text,updated_at,metaphor,created_at,context,theme,reviewed_on,dictionary,comments,provenance,id,work_id
"Man is a lump, where all beasts kneaded be,
Wisdom makes him an ark where all agree;
The fool, in whom these beasts do live at jar,
Is sport to others and a theatre,
Nor 'scapes he so, but is himself their prey;
All which was man in him is eat away,
And now his beasts on one another feed,
Yet couple in anger, and new monsters breed;
How happy is he, which hath due place assigned
To his beasts, and disafforested his mind!
Empaled himself to keep them out, not in;
Can sow, and dares trust corn, where they have been;
Can use his horse, goat, wolf, and every beast,
And is not ass himself to all the rest.
Else, man not only is the herd of swine,
But he's those devils too, which did incline
Them to a headlong rage, and made them worse:
For man can add weight to heaven's heaviest curse.
As souls (they say) by our first touch, take in
The poisonous tincture of original sin,
So to the punishments which God doth fling,
Our apprehension contributes the sting.
To us, as to his chickens, he doth cast
Hemlock, and we as men, his hemlock taste.
We do infuse to what he meant for meat,
Corrosiveness, or intense cold or heat.
For, God no such specific poision hath
As kills we know not how; his fiercest wrath
Hath no antipathy, but may be good
At least for physic, if not for our food.
Thus man, that might be his pleasure, is his rod,
And is his devil, that might be his God.
Since then our business is, to rectify
Nature, to what she was, we are led awry
By them, who man to us in little show,
Greater than due, no form we can bestow
On him; for man into himself can draw
All, all his faith can swallow, or reason chaw,
All that is filled, and all that which doth fill,
All the round world, to man is but a pill;
In all it works not, but it is in all
Poisonous, or purgative, or cordial,
For, knowledge kindles calentures in some,
And is to others icy opium.
As brave as true, is that profession then
Which you do use to make; that you know man.
This makes it credible, you have dwelt upon
All worthy books, and now are such a one.
Actions are authors, and of those in you
Your friends find every day a mart of new.
(pp. 200-1)",2009-09-14 19:33:52 UTC,"Man may keep himself ""empaled"" to keep animals out",2004-07-15 00:00:00 UTC,I've included the entire poem,"",,"","",Reading Bamborough's The Little World of Man (15),8947,3489
"See Father, what first-fruits on earth are sprung
From thy implanted grace in Man; these sighs
And prayers, which in this golden censer mixed
With incense, I thy priest before thee bring;
Fruits of more pleasing savour, from thy seed
Sown with contrition in his heart, than those
Which, his own hand manuring, all the trees
Of Paradise could have produced, ere fallen
From innocence. Now therefore, bend thine ear
To supplication; hear his sighs, though mute;
Unskilful with what words to pray, let me
Interpret for him; me, his advocate
And propitiation; all his works on me,
Good, or not good, ingraft; my merit those
Shall perfect, and for these my death shall pay.
Accept me; and, in me, from these receive
The smell of peace toward mankind: let him live
Before thee reconciled, at least his days
Numbered, though sad; till death, his doom, (which I
To mitigate thus plead, not to reverse,)
To better life shall yield him: where with me
All my redeemed may dwell in joy and bliss;
Made one with me, as I with thee am one.
(Bk. XI, ll. 22-44)",2010-01-06 04:51:23 UTC,"""Fruits of more pleasing savour, from thy seed / Sown with contrition in his heart, than those / Which, his own hand manuring, all the trees / Paradise could have produced.""",2003-08-20 00:00:00 UTC,Book XI,"",,"","•After Adam and Eve repent and pray the Son intercedes with God the Father
•The ""sweet savour"" of acceptable offerings is biblical commonplace, reports the Longman edition. ",HDIS,9443,3636
"Nor were these Fruits in a rough Soil bestown
As Gemms are thick'st in rugged Quarries sown.
Good Nature and good parts so shar'd thy mind,
A Muse and Grace were so combin'd,
'Twas hard to guess which with most Lustre shin'd.
A Genius did thy whole Comportment act,
Whose charming Complaisance did so attract,
As every Heart attack'd.
