"When first the orient rays of beauty move / The conscious soul, they light the lamp of love"
— Mason, William (1725-1797)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
York
Publisher
Printed by A. Ward
Date
1783
Metaphor
"When first the orient rays of beauty move / The conscious soul, they light the lamp of love"
Metaphor in Context
When first the orient rays of beauty move
The conscious soul, they light the lamp of love;
Love wakes those warm desires that prompt our chace,
To follow and to fix each flying grace;
But earth-born graces sparingly impart
The symmetry supreme of perfect art:
For tho' our casual glance may sometimes meet
With charms that strike the soul, and seem complete,
Yet if those charms too closely we define,
Content to copy Nature line for line,
Our end is lost. Not such the Master's care,
Curious he culls the perfect from the fair;
Judge of his art, thro' beauty's realm he flies,
Selects, combines, improves, diversifies;
With nimble step pursues the fleeting throng,
And clasps each Venus as she glides along.
The conscious soul, they light the lamp of love;
Love wakes those warm desires that prompt our chace,
To follow and to fix each flying grace;
But earth-born graces sparingly impart
The symmetry supreme of perfect art:
For tho' our casual glance may sometimes meet
With charms that strike the soul, and seem complete,
Yet if those charms too closely we define,
Content to copy Nature line for line,
Our end is lost. Not such the Master's care,
Curious he culls the perfect from the fair;
Judge of his art, thro' beauty's realm he flies,
Selects, combines, improves, diversifies;
With nimble step pursues the fleeting throng,
And clasps each Venus as she glides along.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "soul" and "lamp" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Text from The Works of William Mason 4 vols. (London: Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1811). <Link to Google Books>
See also The Art of Painting of Charles Alphonse Du Fresnoy. Translated into English verse by William Mason, M.A. with Annotations by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Knt. President of the Royal Academy (York: Printed by A. Ward, 1783). <Link to ECCO>
See also The Art of Painting of Charles Alphonse Du Fresnoy. Translated into English verse by William Mason, M.A. with Annotations by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Knt. President of the Royal Academy (York: Printed by A. Ward, 1783). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
01/19/2006
