id,comments,provenance,dictionary,created_at,reviewed_on,work_id,theme,context,updated_at,metaphor,text
8585,"•Another version of this poem is attributed to Richard Duke. ""To the Unknown Author of Absalom and Achitophel.""
•The poem is indeed by Richard Duke (9/23/2008).
","Searching in HDIS (Poetry); Found again ""dross"" and ""mind""",Metal,2005-05-11 00:00:00 UTC,2008-09-24,3318,Refinement,"",2011-05-30 14:49:03 UTC,"""Some livelier spark of heaven, and more refined / From earthly dross, fills the great poet's mind.""","I thought,--forgive my sin,--the boasted fire
Of poets' souls did long ago expire;
Of folly or of madness did accuse
The wretch that thought himself possessed with muse;
Laughed at the God within, that did inspire
With more than human thoughts the tuneful quire;
But sure 'tis more than fancy, or the dream
Of rhymers slumb'ring by the muses' stream.
Some livelier spark of heaven, and more refined
From earthly dross, fills the great poet's mind.
Witness these mighty and immortal lines,
Through each of which th'informing genius shines.
Scarce a diviner flame inspired the king
Of whom thy muse does so sublimely sing.
Not David's self could in a nobler verse
His gloriously offending son rehearse,
Though in his breast the prophet's fury met
The father's fondness, and the poet's wit.
(ll. 1-18)"
11037,•C-H also lists this poem under Dryden. Two versions.,Searching in HDIS (Poetry),Metal,2005-05-11 00:00:00 UTC,,4245,"","",2009-09-14 19:35:29 UTC,"""Some livelier Spark of Heav'n, and more refin'd / From earthly Dross, fills the great Poet's Mind.""","I thought, forgive my Sin, the boasted Fire
Of Poets Souls did long ago expire;
Of Folly or of Madness did accuse
The wretch that thought himself possest with Muse;
Laugh'd at the God within, that did inspire
With more than humane Thoughts the tuneful Quire;
But sure 'tis more than Fancy, or the Dream
Of Rhimers slumbring by the Muses Stream.
Some livelier Spark of Heav'n, and more refin'd
From earthly Dross, fills the great Poet's Mind.
Witness these mighty and immortal Lines,
Through each of which th'informing Genius shines.
Scarce a diviner Flame inspir'd the King,
Of whom thy Muse does so sublimely sing.
Not David's self could in a nobler Verse
His gloriously offending Son rehearse;
Tho' in his Breast the Prophet's Fury met,
The Father's Fondness, and the Poet's Wit."
12307,"","Searching ""fancy"" and ""coin"" in HDIS (Poetry)",Coinage and Metal,2005-04-14 00:00:00 UTC,2007-04-26,4675,"",Stanza V.,2013-06-11 18:20:54 UTC,"""Those slighted Favours which cold Nymphs dispense, / Mere common Counters of the Sense, / Defective both in Mettle and in Measure, / A Lover's Fancy coins into a Treasure."""," Love is the Salt of Life; a higher Taste
It gives to Pleasure, and then makes it last.
Those slighted Favours which cold Nymphs dispense,
Mere common Counters of the Sense,
Defective both in Mettle and in Measure,
A Lover's Fancy coins into a Treasure.
How vast the Subject! What a boundless Store
Of bright Ideas, shining all before
The Muses Sight, forbids me to give o'er!
But the kind God incites us various Ways,
And now I find him all my Ardour raise,
His Precepts to perform, as well as praise."
12317,•I've included twice: Gold and Allay.
•INTEREST. Imagines a time before money. Also the verse is poignant (in its way).,"Searching ""mind"" and ""gold"" in HDIS (Poetry)",Metal,2005-05-27 00:00:00 UTC,,4681,"","",2009-09-14 19:36:50 UTC,"""This, of all Vice, does most debase the Mind, / Gold is itself th'Allay to Human-kind.""","Not to enlarge on such an obvious Thought;
Behold their Folly, which transcends their Fault!
Alas! their Cares and Cautions only tend
To gain the Means, and then to lose the End.
Like Heroes in Romances, still in Fight
For Mistresses that yield them no Delight.
