"Our reason judges better than our eyes"
— Jenyns, Soame (1704-1787); Browne, Isaac Hawkins (1706-1760)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Date
1761, 1790
Metaphor
"Our reason judges better than our eyes"
Metaphor in Context
How cou'd the mind, did she alone depend
On sense, the errors of those senses mend?
Yet oft, we see, those senses she corrects,
And oft their information quite rejects.
In distances of things, their shapes, and size,
Our reason judges better than our eyes.
Declares not this the soul's pre-eminence
Superior to, and quite distinct from sense?
For sure 'tis likely, that, since now so high,
Clog'd and unfledg'd she dares her wings to try,
Loos'd and mature she shall her strength display,
And soar at length to Truth's refulgent ray.
On sense, the errors of those senses mend?
Yet oft, we see, those senses she corrects,
And oft their information quite rejects.
In distances of things, their shapes, and size,
Our reason judges better than our eyes.
Declares not this the soul's pre-eminence
Superior to, and quite distinct from sense?
For sure 'tis likely, that, since now so high,
Clog'd and unfledg'd she dares her wings to try,
Loos'd and mature she shall her strength display,
And soar at length to Truth's refulgent ray.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "judge" and "soul" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 4 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1761, 1770, 1790, 1793).
See Miscellaneous Pieces, in Two Volumes. ... . Containing Poems, Translations, and Essays. (London: Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, at Tully's Head, in Pall Mall, 1761).<Link to ECCO>
Text from The Works of Soame Jenyns ... In Four Volumes. Including Several Pieces Never Before Published. To Which are Prefixed, Short Sketches of the History of the Author's Family, and also of his Life; By Charles Nalson Cole (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1790).
See Miscellaneous Pieces, in Two Volumes. ... . Containing Poems, Translations, and Essays. (London: Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, at Tully's Head, in Pall Mall, 1761).<Link to ECCO>
Text from The Works of Soame Jenyns ... In Four Volumes. Including Several Pieces Never Before Published. To Which are Prefixed, Short Sketches of the History of the Author's Family, and also of his Life; By Charles Nalson Cole (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1790).
Date of Entry
08/31/2004
