[Page 97]

The Ignorant.

1 AN Ignorant I am,
2 And Glory in the Name '
3 I wot not what of yore
4 Rash Furioso's did,
5 Nor what the dreaming Sages said:
6 I cannot run a List of Old Rome's Tryumphs ore.
7 'Twas Knowledge first to Ruin led us on;
8 For with this Mortal Itch possest
9 The happy Pair Transgrest,
10 Needs must they Know, they Knew and were Undone!
11 And to this Hour our Mis'ries sole Relief
12 Consists in Ignorance of our Grief!
[Page 98]
13 Then plodding Mortal cease
14 To boast your dear-bought Faculties;
15 For since with Knowledge Sorrow must encrease,
16 Let such as on those Terms can Science prize,
17 Improve in Science; but for me,
18 So I may Ignorant and Happy be,
19 I'le ne'r Repine or look with envious Eyes,
20 On the Unhappy Learn'd, and Miserable Wise.

Text

  • TEI/XML (XML - 56K / ZIP - 6.7K) / ECPA schema (RNC - 357K / ZIP - 73K)
  • Plain text [excluding paratexts] (TXT - 723 / ZIP - 622 )

Facsimile (Source Edition)

(Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Harding C 2953].)

Images

PDF

All Images (PDF - 1.9M)

About this text

Title (in Source Edition): The Ignorant.
Author: Nahum Tate
Themes:
Genres:

Text view / Document view

Source edition

Tate, Nahum, c. 1652-1715. Poems by N. Tate. London: Printed by T.M. for Benj. Tooke ..., 1677, pp. 97-98. [15],133p. (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Harding C 2953].)

Editorial principles

Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. This ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

Other works by Nahum Tate