updated_at,id,text,theme,metaphor,work_id,reviewed_on,provenance,created_at,comments,context,dictionary
2009-09-14 19:33:34 UTC,8444,"""My love! nay rather my damnation thou,""
Said he: ""nor am I bound to keep my vow;
The fiend thy sire has sent thee from below,
Else how couldst thou my secret sorrows know?
Avaunt, old witch, for I renounce thy bed:
The queen may take the forfeit of my head,
Ere any of my race so foul a crone shall wed.""
Both heard, the judge pronounced against the knight;
So was he married in his own despite:
And all day after hid him as an owl,
Not able to sustain a sight so foul.
Perhaps the reader thinks I do him wrong,
To pass the marriage-feast, and nuptial song:
Mirth there was none, the man was à-la-mort,
And little courage had to make his court.
To bed they went, the bridegroom and the bride.
Was never such an ill-paired couple tied!
Restless he tossed, and tumbled to and fro,
And rolled, and wriggled further off, for woe.
The good old wife lay smiling by his side,
And caught him in her quivering arms, and cried,--
""When you my ravished predecessor saw,
You were not then become this man of straw;
Had you been such, you might have scaped the law.
Is this the custom of King Arthur's court?
Are all Round-table Knights of such a sort?
Remember I am she who saved your life,
Your loving, lawful, and complying wife:
Not thus you swore in your unhappy hour,
Nor I for this return employed my power.
In time of need I was your faithful friend;
Nor did I since, nor ever will offend.
Believe me, my loved lord, 'tis much unkind;
What fury has possessed your altered mind?
Thus on my wedding-night--without pretence--
Come turn this way, or tell me my offence.
If not your wife, let reason's rule persuade;
Name but my fault, amends shall soon be made.""
(pp. 810-11, ll. 334-364)","","""If not your wife, let reason's rule persuade / Name but my fault, amends shall soon be made.""",3214,2008-09-24,"Searching ""rule"" and ""reason"" in HDIS",2004-06-10 00:00:00 UTC,•Appears Twice: Also in Ogle's Canterbury Tales (1741). See also entry under Ogle. ,"",""
2009-09-14 19:34:52 UTC,10286,"""The Cause and Spring of motion, from above,
Hung down on earth, the golden chain of Love;
Great was the effect, and high was his intent,
When peace among the jarring seeds he sent:
Fire, flood, and earth, and air, by this were bound,
And love, the common link, the new creation crowned.
The chain still holds; for, though the forms decay,
Eternal matter never wears away:
The same first Mover certain bounds has placed,
How long those perishable forms shall last;
Nor can they last beyond the time assigned
By that all-seeing, and all-making Mind:
Shorten their hours they may; for will is free;
But never pass the appointed destiny.
So men oppressed, when weary of their breath,
Throw off the burden, and suborn their death.
Then, since those forms begin, and have their end,
On some unaltered cause they sure depend:
Parts of the whole are we; but God the whole;
Who gives us life, and animating soul.
For nature cannot from a part derive
That being, which the whole can only give:
He, perfect, stable; but imperfect we,
Subject to change, and different in degree;
Plants, beasts, and man; and, as our organs are,
We, more or less, of his perfection share.
But, by a long descent, the ethereal fire
Corrupts; and forms, the mortal part, expire.
As he withdraws his virtue, so they pass,
And the same matter makes another mass.
This law the Omniscient Power was pleased to give,
That every kind should by succession live;
That individuals die, his will ordains;
The propagated species still remains.
The monarch oak, the patriarch of the trees,
Shoots rising up, and spreads by slow degrees;
Three centuries he grows, and three he stays,
Supreme in state, and in three more decays:
So wears the paving pebble in the street,
And towns and towers their fatal periods meet
So rivers, rapid once, now naked lie,
Forsaken of their springs, and leave their channels dry:
So man, at first a drop, dilates with heat,
Then formed, the little heart begins to beat;
Secret he feeds, unknowing in the cell;
At length, for hatching ripe, he breaks the shell,
And struggles into breath, and cries for aid;
Then, helpless, in his mother's lap is laid.
He creeps, he walks, and, issuing into man,
Grudges their life, from whence his own began;
Retchless of laws, affects to rule alone,
Anxious to reign, and restless on the throne;
First vegetive, then feels, and reasons last;
Rich of three souls, and lives all three to waste.
