A debt of gratitude to parents is "stamp'd upon our frames; In polish'd minds it shines the most"
— Reed, Joseph (1723-1787)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Becket and De Hondt ... and Richardson and Urquhart [etc.]
Date
1769
Metaphor
A debt of gratitude to parents is "stamp'd upon our frames; In polish'd minds it shines the most"
Metaphor in Context
SO.
How terrible is my situation! I can never marry this man--shall I then turn rebel against a father's authority, and violate one of the strongest obligations that nature has imposed on us? I shudder at the thought!
AIR. Set by Mr. Arnold.
Duty is nature's strongest law;
A tie, that all should have in view;
A debt of gratitude, love, awe,
To every tender parent due.
By heaven 'tis stamp'd upon our frames;
In polish'd minds it shines the most:
The wretch that duty's bond disclaims,
Must be to every virtue lost.
[Sits down in a musing posture.
And yet methinks duty cannot demand the sacrifice of my own happiness! Surely neither heaven nor nature require me, in obedience to a parent, to marry a man, with whom I must be for ever miserable.
How terrible is my situation! I can never marry this man--shall I then turn rebel against a father's authority, and violate one of the strongest obligations that nature has imposed on us? I shudder at the thought!
AIR. Set by Mr. Arnold.
Duty is nature's strongest law;
A tie, that all should have in view;
A debt of gratitude, love, awe,
To every tender parent due.
By heaven 'tis stamp'd upon our frames;
In polish'd minds it shines the most:
The wretch that duty's bond disclaims,
Must be to every virtue lost.
[Sits down in a musing posture.
And yet methinks duty cannot demand the sacrifice of my own happiness! Surely neither heaven nor nature require me, in obedience to a parent, to marry a man, with whom I must be for ever miserable.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" and "stamp" in HDIS (Drama)
Date of Entry
04/11/2005
