page 1 of 10     per page:
sorted by:

Date: 1700

"Reason's a Taper, which but faintly burns, / A languid Flame that glows and dyes by Turns; / We see't a while, and but a little Way, / We Travel by its Light as Men by Day."

— Pomfret, John (1667-1702)

preview | full record

Date: 1701

"Their brain's so cool, their passion seldom burns; / For all's condens'd before the flame returns; The fermentation's of so weak a matter, / The humid damps the fume, and runs it all to water."

— Defoe, Daniel (1660?-1731)

preview | full record

Date: 1705

"O'er prostrate Towns and Palaces they pass, / (Now cover'd o'er with Weeds, and hid in Grass) / Breathing Revenge; whilst Anger and Disdain / Fire ev'ry Breast, and boil in ev'ry Vein."

— Addison, Joseph (1672-1719)

preview | full record

Date: 1705

"Polish'd in Courts, and harden'd in the Field, / Renown'd for Conquest, and in Council skill'd, / Their Courage dwells not in a troubl'd Flood / Of mounting Spirits, and fermenting Blood; / Lodg'd in the Soul, with Virtue over-rul'd, / Inflam'd by Reason, and by Reason cool'd, / In Hours of Peac...

— Addison, Joseph (1672-1719)

preview | full record

Date: 1710 [1719, 1729]

"And as great Phoebus sometimes rages high, / And scorches with his Beams the sultry Sky: / So when the Heart with Rage, or flaming Ire, / Grows warm, or burns with Love's consuming Fire: / The catching Virals spread the Flames afar."

— Oldisworth, William (1680-1734)

preview | full record

Date: 1711

"Th' infernal Guest, where'er she comes, inspires / The People's Breasts with fierce Phrenetick Fires."

— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

preview | full record

Date: 1711

"When Fancy makes superior Flight her Aim, / Wing'd with this vig'rous, clear seraphick Flame, / She ranges Nature's universal Frame; / Bright Seeds of Thought from various Objects takes, / Whence her fair Scenes and Images she makes: / Spirits so swift, so fine, so bold, so strong, / Gave Milton...

— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

preview | full record

Date: 1712

"The fair Sicilians now thy Soul inflame; / Why was I born, ye Gods, a Lesbian Dame?"

— Pope, Alexander (1688-1744)

preview | full record

Date: 1712, 1719

"God of the Grape, I'll wisely use / Thy heav'nly Gifts, nor will disclose / Thy sacred Rites; do thou asswage / My burning Soul, and curb thy Rage: / Lest to new hateful Crimes I run: / Lest Vanity seize Reason's Throne, / And wretched I to open Day / The Secrets of the Night betray, / And my He...

— Oldisworth, William (1680-1734)

preview | full record

Date: 1712

"Strong as the Winds, and sprightly as the Light? / She [the mind] moves unweary'd, as the active Fire, / And, like the Flame, her Flights to Heav'n aspire."

— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

preview | full record

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