"[W]hile the mind is deprest and broken by slavery, it will never dare to think or say any thing bold and noble; all the vigour evaporates, and it remains as it were confin'd in a prison"
— Pope, Alexander (1688-1744), Broome, W. and Fenton, E.
Place of Publication
London
Date
1725-6
Metaphor
"[W]hile the mind is deprest and broken by slavery, it will never dare to think or say any thing bold and noble; all the vigour evaporates, and it remains as it were confin'd in a prison"
Metaphor in Context
Makes man a slave, takes half his worth away.]
This is a very remarkable sentence, and commonly found to be true. Longinus in his enquiry into the decay of human wit quotes it. "Servitude, be it never so justly established, is a kind of prison, wherein the soul shrinks in some measure, and diminishes by constraint: it has the same effect with the boxes in which dwarfs are inclos'd, which not only hinder the body from its growth, but make it less by the constriction. It is observable that all the great Orators flourish'd in Republics, and indeed what is there that raises the souls of great men more than Liberty? In other governments men commonly become instead of Orators, pompous flatterers: A man born in servitude may be capable of other sciences; but no slave can ever be an Orator; for while the mind is deprest and broken by slavery, it will never dare to think or say any thing bold and noble; all the vigour evaporates, and it remains as it were confin'd in a prison. Etiam fera animalia, si clausa teneas, virtutis obliviscuntur.
Tacit. Hist. lib. 4.
These verses are quoted in Plato, lib. 6. de legibus , but somewhat differently from our editions.
K)/misu gar te noou apameiretai euruopa zeuV
Andrw ouV an dh, ' &c.
However this aphorism is to be understood only generally, not universally; Eumæus who utters it is an instance to the contrary, who retains his virtue in a state of subjection; and Plato speaks to the same purpose, asserting that some slaves have been found of such virtue as to be preferr'd to a son or brother; and have often preserv'd their masters and their families.
(Bk. XVII, note)
This is a very remarkable sentence, and commonly found to be true. Longinus in his enquiry into the decay of human wit quotes it. "Servitude, be it never so justly established, is a kind of prison, wherein the soul shrinks in some measure, and diminishes by constraint: it has the same effect with the boxes in which dwarfs are inclos'd, which not only hinder the body from its growth, but make it less by the constriction. It is observable that all the great Orators flourish'd in Republics, and indeed what is there that raises the souls of great men more than Liberty? In other governments men commonly become instead of Orators, pompous flatterers: A man born in servitude may be capable of other sciences; but no slave can ever be an Orator; for while the mind is deprest and broken by slavery, it will never dare to think or say any thing bold and noble; all the vigour evaporates, and it remains as it were confin'd in a prison. Etiam fera animalia, si clausa teneas, virtutis obliviscuntur.
Tacit. Hist. lib. 4.
These verses are quoted in Plato, lib. 6. de legibus , but somewhat differently from our editions.
However this aphorism is to be understood only generally, not universally; Eumæus who utters it is an instance to the contrary, who retains his virtue in a state of subjection; and Plato speaks to the same purpose, asserting that some slaves have been found of such virtue as to be preferr'd to a son or brother; and have often preserv'd their masters and their families.
(Bk. XVII, note)
Categories
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
Over 30 entries in ESTC (1725, 1726, 1745, 1752, 1753, 1758, 1760, 1761, 1763, 1766, 1767, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1773, 1778, 1790, 1792, 1795, 1796).
The Odyssey of Homer. Translated from the Greek, 5 vols. (London: Printed for Bernard Lintot, 1725-26).
The Odyssey of Homer. Translated from the Greek, 5 vols. (London: Printed for Bernard Lintot, 1725-26).
Date of Entry
10/28/2003
