"At Distance thro' an artful Glass / To the Mind's Eye Things well appear."
— Prior, Matthew (1664-1721)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
The Gentleman's Journal
Date
1692
Metaphor
"At Distance thro' an artful Glass / To the Mind's Eye Things well appear."
Metaphor in Context
Our anxious Pains We, all the Day,
In search of what We like, employ:
Scorning at Night the worthless Prey,
We find the Labour gave the Joy.
At Distance thro' an artful Glass
To the Mind 's Eye Things well appear:
They lose their Forms, and make a Mass
Confus'd and black, if brought too near.
If We see right, We see our Woes:
Then what avails it to have Eyes?
From Ignorance our Comfort flows:
The only Wretched are the Wise.
We wearied should lie down in Death:
This Cheat of Life would take no more;
If You thought Fame but empty Breath;
I, Phyllis but a perjur'd Whore.
(p. 109, ll. 25-40)
In search of what We like, employ:
Scorning at Night the worthless Prey,
We find the Labour gave the Joy.
At Distance thro' an artful Glass
To the Mind 's Eye Things well appear:
They lose their Forms, and make a Mass
Confus'd and black, if brought too near.
If We see right, We see our Woes:
Then what avails it to have Eyes?
From Ignorance our Comfort flows:
The only Wretched are the Wise.
We wearied should lie down in Death:
This Cheat of Life would take no more;
If You thought Fame but empty Breath;
I, Phyllis but a perjur'd Whore.
(p. 109, ll. 25-40)
Categories
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
Prior, Matthew, The Literary Works of Matthew Prior. Ed. H. Bunker Wright and Monroe K. Spears. 2 vols. Second Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.
Theme
Mind's Eye
Date of Entry
02/25/2004
