"Thus man [like a cataract], the harpy of his own content, / With blust'ring passions, phrensically bent, / Wild in the rapid vortex whirls the soul, / Till reason bursts, impatient of controul."
— Maude, Thomas (1718-1798)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
T. Davies
Date
1771, 1816
Metaphor
"Thus man [like a cataract], the harpy of his own content, / With blust'ring passions, phrensically bent, / Wild in the rapid vortex whirls the soul, / Till reason bursts, impatient of controul."
Metaphor in Context
Thus bellows Eure; so Young's seraphic fire
Pourtrays the fury of Busiris' ire:
"Where fall the sounding cataracts of Nile,
"The mountains tremble, and the waters boil,
"Like them I rush, like them my fury pour,
"And give the future world one wonder more."
Thus man, the harpy of his own content,
With blust'ring passions, phrensically bent,
Wild in the rapid vortex whirls the soul,
Till reason bursts, impatient of controul.
But now the wavy conflict tends to peace,
And jarring elements their tumults cease,
Placid below, the stream obsequious flows,
And silent wonders how fell Discord grows.
So the calm mind reviews her tortur'd state,
Resuming reason for the cool debate.
So lessons Eure: a hapless exile she,
Proscrib'd her realm, unleagued with the sea; [...]
(p. 42)
Pourtrays the fury of Busiris' ire:
"Where fall the sounding cataracts of Nile,
"The mountains tremble, and the waters boil,
"Like them I rush, like them my fury pour,
"And give the future world one wonder more."
Thus man, the harpy of his own content,
With blust'ring passions, phrensically bent,
Wild in the rapid vortex whirls the soul,
Till reason bursts, impatient of controul.
But now the wavy conflict tends to peace,
And jarring elements their tumults cease,
Placid below, the stream obsequious flows,
And silent wonders how fell Discord grows.
So the calm mind reviews her tortur'd state,
Resuming reason for the cool debate.
So lessons Eure: a hapless exile she,
Proscrib'd her realm, unleagued with the sea; [...]
(p. 42)
Categories
Provenance
Reading Earl Wasserman, "The English Romantics: The Grounds of Knowledge," Studies in Romanticism 4:1 (Autumn, 1964): 17-34, 20.
Citation
5 entries in the ESTC (1771, 1772, 1780, 1798).
See Wensleydale: or, Rural Contemplations, A Poem. (London: Published for the benefit of the General Infirmary at Leeds, and sold by T. Davies, in Great Russel-Street, Covent-Garden, 1771). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Wensleydale; or Rural Contemplations: A Poem. By T. Maude, Esq., 4th ed. (Richmond: Printed by and for T. Bowman; Sold also by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London, and T. Fall, Leyburn, 1816). <Link to Google Books>
See Wensleydale: or, Rural Contemplations, A Poem. (London: Published for the benefit of the General Infirmary at Leeds, and sold by T. Davies, in Great Russel-Street, Covent-Garden, 1771). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Wensleydale; or Rural Contemplations: A Poem. By T. Maude, Esq., 4th ed. (Richmond: Printed by and for T. Bowman; Sold also by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, London, and T. Fall, Leyburn, 1816). <Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
01/18/2017