Such a soft Air thy well-tun'd Sweetness sway'd,
As told thy Soul of Harmony was made;
All rude Affections that Disturbers be,
That mar or disunite Society,
Were Foreiners to thee.
Love only in their stead took up its Rest;
Nature made that thy constant Guest,
And seem'd to form no other Passion for thy Breast.",2009-09-14 19:34:28 UTC,"""Nor were these Fruits in a rough Soil bestown / As Gemms are thick'st in rugged Quarries sown.""",2006-03-15 00:00:00 UTC,Stanza VIII,"",,"","•I've included four times: Fruit, Gem, Soil, and Quarry",Searching HDIS (Poetry),9771,3787
"This Heart of mine, now wreck'd upon despair,
Was once as free and careless as the Air;
In th' early Morning of my tender years,
E're I was sensible of Hopes and Fears,
It floated in a Sea of Mirth and Ease,
And thought the World was only made to please;
No adverse Wind had ever stopp'd its Course,
Nor had it felt great Love's tempestuous Force,
(That Storm that swells the Tydes of Human Care,
And makes black Waves come rolling from afar,)
'Till too much Freedom made it grow secure,
As if the Sunshine always would endure;
And I, with haughty and disdainful Pride,
Mock'd the blind God, and all his Force defy'd.
At this enrag'd, the injur'd Deity
Chose out the best of his Artillery,
And in a blooming Virgin's Dove-like Eyes
He planted his Victorious Batteries;
(Phillis her Name, the best of Woman-kind,
Could Love have gain'd the Empire of her Mind)
These shot so furiously against my Heart,
That Nature's strength, tho' much improv'd by Art,
With Groans gave way to each resistless stroak,
As when the Thunder rends some sturdy Oak.
The wing'd Battalions from her lovely face
Flew to the Breach, and, rushing in apace,
Did quickly make her Mistress of the place.
",2018-06-18 15:36:31 UTC,"""At this enrag'd, the injur'd Deity / Chose out the best of his Artillery, / And in a blooming Virgin's Dove-like Eyes / He planted his Victorious Batteries; / (Phillis her Name, the best of Woman-kind, / Could Love have gain'd the Empire of her Mind) / These shot so furiously against my Heart, / That Nature's strength, tho' much improv'd by Art, / With Groans gave way to each resistless stroak, / As when the Thunder rends some sturdy Oak.""",2004-08-10 00:00:00 UTC,"","",,"","","Searching ""mind"" and ""empire"" in HDIS (Poetry)",9865,3834
"If these Impulses to the Eye do give,
That thence doth an Account of things receive;
The Sense, that only did from Motion grow,
When Motion sinks and dies, must perish too.
How haps it then, Ideas stay behind,
And, when We please, can paint anew the Mind,
When what created them is fled, like Wind?
If th' Eye into't nothing Material drew,
How is't the Mind can former Objects view,
And dress i'th' Brain the wandring Schemes anew?
How haps, what did unto our Sight advance,
In Dreams again i'th' cheated Soul do dance,
And with fresh Charms the credulous Mind entrance?
Dreams that arise, as all the Learned own,
From confus'd Parts of Bodies seen or known.
If thro the Eye the Vigorous Object darts
Into the Brain these small Aerial Parts;
How are they entertain'd, when Crowds do come?
How do the little narrow Cells make room?
Do all, that to an Object do belong,
Into one Place unmixt with others throng?
If not: how are things past call'd back with ease?
How is, what's gone, remember'd, when We please,
Even Adjuncts and Particularities?
But if new Streams the former do expell,
How is't of former Days we acts can tell?
The various Turns of Years long-since repeat;
What We've seen acted, what We've read, relate.
If Old and New i'th Brain together crowd,
How is it Room and Peace is them allow'd?
How do they and their Equipages come?
For if Material, they must take up room.
And tract of Time would hoard up such a Crop,
The crowded Atoms would the Channels stop,
And choke the Passages of Vision up.
