The "heart of man" may be probed with the Muse's microscope
— Ruffhead, James
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the Author
Date
1746
Metaphor
The "heart of man" may be probed with the Muse's microscope
Metaphor in Context
Persist, my Muse, to probe the heart of man,
And-from thy microscope-his manners scan,
The sallies, shifts, and eddies of his soul,
Which, like a troubled ocean, in him roll,
Point out his follies pierce, restore a blush,
Ambition-in its heaps of ruin-crush.
Say why in spight of all the sage's light,
Wisdom but glimmers in the shades of night,
But faintly dictates-what is good and best,
In spirit wanting-to enforce the rest.
O thou, the glory of Britannia's isle,
Statesman, yet free from all the statesman's guile,
In whom - the virtues of the noblest soul
Sublime the genius, and its starts controul,
Thy weighty cares, discerning Laelius! quit,
And an obtruding Muse - a while admit.
(pp. 1-2, in. 79-80)
And-from thy microscope-his manners scan,
The sallies, shifts, and eddies of his soul,
Which, like a troubled ocean, in him roll,
Point out his follies pierce, restore a blush,
Ambition-in its heaps of ruin-crush.
Say why in spight of all the sage's light,
Wisdom but glimmers in the shades of night,
But faintly dictates-what is good and best,
In spirit wanting-to enforce the rest.
O thou, the glory of Britannia's isle,
Statesman, yet free from all the statesman's guile,
In whom - the virtues of the noblest soul
Sublime the genius, and its starts controul,
Thy weighty cares, discerning Laelius! quit,
And an obtruding Muse - a while admit.
(pp. 1-2, in. 79-80)
Categories
Provenance
Gale's Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO).
Citation
At least 2 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1746, 1747).
James Ruffhead, The Passions of Man. A Poem. In Four Epistles (London: Printed for the Author, 1746). <Link to ECCO>
James Ruffhead, The Passions of Man. A Poem. In Four Epistles (London: Printed for the Author, 1746). <Link to ECCO>
Theme
Dissection
Date of Entry
01/06/2004
