"The Passions still predominant will rule, / Ungovern'd, rude, not bred in Reason's School."
— Pomfret, John (1667-1702)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed and are to be sold by J. Nutt
Date
1700
Metaphor
"The Passions still predominant will rule, / Ungovern'd, rude, not bred in Reason's School."
Metaphor in Context
The Passions still Predominant will Rule,
Ungovern'd, Rude, not Bred in Reason's School;
Our Understanding They with Darkness fill,
Cause strong Corruptions, and pervert the Will;
On These the Soul, as on some Flowing Tide,
Must sit, and on the raging Billows Ride,
Hurry'd away, for how can be withstood
Th' Impetuous Torrent of the boyling Blood?
Begon false Hopes, for all our Learning's Vain,
Can we be free, where These the Rule Maintain?
These are the Tools of Knowledge which we use;
The Spirits heated will strange Things produce;
Tell me who e'er the Passions cou'd Controul,
Or from the Body disengage the Soul;
Till this is done, our best Pursuits are vain
To conquer Truth and unmix'd Knowledge Gain.
Thro' all the bulky Volums of the Dead,
And thro' those Books that Modern Times have Bred.
With pain we Travel, as thro' moorish Ground,
Where scarce one useful Plant is ever found;
O'rerun with Errors which so thick appear,
Our Search proves vain, no spark of Truth is there.
(pp. 4-5)
Ungovern'd, Rude, not Bred in Reason's School;
Our Understanding They with Darkness fill,
Cause strong Corruptions, and pervert the Will;
On These the Soul, as on some Flowing Tide,
Must sit, and on the raging Billows Ride,
Hurry'd away, for how can be withstood
Th' Impetuous Torrent of the boyling Blood?
Begon false Hopes, for all our Learning's Vain,
Can we be free, where These the Rule Maintain?
These are the Tools of Knowledge which we use;
The Spirits heated will strange Things produce;
Tell me who e'er the Passions cou'd Controul,
Or from the Body disengage the Soul;
Till this is done, our best Pursuits are vain
To conquer Truth and unmix'd Knowledge Gain.
Thro' all the bulky Volums of the Dead,
And thro' those Books that Modern Times have Bred.
With pain we Travel, as thro' moorish Ground,
Where scarce one useful Plant is ever found;
O'rerun with Errors which so thick appear,
Our Search proves vain, no spark of Truth is there.
(pp. 4-5)
Provenance
Searching "rule" and "reason" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 8 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1700, 1720, 1726, 1735, 1746, 1758, 1773, 1779, 1794).
John Pomfret, Reason: A Poem (London: J. Nutt, 1700). <Link to EEBO><Link to Google Books>
Poem originally discovered searching in HDIS (Poetry): see Poems upon Several Occasions. By the Reverend Mr. John Pomfret. The Sixth Edition, Corrected. With some Account Of his Life and Writings. To which are added, His Remains (London: Printed for D. Brown, J. Walthoe, A. Bettesworth, and E. Taylor, and J. Hooke [etc.], 1724). <Link to 8th edition in Google Books>
John Pomfret, Reason: A Poem (London: J. Nutt, 1700). <Link to EEBO><Link to Google Books>
Poem originally discovered searching in HDIS (Poetry): see Poems upon Several Occasions. By the Reverend Mr. John Pomfret. The Sixth Edition, Corrected. With some Account Of his Life and Writings. To which are added, His Remains (London: Printed for D. Brown, J. Walthoe, A. Bettesworth, and E. Taylor, and J. Hooke [etc.], 1724). <Link to 8th edition in Google Books>
Date of Entry
06/22/2004
Date of Review
07/18/2011
