Tales.
103
THE FAIR NUN.
A TALE.
Ire per ignes,
Et gladios ausim. Neque ad hoc tamen ignibus ullis,
Aut gladiis opus est; opus est mihi crini.
OVID. MET. Lib. viii.
Et gladios ausim. Neque ad hoc tamen ignibus ullis,
Aut gladiis opus est; opus est mihi crini.
OVID. MET. Lib. viii.
We sage Cartesians, who profess
Ourselves sworn foes to emptiness,
Assert that souls a-tiptoe stand,
On what we call the Pineal Gland,
As weathercocks on spires are plac'd, 5
To turn the quicker with each blast.
This granted, can you think it strange
We all should be so prone to change,
Ev'n from the go-cart till we wear
A satin cap i' th' elbow chair? 10
The follies that the child began
Custom makes current in the man,
And firm by livery and seisin
Holds the fee-simple of his reason.
But still the gusts of love we find 15
Blow strongest on a woman's mind;
Nor need I learnedly pursue
The latent cause, th' effect is true;
For proof of which, in manner ample,
I mean to give you one example. 20
Ourselves sworn foes to emptiness,
Assert that souls a-tiptoe stand,
On what we call the Pineal Gland,
As weathercocks on spires are plac'd, 5
To turn the quicker with each blast.
This granted, can you think it strange
We all should be so prone to change,
Ev'n from the go-cart till we wear
A satin cap i' th' elbow chair? 10
The follies that the child began
Custom makes current in the man,
And firm by livery and seisin
Holds the fee-simple of his reason.
But still the gusts of love we find 15
Blow strongest on a woman's mind;
Nor need I learnedly pursue
The latent cause, th' effect is true;
For proof of which, in manner ample,
I mean to give you one example. 20
