guard my Heart with Walls of Ice, and make you know, that when the Flames of true Devotion are kindled in a Heart, it puts out all other Fires; which are as ineffectual, as Candles lighted in the Face of the Sun.""","",2010-07-01 20:12:13 UTC,""
6726,Innate Ideas,Reading,2010-06-21 17:54:57 UTC,"And though 'tis true she is imprison'd here,
Yet hath she Notions of her own,
Which Sense doth only jog, awake, and clear,
But cannot at the first make known.
(ll. 37-40)",,17895,"","""And though 'tis true she [the soul] is imprison'd here, / Yet hath she Notions of her own, / Which Sense doth only jog, awake, and clear, / But cannot at the first make known.""",Rooms,2010-06-21 17:54:57 UTC,""
6726,"",Reading,2010-06-21 17:57:40 UTC,"So unconcern'd she lives, so much above
The Rubbish of a sordid Jail,
That nothing doth her Energy improve
So much as when those structures fail,
(ll. 45-8)",,17896,"","""So unconcern'd she lives, so much above / The Rubbish of a sordid Jail, / That nothing doth her Energy improve / So much as when those structures fail.""",Rooms,2010-06-21 17:57:40 UTC,""
6795,"",Reading,2011-02-10 17:09:34 UTC,"And sure, I shall not need many words to persuade you to close with this Proposal. The very offer is a sufficient inducement; nor does it need the set-off's of Rhetorick to recommend it, were I capable, which yet I am not, of applying them with the greatest force. Since you cannot be so unkind to your selves, as to refuse your real Interest; I only entreat you to be so wise as to examine wherein it consists; for nothing is of worser consequence than to be deceiv'd in a matter of so great concern. 'Tis as little beneath your Grandeur as your Prudence, to examine curiously what is in this case offer'd you; and to take care that cheating Hucksters don't impose upon you with deceitful Ware. This is a matter infinitely more worthy your Debates, than what Colours are most agreeable, or whats the Dress becomes you best? Your Glass will not do you half so much service as a serious reflection on your own Minds; which will discover Irregularities more worthy your Correction, and keep you from being either too much elated or depress'd by the representations of the other. 'Twill not be near so advantagious to consult with your Dancing-master as with your own Thoughts, how you may with greatest exactness tread in the Paths of Vertue, which has certainly the most attractive Air, and Wisdom the most graceful and becoming Meen: Let these attend you, and your Carriage will be always well compos'd, and ev'ry thing you do will carry its Charm with it. No solicitude in the adornation of your selves is discommended, provided you employ your care about that which is really your self; and do not neglect that particle of Divinity within you, which must survive, and may (if you please) be happy and perfect when it's unsuitable and much inferiour Companion is mouldring into Dust. Neither will any pleasure be denied you, who are only desir'd not to catch at the Shadow and let the Substance go. You may be as ambitious as you please, so you aspire to the best things; and contend with your Neighbours as much as you can, that they may not out-do you in any commendable Quality. Let it never be said, that they to whom preeminence is so very agreeable, can be tamely content that others shou'd surpass them in this, and precede them in a better World! Remember, I pray you, the famous Women of former Ages, the Orinda's of late, and the more Modern D'acier and others, and blush to think how much is now, and will hereafter be said of them, when you your selves (as great a Figure as you make) must be buried in silence and forgetfulness! Shall your Emulation fail there only where it is commendable? Why are you so preposterously humble, as not to contend for one of the highest Mansions in the Court of Heav'n? Believe me Ladies, this is the only Place worth contending for; you are neither better nor worse in your selves for going before, or coming after now; but you are really so much the better, by how much the higher your station is in an Orb of Glory. How can you be content to be in the world like Tulips in a Garden, to make a fine shew and be good for nothing; have all your Glories set in the grave, or perhaps much sooner? What your own sentiments are, I know not, but I cannot without pity and resentment reflect, that those Glorious Temples on which your kind Creator has bestow'd such exquisite workmanship, shou'd enshrine no better than Egyptian Deities; be like a garnish'd Sepulchre, which for all it's glittering, has nothing within but Emptiness or Putrifaction! What a pity it is, that whilst your Beauty casts a lustre round about, your Souls which are infinitely more bright and radiant (of which if you had but a clear Idea, as lovely as it is, and as much as you now value it, you wou'd then despise and neglect the mean Case that encloses it) shou'd be suffer'd to overrun with Weeds, lye fallow and neglected, unadorn'd with any Grace! Altho the Beauty of the Mind is necessary to secure those Conquests which your Eyes have gain'd; and Time that mortal Enemy to handsome Faces, has no influence on a lovely Soul, but to better and improve it. For shame, let us abandon that Old, and therefore one wou'd think, unfashionable employment of pursuing Butterflies and Trifles! No longer drudge on in the dull beaten road of Vanity and Folly, which so many have gone, before us; but dare to break the enchanted Circle that custom has plac'd us in, and scorn the vulgar way of imitating all the Impertinencies of our Neighbours. Let us learn to pride our selves in something more excellent than the invention of a Fashion: And not entertain such a degrading thought of our own worth, as to imagin that our Souls were given us only for the service of our Bodies, and that the best improvement we can make of these, is to attract the eyes of men. We value them too much, and our selves too little, if we place any part of our worth in their Opinion; and do not think our selves capable of Nobler Things than the pitiful Conquest of some worthless heart. She who has opportunities of making an interest in Heav'n, of obtaining the love and admiration of God and Angels, is too prodigal of her Time, and injurious to her Charms, to throw them away on vain insignificant men. She need not make her self so cheap, as to descend to Court their Applauses; for at the greater distance she keeps, and the more she is above them, the more effectually she secures their esteem and wonder. Be so generous then Ladies, as to do nothing unworthy of you; so true to your Interest as not to lessen your Empire, and depreciate your Charms. Let not your Thoughts be wholly busied in observing what respect is paid you, but a part of them at least, in studying to deserve it. And after all, remember, that Goodness is the truest Greatness, to be wise for your selves, the greatest Wit, and that Beauty the most desirable, which will endure to Eternity.
(pp. 6-16)",,18131,"","""What your own sentiments are, I know not, but I cannot without pity and resentment reflect, that those Glorious Temples on which your kind Creator has bestow'd such exquisite workmanship, shou'd enshrine no better than Egyptian Deities; be like a garnish'd Sepulchre, which for all it's glittering, has nothing within but Emptiness or Putrifaction!""",Rooms,2011-02-10 17:09:53 UTC,""