"Blest mirror! which can thus, with magic pow'r, / Give the rank weed the fragrance of the flow'r; / And from deformities,--without, within, / Spots in the mind, or specks upon the skin-- / Can all that's good, and all that's fair reflect, / And change to beauty, every dark defect."
— Pratt, Samuel Jackson [pseud. Courtney Melmoth] (1749-1814)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Messrs. Longman and Rees ... and T. Becket ... By W. Dyde [etc.]
Date
1802
Metaphor
"Blest mirror! which can thus, with magic pow'r, / Give the rank weed the fragrance of the flow'r; / And from deformities,--without, within, / Spots in the mind, or specks upon the skin-- / Can all that's good, and all that's fair reflect, / And change to beauty, every dark defect."
Metaphor in Context
Yet happy vanity, and kind self-love,
A tender couple! all they do, approve;
Conscious alone of merit and of charms,
Nor sneers abash, nor ridicule alarms;
And when the public laughter they provoke,
To serious praise they turn the taunting joke;
Or, should grave wisdom hiss them as they go,
Still smooth in Flatt'ry's glass, their follies shew.
Blest mirror! which can thus, with magic pow'r,
Give the rank weed the fragrance of the flow'r;
And from deformities,--without, within,
Spots in the mind, or specks upon the skin--
Can all that's good, and all that's fair reflect,
And change to beauty, every dark defect.
A tender couple! all they do, approve;
Conscious alone of merit and of charms,
Nor sneers abash, nor ridicule alarms;
And when the public laughter they provoke,
To serious praise they turn the taunting joke;
Or, should grave wisdom hiss them as they go,
Still smooth in Flatt'ry's glass, their follies shew.
Blest mirror! which can thus, with magic pow'r,
Give the rank weed the fragrance of the flow'r;
And from deformities,--without, within,
Spots in the mind, or specks upon the skin--
Can all that's good, and all that's fair reflect,
And change to beauty, every dark defect.
Provenance
Searching "mind" and "skin" in HDIS (Poetry)
Date of Entry
12/18/2006
