"Give Pleasure's name to nought but what has pass'd / Th' authentic seal of Reason, (which, like Yorke, / Demurs on what it passes,) and defies / The tooth of Time; when pass'd, a pleasure still; / Dearer on trial, lovelier for its age, / And doubly to be prized, as it promotes / Our future, while it forms our present, joy."
— Young, Edward (bap. 1683, d. 1765)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for G. Hawkins
Date
1745
Metaphor
"Give Pleasure's name to nought but what has pass'd / Th' authentic seal of Reason, (which, like Yorke, / Demurs on what it passes,) and defies / The tooth of Time; when pass'd, a pleasure still; / Dearer on trial, lovelier for its age, / And doubly to be prized, as it promotes / Our future, while it forms our present, joy."
Metaphor in Context
Pleasure, we both agree, is man's chief good;
Our only contest, what deserves the name.
Give Pleasure's name to nought but what has pass'd
Th' authentic seal of Reason, (which, like Yorke,
Demurs on what it passes,) and defies
The tooth of Time; when pass'd, a pleasure still;
Dearer on trial, lovelier for its age,
And doubly to be prized, as it promotes
Our future, while it forms our present, joy.
Some joys the future overcast; and some
Throw all their beams that way, and gild the tomb.
Some joys endear eternity; some give
Abhorr'd annihilation dreadful charms.
Are rival joys contending for thy choice?
Consult thy whole existence, and be safe;
That oracle will put all doubt to flight.
Short is the lesson, though my lecture long:
"Be good"--and let Heaven answer for the rest.
(pp. 175-6, ll. 1027-1044)
Our only contest, what deserves the name.
Give Pleasure's name to nought but what has pass'd
Th' authentic seal of Reason, (which, like Yorke,
Demurs on what it passes,) and defies
The tooth of Time; when pass'd, a pleasure still;
Dearer on trial, lovelier for its age,
And doubly to be prized, as it promotes
Our future, while it forms our present, joy.
Some joys the future overcast; and some
Throw all their beams that way, and gild the tomb.
Some joys endear eternity; some give
Abhorr'd annihilation dreadful charms.
Are rival joys contending for thy choice?
Consult thy whole existence, and be safe;
That oracle will put all doubt to flight.
Short is the lesson, though my lecture long:
"Be good"--and let Heaven answer for the rest.
(pp. 175-6, ll. 1027-1044)
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, The Complaint. Or, Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality. Night the Eighth. Virtue's Apology: Or, The Man of the World Answer'd. (London: Printed for G. Hawkins, 1745).
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, The Complaint. Or, Night Thoughts on Life, Death, and Immortality. Night the Eighth. Virtue's Apology: Or, The Man of the World Answer'd. (London: Printed for G. Hawkins, 1745).
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
09/02/2013
