"Men, manners, language, books of noblest kind" may be the the conquest of the mind
— Dryden, John (1631-1700)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Jacob Tonson
Date
1681
Metaphor
"Men, manners, language, books of noblest kind" may be the the conquest of the mind
Metaphor in Context
First write Bezaliel, whose illustrious name
Forestalls our praise, and gives his poet fame.
The Kenites' rocky province his command,
A barren limb of fertile Canaan's land;
Which, for its generous natives, yet could be
Held worthy such a president as he.
Bezaliel with each grace and virtue fraught,
Serene his looks, serene his life and thought;
On whom so largely nature heaped her store,
There scarce remained for arts to give him more.
To aid the crown and state his greatest zeal,
His second care, that service to conceal;
Of dues observant, firm to every trust,
And to the needy always more than just;
Who truth from specious falsehood can divide,
Has all the gownsmen's skill without their pride;
Thus crowned with worth, from heights of honour won,
Sees all his glories copied in his son,
Whose forward fame should every muse engage,
Whose youth boasts skill denied to others' age.
Men, manners, language, books of noblest kind,
Already are the conquest of his mind;
Whose loyalty, before its date, was prime,
Nor waited the dull course of rolling time;
The monster faction early he dismayed,
And David's cause long since confessed his aid.
Forestalls our praise, and gives his poet fame.
The Kenites' rocky province his command,
A barren limb of fertile Canaan's land;
Which, for its generous natives, yet could be
Held worthy such a president as he.
Bezaliel with each grace and virtue fraught,
Serene his looks, serene his life and thought;
On whom so largely nature heaped her store,
There scarce remained for arts to give him more.
To aid the crown and state his greatest zeal,
His second care, that service to conceal;
Of dues observant, firm to every trust,
And to the needy always more than just;
Who truth from specious falsehood can divide,
Has all the gownsmen's skill without their pride;
Thus crowned with worth, from heights of honour won,
Sees all his glories copied in his son,
Whose forward fame should every muse engage,
Whose youth boasts skill denied to others' age.
Men, manners, language, books of noblest kind,
Already are the conquest of his mind;
Whose loyalty, before its date, was prime,
Nor waited the dull course of rolling time;
The monster faction early he dismayed,
And David's cause long since confessed his aid.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "conque" and "mind" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 34 entries in ESTC (1681, 1682, 1683, 1684, 1685, 1688, 1691, 1692, 1693, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1701, 1708, 1727, 1729, 1731, 1735).
See Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem. (London: Printed for J. [i.e. Jacob] T. [i.e. Tonson] and are to be sold by W. Davis in Amen-Corner, 1681) <Link to ESTC>
Some text from Absalom and Achitophel A Poem. [Dublin: s.n., 1681] <Link to EEBO-TCP>
Collected in Miscellany Poems. Containing a New Translation of Virgills Eclogues, Ovid’s Love Elegies, Odes of Horace, and Other Authors; With Several Original Poems. By the Most Eminent Hands. (London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, at the Judges-head in Chancery-Lane near Fleet-street, 1684). ["Absalom and Achitophel" has a separate title page dated 1683.] <Link to ESTC>
See Absalom and Achitophel. A Poem. (London: Printed for J. [i.e. Jacob] T. [i.e. Tonson] and are to be sold by W. Davis in Amen-Corner, 1681) <Link to ESTC>
Some text from Absalom and Achitophel A Poem. [Dublin: s.n., 1681] <Link to EEBO-TCP>
Collected in Miscellany Poems. Containing a New Translation of Virgills Eclogues, Ovid’s Love Elegies, Odes of Horace, and Other Authors; With Several Original Poems. By the Most Eminent Hands. (London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, at the Judges-head in Chancery-Lane near Fleet-street, 1684). ["Absalom and Achitophel" has a separate title page dated 1683.] <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
02/06/2005
