"If offer'd in a mild and tim'rous Tone, / Nor urg'd and press'd, its [Counsel's] feeble Force is gone, / And leaves no more Impressions on the Mind, / Than Rocks receive from a soft Breeze of Wind."
— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by W. Botham, for James Knapton
Date
1723
Metaphor
"If offer'd in a mild and tim'rous Tone, / Nor urg'd and press'd, its [Counsel's] feeble Force is gone, / And leaves no more Impressions on the Mind, / Than Rocks receive from a soft Breeze of Wind."
Metaphor in Context
How hard ill Kings unartful Counsels hear!
How the rough Truth disturbs their tender Ear!
If offer'd in a mild and tim'rous Tone,
Nor urg'd and press'd, its feeble Force is gone,
And leaves no more Impressions on the Mind,
Than Rocks receive from a soft Breeze of Wind.
But if you edge your Words, repeat your Blow,
And in your Looks a loyal Ardour show,
You cut too deep, and soon offensive grow.
Hard Fate! when Monarchs neither can endure
The threat'ning Gangrene, nor the painful Cure
How the rough Truth disturbs their tender Ear!
If offer'd in a mild and tim'rous Tone,
Nor urg'd and press'd, its feeble Force is gone,
And leaves no more Impressions on the Mind,
Than Rocks receive from a soft Breeze of Wind.
But if you edge your Words, repeat your Blow,
And in your Looks a loyal Ardour show,
You cut too deep, and soon offensive grow.
Hard Fate! when Monarchs neither can endure
The threat'ning Gangrene, nor the painful Cure
Categories
Provenance
Searching "impression" and "mind" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Only 1 entry in ESTC (1723).
Richard Blackmore, Alfred. An Epick Poem. In Twelve Books (London: Printed by W. Botham, for James Knapton, 1723). <Link to ECCO><Link to LION>
Richard Blackmore, Alfred. An Epick Poem. In Twelve Books (London: Printed by W. Botham, for James Knapton, 1723). <Link to ECCO><Link to LION>
Date of Entry
05/12/2005
Date of Review
01/11/2012
