"As fire, by nature, climbs direct, and bright, / And beams, in spotless rays, a shining light; / But if some gross obstruction stops its way, / Smokes in low curls, and scents the sullied day: / So love, itself, untainted, and refin'd, / Borrows a tincture, from the colour'd mind."
— Hill, Aaron (1685-1750)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Date
1726, 1753
Metaphor
"As fire, by nature, climbs direct, and bright, / And beams, in spotless rays, a shining light; / But if some gross obstruction stops its way, / Smokes in low curls, and scents the sullied day: / So love, itself, untainted, and refin'd, / Borrows a tincture, from the colour'd mind."
Metaphor in Context
As fire, by nature, climbs direct, and bright,
And beams, in spotless rays, a shining light;
But if some gross obstruction stops its way,
Smokes in low curls, and scents the sullied day:
So love, itself, untainted, and refin'd,
Borrows a tincture, from the colour'd mind;
The great grow greater, while its force they prove,
But little hearts want room, and cripple love.
(Cf. p. 195 in 1726 miscellany)
And beams, in spotless rays, a shining light;
But if some gross obstruction stops its way,
Smokes in low curls, and scents the sullied day:
So love, itself, untainted, and refin'd,
Borrows a tincture, from the colour'd mind;
The great grow greater, while its force they prove,
But little hearts want room, and cripple love.
(Cf. p. 195 in 1726 miscellany)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry); confirmed in ECCO.
Citation
At least 4 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1726, 1753, 1754).
See Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. By Several Hands. Publish’d by Richard Savage, Son of the Late Earl Rivers. (London: Printed for Samuel Chapman, at the Angel in Pall-Mall, 1726). <Link to ESTC>
Text from The Works of the Late Aaron Hill, Esq; in Four Volumes. Consisting of Letters on Various Subjects, and of Original Poems, Moral and Facetious. With an Essay on the Art of Acting. (London: Printed for the benefit of the family, 1753). <Link to ESTC>
See Miscellaneous Poems and Translations. By Several Hands. Publish’d by Richard Savage, Son of the Late Earl Rivers. (London: Printed for Samuel Chapman, at the Angel in Pall-Mall, 1726). <Link to ESTC>
Text from The Works of the Late Aaron Hill, Esq; in Four Volumes. Consisting of Letters on Various Subjects, and of Original Poems, Moral and Facetious. With an Essay on the Art of Acting. (London: Printed for the benefit of the family, 1753). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
08/29/2005
