"Nor were these Fruits in a rough Soil bestown / As Gemms are thick'st in rugged Quarries sown."

— Oldham, John (1653-1683)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Jo. Hindmarsh
Date
1684
Metaphor
"Nor were these Fruits in a rough Soil bestown / As Gemms are thick'st in rugged Quarries sown."
Metaphor in Context
Nor were these Fruits in a rough Soil bestown
As Gemms are thick'st in rugged Quarries sown.

Good Nature and good parts so shar'd thy mind,
A Muse and Grace were so combin'd,
'Twas hard to guess which with most Lustre shin'd.
A Genius did thy whole Comportment act,
Whose charming Complaisance did so attract,
As every Heart attack'd.
Such a soft Air thy well-tun'd Sweetness sway'd,
As told thy Soul of Harmony was made;
All rude Affections that Disturbers be,
That mar or disunite Society,
Were Foreiners to thee.
Love only in their stead took up its Rest;
Nature made that thy constant Guest,
And seem'd to form no other Passion for thy Breast.
Provenance
Searching HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
20 entries in ESTC (1684, 1686, 1692, 1693, 1694, 1695, 1698, 1703, 1704, 1710, 1722, 1770).

Text from The Works of Mr. John Oldham, Together with his Remains (London: Printed for Jo. Hindmarsh, 1684).
Date of Entry
03/15/2006

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.