A ruined mind may be "A blank of Nature, vanish'd every thought / That Nature, Reason, that Experience taught."
— Lovibond, Edward (bap. 1723, d. 1775)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Dodsley [etc.]
Date
1785
Metaphor
A ruined mind may be "A blank of Nature, vanish'd every thought / That Nature, Reason, that Experience taught."
Metaphor in Context
O dreadful chaos of the ruin'd mind!
Lost to itself, to virtue, human kind!
From earth, from heaven, a meteor flaming wide,
Link'd to no system, to no world allied;
A blank of Nature, vanish'd every thought
That Nature, Reason, that Experience taught,
Past, present, future trace, alike destroy'd,
Where Love alone can fill the mighty void:
That Love on unreturning pinions flown
We grasp a shade, the noble substance gone--
From one ador'd and once adoring, dream
Of Friendship's tenderness--ev'n cold esteem
(Humble our vows) rejected with disdain,
Ask a last conference, but a parting strain,
More suppliant still, the wretched suit advance,
Plead for a look, a momentary glance,
A latter token--on Destruction's brink
We catch the feeble plank of Hope, and sink.--
Lost to itself, to virtue, human kind!
From earth, from heaven, a meteor flaming wide,
Link'd to no system, to no world allied;
A blank of Nature, vanish'd every thought
That Nature, Reason, that Experience taught,
Past, present, future trace, alike destroy'd,
Where Love alone can fill the mighty void:
That Love on unreturning pinions flown
We grasp a shade, the noble substance gone--
From one ador'd and once adoring, dream
Of Friendship's tenderness--ev'n cold esteem
(Humble our vows) rejected with disdain,
Ask a last conference, but a parting strain,
More suppliant still, the wretched suit advance,
Plead for a look, a momentary glance,
A latter token--on Destruction's brink
We catch the feeble plank of Hope, and sink.--
Categories
Provenance
Searching "blank" and "mind" in HDIS (Poetry)
Theme
Blank Slate
Date of Entry
03/07/2005
