"Unsteady nature, varying like the wind, / Hurries to each extreme th'unstable mind; / At sea becalm'd, we wish some brisker gales / Would on us rise, and fill our limber sails: / We have our wish; and straight our skiff is toss'd / So high, we are in danger to be lost."
— Ellwood, Thomas (1639-1713)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed and Sold by the Assigns of J. Sowle
Date
1712, 1796
Metaphor
"Unsteady nature, varying like the wind, / Hurries to each extreme th'unstable mind; / At sea becalm'd, we wish some brisker gales / Would on us rise, and fill our limber sails: / We have our wish; and straight our skiff is toss'd / So high, we are in danger to be lost."
Metaphor in Context
Unsteady nature, varying like the wind,
Hurries to each extreme th'unstable mind;
At sea becalm'd, we wish some brisker gales
Would on us rise, and fill our limber sails:
We have our wish; and straight our skiff is toss'd
So high, we are in danger to be lost.
At land we would be foremost, make a stir,
And ride at neck-and-all, with whip, and spur;
We would be, would have all, are loath to stay
For future rights, 'till Providence make way.
This is the nature of ambitious man,
Soaring as fast, as high too as he can;
Whereas, would we but bridle our desire,
'Till the due time, we might rise safely higher.
(p. 148, ll. 15-28)
Hurries to each extreme th'unstable mind;
At sea becalm'd, we wish some brisker gales
Would on us rise, and fill our limber sails:
We have our wish; and straight our skiff is toss'd
So high, we are in danger to be lost.
At land we would be foremost, make a stir,
And ride at neck-and-all, with whip, and spur;
We would be, would have all, are loath to stay
For future rights, 'till Providence make way.
This is the nature of ambitious man,
Soaring as fast, as high too as he can;
Whereas, would we but bridle our desire,
'Till the due time, we might rise safely higher.
(p. 148, ll. 15-28)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" in LION
Citation
Poem begun in 1688, not complete and published until 1712. 13 entries in ESTC (1712, 1722, 1727, 1749, 1751, 1754, 1760, 1763, 1764, 1785, 1792, 1796, 1797).
Text from Davideis. The Life of David, King of Israel. A Sacred Poem. In Five Books. by Thomas Ellwood. 5th edition (London: Printed by James Phillips, 1796).
See also Davideis. The Life of David, King of Israel. A Sacred Poem. In Five Books. by Thomas Ellwood. (London: Printed and Sold by the Assigns of J. Sowle, in White-Hart-Court in Gracious-Street, 1712). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>
Text from Davideis. The Life of David, King of Israel. A Sacred Poem. In Five Books. by Thomas Ellwood. 5th edition (London: Printed by James Phillips, 1796).
See also Davideis. The Life of David, King of Israel. A Sacred Poem. In Five Books. by Thomas Ellwood. (London: Printed and Sold by the Assigns of J. Sowle, in White-Hart-Court in Gracious-Street, 1712). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
10/06/2013
