James Thomson

A Pipe of Tobacco. Imitation III

———prorumpit ad Æthera nubem,
Turbine fnmantem piceo———
Virg.
———prorumpit ad Æthera nubem,
Turbine fnmantem piceo———
Virg.

Hesperian Suns

Hesperides = the western garden of the gods in classical myth. Thomson is elevating tobacco's origin to mythological status, not just colonial commodity.

thou, matur'd by glad Hesperian Suns,
Tobacco, Fountain pure of limpid Truth,

Fountain pure of limpid Truth

Notice the contradiction: tobacco is described as a source of philosophical truth, not intoxication. This is the poem's central claim—smoking clarifies rather than clouds.

That looks the very Soul; whence pouring Thought

yellow Care / absorpt

Care is literally colored yellow here—a synesthetic move that makes emotion visible. "Absorpt" (absorbed) suggests tobacco doesn't just relieve anxiety but consumes it entirely.

Swarms all the Mind; absorpt is yellow Care,
And at each Puff Imagination burns.
Flash on thy Bard, and with exalting Fires
Touch the mysterious Lip that chaunts thy Praise.
In Strains to mortal Sons of Earth unknown.
Behold an Engine, wrought from tauny Mines,

Engine, wrought from tauny Mines

The pipe becomes an industrial machine, not an object of leisure. "Tauny" (tawny) emphasizes the clay's earthiness; Thomson is describing manufacturing, not nature.

Of ductile Clay, with plastic Virtue form'd,
And glaz'd magnific o'er, I grasp, I fill.
From Pætotheke with pungent Pow'rs perfum'd,
Itself one Tortoise all, where shines imbib'd
Each Parent Ray; then rudely ram'd illume,
With the red Touch of Zeal-enkindling Sheet,

Gibsonian Lore

[CONTEXT] Likely refers to Edmund Gibson's 1695 geological/mineralogical work. Thomson is marking the pipe with scientific authority, making smoking a learned activity.

Mark'd with Gibsonian Lore; forth issue Clouds,
Thought-thrilling, Thirst-inciting Clouds around,
And many-mining Fires: I all the While,
Lolling at Ease, inhale the breezy Balm.
But chief, when Bacchus wont with thee to join,

Bacchus wont with thee to join

Bacchus (god of wine) as tobacco's companion, not rival. "Orthodoxial Ale" suggests this is respectable, even pious—drinking and smoking together are sanctioned pleasures.

In genial Strife and Orthodoxial Ale,
Stream Life and Joy into the Muses Bowl.
Oh be Thou still my great Inspirer, Thou
My Muse; Oh fan me with thy Zephyrs Boon,

clouded Tabernacle

Tabernacle = sacred Jewish tent of worship. Smoke becomes a religious space. Thomson is claiming tobacco-smoking as a spiritual practice, not a vice.

While I, in clouded Tabernacle shrin'd,
Burst forth all Oracle and mystic Song.

Burst forth all Oracle and mystic Song

Oracle = divine pronouncement. The final claim: smoking produces prophetic speech. Tobacco is the muse itself, not just an aid to composition.

Hesperian Suns

Hesperides = the western garden of the gods in classical myth. Thomson is elevating tobacco's origin to mythological status, not just colonial commodity.

thou, matur'd by glad Hesperian Suns,
Tobacco, Fountain pure of limpid Truth,

Fountain pure of limpid Truth

Notice the contradiction: tobacco is described as a source of philosophical truth, not intoxication. This is the poem's central claim—smoking clarifies rather than clouds.

That looks the very Soul; whence pouring Thought

yellow Care / absorpt

Care is literally colored yellow here—a synesthetic move that makes emotion visible. "Absorpt" (absorbed) suggests tobacco doesn't just relieve anxiety but consumes it entirely.

