"Oh! let thy mind's pure eye behold me soar / Where light, and life, from springs unfailing pour!"
— Seward, Anna (1742-1809)
Author
Work Title
Date
1784, 1810
Metaphor
"Oh! let thy mind's pure eye behold me soar / Where light, and life, from springs unfailing pour!"
Metaphor in Context
And thou, soft mourner o'er my bosom's smart!
Friend of my soul, and sister of my heart!
A fallen blossom while thy tears embalm,
Regrets that fondness prompts, let fondness calm;
Since though this mortal frame, affection's slave,
Wastes by the envenom'd wound that falsehood gave,
I still possess, thus withering in my youth,
The peace of innocence, the pride of truth;
My soul is conscious of its heavenly sire,
The cherub, Faith, has lent her wings of fire;
Man, the base object of my scorn, it leaves,
To join that gracious power, that ne'er deceives!
When busy rumours to thy ear disclose
The long enfranchisement of all my woes,
Oh! let thy mind's pure eye behold me soar
Where light, and life, from springs unfailing pour!
Mark the bright circlets of the eternal morn,
In radiant points, my smiling brows adorn!
By kindred seraphs see thy friend embrac'd,
Nor one slight thought on false Eugenio waste!
Yet, though from pain and grief for ever free,
Throw back soft pity's tender glance on thee!
Smile at the human weakness of thy tears,
And long to welcome thee to happier spheres!
(Cf. pp. 23-4 in 1784 ed.)
Friend of my soul, and sister of my heart!
A fallen blossom while thy tears embalm,
Regrets that fondness prompts, let fondness calm;
Since though this mortal frame, affection's slave,
Wastes by the envenom'd wound that falsehood gave,
I still possess, thus withering in my youth,
The peace of innocence, the pride of truth;
My soul is conscious of its heavenly sire,
The cherub, Faith, has lent her wings of fire;
Man, the base object of my scorn, it leaves,
To join that gracious power, that ne'er deceives!
When busy rumours to thy ear disclose
The long enfranchisement of all my woes,
Oh! let thy mind's pure eye behold me soar
Where light, and life, from springs unfailing pour!
Mark the bright circlets of the eternal morn,
In radiant points, my smiling brows adorn!
By kindred seraphs see thy friend embrac'd,
Nor one slight thought on false Eugenio waste!
Yet, though from pain and grief for ever free,
Throw back soft pity's tender glance on thee!
Smile at the human weakness of thy tears,
And long to welcome thee to happier spheres!
(Cf. pp. 23-4 in 1784 ed.)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" and "eye" in HDIS (Poetry); found in ECCO.
Citation
7 entries in ESTC (1784, 1789, 1792).
Searching and pasting text from "Louisa to Emma, Her Friend in the East-Indies," in The Poetical Works of Anna Seward; with Extracts from Her Literary Correspondence. ed. Walter Scott. 3 vols. (Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for John Ballantyne and Co., 1810).
Found and confirmed in Louisa, a Poetical Novel, in Four Epistles. By Miss Seward. (Lichfield: Printed and sold by J. Jackson, and G. Robinson, in Pater-Noster-Row, London, 1784). <Link to ESTC>
Searching and pasting text from "Louisa to Emma, Her Friend in the East-Indies," in The Poetical Works of Anna Seward; with Extracts from Her Literary Correspondence. ed. Walter Scott. 3 vols. (Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for John Ballantyne and Co., 1810).
Found and confirmed in Louisa, a Poetical Novel, in Four Epistles. By Miss Seward. (Lichfield: Printed and sold by J. Jackson, and G. Robinson, in Pater-Noster-Row, London, 1784). <Link to ESTC>
Theme
Mind's Eye
Date of Entry
04/17/2006
