"The doom'd desert to av'rice stands confess'd; / Her eyes averted are, and steel'd her breast."
— Savage, Richard (1697/8-1743)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Walthoe
Date
1729
Metaphor
"The doom'd desert to av'rice stands confess'd; / Her eyes averted are, and steel'd her breast."
Metaphor in Context
But, O my friend! mysterious is our fate!
How mean his fortune, tho' his mind elate!
Æneas-like, he passes thro' the crowd,
Unsought, unseen beneath misroftune's cloud;
Or seen with slight regard: Unprais'd his name;
His after-honour, and our after-shame.
The doom'd desert to av'rice stands confess'd;
Her eyes averted are, and steel'd her breast.
Envy asquint the future wonder eyes:
Bold Insult, pointing, hoots him as he flies;
While coward Censure, skill'd in darker ways,
Hints sure detraction in dissembled praise!
Hunger, thirst, nakedness, there grievous fall!
Unjust Derision too!--that tongue of gall!
Slow comes relief, with no mild charms endu'd,
Usher'd by Pride, and by Reproach pursu'd.
Forc'd Pity meets him with a cold respect,
Unkind as Scorn, ungen'rous as Neglect.
How mean his fortune, tho' his mind elate!
Æneas-like, he passes thro' the crowd,
Unsought, unseen beneath misroftune's cloud;
Or seen with slight regard: Unprais'd his name;
His after-honour, and our after-shame.
The doom'd desert to av'rice stands confess'd;
Her eyes averted are, and steel'd her breast.
Envy asquint the future wonder eyes:
Bold Insult, pointing, hoots him as he flies;
While coward Censure, skill'd in darker ways,
Hints sure detraction in dissembled praise!
Hunger, thirst, nakedness, there grievous fall!
Unjust Derision too!--that tongue of gall!
Slow comes relief, with no mild charms endu'd,
Usher'd by Pride, and by Reproach pursu'd.
Forc'd Pity meets him with a cold respect,
Unkind as Scorn, ungen'rous as Neglect.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "breast" and "steel" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 8 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1729, 1761, 1775, 1775, 1777, 1779, 1780).
See also The Wanderer: A Poem. In Five Canto's. By Richard Savage, Son of the late Earl Rivers. (London: Printed for J. Walthoe, 1729). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
Text from The Works of Richard Savage ... With an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author, by Samuel Johnson. A New Edition (London: Printed for T. Evans, 1777). <Link to LION>
See also The Wanderer: A Poem. In Five Canto's. By Richard Savage, Son of the late Earl Rivers. (London: Printed for J. Walthoe, 1729). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO>
Text from The Works of Richard Savage ... With an Account of the Life and Writings of the Author, by Samuel Johnson. A New Edition (London: Printed for T. Evans, 1777). <Link to LION>
Date of Entry
06/13/2005
