"To usher forth the Virtues of the Mind! / From Nature's Chain, from Earthly Dross set free, / One only Appetite remained in Thee."
— Wesley, John and Charles
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by William Strahan
Date
1739
Metaphor
"To usher forth the Virtues of the Mind! / From Nature's Chain, from Earthly Dross set free, / One only Appetite remained in Thee."
Metaphor in Context
WE deem the Saints, from mortal Flesh releas'd,
With brighter Day, and bolder Raptures blest:
Sense now no more precludes the distant Thought,
And naked Souls now feel the GOD they sought,
But thy great Soul, which walk'd with GOD on Earth
Can scarce be nearer by that second Birth:
By Change of Place dull Bodies may improve,
But Spirits to their Bliss advance by Love.
Thy Change insensible brought no Surprize,
Inur'd to Innocence and Paradise:
For Earth, not Heav'n, thou thro' a Glass didst view,
The Glass was Love; and Love no Evil knew,
But in all Places only Heav'n did shew.
Canst Thou Love more, when from a Body freed,
Which so much Life, so little had of Need?
So pure, it seem'd for This alone design'd,
To usher forth the Virtues of the Mind!
From Nature's Chain, from Earthly Dross set free,
One only Appetite remained in Thee:
That Appetite it mourn'd but once deny'd,
For when it ceas'd from serving GOD, it dy'd.
(p. 16)
With brighter Day, and bolder Raptures blest:
Sense now no more precludes the distant Thought,
And naked Souls now feel the GOD they sought,
But thy great Soul, which walk'd with GOD on Earth
Can scarce be nearer by that second Birth:
By Change of Place dull Bodies may improve,
But Spirits to their Bliss advance by Love.
Thy Change insensible brought no Surprize,
Inur'd to Innocence and Paradise:
For Earth, not Heav'n, thou thro' a Glass didst view,
The Glass was Love; and Love no Evil knew,
But in all Places only Heav'n did shew.
Canst Thou Love more, when from a Body freed,
Which so much Life, so little had of Need?
So pure, it seem'd for This alone design'd,
To usher forth the Virtues of the Mind!
From Nature's Chain, from Earthly Dross set free,
One only Appetite remained in Thee:
That Appetite it mourn'd but once deny'd,
For when it ceas'd from serving GOD, it dy'd.
(p. 16)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" and "chain" in HDIS (Poetry); text from ECCO-TCP
Citation
At least X entries in ECCO and ESTC (). See also the many other collections of hymns which select from or incorporate hymns from the original.
3 editions in 1739. See John and Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems. Published by John Wesley, M. A. Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford; and Charles Wesley, M. A. Student of Christ-Church, Oxford. (London: Printed by William Strahan, 1739). <Link to first edition in ESTC><Link to ECCO><Link to ECCO-TCP>
First found searching in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, ed. G. Osborn, 13 vols. (London: The Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1868). <Link to Hathi Trust>
3 editions in 1739. See John and Charles Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems. Published by John Wesley, M. A. Fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford; and Charles Wesley, M. A. Student of Christ-Church, Oxford. (London: Printed by William Strahan, 1739). <Link to first edition in ESTC><Link to ECCO><Link to ECCO-TCP>
First found searching in The Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, ed. G. Osborn, 13 vols. (London: The Wesleyan-Methodist Conference Office, 1868). <Link to Hathi Trust>
Date of Entry
07/20/2011
Date of Review
02/09/2014
