"None, none descends into himself; to find / The secret Imperfections of his Mind: / But ev'ry one is Eagle-ey'd, to see / Another's Faults, and his Deformity."
— Dryden, John (1631-1700)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Jacob Tonson
Date
1693
Metaphor
"None, none descends into himself; to find / The secret Imperfections of his Mind: / But ev'ry one is Eagle-ey'd, to see / Another's Faults, and his Deformity."
Metaphor in Context
None, none descends into himself; to find
The secret Imperfections of his Mind:
But ev'ry one is Eagle-ey'd, to see
Another's Faults, and his Deformity.
Say, dost thou know Vectidius? Who, the Wretch
Whose Lands beyond the Sabines largely stretch;
Cover the Country; that a sailing Kite
Can scarce o'reflye 'em, in a day and night?
Him, do'st thou mean, who, spight of all his store,
Is ever Craving, and will still be Poor?
Who cheats for Half-pence, and who doffs his Coat,
To save a Farthing in a Ferry-Boat?
Ever a Glutton, at another's Cost,
But in whose Kithin dwells perpetual Frost?
Who eats and drinks with his Domestick Slaves;
A verier Hind than any of his Knaves?
Born, with the Curse and Anger of the Gods,
And that indulgent Genius he defrauds?
At Harvest-home, and on the Sheering-Day,
When he shou'd Thanks to Pan and Pales pay,
And better Ceres; trembling to approach
The little Barrel, which he fears to broach:
He 'says the Wimble, often draws it back,
And deals to thirsty Servants but a smack.
To a short Meal, he makes a tedious Grace,
Before the Barly Pudding comes in place:
Then, bids fall on; himself, for saving Charges,
A peel'd slic'd Onyon eats, and tipples Verjuice.
(p. 50-1, ll. 46-73)
The secret Imperfections of his Mind:
But ev'ry one is Eagle-ey'd, to see
Another's Faults, and his Deformity.
Say, dost thou know Vectidius? Who, the Wretch
Whose Lands beyond the Sabines largely stretch;
Cover the Country; that a sailing Kite
Can scarce o'reflye 'em, in a day and night?
Him, do'st thou mean, who, spight of all his store,
Is ever Craving, and will still be Poor?
Who cheats for Half-pence, and who doffs his Coat,
To save a Farthing in a Ferry-Boat?
Ever a Glutton, at another's Cost,
But in whose Kithin dwells perpetual Frost?
Who eats and drinks with his Domestick Slaves;
A verier Hind than any of his Knaves?
Born, with the Curse and Anger of the Gods,
And that indulgent Genius he defrauds?
At Harvest-home, and on the Sheering-Day,
When he shou'd Thanks to Pan and Pales pay,
And better Ceres; trembling to approach
The little Barrel, which he fears to broach:
He 'says the Wimble, often draws it back,
And deals to thirsty Servants but a smack.
To a short Meal, he makes a tedious Grace,
Before the Barly Pudding comes in place:
Then, bids fall on; himself, for saving Charges,
A peel'd slic'd Onyon eats, and tipples Verjuice.
(p. 50-1, ll. 46-73)
Categories
Provenance
Browsing in EEBO
Citation
From The Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. Made English By Mr. Dryden. (London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, 1693). See The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse By Mr. Dryden and Several other Eminent Hands. Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. (London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, 1693). <Link to EEBO>
Date of Entry
07/11/2013
