"Virtue sleeps / While all the finest faculties of mind / Rust, like the iron long unus'd"

— Yearsley, Ann (bap. 1753, d. 1806)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the author, and sold by G. G. J. and J. Robinson
Date
1787
Metaphor
"Virtue sleeps / While all the finest faculties of mind / Rust, like the iron long unus'd"
Metaphor in Context
Yet, who would dare, for all the wealth of Ind,
Quench that bright spark which burns, and still shall burn
Eternal in the soul? To Glory dead,
Creation must be desart! Virtue sleeps
While all the finest faculties of mind
Rust, like the iron long unus'd
; then turn,
My dearest Fred'rick, turn, when glory calls,
But seize that point which trembles to the soul,
With sympathy magnetic. Self-applause
Is her most valu'd gem; she holds it high;
For who the spirit-raising gift receives
From aught, but just conviction, falsely boasts.
For me the wing of Time is nearly plum'd;
For thee, yet scarcely fledg'd; yet, when the hour
Of Judgment comes, with filial feeling join'd,
Remember, Frederick, 'twas a Mother's wish,
That self-denying Virtue, rigid Rule,
And Heaven-attempting Hope be ever thine.
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Only 1 entry in ESTC (1787).

See Poems, on Various Subjects, by Ann Yearsley. (London: Printed for the author, and sold by G. G. J. and J. Robinson, 1787). <Link to ESTC><Link to LION>
Date of Entry
06/07/2005

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.