" When knowledge vainly tries, to form a rule / For female minds;--ev'n knowledge is a fool. / Nor can the laws of art, or nature fix, / Nor wise philosophy, the wondrous sex"
— Derrick, Samuel (1724-1769)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the author; And sold by A. Millar
Date
1755
Metaphor
" When knowledge vainly tries, to form a rule / For female minds;--ev'n knowledge is a fool. / Nor can the laws of art, or nature fix, / Nor wise philosophy, the wondrous sex"
Metaphor in Context
But tell me, can the deepest learning shew,
The changes female hearts can undergo?
In this they, stars, and sun, and moon excel,
No human wisdom can their motions tell;
When knowledge vainly tries, to form a rule
For female minds;--ev'n knowledge is a fool.
Nor can the laws of art, or nature fix,
Nor wise philosophy, the wondrous sex:
By these 'tis prov'd, that light things upward tend.
And heavy bodies centrally descend;
But woman's nature contradicts them all,
For she that's lightest, most inclines to fall.
The changes female hearts can undergo?
In this they, stars, and sun, and moon excel,
No human wisdom can their motions tell;
When knowledge vainly tries, to form a rule
For female minds;--ev'n knowledge is a fool.
Nor can the laws of art, or nature fix,
Nor wise philosophy, the wondrous sex:
By these 'tis prov'd, that light things upward tend.
And heavy bodies centrally descend;
But woman's nature contradicts them all,
For she that's lightest, most inclines to fall.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "law" and "mind" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
See A Collection of Original Poems. By Samuel Derrick. (London: Printed for the Author; and sold by A. Millar, in the Strand, 1755). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
04/20/2005
