"Pure from th' eternal Source of Being came / That Ray divine that lights the human Frame: / Yet oft, forgetful of it's heavenly Birth, / It sinks obscur'd beneath the Weight of the Earth: / Mechanic Pow'rs retard it's Flight, and hence / The Storms of Passion, and the Clouds of Sense: / 'Tis Life's great task their Influence to controul, / And keep the native Splendor of the Soul."
— Carter, Elizabeth (1717-1806)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
John Rivington
Date
1762
Metaphor
"Pure from th' eternal Source of Being came / That Ray divine that lights the human Frame: / Yet oft, forgetful of it's heavenly Birth, / It sinks obscur'd beneath the Weight of the Earth: / Mechanic Pow'rs retard it's Flight, and hence / The Storms of Passion, and the Clouds of Sense: / 'Tis Life's great task their Influence to controul, / And keep the native Splendor of the Soul."
Metaphor in Context
Such sure Rewards the happy Choice attend
Form'd on our Nature's Origin and End.
Pure from th' eternal Source of Being came
That Ray divine that lights the human Frame:
Yet oft, forgetful of it's heavenly Birth,
It sinks obscur'd beneath the Weight of the Earth:
Mechanic Pow'rs retard it's Flight, and hence
The Storms of Passion, and the Clouds of Sense:
'Tis Life's great task their Influence to controul,
And keep the native Splendor of the Soul:
From false Desires which wild Opinion frames,
From raging Folly's inconsistent Schemes,
To guard it safe by those unerring Laws,
That re-unite it to its first Great Cause.
To this bright Mark may all thy Actions tend,
And Heav'n succeed the Wishes of a Friend,
Whose faithful Love directs its tender Cares
Beyond the Flight of momentary Years:
Beyond the Grave, where vulgar Passions end,
To future Worlds it's nobler Views extend,
Which soon each Imperfection must remove.
And ev'ry Charm of Friendship shall improve.
'Till then, the Muse essays the tuneful Art,
To fix her moral Lesson on thy Heart,
Illume thy Soul with Virtue's brightest Flame,
And point it to that Heav'n from whence it came.
(ll. 39-64, pp. 20-1)
Form'd on our Nature's Origin and End.
Pure from th' eternal Source of Being came
That Ray divine that lights the human Frame:
Yet oft, forgetful of it's heavenly Birth,
It sinks obscur'd beneath the Weight of the Earth:
Mechanic Pow'rs retard it's Flight, and hence
The Storms of Passion, and the Clouds of Sense:
'Tis Life's great task their Influence to controul,
And keep the native Splendor of the Soul:
From false Desires which wild Opinion frames,
From raging Folly's inconsistent Schemes,
To guard it safe by those unerring Laws,
That re-unite it to its first Great Cause.
To this bright Mark may all thy Actions tend,
And Heav'n succeed the Wishes of a Friend,
Whose faithful Love directs its tender Cares
Beyond the Flight of momentary Years:
Beyond the Grave, where vulgar Passions end,
To future Worlds it's nobler Views extend,
Which soon each Imperfection must remove.
And ev'ry Charm of Friendship shall improve.
'Till then, the Muse essays the tuneful Art,
To fix her moral Lesson on thy Heart,
Illume thy Soul with Virtue's brightest Flame,
And point it to that Heav'n from whence it came.
(ll. 39-64, pp. 20-1)
Provenance
Reading
Citation
At least 5 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1762, 1766, 1776, 1777, 1789)
See Poems on Several Occasions. (London: Printed for John Rivington, at the Bible and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1762). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO><Link 2nd edition in Google Books>
See also Elizabeth Carter, Memoirs of the Life of Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, with a New Edition of her Poems, Ed. Montagu Pennington, 2 vols. (London: F.C. and J. Rivington, 1816). <Link to WWO><Same edition in Internet Archive>
See Poems on Several Occasions. (London: Printed for John Rivington, at the Bible and Crown in St. Paul's Church-Yard, 1762). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO><Link 2nd edition in Google Books>
See also Elizabeth Carter, Memoirs of the Life of Mrs. Elizabeth Carter, with a New Edition of her Poems, Ed. Montagu Pennington, 2 vols. (London: F.C. and J. Rivington, 1816). <Link to WWO><Same edition in Internet Archive>
Date of Entry
06/23/2011
Date of Review
06/04/2013
