From: Dr. Jackal and Mr. Hide: Cerebral vs. Somatic Narcissist
http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/journal21.htmlSin
of self-love possesseth all mine eye
And all my soul and all my every
part;
And for this sin there is no remedy,
It is so grounded inward in my
heart.
Methinks no face so gracious is as mine,
No shape so true, no truth
of such account;
And for myself mine own worth do define,
As I all other
in all worths surmount.
But when my glass shows me myself indeed,
Beated
and chopp'd with tann'd antiquity,
Mine own self-love quite contrary I
read;
Self so self-loving were iniquity.
'Tis thee, myself, that for
myself I praise,
Painting my age with beauty of thy days.
(Sonnet 62,
William Shakespeare)
Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state,
A Being
darkly wise, and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the Sceptic
side,
With too much weakness for the Stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in
doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a God, or Beast;
In doubt
his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reas'ning but to
err;
Alike in ignorance, his reason such,
Whether he thinks too little, or
too much;
Chaos of Thought and Passion, all confus'd;
Still by himself,
abus'd or disabus'd;
Created half to rise and half to fall;
Great Lord of
all things, yet a prey to all,
Sole judge of truth, in endless error
hurl'd;
The glory, jest and riddle of the world.
(Essay on Man,
Alexander Pope)