Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SHE BEGINING TO STUDY PHISICK ... FALLS INTO A DEGRESSION ON ANATOMY, by                    
First Line: Fare well fare well, kind poetry my friend
Last Line: That cou'd prolong the motion of his heart.
Subject(s): Farewell; Hearts; Poetry & Poets; Soul; Parting


Fare well fare well, kind poetry my friend,
For I no longer can thy charmes attend,
On new acquaintance now I must dispence,
What I receiv'd from thy bright influence,
Wise Aristotle, and Hippocrates,
Gallenus and the most wise Socrates.
AEsculapius whom first I shou'd have nam'd
With all Apolo's younger sons so fam'd
Are they with whome I must acquaintance make
Who will no doubt receive me for his sake
From whom they justly did expect to see,
new lights to search natures obscurity.
now Bartholine the first of all this row,
Does to me natures architecture show,
How the foundation first of earth is layd
And how the pillars of strong bones are made,
How th' walls consist of carneous parts within,
The outsid pinguid overlayd with skin,
The fretwork muscles arteries and veins
With their implexures, and how from the brains
The nerves decend, and how 'tis they dispence,
To every member, motive power and sence.
He shews what windows in this structure's fix'd,
How trebly glaz'd, how curtains drawn betwixt,
Them and earths objects, all which proves in vain,
To keep out lust, or innocence retain.
For 'twas the eye that first decern'd the food
As pleasing to it self, for eating good,
Then was perswaded that it wou'd refine,
The half wise soul, and make it all divine
But ah how dearly wisdom's bought with sin,
Which shuts out grace, lets death and darkness in
And cause our sex precipitated first
To pains and ignorance we'r most accurss'd
Desire of knowledge cost so very dear,
That ignorance must be our only share,
And allways move ith' low obedient sphere,
But as I was inlarging on this theam,
Willis and Harvey bid me follow them.
They brought me to the first and largest court
Of all this building, where as to a port,
All necessaries are brought from afar,
For sustentation both in peace and war,
For war, this common wealth does of infest,
Which pillages one part and storms the rest.
We view'd the kitching call'd ventriculus,
Then pass'd we through the space call'd pylorus.
Then came we to the dining room at last,
Where the lacteans take their sweet repast.
From thence we to a drawing room did pass
And came where jecur very busie was.
Sanguificating the whole mass of chyle
And severing the cruoral parts from bile,
And when she's made it tollerably good
She pours it forth to mix with other blood.
This and much more we saw, from thence we went
Into the next court by a small ascent,
Bless me said I, what raritys are here,
A fountain like a furnace did appear,
Still boyling o'er and runing out so fast,
That one shou'd think its eflux cou'd not last,
Yet it sustain'd no loss as I cou'd see,
Which made me think it a strange prodigie,
Come on, says Harvey, don't stand gazing here,
But follow me, and I thy doubts will clear,
Then we began our journy with the blood,
Trac'd the Meanders of its purple flood.
Thus we through many Labyrinths did pass,
In such, I'm sure, old Daedalus ne'er was.
Sometimes ith'out works, sometimes i th' first court
Sometimes ith' third these winding streams wou'd sport.
Such raritys we found in this third place,
As puts ev'n comprehension to disgrace,
Here's cavitys says one, Behold says he
The seat of fancy, judgment memory:
Here says an other, is the fertile womb,
From whence the spirits animal do come,
Which are misteriously ingender'd here,
Of spirits from arterious blood and air.
Here said a third, life made her first approach,
Moving the wheels of her triumphant coach:
But Harvey that hipotheses deny'd,
Say'ng 'twas ith' deaf-ear on the dexter side.
Then there arose, a trivial small dispute,
Which he by fact, and reason did confute:
Which being ended, we began again,
Our former journy, and forsook the brain:
And after some small traverses about,
We came to the place where we at first set out
Then I perceiv'd how all this magick stood,
By th' circles of the circulating blood.
As fountains have their water from the sea,
To which again, they do themselves conveigh.
And here we found great Lower by his art,
Surveighing the whole structure of the heart,
Welcome said he, dear cousin are you here,
Sister to him, whose worth we all revere,
But ah alas, so cruell was his fate,
As makes us since allmost our practice hate
Since we cou'd find out nought in all our art
That cou'd prolong the motion of his heart.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net