"These purer thoughts, from gross alloys refined, / With heavenly raptures elevate the mind."
— Young, Edward (bap. 1683, d. 1765)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
E. Whistler
Date
1713
Metaphor
"These purer thoughts, from gross alloys refined, / With heavenly raptures elevate the mind."
Metaphor in Context
These purer thoughts, from gross alloys refined,
With heavenly raptures elevate the mind:
Not framed to raise a giddy, short-lived joy,
Whose false allurements, while they please, destroy;
But bliss resembling that of saints above,
Sprung from the vision of the' Almighty Love;
Firm, solid bliss, for ever great and new;
The more 'tis known, the more admired, like you;
Like you, fair nymph, in whom united meet
Endearing sweetness, unaffected wit,
And all the glories of your sparkling race,
While inward virtues heighten every grace.
By these secured, you will with pleasure read
"Of future judgment, and the rising dead;
Of time's grand period, heaven and earth o'erthrown,
And gasping Nature's last tremendous groan."
These, when the stars and sun shall be no more,
Shall beauty to your ravaged form restore:
Then shall you shine with an immortal ray,
Improved by death, and brighten'd by decay.
With heavenly raptures elevate the mind:
Not framed to raise a giddy, short-lived joy,
Whose false allurements, while they please, destroy;
But bliss resembling that of saints above,
Sprung from the vision of the' Almighty Love;
Firm, solid bliss, for ever great and new;
The more 'tis known, the more admired, like you;
Like you, fair nymph, in whom united meet
Endearing sweetness, unaffected wit,
And all the glories of your sparkling race,
While inward virtues heighten every grace.
By these secured, you will with pleasure read
"Of future judgment, and the rising dead;
Of time's grand period, heaven and earth o'erthrown,
And gasping Nature's last tremendous groan."
These, when the stars and sun shall be no more,
Shall beauty to your ravaged form restore:
Then shall you shine with an immortal ray,
Improved by death, and brighten'd by decay.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "thought" and "alloy" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Text from Young, Edward. The Poetical Works of Edward Young. vol. I (London: William Pickering, 1852).
Edward Young, A Poem on the Last Day (Oxford: for E. Whistler, 1713).
<Link to ECCO>
See also Young, Edward in The Works of the British Poets. Robert Anderson, Vol. 10 (London: John and Arthur Arch, Bell and Bradfute, and J. Mundell, 1795): 1. <Link to Google Books>
Edward Young, A Poem on the Last Day (Oxford: for E. Whistler, 1713).
<Link to ECCO>
See also Young, Edward in The Works of the British Poets. Robert Anderson, Vol. 10 (London: John and Arthur Arch, Bell and Bradfute, and J. Mundell, 1795): 1. <Link to Google Books>
Theme
Refinement
Date of Entry
04/14/2005
