"Stand by ye Fools--That noble Theam's my share,/ Farce is a Strain too low to court the Fair; / When to that pitch your Thoughts attempt to fly, / Like unskill'd Icarus you soar too high."
— Baker, Thomas (b. 1680-1)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Wellington and B. Bernard Lintott
Date
1701
Metaphor
"Stand by ye Fools--That noble Theam's my share,/ Farce is a Strain too low to court the Fair; / When to that pitch your Thoughts attempt to fly, / Like unskill'd Icarus you soar too high."
Metaphor in Context
TREMILIA
Stand by ye Fools--That noble Theam's my share,
Farce is a Strain too low to court the Fair;
When to that pitch your Thoughts attempt to fly,
Like unskill'd Icarus you soar too high;
We beg the Favours by the fair Sex giv'n,
With solemn awe as we petition Heav'n.
To please them was the Poet's greatest Care,
He thinks in this Play, nothing can appear,
Rude, or obscene to grate the nicest Ear.
My Character, he hopes, will chiefly move;
The greatness of my Mind, you must approve,
Tho' few this aiery Age the Dress may love;
And since the Poet wou'd good Manners show,
He has made me conformable to you;
In short--A Word's the Moral of the Play,
Appearance does not always get the Day;
Fine Airs, and Graces may some Conquests gain,
Yet still without 'em we shou'd not complain,
Since they are Trifles, which the Wise disd an.
Love is not always in the Pow'r of Dress,
Tho' we want Fortune, or the finest Face,
And all those fading Charms our Sex surround,
Where Virtue shines, a Lover may be found.
Stand by ye Fools--That noble Theam's my share,
Farce is a Strain too low to court the Fair;
When to that pitch your Thoughts attempt to fly,
Like unskill'd Icarus you soar too high;
We beg the Favours by the fair Sex giv'n,
With solemn awe as we petition Heav'n.
To please them was the Poet's greatest Care,
He thinks in this Play, nothing can appear,
Rude, or obscene to grate the nicest Ear.
My Character, he hopes, will chiefly move;
The greatness of my Mind, you must approve,
Tho' few this aiery Age the Dress may love;
And since the Poet wou'd good Manners show,
He has made me conformable to you;
In short--A Word's the Moral of the Play,
Appearance does not always get the Day;
Fine Airs, and Graces may some Conquests gain,
Yet still without 'em we shou'd not complain,
Since they are Trifles, which the Wise disd an.
Love is not always in the Pow'r of Dress,
Tho' we want Fortune, or the finest Face,
And all those fading Charms our Sex surround,
Where Virtue shines, a Lover may be found.
Categories
Provenance
HDIS (Drama)
Citation
At least 2 entries in the ESTC (1701).
Thomas Baker, The Humour of the Age. A Comedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane by His Majesty's Servants. (London: Printed for R. Wellington and B. Bernard Lintott, 1701). <Link to ECCO>
Thomas Baker, The Humour of the Age. A Comedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane by His Majesty's Servants. (London: Printed for R. Wellington and B. Bernard Lintott, 1701). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
11/10/2004
