Category: CLASP I-II

With numeration moralists begin Upon the passions, putting quotients in, Numbers divide with figures, and subtract, And in their definitions are exact. As for subtracting, take but one from three;[note]As for subtracting, take but one from three;] And there Subtract, as taking One, from Three, 1653[/note]            5 Add it to…

[note] In all of the editions, this poem is called “The Trasection”[/note] Cut the line of Wisdom into three parts: Prudence, Experience, and Judgment. Then draw a line of Discretion equal to the line of Experience, and a line of Industry equal to the line of Prudence, and a line of Temperance equal to the…

[note]In 1653 this poem is called “A Same Circle Squared in Prose.”[/note]  [note]A marginal note in Cavendish’s 1653 text reads: “Because my lines are too long for my rhymes, therefore I put them in prose.” This note is not in 1664 or 1668.[/note] A circle is a line without ends, and a square hath[note]hath] is…

[note]In 1653 this poem is called “The Squaring of the Circle”[/note] Within the head of man’s a circle round Of Honesty, in which no end[note]in which no end] no Ends in it 1653[/note] is found. Some think it fit this circle should be squared,[note]Some think it fit this circle should be squared,] To Square this…

[note]NOTE: In 1653 this is a separate 6-line poem; in 1664 and 1668, these 6 lines are tacked onto the end of the precedent poem, “The Circle of the Brain Squared”.[/note] And others did,[note]And others did,] And thus 1653[/note] upon the same account, Doubling the cube, to a great number[note]to a great number] must 1653[/note]…

A circle round divided in four parts Hath been great[note]great] a 1653[/note] study amongst[note]amongst] ’mongst the 1664, 1668[/note] men of arts; Since Archimede’s or Euclid’s time, each brain[note]Since Archimede’s or Euclid’s time, each brain] Ere since Archimedes, or Euclid’s time, 1653[/note] Hath on a line been stretched, yet all in vain,[note]Hath on a line been…

[note]Other editions sometimes title this poem “Clasp” or “Clasp (1)”; as I have discussed in the Introduction to this site, I believe that “The Clasp” is not a poem title but a structural marker, so have named this poem as “Untitled.”[/note] When I did write this book I took great pains, For I did walk,…