"Man is the same in ev'ry clime and state, / Few are his virtues, and his faults are great: / In all, one grand similitude we find, / One universal law directs the mind."
— Jones, Jenkin [Captain] (fl. 1798)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
M. Allen
Date
1798 [1797?]
Metaphor
"Man is the same in ev'ry clime and state, / Few are his virtues, and his faults are great: / In all, one grand similitude we find, / One universal law directs the mind."
Metaphor in Context
OFT when the bosom glows with wild desire,
And flatt'ring fancy fans the rising fire;
When self-opinion with seducing phrase,
To conscious merit whispers conscious praise;
When fierce ambition lights her glorious flame,
Inspires bold hopes, and proudly points to fame,
Nature's kind hints are gratefully receiv'd,
And each light whim, a genius is believ'd.
Parents too soon their fond attention turn,
The early bias of our minds to learn,
And with an ill-judg'd tenderness fulfil
The peevish wants of an imperious will.
Thus more strange fancies stock an English head,
Than e'er the brains of other nations bred.
This, foreign wits have whisper'd, but I trust
Their doctrine is more general than just.
Man is the same in ev'ry clime and state,
Few are his virtues, and his faults are great:
In all, one grand similitude we find,
One universal law directs the mind:
To good, and bad, in various shapes belong,
A natural propensity to wrong.
But, as in human nature's countless swarms,
We never meet two corresponding forms,
Never--compare them nicely, frame with frame,
There never were two beings quite the same.
As then, in human forms we never see
Two, that in all particulars agree,
So ev'n in human minds there are not two,
Which yield a perfect likeness to our view.
(pp. 1-2)
And flatt'ring fancy fans the rising fire;
When self-opinion with seducing phrase,
To conscious merit whispers conscious praise;
When fierce ambition lights her glorious flame,
Inspires bold hopes, and proudly points to fame,
Nature's kind hints are gratefully receiv'd,
And each light whim, a genius is believ'd.
Parents too soon their fond attention turn,
The early bias of our minds to learn,
And with an ill-judg'd tenderness fulfil
The peevish wants of an imperious will.
Thus more strange fancies stock an English head,
Than e'er the brains of other nations bred.
This, foreign wits have whisper'd, but I trust
Their doctrine is more general than just.
Man is the same in ev'ry clime and state,
Few are his virtues, and his faults are great:
In all, one grand similitude we find,
One universal law directs the mind:
To good, and bad, in various shapes belong,
A natural propensity to wrong.
But, as in human nature's countless swarms,
We never meet two corresponding forms,
Never--compare them nicely, frame with frame,
There never were two beings quite the same.
As then, in human forms we never see
Two, that in all particulars agree,
So ev'n in human minds there are not two,
Which yield a perfect likeness to our view.
(pp. 1-2)
Categories
Provenance
Reading at the Folger
Citation
Only 1 entry in ESTC (1798).
Jenkin Jones, Hobby Horses: A Poetic Allegory (London: Printed for M. Allen, 1798). <Link to ESTC>
Jenkin Jones, Hobby Horses: A Poetic Allegory (London: Printed for M. Allen, 1798). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
05/16/2013