(ll. 243-272)",2013-06-19 20:12:46 UTC,"""If Old and New i'th Brain together crowd, / How is it Room and Peace is them allow'd? /How do they and their Equipages come? /For if Material, they must take up room. / And tract of Time would hoard up such a Crop, / The crowded Atoms would the Channels stop, / And choke the Passages of Vision up.""",2005-08-30 00:00:00 UTC,"","",,Inhabitants and Rooms,"","Searching in HDIS (Poetry); found again ""brain"" and ""crowd""",10044,3876
"'Tis true, I think not an impartial dole
Of Sense distributed to every Soul;
So that no Two, but can exactly say,
Each had his Measure, tho a diff'rent way:
Yet potent Nature frankly has bestow'd
Such various gifts amongst the mingl'd Crowd,
That I believe, the dullest of the kind,
Wou'd he but Husband and Manure his Mind,
Might find some Exce'llence there, which well-improv'd
At home might make him Pleas'd, in public Lov'd.
(ll. 16-25, pp. 57-8)",2013-07-22 14:58:33 UTC,"""Yet potent Nature frankly has bestow'd / Such various gifts amongst the mingl'd Crowd, / That I believe, the dullest of the kind, / Wou'd he but Husband and Manure his Mind, / Might find some Exce'llence there, which well-improv'd / At home might make him Pleas'd, in public Lov'd.""",2004-01-05 00:00:00 UTC,"","",,"","First published in Dialogues of the Dead and Other Works in Prose and Verse. Ed. A. R. Waller. Cambridge: CUP, 1907. Prior sent the poem to Lord Dorset. Most likely written in summer of 1687.",HDIS,16858,6379
"Some Sons, indeed, some very few, we see
Who keep themselves from this Infection free,
Whom Gracious Heaven for Nobler Ends design'd,
Their Looks erected, and their Clay refin'd.
The rest are all by bad Example led,
And in their Father's slimy Track they tread.
Is't not enough we should our selves undo,
But that our Children we must Ruin too?
Children, like tender Osiers, take the bow,
And as they first are Fashion'd, always grow.
By Nature, headlong to all Ills we run,
And Virtue, like some dreadful Monster, shun.
Survey the World, and where on Cato Shines,
Count a degenerate Herd of Catilines.
(pp. 277-8)",2013-07-11 14:49:41 UTC,"""Children, like tender Oziers, take the Bow, / And, as they first are fashion'd always grow.""",2013-07-10 21:20:32 UTC,"","",,"","OED: An osier is ""Any of several willows with tough pliant branches used in basketwork, esp. Salix viminalis; (also) a flexible branch of any of these willows. Also with distinguishing word.""
Note, the distich is cited as a commonplace in the eighteenth century. See for example, Edward Bysshe's Art of English Poetry (1718), ""Education""; Eliza Haywood's Female Spectator, book x; Samuel Whyte's The Shamrock (1772), p. 277n; Ignatius Sanchos's Letters (1782), vol. I, letter xxviii; and various other works. ",Reading,21622,7521
"Why have I Learn'd, say'st thou, if thus confin'd,
I choak the Noble Vigour of my Mind?
Know, my wild Fig-Tree, which in Rocks is bred,
Will split the Quarry, and shoot out the Head,
Fine Fruits of Learning! Old Ambitious Fool,
Dar'st thou apply that Adage of the School;
As if 'tis nothing worth that lies conceal'd·
And Science is not Science till Reveal'd?
Oh, but 'tis Brave to be Admir'd, to see
The Crowd, with pointing Fingers, cry That's he:
View document image [202] containing page
That's he, whose wondrous Poem is become
A Lecture for the Noble Youth of Rome!
Who, by their Fathers, is at Feasts Renown'd:
And often quoted, when the Bowls go round.
Full gorg'd and flush'd, they wantonly Rehearse:
And add to Wine the Luxury of Verse.
One, clad in Purple, not to lose his time,
Eats, and recites some lamentable Rhime:
Some Senceless Phyllis, in a broken Note;
Snuffling at Nose, or croaking in his Throat:
Then, Graciously, the mellow Audience Nod:
Is not th' Immortal Authour made a God?
Are not his Manes blest, such Praise to have?
Lies not the Turf more lightly on his Grave?
And Roses (while his lowd Applause they Sing,)
Stand ready from his Sepulcher to spring?
