"Reason and Nature are the judges here."
— Foote, Samuel (1720-1777)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for Paul Vaillant
Date
1770
Metaphor
"Reason and Nature are the judges here."
Metaphor in Context
Shall my words, tipt with flattery, prepare
A kind exertion of your tend'rest care?
Shall I present our Author to your sight,
All pale and trembling for his fate this night?
Shall I sollicit the most pow'rful arms
To aid his cause--the force of beauty's charms?
Or tell each critic, his approving taste
Must give the sterling stamp, wherever plac'd?
This might be done--but so to seek applause
Argues a conscious weakness in the cause.
No--let the Muse in simple truth appear,
Reason and Nature are the judges here:
If by their strict and self-describing laws,
The sev'ral characters to-night she draws;
If from the whole a pleasing piece is made,
On the true principles of light and shade;
Struck with the harmony of just design,
Your eyes--your ears--your hearts, will all combine
To grant applause:--but if an erring hand
Gross disproportion marks in motley band,
If the group'd figures false connexions show,
And glaring colours without meaning glow,
Your wounded feelings, turn'd a diff'rent way,
Will justly damn--th' abortion of a play.
A kind exertion of your tend'rest care?
Shall I present our Author to your sight,
All pale and trembling for his fate this night?
Shall I sollicit the most pow'rful arms
To aid his cause--the force of beauty's charms?
Or tell each critic, his approving taste
Must give the sterling stamp, wherever plac'd?
This might be done--but so to seek applause
Argues a conscious weakness in the cause.
No--let the Muse in simple truth appear,
Reason and Nature are the judges here:
If by their strict and self-describing laws,
The sev'ral characters to-night she draws;
If from the whole a pleasing piece is made,
On the true principles of light and shade;
Struck with the harmony of just design,
Your eyes--your ears--your hearts, will all combine
To grant applause:--but if an erring hand
Gross disproportion marks in motley band,
If the group'd figures false connexions show,
And glaring colours without meaning glow,
Your wounded feelings, turn'd a diff'rent way,
Will justly damn--th' abortion of a play.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "judge" and "reason" in HDIS (Drama)
Citation
First performed on June 22, 1770. 4 entries in ESTC (1770, 1787, 1794).
See The Lame Lover, a Comedy in Three Acts. As It Is Performed at the Theatre-Royal in the Hay-Market. by Samuel Foote (London: Printed for Paul Vaillant: and sold by P. Elmsly ... and Robinson and Roberts, 1764).
See The Lame Lover, a Comedy in Three Acts. As It Is Performed at the Theatre-Royal in the Hay-Market. by Samuel Foote (London: Printed for Paul Vaillant: and sold by P. Elmsly ... and Robinson and Roberts, 1764).
Date of Entry
11/16/2004
