A "subtle Spirit" may flow from brain and "With arbitrary Power it stamps it there / And binds th'obedient Mass the Form impos'd to wear."
— Cobb, Samuel (1675-1713); Rowe, Nicholas (1674-1718); Quillet, Claudius (fl.1640-1656)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for E. Sanger and E. Curll
Date
1712
Metaphor
A "subtle Spirit" may flow from brain and "With arbitrary Power it stamps it there / And binds th'obedient Mass the Form impos'd to wear."
Metaphor in Context
Soon as the Foetus to the Womb is join'd,
And founds a Temple for th'Immortal Mind.
'Beware, ye Matrons, how with Vapours prest,
'You form fantastic Visions in your Breast.
'Guard well your Eyes from Monsters, and beware
'No Æsop or Thersites enter there,
'But all diverting Sights, but Pleasing all and Fair.
For when the Work of Generation grows,
And from the Brain a subtle Spirit flows,
Which mingling in the Womb with genial Heat,
Does there the fructifying Humour meet,
With arbitrary Power it stamps it there,
And binds th'obedient Mass the Form impos'd to wear.
But then this Power is often apt to err,
And oft imprints a harsh rude Character.
So have I seen the Baker's Hand bestow
All sorts of Figures on the kneaded Dough.
In Beasts, in Birds, in Men the Paste is drest,
And in ten thousand Shapes adorns the various Feast.
Thus Fancy does the pliant Foetus wind,
Thus makes Impressions on the feeble Mind.
And founds a Temple for th'Immortal Mind.
'Beware, ye Matrons, how with Vapours prest,
'You form fantastic Visions in your Breast.
'Guard well your Eyes from Monsters, and beware
'No Æsop or Thersites enter there,
'But all diverting Sights, but Pleasing all and Fair.
For when the Work of Generation grows,
And from the Brain a subtle Spirit flows,
Which mingling in the Womb with genial Heat,
Does there the fructifying Humour meet,
With arbitrary Power it stamps it there,
And binds th'obedient Mass the Form impos'd to wear.
But then this Power is often apt to err,
And oft imprints a harsh rude Character.
So have I seen the Baker's Hand bestow
All sorts of Figures on the kneaded Dough.
In Beasts, in Birds, in Men the Paste is drest,
And in ten thousand Shapes adorns the various Feast.
Thus Fancy does the pliant Foetus wind,
Thus makes Impressions on the feeble Mind.
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 18 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1712, 1715, 1718, 1719, 1720, 1728, 1729, 1733, 1750, 1760, 1761, 1768, 1769, 1771, 1776). Translated from the French of Claude Quillet. First published in Leiden in 1655, followed by Latin version (London, 1708).
Callipædia. A Poem. In Four Books. With Some Other Pieces. Written in Latin by Claudius Quillet, Made English by N. Rowe, Esq; to Which Is Prefix’d, Mr. Bayle’s Account of His Life. (London: Printed for E. Sanger, and E. Curll, 1712). <Link to ESTC>
See also Cl. Quilleti Callipædia, &c. Et Scævolæ Sammarthani Pædotrophia. (Londini: impensis J. Bowyer, 1709). <Link to ESTC>
Callipædia. A Poem. In Four Books. With Some Other Pieces. Written in Latin by Claudius Quillet, Made English by N. Rowe, Esq; to Which Is Prefix’d, Mr. Bayle’s Account of His Life. (London: Printed for E. Sanger, and E. Curll, 1712). <Link to ESTC>
See also Cl. Quilleti Callipædia, &c. Et Scævolæ Sammarthani Pædotrophia. (Londini: impensis J. Bowyer, 1709). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
05/15/2005
