"Thy subtile Sons, O Rome, to recompense / Their Loss of Pow'r, did Means succesful find / To found a wider Empire o'er the Mind."
— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Sam. Buckley
Date
1711
Metaphor
"Thy subtile Sons, O Rome, to recompense / Their Loss of Pow'r, did Means succesful find / To found a wider Empire o'er the Mind."
Metaphor in Context
When mighty Storms, which in the North arose,
From Alba's Banks, and Scandinavia's Snows,
To fair Hesperia threat'ning bent their Course,
And rushing down her Hills with rapid Force,
Had with their Thunder Rome's proud Empire broke,
And made her Neck receive a Foreign Yoke,
Behold a Scheme form'd by unvulgar Sense;
Thy subtile Sons, O Rome, to recompence
Their Loss of Pow'r, did Means successful find
To found a wider Empire o'er the Mind.
Witness the mitred Monarchs, who controul
Reluctant Conscience, and command the Soul.
Who, as erroneus, Nature's Light asperse;
The Judgment, which our Senses pass, reverse;
And by th' usurp'd Authority of Heav'n
Repeal the just Decrees by Reason giv'n:
Who Schemes of new Religion have enjoyn'd,
Impos'd Belief, enslav'd the free-born Mind,
And artful by the manag'd World to come,
Have conquer'd this, and Heav'n annex'd to Rome;
Possest of all the dreadful Strength of Hell,
Its Magazines of Pain and Death, compel
The Earth's affrighted Nations to obey
Proud Rome's Command, and own her Soveraign Sway:
To compass this, Ausonia must abound
With Genius strong and vast, and Thought profound.
(p. 221; cf. Bk. II, p. 47-8 in 1711 ed.)
From Alba's Banks, and Scandinavia's Snows,
To fair Hesperia threat'ning bent their Course,
And rushing down her Hills with rapid Force,
Had with their Thunder Rome's proud Empire broke,
And made her Neck receive a Foreign Yoke,
Behold a Scheme form'd by unvulgar Sense;
Thy subtile Sons, O Rome, to recompence
Their Loss of Pow'r, did Means successful find
To found a wider Empire o'er the Mind.
Witness the mitred Monarchs, who controul
Reluctant Conscience, and command the Soul.
Who, as erroneus, Nature's Light asperse;
The Judgment, which our Senses pass, reverse;
And by th' usurp'd Authority of Heav'n
Repeal the just Decrees by Reason giv'n:
Who Schemes of new Religion have enjoyn'd,
Impos'd Belief, enslav'd the free-born Mind,
And artful by the manag'd World to come,
Have conquer'd this, and Heav'n annex'd to Rome;
Possest of all the dreadful Strength of Hell,
Its Magazines of Pain and Death, compel
The Earth's affrighted Nations to obey
Proud Rome's Command, and own her Soveraign Sway:
To compass this, Ausonia must abound
With Genius strong and vast, and Thought profound.
(p. 221; cf. Bk. II, p. 47-8 in 1711 ed.)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" and "empire" in HDIS (Poetry); confirmed in ECCO.
Citation
At least 2 entries in the ESTC (1711, 1720)
Richard Blackmore, The Nature of Man. A Poem. In Three Books. (London: Sam. Buckley, 1711). <Link to ECCO>
Richard Blackmore, The Nature of Man. A Poem. In Three Books. (London: Sam. Buckley, 1711). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
08/10/2004
Date of Review
07/02/2012
