"Beautiful Looks are rul'd by fickle Minds; / And Summer Seas are turn'd by sudden Winds"

— Prior, Matthew (1664-1721)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Jacob Tonson
Date
1709 [1708]
Metaphor
"Beautiful Looks are rul'd by fickle Minds; / And Summer Seas are turn'd by sudden Winds"
Metaphor in Context
While Cupid smil'd, by kind Occasion bless'd,
And, with the Secret kept, the Love increas'd;
The am'rous Youth frequents the silent Groves;
And much He meditates; for much He loves.
He loves: 'tis true; and is belov'd again:
Great are his Joys: but will they long remain?
Emma with Smiles receives his present Flame;
But smiling, will She ever be the same?
Beautiful Looks are rul'd by fickle Minds;
And Summer Seas are turn'd by sudden Winds
.
Another Love may gain her easie Youth:
Time changes Thought; and Flatt'ry conquers Truth.
(p. 283, ll. 155-66)
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
At least 38 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1708, 1711, 1713, 1718, 1719, 1720, 1721, 1723, 1725, 1728, 1733, 1734, 1741, 1746, 1749, 1751, 1754, 1759, 1766, 1768, 1769, 1771, 1773, 1776, 1777, 1779, 1784, 1790, 1793, 1794, 1798).

See Poems on Several Occasions. (London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, within Grays-Inn Gate next Grays-Inn Lane, 1709 [1708]). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>

Reading The Literary Works of Matthew Prior, eds. H. Bunker Wright and Monroe K. Spears. 2 vols. Second Edition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971).
Date of Entry
02/25/2004

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.