"Love then, that sweet procession of the Mind, / Was from all Dross, and Earthly Dreggs refin'd."
— Pomfret, John (1667-1702)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Basset ... and Sold by Fr. Hicks [etc.]
Date
1699
Metaphor
"Love then, that sweet procession of the Mind, / Was from all Dross, and Earthly Dreggs refin'd."
Metaphor in Context
This glorious Being thus Divinely made
Exerts its pow'rs, and wonders are display'd:
The Soul which was of purest Angel-kind,
The reflex Image of its Maker's Mind:
At first unspotted by Polluting Sin,
With vigour did the Race of Life begin;
With all its Pow'rs and Faculties compleat
Started with Joy, and no resistance met,
Then th' Understanding without pain did climb:
Capacious, Active, Lively, and Sublime,
Clear as fair Fountains, and as pure as they,
Chast as the Morn, and open as the day.
The Will, which always follow'd Nature's Voice,
Was ne'er deceiv'd, but made a happy choice;
Judgment was then convictive, and sincere;
And all Discourse as Intuition clear.
Then Truth, or God himself, whom Truth we name
(For God and Truth are without doubt the same)
Was always present, and uncourted came;
That Immense Ocean which with Beauty flows;
That utmost Thule of Extended Vows
The Soul possess'd, nor from the Object mov'd:
But gaz'd, admir'd, contemplated, and lov'd.
Love then, that sweet procession of the Mind,
Was from all Dross, and Earthly Dreggs refin'd:
Wing'd with pure Zeal above the Clouds it rode,
And without Plato's Scale arriv'd at God.
(pp. 2-3)
Exerts its pow'rs, and wonders are display'd:
The Soul which was of purest Angel-kind,
The reflex Image of its Maker's Mind:
At first unspotted by Polluting Sin,
With vigour did the Race of Life begin;
With all its Pow'rs and Faculties compleat
Started with Joy, and no resistance met,
Then th' Understanding without pain did climb:
Capacious, Active, Lively, and Sublime,
Clear as fair Fountains, and as pure as they,
Chast as the Morn, and open as the day.
The Will, which always follow'd Nature's Voice,
Was ne'er deceiv'd, but made a happy choice;
Judgment was then convictive, and sincere;
And all Discourse as Intuition clear.
Then Truth, or God himself, whom Truth we name
(For God and Truth are without doubt the same)
Was always present, and uncourted came;
That Immense Ocean which with Beauty flows;
That utmost Thule of Extended Vows
The Soul possess'd, nor from the Object mov'd:
But gaz'd, admir'd, contemplated, and lov'd.
Love then, that sweet procession of the Mind,
Was from all Dross, and Earthly Dreggs refin'd:
Wing'd with pure Zeal above the Clouds it rode,
And without Plato's Scale arriv'd at God.
(pp. 2-3)
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
John Pomfret, The Sceptical Muse: or, A Paradox on Humane Understanding. A Poem (London: Printed for R. Basset and Sold by Fr. Hicks, 1699). <Link to EEBO>
Theme
Refinement
Date of Entry
07/19/2005
Date of Review
07/18/2011
