quote · Legacy record
This wretched Inn, where we scarce stay to bait, We call our Dwelling-place: But angels in their full enlightened state, Angels, who Live, and know what ’tis to Be, Who all the nonsense of our language see, Who speak things, and our words—their ill-drawn pictures—scorn, When we, by a foolish figure, say, “Behold an old man dead!” then they Speak properly, and cry, “Behold a man-child born!”
This wretched Inn, where we scarce stay to bait, We call our Dwelling-place: But angels in their full enlightened state, Angels, who Live, and know what ’tis to Be, Who all the nonsense of our language see, Who speak things, and our words—their ill-drawn pictures—scorn, When we, by a foolish figure, say, “Behold an old man dead!” then they Speak properly, and cry, “Behold a man-child born!”
Approximate author period: c. 1642 AD · renaissance
Meaning not yet available
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Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Abraham Cowley
Attribution: attributed - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Approximate author period: c. 1642 AD · renaissance
author lifetime midpoint (1618–1667)
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921) (1921 AD)
Page 238 · printed citation: Abraham Cowley, 1618-1667 (Life). · compiler notes excluded
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.