"With Terrors round can Reason hold her throne / Despise the known, nor tremble at th'unknown?"
— Pope, Alexander (1688-1744)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Dodsley
Date
1737
Metaphor
"With Terrors round can Reason hold her throne / Despise the known, nor tremble at th'unknown?"
Metaphor in Context
"But why all this of Av'rice? I have none."
I wish you joy, Sir, of a Tyrant gone;
But does no other lord it at this hour,
As wild and mad? the Avarice of Pow'r?
Does neither Rage inflame, nor Fear appall?
Not the black Fear of Death, that saddens all?
With Terrors round can Reason hold her throne,
Despise the known, nor tremble at th'unknown?
Survey both Worlds, intrepid and entire,
In spight of Witches, Devils, Dreams, and Fire?
Pleas'd to look forward, pleas'd to look behind,
And count each Birth-day with a grateful mind?
Has Life no sourness, drawn so near its end?
Can'st thou endure a Foe, forgive a Friend?
Has Age but melted the rough parts away,
As Winter-fruits grow mild e'er they decay?
Or will you think, my Friend, your business done,
When, of a hundred thorns, you pull out one?
I wish you joy, Sir, of a Tyrant gone;
But does no other lord it at this hour,
As wild and mad? the Avarice of Pow'r?
Does neither Rage inflame, nor Fear appall?
Not the black Fear of Death, that saddens all?
With Terrors round can Reason hold her throne,
Despise the known, nor tremble at th'unknown?
Survey both Worlds, intrepid and entire,
In spight of Witches, Devils, Dreams, and Fire?
Pleas'd to look forward, pleas'd to look behind,
And count each Birth-day with a grateful mind?
Has Life no sourness, drawn so near its end?
Can'st thou endure a Foe, forgive a Friend?
Has Age but melted the rough parts away,
As Winter-fruits grow mild e'er they decay?
Or will you think, my Friend, your business done,
When, of a hundred thorns, you pull out one?
Categories
Provenance
Searching "throne" and "reason" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 39 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1735, 1737, 1738, 1740, 1743, 1751, 1752, 1753, 1754, 1756, 1757, 1760, 1762, 1764, 1766, 1769, 1770, 1773, 1776, 1777, 1779, 1789, 1790, 1795). [Printed in The Works of the English Poets.]
See The Second Epistle of the Second Book of Horace, Imitated by Mr. Pope. (London: Printed for R. Dodsley, at Tully's Head, in Pall-Mall, 1737). <Link to ECCO> <Link to LION>
See The Second Epistle of the Second Book of Horace, Imitated by Mr. Pope. (London: Printed for R. Dodsley, at Tully's Head, in Pall-Mall, 1737). <Link to ECCO> <Link to LION>
Date of Entry
07/27/2004
