"Light'ning, and thunder, so concurring, strike, / One their joint origin, tho' form'd unlike: / So, to the look, th' attentive nerves reply, / As, from the flash, succeeding thunders fly."
— Hill, Aaron (1685-1750)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Date
1746, 1753
Metaphor
"Light'ning, and thunder, so concurring, strike, / One their joint origin, tho' form'd unlike: / So, to the look, th' attentive nerves reply, / As, from the flash, succeeding thunders fly."
Metaphor in Context
See art's short path!--'tis easy to be found,
Winding, delightful, thro' the mazy round!
Tempt the try'd skill, to no sole proof, confin'd;
Shift the short shadowings, o'er your figur'd mind:
Mournful, recal some friend's lamented fate,
Sad, on each feature, hangs the mind's felt weight.
Seek you strong sense of Joy? Looks, first, impart--
Then, the nerv'd stricture bounds it from the heart:
Does rage inflame? No visage can conceal,
What the mark'd muscle bids the spirit feel:
Still, as the nerves constrain, the looks obey,
And what the look enjoins, the nerves display:
Mutual their aid, reciprocal their strain,
Will but commanding, face, and nerves explain.
Light'ning, and thunder, so concurring, strike,
One their joint origin, tho' form'd unlike:
So, to the look, th' attentive nerves reply,
As, from the flash, succeeding thunders fly.
'Tis cause, and consequence; nor flows more grace
From beauty's smile, than the touch'd actor's face.
Poize the rule's practice; turn it o'er and o'er;
Nor think it tedious, tho' conceiv'd before:
'Tis but, to look, and will.--Th' imprinted eye
Moves the struck muscles, and the limbs comply:
Gesture is meaning's Ape--grave, furious, gay,
Changeful, as cloud-form'd shapes, when winds make way;
Imag'd conception, first, but face inflames;
Then, the mein paints it, and the tone proclaims.
Winding, delightful, thro' the mazy round!
Tempt the try'd skill, to no sole proof, confin'd;
Shift the short shadowings, o'er your figur'd mind:
Mournful, recal some friend's lamented fate,
Sad, on each feature, hangs the mind's felt weight.
Seek you strong sense of Joy? Looks, first, impart--
Then, the nerv'd stricture bounds it from the heart:
Does rage inflame? No visage can conceal,
What the mark'd muscle bids the spirit feel:
Still, as the nerves constrain, the looks obey,
And what the look enjoins, the nerves display:
Mutual their aid, reciprocal their strain,
Will but commanding, face, and nerves explain.
Light'ning, and thunder, so concurring, strike,
One their joint origin, tho' form'd unlike:
So, to the look, th' attentive nerves reply,
As, from the flash, succeeding thunders fly.
'Tis cause, and consequence; nor flows more grace
From beauty's smile, than the touch'd actor's face.
Poize the rule's practice; turn it o'er and o'er;
Nor think it tedious, tho' conceiv'd before:
'Tis but, to look, and will.--Th' imprinted eye
Moves the struck muscles, and the limbs comply:
Gesture is meaning's Ape--grave, furious, gay,
Changeful, as cloud-form'd shapes, when winds make way;
Imag'd conception, first, but face inflames;
Then, the mein paints it, and the tone proclaims.
Categories
Provenance
Reading at the Folger Library
Citation
At least 4 entries in ESTC (1746, 1753, 1754, 1779).
Text from The Works of the Late Aaron Hill, 4 vols. (London: Printed for the Benefit of the Family, 1753).
Copy at Folger Library also consulted. Aaron Hill, The Art of Acting. Part 1. Deriving Rules from a New Principle, for Touching the Passions in a Natural Manner. An Essay of General Use. (London: Printed for J. Osborn, 1746).
Text from The Works of the Late Aaron Hill, 4 vols. (London: Printed for the Benefit of the Family, 1753).
Copy at Folger Library also consulted. Aaron Hill, The Art of Acting. Part 1. Deriving Rules from a New Principle, for Touching the Passions in a Natural Manner. An Essay of General Use. (London: Printed for J. Osborn, 1746).
Date of Entry
03/05/2012
