"Though silent long, and sleeping ne'er so sound, / Smother'd with errors, and oppress'd with toys, / That heaven-commission'd hour no sooner calls / But from her cavern in the soul's abyss, / Like him they fable under Ætna whelm'd, / The goddess bursts in thunder and in flame, / Loudly convinces, and severely pains."
— Young, Edward (bap. 1683, d. 1765)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
R. Dodsley
Date
1743
Metaphor
"Though silent long, and sleeping ne'er so sound, / Smother'd with errors, and oppress'd with toys, / That heaven-commission'd hour no sooner calls / But from her cavern in the soul's abyss, / Like him they fable under Ætna whelm'd, / The goddess bursts in thunder and in flame, / Loudly convinces, and severely pains."
Metaphor in Context
O give it leave to speak; 'twill speak ere long,
Thy leave unask'd: Lorenzo, hear it now,
While useful its advice, its accent mild.
By the great edict, the divine decree,
Truth is deposited with man's last hour;
An honest hour, and faithful to her trust.
Truth, eldest daughter of the Deity!
Truth, of his council when he made the worlds;
Nor less, when he shall judge the worlds he made!
Though silent long, and sleeping ne'er so sound,
Smother'd with errors, and oppress'd with toys,
That heaven-commission'd hour no sooner calls
But from her cavern in the soul's abyss,
Like him they fable under Ætna whelm'd,
The goddess bursts in thunder and in flame,
Loudly convinces, and severely pains.
Dark demons I discharge, and hydra-stings:
The keen vibration of bright Truth--is hell:
Just definition! though by schools untaught.
Ye deaf to Truth, peruse this parson'd page,
And trust, for once, a prophet and a priest:
"Men may live fools, but fools they cannot die."
(ll. 821-842, p. 112 in CUP edition)
Thy leave unask'd: Lorenzo, hear it now,
While useful its advice, its accent mild.
By the great edict, the divine decree,
Truth is deposited with man's last hour;
An honest hour, and faithful to her trust.
Truth, eldest daughter of the Deity!
Truth, of his council when he made the worlds;
Nor less, when he shall judge the worlds he made!
Though silent long, and sleeping ne'er so sound,
Smother'd with errors, and oppress'd with toys,
That heaven-commission'd hour no sooner calls
But from her cavern in the soul's abyss,
Like him they fable under Ætna whelm'd,
The goddess bursts in thunder and in flame,
Loudly convinces, and severely pains.
Dark demons I discharge, and hydra-stings:
The keen vibration of bright Truth--is hell:
Just definition! though by schools untaught.
Ye deaf to Truth, peruse this parson'd page,
And trust, for once, a prophet and a priest:
"Men may live fools, but fools they cannot die."
(ll. 821-842, p. 112 in CUP edition)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Uniform title published in 9 volumes, from 1742 to 1745. At least 133 reprintings after 1745 in ESTC (1747, 1748, 1749, 1750, 1751, 1752, 1755, 1756, 1757, 1758, 1760, 1761, 1762, 1764, 1765, 1766, 1767, 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, 1773, 1774, 1775, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1782, 1783, 1785, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1800).
Edward Young, Night the Fourth. The Christian Triumph. Containing the Only Cure for the Fear of Death, and Proper Sentiments of Heart on that Inestimable Blessing. Humbly Inscribed to the Honourable Mr. York (London: R. Dodsley, 1743). <Link to 1744 quarto in ECCO>
Text from The Complete Works, Poetry and Prose, of the Rev. Edward Young, LL.D., 2 vols. (London: William Tegg, 1854). <Link to Google Books> Reading Edward Young, Night Thoughts, ed. Stephen Cornford (New York: Cambridge UP, 1989).
Edward Young, Night the Fourth. The Christian Triumph. Containing the Only Cure for the Fear of Death, and Proper Sentiments of Heart on that Inestimable Blessing. Humbly Inscribed to the Honourable Mr. York (London: R. Dodsley, 1743). <Link to 1744 quarto in ECCO>
Text from The Complete Works, Poetry and Prose, of the Rev. Edward Young, LL.D., 2 vols. (London: William Tegg, 1854). <Link to Google Books> Reading Edward Young, Night Thoughts, ed. Stephen Cornford (New York: Cambridge UP, 1989).
Date of Entry
06/06/2013
