"Mere Affectation vainly would assert / A steady, lasting empire o'er the heart"
— Stevenson, William (1730-1783)
Place of Publication
Edinburgh
Publisher
Printed by A. Donaldson and J. Reid
Date
1765
Metaphor
"Mere Affectation vainly would assert / A steady, lasting empire o'er the heart"
Metaphor in Context
You still, my fair, prepost'rously complain,
Your verses are too simple and too plain,
When, if you mind the critically wise,
Their very beauty in their plainness lies;
As lilies charm in plain and simple white,
But, daub'd with vermile, would disgust the sight;
As the false cheek's vile artificial flush
Can never pass for Nature's roseate blush.
How easy to throw off the tumid phrase,
And interlard with epithets the lays!
But the parade of florid words confounds,
And sentiment is lost in pomp of sounds:
As the fresh landscape's vivid green looks pale,
When noon's strong light and scorching heats prevail.
If suited to the circumstance, and place,
Simplicity is woman's truest grace.
When thoughtless females the reverse prefer,
From Nature they depart, and always err.
Mere Affectation vainly would assert
A steady, lasting empire o'er the heart.
Let then, if you expect to be a wife,
Your numbers be an emblem of your life;
Thus, rather than complain with captious voice,
You may have cause to triumph and rejoice.
Your verses are too simple and too plain,
When, if you mind the critically wise,
Their very beauty in their plainness lies;
As lilies charm in plain and simple white,
But, daub'd with vermile, would disgust the sight;
As the false cheek's vile artificial flush
Can never pass for Nature's roseate blush.
How easy to throw off the tumid phrase,
And interlard with epithets the lays!
But the parade of florid words confounds,
And sentiment is lost in pomp of sounds:
As the fresh landscape's vivid green looks pale,
When noon's strong light and scorching heats prevail.
If suited to the circumstance, and place,
Simplicity is woman's truest grace.
When thoughtless females the reverse prefer,
From Nature they depart, and always err.
Mere Affectation vainly would assert
A steady, lasting empire o'er the heart.
Let then, if you expect to be a wife,
Your numbers be an emblem of your life;
Thus, rather than complain with captious voice,
You may have cause to triumph and rejoice.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "empire" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 2 entries in ESTC (1765).
Original Poems on Several Subjects. In Two Volumes. By William Stevenson (Edinburgh: Printed by A. Donaldson and J. Reid. Sold by Alexander Donaldson, in London and Edinburgh, 1765). <Link to ESTC>
Original Poems on Several Subjects. In Two Volumes. By William Stevenson (Edinburgh: Printed by A. Donaldson and J. Reid. Sold by Alexander Donaldson, in London and Edinburgh, 1765). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
08/22/2004
