"Whether we will or no, / Thro' Reason's Court doth It [the word 'Lord'] unquestioned go / E'en on the mention, and of course transmit / Notions of something excellent, of Wit / Pleasing, tho' keen, of Humour free, tho' chaste, / Of sterling Genius with sound Judgment graced, / Of Virtue far above temptation's Reach, / And Honour, which not malice can impeach?"
— Churchill, Charles (1731-1764)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the Author; and sold by J. Almon
Date
1764
Metaphor
"Whether we will or no, / Thro' Reason's Court doth It [the word 'Lord'] unquestioned go / E'en on the mention, and of course transmit / Notions of something excellent, of Wit / Pleasing, tho' keen, of Humour free, tho' chaste, / Of sterling Genius with sound Judgment graced, / Of Virtue far above temptation's Reach, / And Honour, which not malice can impeach?"
Metaphor in Context
What is a Lord? doth that plain, simple word
Contain some magic spell? as soon as heard,
Like an Alarum Bell on Night's dull ear,
Doth It strike louder, and more strong appear
Than other Words? whether we will or no,
Thro' Reason's Court doth It unquestion'd go
E'en on the mention, and of course transmit
Notions of something excellent, of Wit
Pleasing, tho' keen, of Humour free, tho' chaste,
Of sterling Genius with sound Judgment grac'd,
Of Virtue far above temptation's Reach,
And Honour, which not malice can impeach?
Believe it not—'twas NATURE's first intent,
Before their rank became their punishment,
They should have pass'd for Men, nor blush'd to prize
The blessings she bestow'd—She gave them eyes,
And They could see—She gave them ears—they heard—
The Instruments of stirring, and they stirr'd—
Like Us, they were design'd to eat, to drink,
To talk, and (ev'ry now and then) to think.
Till They, by Pride corrupted, for the sake
Of Singularity, disclaim'd that make,
Till They, disdaining Nature's vulgar mode,
Flew off, and struck into another road,
More fitting Quality, and to our view
Came forth a Species altogether new,
Something We had not known, and could not know,
Like nothing of God's making here below,
NATURE exclaim'd with wonder—Lords are Things,
Which, never made by Me, were made by Kings.
(pp. 2-3)
Contain some magic spell? as soon as heard,
Like an Alarum Bell on Night's dull ear,
Doth It strike louder, and more strong appear
Than other Words? whether we will or no,
Thro' Reason's Court doth It unquestion'd go
E'en on the mention, and of course transmit
Notions of something excellent, of Wit
Pleasing, tho' keen, of Humour free, tho' chaste,
Of sterling Genius with sound Judgment grac'd,
Of Virtue far above temptation's Reach,
And Honour, which not malice can impeach?
Believe it not—'twas NATURE's first intent,
Before their rank became their punishment,
They should have pass'd for Men, nor blush'd to prize
The blessings she bestow'd—She gave them eyes,
And They could see—She gave them ears—they heard—
The Instruments of stirring, and they stirr'd—
Like Us, they were design'd to eat, to drink,
To talk, and (ev'ry now and then) to think.
Till They, by Pride corrupted, for the sake
Of Singularity, disclaim'd that make,
Till They, disdaining Nature's vulgar mode,
Flew off, and struck into another road,
More fitting Quality, and to our view
Came forth a Species altogether new,
Something We had not known, and could not know,
Like nothing of God's making here below,
NATURE exclaim'd with wonder—Lords are Things,
Which, never made by Me, were made by Kings.
(pp. 2-3)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "court" and "reason" in HDIS (Poetry); text from ECCO-TCP.
Citation
At least 4 entries in ESTC (1764, 1765).
Independence. A Poem. Addressed to the Minority. By [Blank] (London: Printed for the Author; and sold by J. Almon, in Piccadilly; J. Coote, in Pater-Noster-Row; W. Flexney, near Gray’s-Inn Gate, Holborn; C. Henderson, at the Royal-Exchange; J. Gardiner, in Parliament-Street, Westminster; and C. Moran, under the Great Piazza, Covent-Garden, 1764). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO-TCP>
Searching Poems of Charles Churchill ed. James Laver (London: The King's Printers, 1933).
Independence. A Poem. Addressed to the Minority. By [Blank] (London: Printed for the Author; and sold by J. Almon, in Piccadilly; J. Coote, in Pater-Noster-Row; W. Flexney, near Gray’s-Inn Gate, Holborn; C. Henderson, at the Royal-Exchange; J. Gardiner, in Parliament-Street, Westminster; and C. Moran, under the Great Piazza, Covent-Garden, 1764). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO-TCP>
Searching Poems of Charles Churchill ed. James Laver (London: The King's Printers, 1933).
Date of Entry
08/26/2004
