" To trace the actions of the good and great: / And stamp bright virtue's image on the heart"
— Boyce, Samuel (d. 1775)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. and J. Dodsley ... J. Newbery ... and W. Reeve [etc.]
Date
1757
Metaphor
" To trace the actions of the good and great: / And stamp bright virtue's image on the heart"
Metaphor in Context
To rouse the indolent! to wake the brave!
To rescue glory from the dreary grave!
To shew the strange vicissitudes of fate;
To trace the actions of the good and great:
And stamp bright virtue's image on the heart
For this! the gods ordain'd the tragic art!
For these great ends, by blooming fancy fir'd,
By science prompted, and by heav'n inspir'd,
To art and nature's topmost height to soar,
Arose the bards, in ages now no more,
And found reward their excellence up-hold;
Protected by the Boyles, and Chesterfields of old.
But now, when sense and learning few respect,
And what their sires ador'd, their sons neglect;
When party int'rests govern works of wit,
And courts and theatres alike submit;
How vent'rous he who'd please th'uncertain age,
His task, the drama; and his hope, the stage;
Who dares the hatred merit's sure to gain,
The din of fools, and envy of the vain.
This thou hast done;--the palm admits thy claim;
On Essex's establish'd stands thy fame:
Still has the town the judgment, Jones, to see
The heroe lost by Banks, retriev'd by thee.
To rescue glory from the dreary grave!
To shew the strange vicissitudes of fate;
To trace the actions of the good and great:
And stamp bright virtue's image on the heart
For this! the gods ordain'd the tragic art!
For these great ends, by blooming fancy fir'd,
By science prompted, and by heav'n inspir'd,
To art and nature's topmost height to soar,
Arose the bards, in ages now no more,
And found reward their excellence up-hold;
Protected by the Boyles, and Chesterfields of old.
But now, when sense and learning few respect,
And what their sires ador'd, their sons neglect;
When party int'rests govern works of wit,
And courts and theatres alike submit;
How vent'rous he who'd please th'uncertain age,
His task, the drama; and his hope, the stage;
Who dares the hatred merit's sure to gain,
The din of fools, and envy of the vain.
This thou hast done;--the palm admits thy claim;
On Essex's establish'd stands thy fame:
Still has the town the judgment, Jones, to see
The heroe lost by Banks, retriev'd by thee.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "stamp" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Text from Poems on Several Occasions. By Samuel Boyce (London: Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall; J. Newbery, in St. Paul’s Church-Yard; and W. Reeve, in Fleet-Street, 1757). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
04/07/2005
