"The Crimson Jets rais'd with Elastic Force / Swift to the Seats of Sense pursue their Course; / Arterial Streams thro' the soft Brain diffuse, / And water all its Fields with vital Dews."
— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for S. Buckley and J. Tonson
Date
1712
Metaphor
"The Crimson Jets rais'd with Elastic Force / Swift to the Seats of Sense pursue their Course; / Arterial Streams thro' the soft Brain diffuse, / And water all its Fields with vital Dews."
Metaphor in Context
The Heart, as said, from its contracted Cave
On the Left Side, Ejects the bounding Wave.
Exploded thus, as splitting Channels lead,
Upward it springs, or downward is convey'd.
The Crimson Jets rais'd with Elastic Force
Swift to the Seats of Sense pursue their Course;
Arterial Streams thro' the soft Brain diffuse,
And water all its Fields with vital Dews.
From this o'erflowing Tyde the curious Brain
Does thro' its Pores the purer Spirits strain;
Which to its inmost Seats their Passage make,
Whence their dark Rise th' extended Sinews take.
With all their Mouths the Nerves these Spirits drink,
Which thro' the Cells of the fine Strainer sink.
These all the channel'd Fibres ev'ry way
For Motion and Sensation still convey.
The greatest Portion of th' Arterial Blood,
By the close Structure of the Parts withstood,
Whose narrow Meshes stop the grosser Flood,
By apt Canals and Furrows in the Brain,
Which here discharge the Office of a Vein,
Invert their Current, and the Heart regain.
(VI, ll. 362-383, pp. 286-7)
On the Left Side, Ejects the bounding Wave.
Exploded thus, as splitting Channels lead,
Upward it springs, or downward is convey'd.
The Crimson Jets rais'd with Elastic Force
Swift to the Seats of Sense pursue their Course;
Arterial Streams thro' the soft Brain diffuse,
And water all its Fields with vital Dews.
From this o'erflowing Tyde the curious Brain
Does thro' its Pores the purer Spirits strain;
Which to its inmost Seats their Passage make,
Whence their dark Rise th' extended Sinews take.
With all their Mouths the Nerves these Spirits drink,
Which thro' the Cells of the fine Strainer sink.
These all the channel'd Fibres ev'ry way
For Motion and Sensation still convey.
The greatest Portion of th' Arterial Blood,
By the close Structure of the Parts withstood,
Whose narrow Meshes stop the grosser Flood,
By apt Canals and Furrows in the Brain,
Which here discharge the Office of a Vein,
Invert their Current, and the Heart regain.
(VI, ll. 362-383, pp. 286-7)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 8 entries in ESTC (1712, 1715, 1718, 1736, 1797).
Text from Sir Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem. Demonstrating the Existence and Providence of a God, 2nd ed. (London: S. Buckley and J. Tonson, 1712). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
Other Online Editions: first edition (also published in 1712) is available <Link to ECCO>. See also 3rd edition (1715) <Link to Google Books>.
Text from Sir Richard Blackmore, Creation: A Philosophical Poem. Demonstrating the Existence and Providence of a God, 2nd ed. (London: S. Buckley and J. Tonson, 1712). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
Other Online Editions: first edition (also published in 1712) is available <Link to ECCO>. See also 3rd edition (1715) <Link to Google Books>.
Date of Entry
01/18/2006
