[Poems by Pinkney in] The life and works of Edward Coote Pinkney a memoir and complete text of his poems and literary prose, including much never before published |
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THE BEAUTY—a Fragment
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 | [Poems by Pinkney in] The life and works of Edward Coote Pinkney |  |
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THE BEAUTY—a Fragment
“Qua puella nihil umquam festivius, amabilius, nec modo longiore vita, sed prope immortalitate dignius vidi.”
—Pliny [Jr., Epistolae, V, xvi, 1].
All history is but a smoky column
By heated minds sent up into the past;
Vain, unsubstantial, mutable, and solemn,
It soars, to terminate in clouds at last;
It is unsolid at its very base—
What should it be in any loftier place?
By heated minds sent up into the past;
Vain, unsubstantial, mutable, and solemn,
It soars, to terminate in clouds at last;
It is unsolid at its very base—
What should it be in any loftier place?
I turn away, then, and disdain to borrow,
Thou authorized romance, a theme from thee,
False record of true folly, guilt and sorrow,
That have been, are, and shall not cease to be!
And lingering Memory, led by Time along,
Reverts to one deserving of my song.
Thou authorized romance, a theme from thee,
False record of true folly, guilt and sorrow,
That have been, are, and shall not cease to be!
And lingering Memory, led by Time along,
Reverts to one deserving of my song.
Amid the common crowd, she seemed a grain
Of gold among the sands of life's dull stream;
She cheered this sleep, perturbed and full of pain,
Which men call life, like some delightful dream;
So, as I see such seldom, she was not
Calmly beheld, nor soon to be forgot.
Of gold among the sands of life's dull stream;
She cheered this sleep, perturbed and full of pain,
Which men call life, like some delightful dream;
So, as I see such seldom, she was not
Calmly beheld, nor soon to be forgot.
I speak not of the form that blest the sight
Of her beholder—for it fills his mind,
And verse to others about charms so bright,
Were like discourse on sunbeams to the blind;
Suffice it then to say, no fairer one
Hath ever cast a shadow from the sun.
Of her beholder—for it fills his mind,
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Were like discourse on sunbeams to the blind;
Suffice it then to say, no fairer one
Hath ever cast a shadow from the sun.
In her fine fancy lovely thoughts disported
Like Naiads playing amid classic waters:
Nature gave her the mental grace that's courted
Vainly from art, by earth's less gifted daughters;
Lodged in the beauteous person of this woman,
The soul, “at Rome,” conformed and was a Roman.
Like Naiads playing amid classic waters:
Nature gave her the mental grace that's courted
Vainly from art, by earth's less gifted daughters;
Lodged in the beauteous person of this woman,
The soul, “at Rome,” conformed and was a Roman.
The signs of genius on her face were seen,
That dangerous but fascinating boon,
And gentle passions ruled her, as a queen
Rules in the east—for as the shining moon
Dims the thick stars that gem a summer's night,
Her modesty obscured these lights with light.
That dangerous but fascinating boon,
And gentle passions ruled her, as a queen
Rules in the east—for as the shining moon
Dims the thick stars that gem a summer's night,
Her modesty obscured these lights with light.
Her voice was sweet as she was—with one lay
She stilled the spell-bound phantoms of the main,
As Indian wizards used to charm away
Less baneful reptiles from their native plain;
For ev'n in speech her soft tones could delight
Like music heard in visions of the night.
She stilled the spell-bound phantoms of the main,
As Indian wizards used to charm away
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For ev'n in speech her soft tones could delight
Like music heard in visions of the night.
Enough;—on graver subjects I have mused
Too much, as was my pleasure, pain, or duty—
My heart and harp have been too long disused,
To celebrate aright this perfect beauty.
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
Too much, as was my pleasure, pain, or duty—
My heart and harp have been too long disused,
To celebrate aright this perfect beauty.
[OMITTED]
[OMITTED]
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