"The bowls and urns of living stone, are the body which are form'd out of the earth; the bees that make their honey in the cave are the souls of men, which perform all their operations in the body, and animate it; the beams on which the Nymphs roul their webs, are the bones over which the admirable embroidery of nerves, veins and arteries are spread"
— Pope, Alexander (1688-1744), Broome, W. and Fenton, E.
Place of Publication
London
Date
1725-6
Metaphor
"The bowls and urns of living stone, are the body which are form'd out of the earth; the bees that make their honey in the cave are the souls of men, which perform all their operations in the body, and animate it; the beams on which the Nymphs roul their webs, are the bones over which the admirable embroidery of nerves, veins and arteries are spread"
Metaphor in Context
Beneath, a gloomy Grotto's cool recess]
Porphyry has wrote a volume to explain this cave of the Nymphs, with more piety perhaps than judgment; and another person has perverted it into the utmost obscenity, and both allegorically. Porphyry (observes Eustathius) is of opinion, that the cave means the world; it is called gloomy, but agreeable, because it was made out of darkness, and afterwards set in this agreeable order by the hand of the Deity. It is consecrated to the Nymphs; that is, it is destin'd to the habitation of spiritual substances united to the body: The bowls and urns of living stone, are the body which are form'd out of the earth; the bees that make their honey in the cave are the souls of men, which perform all their operations in the body, and animate it; the beams on which the Nymphs roul their webs, are the bones over which the admirable embroidery of nerves, veins and arteries are spread; the fountains which water the cave are the seas, rivers and lakes that water the world; and the two gates, are the two poles; thro' the northern the souls descend from Heaven to animate the body, thro' the southern they ascend to Heaven, after they are separated from the body by death. But I confess I should rather chuse to understand the description poetically, believing that Homer never dream'd of these matters, tho' the age in which he flourish'd was addicted to Allegory. How often do Painters draw from the imagination only, merely to please the eye? And why might not Homer write after it, especially in this place where he manifestly indulges his fancy, while he brings his Heroe to the first dawning of happiness? He has long dwelt upon a series of horrors, and his imagination being tired with the melancholy story, it is not impossible but his spirit might be enliven'd with the Subject while he wrote, and this might lead him to indulge his fancy in a wonderful, and perhaps fabulous description. In short, I should much rather chuse to believe that the memory of the things to which he alludes in the description of the cave is lost, than credit such a labour'd and distant Allegory.
Porphyry has wrote a volume to explain this cave of the Nymphs, with more piety perhaps than judgment; and another person has perverted it into the utmost obscenity, and both allegorically. Porphyry (observes Eustathius) is of opinion, that the cave means the world; it is called gloomy, but agreeable, because it was made out of darkness, and afterwards set in this agreeable order by the hand of the Deity. It is consecrated to the Nymphs; that is, it is destin'd to the habitation of spiritual substances united to the body: The bowls and urns of living stone, are the body which are form'd out of the earth; the bees that make their honey in the cave are the souls of men, which perform all their operations in the body, and animate it; the beams on which the Nymphs roul their webs, are the bones over which the admirable embroidery of nerves, veins and arteries are spread; the fountains which water the cave are the seas, rivers and lakes that water the world; and the two gates, are the two poles; thro' the northern the souls descend from Heaven to animate the body, thro' the southern they ascend to Heaven, after they are separated from the body by death. But I confess I should rather chuse to understand the description poetically, believing that Homer never dream'd of these matters, tho' the age in which he flourish'd was addicted to Allegory. How often do Painters draw from the imagination only, merely to please the eye? And why might not Homer write after it, especially in this place where he manifestly indulges his fancy, while he brings his Heroe to the first dawning of happiness? He has long dwelt upon a series of horrors, and his imagination being tired with the melancholy story, it is not impossible but his spirit might be enliven'd with the Subject while he wrote, and this might lead him to indulge his fancy in a wonderful, and perhaps fabulous description. In short, I should much rather chuse to believe that the memory of the things to which he alludes in the description of the cave is lost, than credit such a labour'd and distant Allegory.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "soul" and "steel" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Over 30 entries in ESTC (1725, 1726, 1745, 1752, 1753, 1758, 1760, 1761, 1763, 1766, 1767, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1773, 1778, 1790, 1792, 1795, 1796).
The Odyssey of Homer. Translated from the Greek, 5 vols. (London: Printed for Bernard Lintot, 1725-26).
The Odyssey of Homer. Translated from the Greek, 5 vols. (London: Printed for Bernard Lintot, 1725-26).
Date of Entry
06/12/2005
