"Set forth your Edict, let it be enjoyn'd, / That all defective Species be recoyn'd: / R---r and E---r---t are Judges fit / To oversee the Stamping of our Wit."
— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by W. Wilkins for Jonas Browne ... and J. Walthoe [etc.]
Date
1718
Metaphor
"Set forth your Edict, let it be enjoyn'd, / That all defective Species be recoyn'd: / R---r and E---r---t are Judges fit / To oversee the Stamping of our Wit."
Metaphor in Context
Set forth your Edict, let it be enjoyn'd,
That all defective Species be recoyn'd:
R---r and E---r---t are Judges fit
To oversee the Stamping of our Wit.
Let these be made the Masters of Essay,
For they will every Piece of Metal weigh,
And tell which is too light, or has too much Allay.
'Tis true, that when the coarse and worthless Dross
Is purg'd away, there will be mighty Loss.
Ev'n C---e, S---n, manly W---ly,
When thus refin'd, will grievous Suff'rers be.
Into the Melting-Pot, when D---n comes,
What horrid Stench will rise, what noisome Fumes?
How will he shrink, when all his leud Allay
And wicked Mixture shall be purg'd away?
The Men who D---s melt, and think to find
A goodly Mass of Bullion left behind,
Copy the Hibernian Wit, who, as 'tis told,
Burnt his gilt Leather to collect the Gold.
That all defective Species be recoyn'd:
R---r and E---r---t are Judges fit
To oversee the Stamping of our Wit.
Let these be made the Masters of Essay,
For they will every Piece of Metal weigh,
And tell which is too light, or has too much Allay.
'Tis true, that when the coarse and worthless Dross
Is purg'd away, there will be mighty Loss.
Ev'n C---e, S---n, manly W---ly,
When thus refin'd, will grievous Suff'rers be.
Into the Melting-Pot, when D---n comes,
What horrid Stench will rise, what noisome Fumes?
How will he shrink, when all his leud Allay
And wicked Mixture shall be purg'd away?
The Men who D---s melt, and think to find
A goodly Mass of Bullion left behind,
Copy the Hibernian Wit, who, as 'tis told,
Burnt his gilt Leather to collect the Gold.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "specie" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Richard Blackmore, A Collection of Poems on Various Subjects. By Sir Richard Blackmore, Kt. M. D. Fellow of the Royal-College of Physicians. (London: Printed by W. Wilkins, for Jonas Browne and J. Walthoe, 1718). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
06/16/2005
Date of Review
04/26/2007