This, of all Vice, does most debase the Mind,
Gold is itself th'Allay to Human-kind.
Oh, happy Times! when no such Thing as Coin
E'er tempted Friends to part, or Foes to join!
Cattle or Corn, among those harmless Men,
Was all their Wealth, the Gold and Silver then:
Corn was too bulky to corrupt a Tribe,
And bell'wing Herds would have betray'd the Bribe."
12330,"","Searching ""head"" and ""dross"" in HDIS (Poetry)","",2005-07-19 00:00:00 UTC,,4675,"",Stanza III.,2009-09-14 19:36:51 UTC,"""And if their Heads but any Substance hold, / Love ripens all that Dross into the purest Gold.""","For Love the Miser will his Gold despise,
The False grow faithful, and the Foolish wise;
Cautious the Young, and complaisant the Old,
The Cruel gentle, and the Coward bold.
Thou glorious Sun within our Souls,
Whose Influence so much controuls;
Ev'n dull and heavy Lumps of Love,
Quicken'd by thee, more lively move;
And if their Heads but any Substance hold,
Love ripens all that Dross into the purest Gold.
In Heav'n's great Work thy Part is such,
That master-like thou giv'st the last great Touch
To Heav'n's own Master-piece of Man;
And finishest what Nature but began:
Thy happy Stroke can into Softness bring
Reason, that rough and wrangling thing.
From Childhood upwards we decay,
And grow but greater Children ev'ry Day:
So, Reason, how can we be said to rise?
So many Cares attend the being wise,
'Tis rather falling down a Precipice.
From Sense to Reason unimprov'd we move;
We only then advance, when Reason turns to Love."
18360,"",Reading,Metal,2011-04-30 16:54:05 UTC,,6836,"","",2011-04-30 16:54:05 UTC,"""Truth indeed is always truth, and reason is always reason; they have an intrinsick and unalterable value, and constitute that intellectual gold which defies destruction: but gold may be so concealed in baser matter that only a chymist can recover it; sense may be so hidden in unrefined and plebeian words that none but philosophers can distinguish it; and both may be so buried in impurities as not to pay the cost of their extraction.""","Truth indeed is always truth, and reason is always reason; they have an intrinsick and unalterable value, and constitute that intellectual gold which defies destruction: but gold may be so concealed in baser matter that only a chymist can recover it; sense may be so hidden in unrefined and plebeian words that none but philosophers can distinguish it; and both may be so buried in impurities as not to pay the cost of their extraction."
18514,"",Searching in UVa E-Text Center,Metal,2011-05-25 03:16:21 UTC,,6882,"","",2011-05-25 03:16:21 UTC,"""Sorrow is a kind of rust of the soul, which every new idea contributes in its passage to scour away.""","Sorrow is a kind of rust of the soul, which every new idea contributes in its passage to scour away. It is the putrefaction of stagnant life, and is remedied by exercise and motion.
(p. 307)"
19958,"",Reading,"",2013-01-22 04:20:46 UTC,,5070,"",Chapter XXV,2013-01-22 04:20:46 UTC,"""Their grief, however, like their joy, was transient; every thing floated in their mind unconnected with the past or future, so that one desire easily gave way to another, as a second stone cast into the water effaces and confounds the circles of the first.""","The princess, in the mean time, insinuated herself into many families; for there are few doors, through which liberality, joined with good humour, cannot find its way. The daughters of many houses were airy and chearful, but Nekayah had been too long accustomed to the conversation of Imlac and her brother to be much pleased with childish levity and prattle which had no meaning. She found their thoughts narrow, their wishes low, and their merriment often artificial. Their pleasures, poor as they were, could not be preserved pure, but were embittered by petty competitions and worthless emulation. They were always jealous of the beauty of each other; of a quality to which solicitude can add nothing, and from which detraction can take nothing away. Many were in love with triflers like themselves, and many fancied that they were in love when in truth they were only idle. Their affection was seldom fixed on sense or virtue, and therefore seldom ended but in vexation. Their grief, however, like their joy, was transient; every thing floated in their mind unconnected with the past or future, so that one desire easily gave way to another, as a second stone cast into the water effaces and confounds the circles of the first."