"(If shapes like his be but the fancy's coinage)"
— Mason, William (1725-1797)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Knapton and R. and J. Dodsley
Date
1759, performed 1776
Metaphor
"(If shapes like his be but the fancy's coinage)"
Metaphor in Context
AULUS DIDIUS
with Romans.
This is the secret centre of the isle:
Here, Romans, pause, and let the eye of wonder
Gaze on the solemn scene: behold yon oak,
How stern he frowns, and with his broad brown arms
Chills the pale plain beneath him: mark yon altar,
The dark stream brawling round its rugged base,
These cliffs, these yawning caverns, this wide circus,
Skirted with unhewn stone: they awe my soul,
As if the very Genius of the place
Himself appear'd, and with terrific tread
Stalk'd through his drear domain. And yet, my friends,
(If shapes like his be but the fancy's coinage)
Surely there is a hidden power, that reigns
'Mid the lone majesty of untam'd nature,
Controlling sober reason; tell me else,
Why do these haunts of barb'rous superstition
O'ercome me thus? I scorn them, yet they awe me.
Call forth the British princes; in this gloom
I mean to school them to our enterprise.
with Romans.
This is the secret centre of the isle:
Here, Romans, pause, and let the eye of wonder
Gaze on the solemn scene: behold yon oak,
How stern he frowns, and with his broad brown arms
Chills the pale plain beneath him: mark yon altar,
The dark stream brawling round its rugged base,
These cliffs, these yawning caverns, this wide circus,
Skirted with unhewn stone: they awe my soul,
As if the very Genius of the place
Himself appear'd, and with terrific tread
Stalk'd through his drear domain. And yet, my friends,
(If shapes like his be but the fancy's coinage)
Surely there is a hidden power, that reigns
'Mid the lone majesty of untam'd nature,
Controlling sober reason; tell me else,
Why do these haunts of barb'rous superstition
O'ercome me thus? I scorn them, yet they awe me.
Call forth the British princes; in this gloom
I mean to school them to our enterprise.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "coin" and "soul" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
William Mason, Caractacus, A Dramatic Poem. Written on the Model of the Ancient Greek Tragedy (London: Printed for J. Knapton and R. and J. Dodsley, 1759). <Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
04/14/2005
