"Though arm'd with iron breast, and heart of steel, / Who slew the lion fell, lov'd Hylas fair, / Young Hylas graceful with his curling hair"
— Fawkes, Francis (1720-1777); Theocritus (3rd. Century. B.C.)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the author, by Dryden Leach and sold by J. and R. Tonson [etc.]
Date
1767
Metaphor
"Though arm'd with iron breast, and heart of steel, / Who slew the lion fell, lov'd Hylas fair, / Young Hylas graceful with his curling hair"
Metaphor in Context
Love, gentle Nicias, of celestial kind,
For us alone sure never was design'd;
Nor do the charms of beauty only sway
Our mortal breasts, the beings of a day:
Amphitryon's son was taught his power to feel,
Though arm'd with iron breast, and heart of steel,
Who slew the lion fell, lov'd Hylas fair,
Young Hylas graceful with his curling hair.
And, as a son by some wise parent taught,
The love of virtue in his breast he wrought,
By precept and example was his guide,
A faithful friend, for ever at his side;
Whether the morn return'd from Jove's high hall
On snow-white steeds, or noontide mark'd the wall,
Or night the plaintive chickens warn'd to rest,
When careful mothers brood, and flutter o'er the nest:
That, fully form'd and finish'd to his plan,
Time soon might lead him to a perfect man.
But when bold Jason, with the sons of Greece,
Sail'd the salt seas to gain the golden fleece,
The valiant chiefs from every city came,
Renown'd for virtue, or heroic fame,
With these assembled, for the host's relief,
Alcmena's son, the toil-enduring chief.
Firm Argo bore him cross the yielding tide
With his lov'd friend, young Hylas, at his side;
Between Cyane's rocky isles she past,
Now safely fix'd on firm foundations fast,
Thence as an eagle swift, with prosperous gales
She flew, and in deep Phasis furl'd her sails.
For us alone sure never was design'd;
Nor do the charms of beauty only sway
Our mortal breasts, the beings of a day:
Amphitryon's son was taught his power to feel,
Though arm'd with iron breast, and heart of steel,
Who slew the lion fell, lov'd Hylas fair,
Young Hylas graceful with his curling hair.
And, as a son by some wise parent taught,
The love of virtue in his breast he wrought,
By precept and example was his guide,
A faithful friend, for ever at his side;
Whether the morn return'd from Jove's high hall
On snow-white steeds, or noontide mark'd the wall,
Or night the plaintive chickens warn'd to rest,
When careful mothers brood, and flutter o'er the nest:
That, fully form'd and finish'd to his plan,
Time soon might lead him to a perfect man.
But when bold Jason, with the sons of Greece,
Sail'd the salt seas to gain the golden fleece,
The valiant chiefs from every city came,
Renown'd for virtue, or heroic fame,
With these assembled, for the host's relief,
Alcmena's son, the toil-enduring chief.
Firm Argo bore him cross the yielding tide
With his lov'd friend, young Hylas, at his side;
Between Cyane's rocky isles she past,
Now safely fix'd on firm foundations fast,
Thence as an eagle swift, with prosperous gales
She flew, and in deep Phasis furl'd her sails.
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry); Found again "steel and "heart"
Date of Entry
06/07/2005
