Christopher Smart

“ Stood at this violent attack,
Like statutes made by Roubilliac [3] ,
65 Tho' form'd beyond all skill antique,
They can't their marble silence break;
They only breathe, and think, and start,
Astonish'd at their maker's art. ”

“ Requires a very different cure;
For such sour verjuice [4] dispositions,
Your crabsticks are the best physicians."
1767 Notes First published in The Twelfth-Day Gift (1767) . Reprinted 1791.
↑ 36. deards: (Text 1767) perhaps a nonce-word for precious things; dear (Text 1791) printed instead. ↑ 60. citron brandy with lemon-rind; clary: wine with honey and spices. ↑ 64. Louis-François Roubiliac (1695-1762) a sculptor famous for his statues of Handel, Newton, etc.↑ 87. verjuice: the acid juice of crab-apples, etc. hence 'sour' (The note by Karina Williamson) . ”