The mind may be diseased
— Crabbe, George (1754-1832)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Dodsley
Date
1785, 1838
Metaphor
The mind may be diseased
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>
Theme
Ruling passion
Date of Entry
06/01/2004
