" No glossy diction e'er can aid the thought, / First stamp'd in ignorance, with error fraught."
— Yearsley, Ann (bap. 1753, d. 1806)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed For T. Cadell
Date
1785
Metaphor
" No glossy diction e'er can aid the thought, / First stamp'd in ignorance, with error fraught."
Metaphor in Context
Excuse me, Stella, sunk in humble state,
With more than needful awe I view the great;
No glossy diction e'er can aid the thought,
First stamp'd in ignorance, with error fraught.
My friends I've prais'd--they stood in heavenly guise
When first I saw them, and my mental eyes
Shall in that heavenly rapture view them still,
For mine's a stubborn and a savage will;
No customs, manners, or soft arts I boast,
On my rough soul your nicest rules are lost;
Yet shall unpolish'd gratitude be mine,
While Stella deigns to nurse the spark divine.
A savage pleads--let e'en her errors move,
And your forgiving spirit melt in love.
O, cherish gentle Pity's lambent flame,
From Heaven's own bosom the soft pleader came!
Then deign to bless a soul, who'll ne'er degrade
Your gift, tho' sharpest miseries invade!
You I acknowledge, next to bounteous Heaven,
Like his, your influence cheers where'er 'tis given;
Blest in dispensing! gentle Stella, hear
My only, short, but pity-moving prayer,
That thy great soul may spare the rustic Muse,
Whom Science ever scorn'd, and errors still abuse.
With more than needful awe I view the great;
No glossy diction e'er can aid the thought,
First stamp'd in ignorance, with error fraught.
My friends I've prais'd--they stood in heavenly guise
When first I saw them, and my mental eyes
Shall in that heavenly rapture view them still,
For mine's a stubborn and a savage will;
No customs, manners, or soft arts I boast,
On my rough soul your nicest rules are lost;
Yet shall unpolish'd gratitude be mine,
While Stella deigns to nurse the spark divine.
A savage pleads--let e'en her errors move,
And your forgiving spirit melt in love.
O, cherish gentle Pity's lambent flame,
From Heaven's own bosom the soft pleader came!
Then deign to bless a soul, who'll ne'er degrade
Your gift, tho' sharpest miseries invade!
You I acknowledge, next to bounteous Heaven,
Like his, your influence cheers where'er 'tis given;
Blest in dispensing! gentle Stella, hear
My only, short, but pity-moving prayer,
That thy great soul may spare the rustic Muse,
Whom Science ever scorn'd, and errors still abuse.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "stamp" and "thought" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 4 entries in ESTC (1785, 1786).
See Poems, on Several Occasions. By Ann Yearsley, a Milkwoman of Bristol., 2nd edition (London: Printed for T. Cadell, in the Strand, 1785). <Link to ESTC><Link to LION>
See Poems, on Several Occasions. By Ann Yearsley, a Milkwoman of Bristol., 2nd edition (London: Printed for T. Cadell, in the Strand, 1785). <Link to ESTC><Link to LION>
Date of Entry
04/11/2005
