"Like a snow-ball, the mind, fraught with peace in its prime, / Moves swiftly adown the steep shelvings of Time; / Accumulates filth from Society's sons, / And strengthens and hardens its coat as it runs; / Till habit on habit is negligent laid, / And the object appears motley, vile, and ill-made; / At last, when its indirect wanderings are o'er, / And the sated despoiler can gather no more, / The form lies repos'd at the base of the hill, / A globular concrete of good and of ill; / As its worth has been mix'd with the radix of woe, / And the dirt of the valley has sullied the snow."
— Williams, John [pseud. Anthony Pasquin] (1754-1818)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
J. Strahan, W. Creech, J. Potts, P. Byrne, and the Author
Date
1786, 1787, 1788; 1789
Metaphor
"Like a snow-ball, the mind, fraught with peace in its prime, / Moves swiftly adown the steep shelvings of Time; / Accumulates filth from Society's sons, / And strengthens and hardens its coat as it runs; / Till habit on habit is negligent laid, / And the object appears motley, vile, and ill-made; / At last, when its indirect wanderings are o'er, / And the sated despoiler can gather no more, / The form lies repos'd at the base of the hill, / A globular concrete of good and of ill; / As its worth has been mix'd with the radix of woe, / And the dirt of the valley has sullied the snow."
Metaphor in Context
But, alas! who can hope to be wise as they ought,
When the evils of life taint the progress of thought?
Like a snow-ball, the mind, fraught with peace in its prime,
Moves swiftly adown the steep shelvings of Time;
Accumulates filth from Society's sons,
And strengthens and hardens its coat as it runs;
Till habit on habit is negligent laid,
And the object appears motley, vile, and ill-made;
At last, when its indirect wanderings are o'er,
And the sated despoiler can gather no more,
The form lies repos'd at the base of the hill,
A globular concrete of good and of ill;
As its worth has been mix'd with the radix of woe,
And the dirt of the valley has sullied the snow.
(Third Part, Mrs. Pope, pp. 202-3, ll. 423-436)
When the evils of life taint the progress of thought?
Like a snow-ball, the mind, fraught with peace in its prime,
Moves swiftly adown the steep shelvings of Time;
Accumulates filth from Society's sons,
And strengthens and hardens its coat as it runs;
Till habit on habit is negligent laid,
And the object appears motley, vile, and ill-made;
At last, when its indirect wanderings are o'er,
And the sated despoiler can gather no more,
The form lies repos'd at the base of the hill,
A globular concrete of good and of ill;
As its worth has been mix'd with the radix of woe,
And the dirt of the valley has sullied the snow.
(Third Part, Mrs. Pope, pp. 202-3, ll. 423-436)
Provenance
Searching "ball" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Published in parts: the first in 1786, the second in 1787, and the third in 1788. At least 9 entries in ECCO, LION, and ESTC (1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1792).
See The Children of Thespis. A Poem. Part First. (London: Printed by Denew and Grant, No 91, Wardour-Street, Soho; and sold by J. Bew; T. Hookman; and R. Jameson, 1786). <Link to ESTC>
And The Children of Thespis. A Poem. By Anthony Pasquin, Esq. Part the Second. (London: Printed by Denew & Grant; and sold by J. Bew; and J. Strahan, 1787). <Link to ESTC>
And The Children of Thespis. A Poem. By Anthony Pasquin, Esq. Part the Third. (London: Printed for J. Strahan, No. 67, near the Adelphi, Strand, 1788). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Poems: By Anthony Pasquin, 2nd ed. (London: Printed for J. Strahan, No. 67, Near the Adelphi, Strand; W. Creech, Edinburgh; J. Potts, and P. Byrne, Dublin; and the author, [London] No. 125, Strand, 1789). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO><Link to Google Books>
See The Children of Thespis. A Poem. Part First. (London: Printed by Denew and Grant, No 91, Wardour-Street, Soho; and sold by J. Bew; T. Hookman; and R. Jameson, 1786). <Link to ESTC>
And The Children of Thespis. A Poem. By Anthony Pasquin, Esq. Part the Second. (London: Printed by Denew & Grant; and sold by J. Bew; and J. Strahan, 1787). <Link to ESTC>
And The Children of Thespis. A Poem. By Anthony Pasquin, Esq. Part the Third. (London: Printed for J. Strahan, No. 67, near the Adelphi, Strand, 1788). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Poems: By Anthony Pasquin, 2nd ed. (London: Printed for J. Strahan, No. 67, Near the Adelphi, Strand; W. Creech, Edinburgh; J. Potts, and P. Byrne, Dublin; and the author, [London] No. 125, Strand, 1789). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO><Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
09/13/2011
