"Pensive he sate; for all that Fate design'd, /Rose in sad Prospect to his boding Mind. / Thus to his Soul he said."

— Pope, Alexander (1688-1744)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by W. Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott
Date
1715-1720
Metaphor
"Pensive he sate; for all that Fate design'd, /Rose in sad Prospect to his boding Mind. / Thus to his Soul he said."
Metaphor in Context
Thus like the Rage of Fire the Combat burns,
And now it rises, now it sinks by turns.
Meanwhile, where Hellespont 's broad Waters flow
Stood Nestor 's Son, the Messenger of Woe:
There sate Achilles , shaded by his Sails,
On hoisted Yards extended to the Gales;
Pensive he sate; for all that Fate design'd,
Rose in sad Prospect to his boding Mind.
Thus to his Soul he said.
Ah! what constrains
The Greeks, late Victors, now to quit the Plains?
Is this the Day, which Heav'n so long ago
Ordain'd, to sink me with the Weight of Woe?
(So Thetis warn'd) when by a Trojan Hand,
The bravest of the Myrmidonian Band
Should lose the Light? Fulfill'd is that Decree;
Fal'n is the Warrior, and Patroclus he!
In vain I charg'd him soon to quit the Plain,
And warn'd to shun Hectorean Force in vain!

Verse 7. Pensive he sate .]

Homer in this artful manner prepares Achilles for the fatal Message, and gives him these Forebodings of his Misfortunes, that they might be no less than he expected.

His Expressions are suitable to his Concern, and deliver'd confusedly. "I bad him (says he) after he had sav'd the Ships, and repuls'd the Trojans , to return back, and not engage himself too far." Here he breaks off, when he should have added; "But he was so unfortunate as to forget my Advice." As he is reasoning with himself, Antilochus comes in, which makes him leave the Sense imperfect.

Eustathius.
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
17 entries in ESTC (1715, 1718, 1720, 1721, 1729, 1732, 1736, 1738, 1754, 1767, 1770, 1790, 1791, 1796). Vol. 2 is dated 1716; vol. 3, 1717; vol. 4, 1718; vols. 5 and 6, 1720.

See The Iliad of Homer, Translated by Mr. Pope, 6 vols. (London: Printed by W. Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott, 1715-1720). <Link to ESTC><Link to Vol. I in ECCO-TCP><Vol. II><Vol. III><Vol. IV><Vol. V><Vol. VI>
Theme
Reported Thought; Conversation
Date of Entry
10/26/2003

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.