"Curst with such souls of base alloy, / As can possess, but not enjoy, / Debarr'd the pleasure to impart / By av'rice, sphincter of the heart, / Who wealth, hard earn'd by guilty cares, / Bequeath untouch'd to thankless heirs."
— Green, Matthew (1696-1737)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for A. Dodd
Date
1737 (also 1738, 1743, reprinted 1754)
Metaphor
"Curst with such souls of base alloy, / As can possess, but not enjoy, / Debarr'd the pleasure to impart / By av'rice, sphincter of the heart, / Who wealth, hard earn'd by guilty cares, / Bequeath untouch'd to thankless heirs."
Metaphor in Context
Thus shelter'd free from care and strife,
May I enjoy a calm thro' life;
See faction, safe in low degree,
As men at land see storms at sea;
And laugh at miserable elves,
Not kind, so much as to themselves,
Curst with such souls of base alloy,
As can possess, but not enjoy,
Debarr'd the pleasure to impart
By av'rice, sphincter of the heart,
Who wealth, hard earn'd by guilty cares,
Bequeath untouch'd to thankless heirs.
May I, with look ungloom'd by guile,
And wearing virtue's livery-smile;
Prone the distressed to relieve,
And little trespasses forgive;
With income not in fortune's pow'r,
And skill to make a busy hour;
With trips to town, life to amuse,
To purchase books, and hear the news,
To see old friends, brush off the clown,
And quicken taste at coming down;
Unhurt by sickness' blasting rage,
And slowly mellowing in age,
When fate extends its gath'ring gripe,
Fall off like fruit grown fully ripe,
Quit a worn being without pain,
Perhaps to blossom soon again.
(pp. 20-1 in 1737 ed., pp. 38-39 in 1754 ed.)
May I enjoy a calm thro' life;
See faction, safe in low degree,
As men at land see storms at sea;
And laugh at miserable elves,
Not kind, so much as to themselves,
Curst with such souls of base alloy,
As can possess, but not enjoy,
Debarr'd the pleasure to impart
By av'rice, sphincter of the heart,
Who wealth, hard earn'd by guilty cares,
Bequeath untouch'd to thankless heirs.
May I, with look ungloom'd by guile,
And wearing virtue's livery-smile;
Prone the distressed to relieve,
And little trespasses forgive;
With income not in fortune's pow'r,
And skill to make a busy hour;
With trips to town, life to amuse,
To purchase books, and hear the news,
To see old friends, brush off the clown,
And quicken taste at coming down;
Unhurt by sickness' blasting rage,
And slowly mellowing in age,
When fate extends its gath'ring gripe,
Fall off like fruit grown fully ripe,
Quit a worn being without pain,
Perhaps to blossom soon again.
(pp. 20-1 in 1737 ed., pp. 38-39 in 1754 ed.)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "soul" and "alloy" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
7 copies in ECCO. Earliest printings from 1737 and 1738. I find two "second" editions: from 1738 and 1754 and a Dublin edition from 1743.
Text from C-H/HDIS transcription of Matthew Green, The Spleen. An Epistle Inscribed to his particular Friend Mr. C. J., 2nd edition (London: Printed for A. Dodd, 1754). <Link to ECCO><Link to ESTC>
See also the first edition (London: A Dodd, 1737) in ECCO <Link> or third edition, corrected (London: A. Dodd, 1738) in Google Books <Link>
Text from C-H/HDIS transcription of Matthew Green, The Spleen. An Epistle Inscribed to his particular Friend Mr. C. J., 2nd edition (London: Printed for A. Dodd, 1754). <Link to ECCO><Link to ESTC>
See also the first edition (London: A Dodd, 1737) in ECCO <Link> or third edition, corrected (London: A. Dodd, 1738) in Google Books <Link>
Date of Entry
04/14/2005
Date of Review
06/11/2013