Some thus, but thousands more in flower of age;
For few arrive to run the latter stage.
Sunk in the first, in battle some are slain,
And others whelmed beneath the stormy main.
What makes all this, but Jupiter the king,
At whose command we perish, and we spring?
Then 'tis our best, since thus ordained to die,
To make a virtue of necessity;
Take what he gives, since to rebel is vain;
The bad grows better, which we well sustain;
And could we choose the time, and choose aright,
'Tis best to die, our honour at the height.
When we have done our ancestors no shame,
But served our friends, and well secured our fame;
Then should we wish our happy life to close,
And leave no more for fortune to dispose.
So should we make our death a glad relief
From future shame, from sickness, and from grief;
Enjoying, while we live, the present hour,
And dying in our excellence and flower.
Then round our deathbed every friend should run,
And joy us of our conquest early won;
While the malicious world, with envious tears,
Should grudge our happy end, and wish it theirs.
Since then our Arcite is with honour dead,
Why should we mourn, that he so soon is freed,
Or call untimely, what the gods decreed?
With grief as just, a friend may be deplored,
From a foul prison to free air restored.
Ought he to thank his kinsman or his wife,
Could tears recall him into wretched life?
Their sorrow hurts themselves; on him is lost;
And, worse than both, offends his happy ghost.
What then remains, but, after past annoy,
To take the good vicissitude of joy;
To thank the gracious gods for what they give,
Possess our souls, and while we live, to live?
Ordain we then two sorrows to combine,
And in one point the extremes of grief to join;
That thence resulting joy may be renewed,
As jarring notes in harmony conclude.
Then I propose, that Palamon shall be
In marriage joined with beauteous Emily;
For which already I have gained the assent
Of my free people in full parliament.
Long love to her has borne the faithful knight,
And well deserved, had fortune done him right:
'Tis time to mend her fault, since Emily,
By Arcite's death, from former vows is free;
If you, fair sister, ratify the accord,
And take him for your husband and your lord.
'Tis no dishonour to confer your grace
On one descended from a royal race;
And were he less, yet years of service past,
From grateful souls, exact reward at last.
Pity is heaven's and yours; nor can she find
A throne so soft as in a woman's mind.""
(pp. 631-4, ll. 1024-1134","","One cannot find ""A throne so soft as in a woman's mind""",3957,,"Searching ""throne"" and ""mind"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2004-07-07 00:00:00 UTC,"John Dryden. Ed. Keith Walker Oxford and New York: Oxford UP, 1987.","",""
2013-06-26 17:10:53 UTC,10643," The Mind no nobler Wisdom can attain,
Than to inspect and study all the Man:
His awful Looks confess the Race Divine;
In him the Beauties of the Godhead shine:
With Majesty he fills great Reason's Throne,
The Subject World their rightful Monarch own:
His ranging Soul in narrow Bounds contains
All Nature's Works, o'er which in Peace he reigns;
His Head resembles Jove's Eternal Seat,
In which Inthron'd, he sways the Heav'nly State,
And with assembled Gods, consults of Fate:
The feather'd Envoys, all in shining Crowds;
Attend his Throne, and watch his awful Nods:
Catch his Commands, and thro' the Liquid Air
To the low World the Sacred Errand bear:
Just so the Head of Man contains within
The Intellect, with Rays and Light Divine:
The Senses stand around; the Spirits roam
To seize and bring the fleeting Objects home:
Thro' every Nerve and every Pore they pass,
And fill with chearful Light the gloomy Space;
The Heart, the Center of the manly Breast,
Just like the Sun, in lovely Purple drest,
Diffuses all the Liquid Crimson round,
Whence Life, and Vigour, Heat and Strength abound:
And as great Phoebus sometimes rages high,
And scorches with his Beams the sultry Sky:
So when the Heart with Rage, or flaming Ire,
Grows warm, or burns with Love's consuming Fire:
The catching Virals spread the Flames afar.