Swarms all the Mind; absorpt is yellow Care,
And at each Puff Imagination burns.
Flash on thy Bard, and with exalting Fires
Touch the mysterious Lip that chaunts thy Praise.
In Strains to mortal Sons of Earth unknown.
Behold an Engine, wrought from tauny Mines,

Engine, wrought from tauny Mines

The pipe becomes an industrial machine, not an object of leisure. "Tauny" (tawny) emphasizes the clay's earthiness; Thomson is describing manufacturing, not nature.

Of ductile Clay, with plastic Virtue form'd,
And glaz'd magnific o'er, I grasp, I fill.
From Pætotheke with pungent Pow'rs perfum'd,
Itself one Tortoise all, where shines imbib'd
Each Parent Ray; then rudely ram'd illume,
With the red Touch of Zeal-enkindling Sheet,

Gibsonian Lore

[CONTEXT] Likely refers to Edmund Gibson's 1695 geological/mineralogical work. Thomson is marking the pipe with scientific authority, making smoking a learned activity.

Mark'd with Gibsonian Lore; forth issue Clouds,
Thought-thrilling, Thirst-inciting Clouds around,
And many-mining Fires: I all the While,
Lolling at Ease, inhale the breezy Balm.
But chief, when Bacchus wont with thee to join,

Bacchus wont with thee to join

Bacchus (god of wine) as tobacco's companion, not rival. "Orthodoxial Ale" suggests this is respectable, even pious—drinking and smoking together are sanctioned pleasures.

In genial Strife and Orthodoxial Ale,
Stream Life and Joy into the Muses Bowl.
Oh be Thou still my great Inspirer, Thou
My Muse; Oh fan me with thy Zephyrs Boon,

clouded Tabernacle

Tabernacle = sacred Jewish tent of worship. Smoke becomes a religious space. Thomson is claiming tobacco-smoking as a spiritual practice, not a vice.

While I, in clouded Tabernacle shrin'd,
Burst forth all Oracle and mystic Song.

Burst forth all Oracle and mystic Song

Oracle = divine pronouncement. The final claim: smoking produces prophetic speech. Tobacco is the muse itself, not just an aid to composition.

Source Wikipedia Poetry Foundation

Reading Notes

Tobacco as Philosophical Tool, Not Vice

This poem defends smoking by reframing it entirely. Rather than tobacco as a luxury or narcotic, Thomson presents it as an instrument of clarity and truth—a "Fountain pure of limpid Truth" that clarifies thought rather than clouds it. The poem's central move is to make smoking a learned, even sacred activity. Notice how Thomson accumulates authority: the tobacco is matured under mythological suns (Hesperians), the pipe is marked with scientific learning (Gibsonian Lore), and the act itself happens in a "clouded Tabernacle"—sacred space.

This wasn't eccentric in 1730s Britain. Tobacco was expensive, imported, and associated with intellectual life (coffee houses, scholars, philosophers). Thomson's "Imitation" form—modeled on Horace—signals he's working in a respectable classical tradition. The poem is essentially a defense of a gentleman's habit against Puritan objections, using the full arsenal of neoclassical rhetoric to make smoking sound like communion with the muses rather than indulgence.

The Pipe as Manufactured Wonder

What's unusual here is how carefully Thomson describes the physical object. Lines 9-17 are almost technical: the clay comes from mines, it's glazed, filled, lit with "the red Touch of Zeal-enkindling Sheet." This isn't poetic vagueness—it's inventory. Thomson is interested in the pipe as a product of labor and craft, not just a symbol.

The reference to "Pætotheke" (probably a tobacco merchant or brand) and "Gibsonian Lore" grounds the poem in actual commerce and science. This matters because it shows Thomson treating smoking as part of the material world—something you buy, something manufactured—while simultaneously elevating it to cosmic and religious significance. The poem holds both registers at once: the pipe is an "Engine, wrought from tauny Mines" *and* a gateway to oracular speech. This tension between the mundane and the transcendent is what makes the poem work.