"Trembling, he sees the threatning tempest roll, / And ev'ry rising billow lifts his soul:"
— Hill, Aaron (1685-1750)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the Benefit of the Family
Date
1753
Metaphor
"Trembling, he sees the threatning tempest roll, / And ev'ry rising billow lifts his soul:"
Metaphor in Context
Philemon.
If truth, dear swain! with freedom, might advise,
Thou may'st be happy, for I know thee wise.
Quit, for a trial, once, this meagre air,
And, all impartial, to thy friend repair.
Then, wilt thou, ever, fix'd with me remain,
And envious rustics tempt thee back, in vain.
Thus, some raw youth, on a domestic shore,
With terror, hears th' encircling surges roar;
Trembling, he sees the threatning tempest roll,
And ev'ry rising billow lifts his soul:
But, when a riper age has call'd him o'er,
To try the pleasures of some foreign shore,
Sad, he returns, nor will, at home, remain,
But pants, to taste abandon'd joys, again.
Your muse, in vain, of boasted prospects sings;
Your flow'ry meadows, and your murm'ring springs:
Poor short-liv'd scenes of shadow-skimming joy,
Whose pride a change of season can destroy!
The rising floods your valleys over-flow,
And winter spreads your hills, with sheets of snow:
Autumnal winds strip bare your gawdy trees,
And cold December nights your purling currents freeze.
But we, more happy, constant blessings share,
Nor hang our comforts in the changeful air:
Our diff'ring seasons have their different sport,
The park, the play, the tavern, and the court!
Our rolling hours can sweetly wear away
The utmost moments of the longest day:
When, tir'd with business, we wou'd care decline,
We drown the weight of thought, in gen'rous wine:
By that, made sprightly, to the park repair,
And, eloquently silent, court the fair:
Thence, to the theatre, inspir'd, we move,
And feast, at once, on mingled wit and love!
These and a thousand nameless new delights,
Make our days fruitful, and enrich our nights;
While you, 'midst few repeated pastimes, live,
Nor ever taste the joy, which changing pleasures give.
If truth, dear swain! with freedom, might advise,
Thou may'st be happy, for I know thee wise.
Quit, for a trial, once, this meagre air,
And, all impartial, to thy friend repair.
Then, wilt thou, ever, fix'd with me remain,
And envious rustics tempt thee back, in vain.
Thus, some raw youth, on a domestic shore,
With terror, hears th' encircling surges roar;
Trembling, he sees the threatning tempest roll,
And ev'ry rising billow lifts his soul:
But, when a riper age has call'd him o'er,
To try the pleasures of some foreign shore,
Sad, he returns, nor will, at home, remain,
But pants, to taste abandon'd joys, again.
Your muse, in vain, of boasted prospects sings;
Your flow'ry meadows, and your murm'ring springs:
Poor short-liv'd scenes of shadow-skimming joy,
Whose pride a change of season can destroy!
The rising floods your valleys over-flow,
And winter spreads your hills, with sheets of snow:
Autumnal winds strip bare your gawdy trees,
And cold December nights your purling currents freeze.
But we, more happy, constant blessings share,
Nor hang our comforts in the changeful air:
Our diff'ring seasons have their different sport,
The park, the play, the tavern, and the court!
Our rolling hours can sweetly wear away
The utmost moments of the longest day:
When, tir'd with business, we wou'd care decline,
We drown the weight of thought, in gen'rous wine:
By that, made sprightly, to the park repair,
And, eloquently silent, court the fair:
Thence, to the theatre, inspir'd, we move,
And feast, at once, on mingled wit and love!
These and a thousand nameless new delights,
Make our days fruitful, and enrich our nights;
While you, 'midst few repeated pastimes, live,
Nor ever taste the joy, which changing pleasures give.
Categories
Provenance
Searching HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
2 entries in ESTC (1753, 1754).
Text from The Works of the Late Aaron Hill, Esq; in Four Volumes. Consisting of Letters on Various Subjects, and of Original Poems, Moral and Facetious. With an Essay on the Art of Acting. (London: Printed for the benefit of the family, 1753). <Link to ESTC>
Text from The Works of the Late Aaron Hill, Esq; in Four Volumes. Consisting of Letters on Various Subjects, and of Original Poems, Moral and Facetious. With an Essay on the Art of Acting. (London: Printed for the benefit of the family, 1753). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
05/31/2005
