A puppet may be "compell'd by secret Springs" just as an engine "moves with Motions not its own"
— Duncombe, John (1729-1786) [pseud.]
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for W. Owen
Date
1752
Metaphor
A puppet may be "compell'd by secret Springs" just as an engine "moves with Motions not its own"
Metaphor in Context
VALET
Well, be it so--
But will you, Sir, the honest Reason know--
I am no Thief--Safe, to your Servant's Hands,
The Plate committed, in the Bufet stands:
But take away the Cause, which keeps us just,
We both alike should violate our Trust:
The Danger once remov'd, the Tempter nigh,
My Lord would be as great a Rogue, as I!
But you're my Master, as you say--What then!
You are as much the Slave of other Men:
Nor can the Rank in which the Great appear,
Give Freedom to the Mind oppress'd with Fear.
Yet more--This Argument will stand the Test--
Each House one Servant has, who rules the rest:
Yet tho' the others all obey his Will,
Butler or Steward, he's a Servant still.
Enlarge the Thought--I am your Slave, 'tis true;
But tell me honestly, whose Slave are you?
You serve a hundred Masters, I but one:
Your Drudg'ry never ends; mine soon is done:
Let P****m or N******e pull the Wire,
The Puppet dances, to their Hearts Desire;
Compell'd by secret Springs, to him unknown,
The Engine moves with Motions not its own.
Well, be it so--
But will you, Sir, the honest Reason know--
I am no Thief--Safe, to your Servant's Hands,
The Plate committed, in the Bufet stands:
But take away the Cause, which keeps us just,
We both alike should violate our Trust:
The Danger once remov'd, the Tempter nigh,
My Lord would be as great a Rogue, as I!
But you're my Master, as you say--What then!
You are as much the Slave of other Men:
Nor can the Rank in which the Great appear,
Give Freedom to the Mind oppress'd with Fear.
Yet more--This Argument will stand the Test--
Each House one Servant has, who rules the rest:
Yet tho' the others all obey his Will,
Butler or Steward, he's a Servant still.
Enlarge the Thought--I am your Slave, 'tis true;
But tell me honestly, whose Slave are you?
You serve a hundred Masters, I but one:
Your Drudg'ry never ends; mine soon is done:
Let P****m or N******e pull the Wire,
The Puppet dances, to their Hearts Desire;
Compell'd by secret Springs, to him unknown,
The Engine moves with Motions not its own.
Categories
Provenance
Searching HDIS for "master passion"
Citation
See Horace, Book II. Satire vii. Imitated: or, a Dialogue Between a Man of Fashion and His Valet. Inscribed to Richard Owen Cambridge, Esq; by Sir Nicholas Nemo, Knt. (London: Printed for W. Owen, 1752). <Link to ESTC> <Link to LION> [No attribution in ESTC].
Date of Entry
06/01/2004