And all the Limbs the hot Contagion share,
As solid Shores contain the liquid Seas,
Just so the Stomach, a soft watry Mass,
Stagnates beneath and fills the lower Space:
Here, Winds, and Rains, and humid Vapours lie,
And these exhal'd with Heat, all upwards fly:
As mantling Clouds conceal the fickly Sun,
Dissolve in Dew and drive the Tempest down:
So when thick Humours from the Stomach rise,
They damp the Soul, and sprightly Faculties:
Then Night and Death their gloomy Shades display,
Till the bright Spark within, the heav'nly Ray,
Dispels the Darkness, and restores the Day.
","","""The Mind no nobler Wisdom can attain, / Than to inspect and study all the Man: / His awful Looks confess the Race Divine; / In him the Beauties of the Godhead shine: / With Majesty he fills great Reason's Throne, / The Subject World their rightful Monarch own.""",4141,,"Searching ""throne"" and ""reason"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2004-07-27 00:00:00 UTC,"","",Throne
2009-09-14 19:35:10 UTC,10662," Whatever I behold
Is Silver all, and Indian Gold.
Croesus, and He who drank the foaming Bowl
Of floating Gold, was but a common Soul,
Compar'd to Me,
To whom the Riches of the Sea
With ev'ry Billow rowl.
No: I shall ne'er be poor, shall never pine
For want of Money, or of Wine.
Here's a whole Fleet, a Cargo come,
Some from the Streights, from the East Indies some.
Some fill my Granaries with Corn,
And some into my Coffers pour
All Pointy's pillag'd Wealth, an unexhausted Store:
Here rowls a Sea of Wine from Bourdeaux and Leghorn.
So can the pow'rful Grape our Reason cheat,
And o'er our giddy Fancy reign.
Till from the Trance recover'd, we regain
Our better Minds, and find it all Deceit.","","""So can the pow'rful Grape our Reason cheat, / And o'er our giddy Fancy reign.""",4146,,"Searching ""stamp"" and ""soul"" in HDIS (Poetry); Found again ""coin""; found again ""gold""",2005-04-08 00:00:00 UTC,•,Stanza III,""
2009-09-14 19:35:10 UTC,10668,"But since the Vertues all, a lovely Train,
That raise the Soul, and beautifie the Man;
Depend upon the Judgment of the Mind,
Thence to the Will an easie Passage find,
And ripen into Action: Guard with Care
That bufie Part, from Clouds and Vapours clear,
With Art and Industry the Soul refine,
And let the Morn with all its Lustre in;
The Fates indeed obstruct the Noble Art:
The Search of Truths too long and Life too short:
Black Night comes on, and interrupts the Day,
E'er it can chase the Mists and Fogs away;
The Dregs of Flesh and Drossy Lees, o'errun
The Soul, and weigh the strugling Spirit down:
In Darkness hid, it wanders far astray,
Oblig'd the subject Senses to obey,
And only range, where they direct the Way;
But tho' the Task be difficult and hard,
Despair not, Wisdom will the Toil reward:
The Globe with Objects fill'd, a vast Immense,
Breeds various Forms for Reason, and for Sense:
Seek not to know, or comprehend, the Whole,
But chuse the brightest Objects for the Soul.","","The soul may become ""Oblig'd the subject Senses to obey, / And only range, where they direct the Way""",4141,,Searching in HDIS (Poetry),2005-07-19 00:00:00 UTC,"","",""
2014-08-18 20:43:15 UTC,11171,"On Tibur's Shore new Vineyards plant,
For 'tis the only Tree we want;
The Gods ne'er made a nobler Tree!
The Gods love drunken Souls like me.
They have a thousand Plagues in store
For sober Sots, whom Cares devour.
At Sight of Bacchus, Sorrows fly,
Spleen vanishes, and Vapours die.
Who in his Cups e'er made Complaint
Of pinching Penury and Want?
Or durst recite in rueful Strain
The Toils he bore the last Campaign?
When sparkling Bowls our Hours improve:
Then all our Talk is Wine and Love.
But still the Centaurs bloody War
Bids us of Strife and Blows take Care;
We know what Bacchus did in Thrace,
Nor will too far indulge the Glass.
Let Reason still keep in its Light,
And still distinguish Wrong from Right.
God of the Grape, I'll wisely use
Thy heav'nly Gifts, nor will disclose
Thy sacred Rites; do thou asswage
My burning Soul, and curb thy Rage:
Lest to new hateful Crimes I run:
Lest Vanity seize Reason's Throne,
And wretched I to open Day
The Secrets of the Night betray,
And my Heart transparent grow,
Clear as the Glass, that makes it so.
