The body may feast while the mind may fast
— Crabbe, George (1754-1832)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Dodsley
Date
1785, 1838
Metaphor
The body may feast while the mind may fast
Metaphor in Context
So charm the News; but we, who far from town
Wait till the postman brings the packet down,
Once in the week, a vacant day behold,
And stay for tidings, till they're three days old:
That day arrives; no welcome post appears,
But the dull morn a sullen aspect wears:
We meet, but ah! without our wonted smile,
To talk of headachs, and complain of bile;
Sullen we ponder o'er a dull repast,
Nor feast the body while the mind must fast.
A master-passion is the love of news,
Not music so commands, nor so the Muse:
Give poets claret, they grow idle soon;
Feed the musician, and he's out of tune;
But the sick mind, of this disease possess'd,
Flies from all cure, and sickens when at rest.
Wait till the postman brings the packet down,
Once in the week, a vacant day behold,
And stay for tidings, till they're three days old:
That day arrives; no welcome post appears,
But the dull morn a sullen aspect wears:
We meet, but ah! without our wonted smile,
To talk of headachs, and complain of bile;
Sullen we ponder o'er a dull repast,
Nor feast the body while the mind must fast.
A master-passion is the love of news,
Not music so commands, nor so the Muse:
Give poets claret, they grow idle soon;
Feed the musician, and he's out of tune;
But the sick mind, of this disease possess'd,
Flies from all cure, and sickens when at rest.
Categories
Provenance
Searching HDIS for "master passion"
Citation
Only 1 entry in ESTC (1785).
See The News-Paper: a Poem. By The Reverend George Crabbe, Chaplain to His Grace the Duke of Rutland. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, 1785). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Text from The Poetical Works of the Rev. George Crabbe: With His Letters and Journals, and His Life, by His Son. In Eight Volumes. (London: John Murray, 1838). <Link to LION>
See The News-Paper: a Poem. By The Reverend George Crabbe, Chaplain to His Grace the Duke of Rutland. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, 1785). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Text from The Poetical Works of the Rev. George Crabbe: With His Letters and Journals, and His Life, by His Son. In Eight Volumes. (London: John Murray, 1838). <Link to LION>
Date of Entry
06/01/2004
