"Those objects that assimilate the taste / To Nature's standard, ever rightly plac'd; / Stamp on the passive heart each soft impress"
— Stevenson, William (1730-1783)
Work Title
Place of Publication
Edinburgh
Publisher
Printed by A. Donaldson and J. Reid
Date
1765
Metaphor
"Those objects that assimilate the taste / To Nature's standard, ever rightly plac'd; / Stamp on the passive heart each soft impress"
Metaphor in Context
But though enrich'd by these, still in the gross
Our profit's nearly balanc'd by the loss.
No more the youth, by love of science smit,
Shall under thy leaf-wove umbrella sit;
Charm'd with the wide diffusion of thy sprays,
Impervious to the noontide-pointed rays;
No care-form'd wrinkles on his brow imprest,
That mark the anxious thoughts estrang'd to rest;
That mark the inward bias disinclin'd
To study, and the pursuits of the mind;
Those objects that assimilate the taste
To Nature's standard, ever rightly plac'd;
Stamp on the passive heart each soft impress,
And bounds prescribe to ev'ry wrong excess;
Render the thoughts capacious, to extend
Not merely to existence, but the end;
Not to a moment's unsubstantial good,
But lasting, as by Virtue understood.
Distinguish'd thus, the studious youth no more
Shall here advance in Wisdom's hallow'd lore.
No more consult each deeply-labour'd page,
The well-collected knowledge of an age;
Where Nature's grand arcanas lie explain'd,
Where manners glow depicted as they reign'd;
Mark'd all the changes of this lower ball,
While in succession empires rise or fall;
Kings are dethron'd, or slaves to monarchs rais'd,
Those lights extinguish'd that superiour blaz'd;
Lights of the church, the cabinet, and field,
Immortal names, that only once could yield!
Lights, far remov'd from Fame's illustrious strife,
That shone in circles of domestic life;
Though fainter their restricted radiance glows,
These not less glorious to a state than those.
No more, with eye elate, and kindled thought,
To relish beauties by example taught,
Shall he in thy romantic gloom peruse
The fine descriptions of the moral muse;
Where wit and humour charm with native ease,
By stealth surprise us, and by magic please;
Where delicately sketch'd each object looks
As drawn from living nature, not from books;
Where fancy's gay ideal pictures shine,
And manly sense inspirits ev'ry line:
While taste, as eyes illuminate the face,
Throws over all an elegance and grace.
Our profit's nearly balanc'd by the loss.
No more the youth, by love of science smit,
Shall under thy leaf-wove umbrella sit;
Charm'd with the wide diffusion of thy sprays,
Impervious to the noontide-pointed rays;
No care-form'd wrinkles on his brow imprest,
That mark the anxious thoughts estrang'd to rest;
That mark the inward bias disinclin'd
To study, and the pursuits of the mind;
Those objects that assimilate the taste
To Nature's standard, ever rightly plac'd;
Stamp on the passive heart each soft impress,
And bounds prescribe to ev'ry wrong excess;
Render the thoughts capacious, to extend
Not merely to existence, but the end;
Not to a moment's unsubstantial good,
But lasting, as by Virtue understood.
Distinguish'd thus, the studious youth no more
Shall here advance in Wisdom's hallow'd lore.
No more consult each deeply-labour'd page,
The well-collected knowledge of an age;
Where Nature's grand arcanas lie explain'd,
Where manners glow depicted as they reign'd;
Mark'd all the changes of this lower ball,
While in succession empires rise or fall;
Kings are dethron'd, or slaves to monarchs rais'd,
Those lights extinguish'd that superiour blaz'd;
Lights of the church, the cabinet, and field,
Immortal names, that only once could yield!
Lights, far remov'd from Fame's illustrious strife,
That shone in circles of domestic life;
Though fainter their restricted radiance glows,
These not less glorious to a state than those.
No more, with eye elate, and kindled thought,
To relish beauties by example taught,
Shall he in thy romantic gloom peruse
The fine descriptions of the moral muse;
Where wit and humour charm with native ease,
By stealth surprise us, and by magic please;
Where delicately sketch'd each object looks
As drawn from living nature, not from books;
Where fancy's gay ideal pictures shine,
And manly sense inspirits ev'ry line:
While taste, as eyes illuminate the face,
Throws over all an elegance and grace.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "stamp" and "heart" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 2 entries in ESTC (1765).
Original Poems on Several Subjects. In Two Volumes. By William Stevenson (Edinburgh: Printed by A. Donaldson and J. Reid. Sold by Alexander Donaldson, in London and Edinburgh, 1765). <Link to ESTC>
Original Poems on Several Subjects. In Two Volumes. By William Stevenson (Edinburgh: Printed by A. Donaldson and J. Reid. Sold by Alexander Donaldson, in London and Edinburgh, 1765). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
04/07/2005
