"My breast, by wary maxims steel'd, / Not all those charms shall force to yield"
— Smollett, Tobias (1721-1777)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the author
Date
1751
Metaphor
"My breast, by wary maxims steel'd, / Not all those charms shall force to yield"
Metaphor in Context
I.
While with fond rapture and amaze,
On thy transcendent charms I gaze,
My cautious soul essays in vain
Her peace and freedom to maintain:
Yet let that blooming form divine,
Where grace and harmony combine,
Those eyes, like genial orbs, that move,
Dispensing gladness, joy and love,
In all their pomp assail my view,
Intent my bosom to subdue;
My breast, by wary maxims steel'd,
Not all those charms shall force to yield.
II.
But, when invok'd to beauty's aid,
I see th' enlighten'd soul display'd;
That soul so sensibly sedate
Amid the storms of froward fate!
Thy genius active, strong and clear,
Thy wit sublime, tho' not severe,
The social ardour void of art,
That glows within thy candid heart;
My spirits, sense and strength decay,
My resolution dies away,
And ev'ry faculty opprest,
Almighty love invades my breast!
While with fond rapture and amaze,
On thy transcendent charms I gaze,
My cautious soul essays in vain
Her peace and freedom to maintain:
Yet let that blooming form divine,
Where grace and harmony combine,
Those eyes, like genial orbs, that move,
Dispensing gladness, joy and love,
In all their pomp assail my view,
Intent my bosom to subdue;
My breast, by wary maxims steel'd,
Not all those charms shall force to yield.
II.
But, when invok'd to beauty's aid,
I see th' enlighten'd soul display'd;
That soul so sensibly sedate
Amid the storms of froward fate!
Thy genius active, strong and clear,
Thy wit sublime, tho' not severe,
The social ardour void of art,
That glows within thy candid heart;
My spirits, sense and strength decay,
My resolution dies away,
And ev'ry faculty opprest,
Almighty love invades my breast!
Categories
Provenance
Searching "breast" and "steel" in HDIS (Prose)
Citation
33 entries in ESTC (1751, 1758, 1763, 1765, 1769, 1773, 1775, 1776, 1778, 1779, 1781, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1791, 1793, 1794, 1798, 1799, 1800).
Smollett, Tobias. The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle. In which are included, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality., 4 vols. (London: printed for the author, 1751). <Link to ESTC>
Smollett, Tobias. The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle. In which are included, Memoirs of a Lady of Quality., 4 vols. (London: printed for the author, 1751). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
06/09/2005
