Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"Thou, smiling queen of every tuneful breast, / Indulgent Fancy from the fruitful banks / Of Avon, whence thy rosy fingers cull / Fresh flowers and dews to sprinkle on the turf / Where Shakespeare lies, be present."

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)

Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"O wherefore, with a rash impetuous aim, / Seek ye those flowery joys with which the hand / Of lavish fancy paints each flattering scene / Where beauty seems to dwell, nor once inquire / Where is the sanction of eternal truth, / Or where the seal of undeceitful good, / To save your search from fo...

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)

Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"And if the gracious power / Who first awaken'd my untutor'd song, / Will to my invocation breathe anew / The tuneful spirit; then through all our paths, / Ne'er shall the sound of this devoted lyre / Be wanting; whether on the rosy mead, / When summer smiles, to warn the melting heart / Of luxur...

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)

Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"Then to the secrets of the working mind / Attentive turn; from dim oblivion call / Her fleet, ideal band; and bid them, go!"

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)

Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"But beyond / This energy of truth, whose dictates bind / Assenting reason, the benignant sire, / To deck the honour'd paths of just and good, / Has added bright imagination's rays."

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)

Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"But beyond / This energy of truth, whose dictates bind / Assenting reason, the benignant sire, / To deck the honour'd paths of just and good, / Has added bright imagination's rays."

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)

Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"Where virtue, rising from the awful depth / Of truth's mysterious bosom, doth forsake / The unadorn'd condition of her birth; / And dress'd by fancy in ten thousand hues, / Assumes a various feature, to attract, / With charms responsive to each gazer's eye, / The hearts of men."

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)

Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"Inspire my kindling bosom to the height / Of this untempted theme."

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)

Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"From the blooming store / Of these auspicious fields, may I unblam'd / Transplant some living blossoms to adorn / My native clime: while far above the flight / Of fancy's plume aspiring, I unlock / The springs of ancient wisdom; while I join / Thy name, thrice honour'd! with the immortal praise ...

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)

Date: 1744, 1772, 1795

"For man loves knowledge, and the beams of truth / More welcome touch his understanding's eye, / Than all the blandishments of sound his ear, / Than all of taste his tongue."

— Akenside, Mark (1720-1771)