On Commissary Goldie's Brains
written in 1795
Lord, to account who dares Thee call, Or e'er dispute Thy pleasure? Else, why within so thick a wall Enclose so poor a treasure?
doubt
ode
bitter
On Commissary Goldie's Brains - meaning Summary
Human Intellect and Divine Mystery
This short poem addresses God in a single compact question about human intellect and its limits. The speaker concedes that no one can call the divine to account, yet wonders why God would enclose a "poor treasure" — the human brain or mind — within a "thick wall." The lines register humility before divine will while also highlighting the frustration or puzzlement of finite understanding trapped inside a protective, possibly isolating bodily barrier. It presents an ethical and metaphysical tension between acceptance of divine sovereignty and curiosity about human confinement.
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