In the great hero's breast "no unruly Passions reign, / Nor servile Fear, nor proud Disdain, / Each wilder Lust is banish'd hence, / Where gentle Love presides, and mild Benevolence."
— Somervile, William (1675-1742)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Bernard Lintot
Date
1727
Metaphor
In the great hero's breast "no unruly Passions reign, / Nor servile Fear, nor proud Disdain, / Each wilder Lust is banish'd hence, / Where gentle Love presides, and mild Benevolence."
Metaphor in Context
Ye Pow'rs, who rule the boundless Deep,
Whose dread Commands the Winds obey,
To roll the Waters on a heap,
Or smooth the liquid way:
Propitious hear Britannia's Pray'r,
Britannia's Hope, is now your Care,
Whom oft to yonder distant Shore,
Your hospitable Billows bore,
When Europe in distress implor'd
Relief from his victorious Sword;
Who, when the mighty Work was done,
Tyrants repell'd, and Battels won,
On your glad Waves, proud of the glorious Load,
Thro' these your watry Realms, in yearly Triumph rode.
To Winds, and Seas, distress'd he flies,
From Storms at Land, and Faction's Spight,
Tho' the more fickle Croud denies,
The Winds, the Seas, shall do his Virtue right.
Be husht ye Winds, be still ye Seas,
Ye Billows sleep at ease,
And in your rocky Caverns rest,
Let all be Calm as the Great Hero's Breast.
Here no unruly Passions reign,
Nor servile Fear, nor proud Disdain,
Each wilder Lust is banish'd hence,
Where gentle Love presides, and mild Benevolence.
Here no gloomy Cares arise,
Conscious Honour still supplies,
Friendly Hope, and Peace of Mind,
Such as dying Martyrs find.
Serene within, no Guilt he knows,
While all his Wrongs sit heavy on his Foes.
Whose dread Commands the Winds obey,
To roll the Waters on a heap,
Or smooth the liquid way:
Propitious hear Britannia's Pray'r,
Britannia's Hope, is now your Care,
Whom oft to yonder distant Shore,
Your hospitable Billows bore,
When Europe in distress implor'd
Relief from his victorious Sword;
Who, when the mighty Work was done,
Tyrants repell'd, and Battels won,
On your glad Waves, proud of the glorious Load,
Thro' these your watry Realms, in yearly Triumph rode.
To Winds, and Seas, distress'd he flies,
From Storms at Land, and Faction's Spight,
Tho' the more fickle Croud denies,
The Winds, the Seas, shall do his Virtue right.
Be husht ye Winds, be still ye Seas,
Ye Billows sleep at ease,
And in your rocky Caverns rest,
Let all be Calm as the Great Hero's Breast.
Here no unruly Passions reign,
Nor servile Fear, nor proud Disdain,
Each wilder Lust is banish'd hence,
Where gentle Love presides, and mild Benevolence.
Here no gloomy Cares arise,
Conscious Honour still supplies,
Friendly Hope, and Peace of Mind,
Such as dying Martyrs find.
Serene within, no Guilt he knows,
While all his Wrongs sit heavy on his Foes.
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
2 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1727, 1790). In Works of the English Poets
Text from William Somervile, Occasional Poems, Translations, Fables, Tales, &c. (London: Bernard Lintot, 1727). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>
Text from William Somervile, Occasional Poems, Translations, Fables, Tales, &c. (London: Bernard Lintot, 1727). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>
Theme
Ruling Passion
Date of Entry
01/18/2006
