A sacred spark created by his breath,
The immortal mind of man his image bears;
A spirit living 'midst the forms of death,
Oppressed, but not subdued, by mortal cares.

"Written After Recovery from a Dangerous Illness" (c. 1801), in John Ayrton Paris, The Life of Sir Humphry Davy (London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1831) p. 84, and in John Davy (ed.) Collected Works, vol. 1 (London: Smith, Elder and Co, 1839) ch. 3, p. 114