"Examine how your Humour is inclin'd, / And which the Ruling Passion of your Mind"
— Dillon, Wentworth, 4th Earl of Roscommon (1637-1685)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Jacob Tonson
Date
1684
Metaphor
"Examine how your Humour is inclin'd, / And which the Ruling Passion of your Mind"
Metaphor in Context
Each Poet, with a different Talent writes,
One Praises, One Instructs, Another Bites.
Horace did ne're aspire to Epick Bays,
Nor lofty Maro stoop to Lyrick Lays.
Examine how your Humour is inclin'd,
And which the Ruling Passion of your Mind;
Then, seek a Poet who your way do's bend,
And chuse an Author as you chuse a Friend.
United by this Sympathetick Bond,
You grow Familiar, Intimate and Fond;
Your thoughts, your Words, your Stiles, your Souls agree,
No Longer his Interpreter, but He.
One Praises, One Instructs, Another Bites.
Horace did ne're aspire to Epick Bays,
Nor lofty Maro stoop to Lyrick Lays.
Examine how your Humour is inclin'd,
And which the Ruling Passion of your Mind;
Then, seek a Poet who your way do's bend,
And chuse an Author as you chuse a Friend.
United by this Sympathetick Bond,
You grow Familiar, Intimate and Fond;
Your thoughts, your Words, your Stiles, your Souls agree,
No Longer his Interpreter, but He.
Provenance
Searching "ruling passion" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
6 entries in ESTC (1684, 1685, 1709, 1717).
See An Essay on Translated Verse. By the Earl of Roscomon. (London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, 1684). <Link to ESTC>
See An Essay on Translated Verse. By the Earl of Roscomon. (London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, 1684). <Link to ESTC>
Theme
Ruling Passion
Date of Entry
05/18/2004