","","""God of the Grape, I'll wisely use / Thy heav'nly Gifts, nor will disclose / Thy sacred Rites; do thou asswage / My burning Soul, and curb thy Rage: / Lest to new hateful Crimes I run: / Lest Vanity seize Reason's Throne, / And wretched I to open Day / The Secrets of the Night betray, / And my Heart transparent grow, / Clear as the Glass, that makes it so.""",4274,,"Searching ""throne"" and ""reason"" in HDIS (Poetry)",2004-07-27 00:00:00 UTC,"","",Empire
2009-09-14 19:36:30 UTC,12013,"Ye sovereign Lords, who sit like Gods in State,
Awing the World, and bustling to be great;
Lords but in Title, Vassals in Effect,
Whom Lust controuls, and wild Desires direct;
The Reigns of Empire but such Hands disgrace,
Where Passion, a blind Driver, guides the Race.
","","One may be a Lord but in Title, a vassal in Effect, ""Whom Lust controuls, and wild Desires direct""",4570,,HDIS,2004-08-23 00:00:00 UTC,"","",""
2012-06-29 14:28:11 UTC,12014," Ye sovereign Lords, who sit like Gods in State,
Awing the World, and bustling to be great;
Lords but in Title, Vassals in Effect,
Whom Lust controuls, and wild Desires direct;
The Reigns of Empire but such Hands disgrace,
Where Passion, a blind Driver, guides the Race.
","","There are sovereign Lords ""Whom Lust controuls, and wild Desires direct; / The Reigns of Empire but such Hands disgrace, / Where Passion, a blind Driver, guides the Race.""",4570,,HDIS (Poetry),2004-08-23 00:00:00 UTC,"•I've included twice: Rule of Passion and Horse: Reins.
•INTEREST. Check out the Seneca that inspires this passage. An early horse and driver, ruler and ruled source? REVISIT.","",""
2013-07-11 05:18:36 UTC,21628,"The Man that's Resolute and Just,
Firm to his Principles and Trust,
Nor Hopes, nor Fears can blind;
No Passions his Designs controll,
Not Love, that Tyrant of the Soul,
Can shake his steddy Mind.
(p. 12, ll. 1-6)","","""The Man that's Resolute and Just, / Firm to his Principles and Trust, / Nor Hopes, nor Fears can blind; / No Passions his Designs controll, / Not Love, that Tyrant of the Soul, / Can shake his steddy Mind.""",7524,,Searching in C-H Lion,2013-07-11 05:18:36 UTC,"","",""
2014-05-26 20:23:27 UTC,23863,"For thus old Saws foretel, and Helenus
Anchises drooping Son enliven'd thus;
When Ilium now was in a sinking State;
And he was doubtful of his future Fate:
O Goddess born, with thy hard Fortune strive,
Troy never can be lost, and thou alive.
Thy Passage thou shalt free through Fire and Sword,
And Troy in Foreign Lands shall be restor'd.
In happier Fields a rising Town I see,
Greater than what e'er was, or is, or e'er shall be:
And Heav'n yet owes the: World a Race deriv'd from Thee.
Sages, and Chiefs of other Lineage born
The City shall extend, extended shall adorn:
But from Julus he must draw his Breath,
By whom thy Rome shall rule the conquer'd Earth:
Whom Heav'n will lend Mankind on Earth to reign,
And late require the precious Pledge again.
This Helenus to great AEneas told,
Which I retain, e'er since in other Mould:
My Soul was cloath'd; and now rejoice to view
My Country Walls rebuilt, and Troy reviv'd anew,
Rais'd by the fall: Decreed by Loss to Gain;
Enslav'd but to be free, and conquer'd but to reign.
(pp. 527-8; cf. pp. 831-2 in OUP)","","""This Helenus to great AEneas told, / Which I retain, e'er since in other Mould: / My Soul was cloath'd; and now rejoice to view / My Country Walls rebuilt, and Troy reviv'd anew, / Rais'd by the fall: Decreed by Loss to Gain; / Enslav'd but to be free, and conquer'd but to reign.""",7163,,Reading ,2014-05-26 20:23:16 UTC,"","",""