(pp. 7-8, ll. 55-80)",2013-07-11 14:57:37 UTC,"""Why have I Learn'd, say'st thou, if thus confin'd, / I choak the Noble Vigour of my Mind? / Know, my wild Fig-Tree, which in Rocks is bred, / Will split the Quarry, and shoot out the Head, / Fine Fruits of Learning!""",2013-07-11 14:57:37 UTC,"","",,"","",Browsing in EEBO,21644,7533
"When I did first this charming object view,
Her Image in my Mind took Root & grew;
So rare a Piece and so divinely fair,
I wish'd the best of Painters had been there:
As piercing lightnings when they strik the ground
The Steel consum'd, the Scabbard Safe is found,
So did she glide along my purer Veins,
My Body's safe, my Soul still full of Pains;
Her Hair as black as that which Angels prize,
Before the Throne, veiling their weaker Eyes;
Her Brows were black, declining like the Bow,
Which Cupid, when he smil'd rejoyc'd to shew;
In lovely Spheres her Globes of Light did rowle,
And Man the strongest Planet did controul;
About her Cheeks ten thousand smiles did play,
Fair as the Beauties of the rising Day;
About her milky Neck and snowy Arms
There flow'd continual Rivulets of Charms;
So soft her Hands, so long, so charming white,
As might the chastest God from Heav'n invite;
Here you might see her Soul in Raptures pass,
Clear as the Lily in the Crystal Glass;
Each, Atome of her Body was so fine,
In ev'ry part it had the Stamp Divine.
The Greek that strove to make a piece so high,
As might the Works of Nature's self out-vie;
From all the rarest Patterns which he knew,
The best Perfections, which they had, he drew:
But after all it prov'd so ill, he swore,
He'd never strive to perfect Nature more;
Had he but seen that Piece that stood by me,
He'd lookt no further for Divinity.
(pp. 100-2, ll. 1-32)",2013-07-24 15:27:12 UTC,"""When I did first this charming object view, / Her Image in my Mind took Root & grew.""",2013-07-24 15:27:12 UTC,"","",,"","","Searching ""mind"" in C-H Lion",21994,7561
"To whom the winged Hierarch repli'd.
O Adam, one Almightie is, from whom
All things proceed, and up to him return,
If not deprav'd from good, created all
Such to perfection, one first matter all,
Indu'd with various forms, various degrees
Of substance, and in things that live, of life;
But more refin'd, more spiritous, and pure,
As neerer to him plac't or neerer tending
Each in thir several active Sphears assignd,
Till body up to spirit work, in bounds
Proportiond to each kind. So from the root
Springs lighter the green stalk, from thence the leaves
More aerie, last the bright consummate floure
Spirits odorous breathes: flours and thir fruit
Mans nourishment, by gradual scale sublim'd
To vital Spirits aspire, to animal,
To intellectual, give both life and sense,
Fansie and understanding, whence the Soule
Reason receives, and reason is her being,
Discursive, or Intuitive; discourse
Is oftest yours, the latter most is ours,
Differing but in degree, of kind the same.
Wonder not then, what God for you saw good
If I refuse not, but convert, as you,
To proper substance, time may come when men
With Angels may participate, and find
No inconvenient Diet, nor too light Fare:
And from these corporal nutriments perhaps
Your bodies may at last turn all to Spirit,
Improv'd by tract of time, and wingd ascend
Ethereal, as wee, or may at choice
Here or in Heav'nly Paradises dwell;
If ye be found obedient, and retain
Unalterably firm his love entire
Whose progenie you are. Mean while enjoy
Your fill what happiness this happie state
Can comprehend, incapable of more.
(Book V, ll. 468-505; pp. 286-9 in Longman)",2016-07-11 19:37:30 UTC,"""So from the root / Springs lighter the green stalk, from thence the leaves / More aerie, last the bright consummate floure / Spirits odorous breathes: flours and thir fruit / Mans nourishment, by gradual scale sublim'd / To vital Spirits aspire, to animal, / To intellectual, give both life and sense, / Fansie and understanding, whence the Soule / Reason receives, and reason is her being, / Discursive, or Intuitive; discourse / Is oftest yours, the latter most is ours, / Differing but in degree, of kind the same.""",2016-07-11 19:37:30 UTC,"","",,"","","Reading Sean Silver, The Mind is a Collection: Case Studies in Eighteenth-Century Thought (Philadelphia: Penn Press, 2015), 43.",24924,3636