"Envy in courts and cottages will dwell, / Nay climb to heaven itself, tho' born in hell: / In every living bosom lurks this pest, / But reigns unrival'd in the human breast; / On reason's throne usurps a thorny part, / And plants a thousand daggers in the heart."
— Jones, Henry (1721-1770)
Author
Work Title
Date
1767, 1778
Metaphor
"Envy in courts and cottages will dwell, / Nay climb to heaven itself, tho' born in hell: / In every living bosom lurks this pest, / But reigns unrival'd in the human breast; / On reason's throne usurps a thorny part, / And plants a thousand daggers in the heart."
Metaphor in Context
How epic wonders here the soul delight!
There, distant beauties strain th' impassion'd sight;
See rocks coeval with the world arise,
Whose cloud-swept groves seem waving in the skies;
By ages furrow'd deep, with time-plow'd mien,
With adverse frowns, with fractur'd foreheads seen,
Whilst Neptune rolls his rapid tides between.
See Wealth quick flying in the freighted gale,
See East, see West expand th' impatient sail;
Here earth, here ocean, mountains, rocks unite,
And in harmonious discord give delight;
There, princely piles in classic taste express'd,
In Grecian garb, in Roman grandeur dress'd,
A line of palaces o'erlook the town,
That with a jealous pride the prospect crown:
On different heights they stand in stately strife,
Like rank and dignity in moral life:
In various climax court th' attracted eyes,
The objects changing as the structures rise:
From pile to pile a prospect new appears,
And now the hills and now the river cheers.
See num'rous ships with sudden glance shoot by,
The sails and streamers only strike the eye:
Between th' embracing banks, for ever green,
They seem to move on land, their bulk unseen;
By glad propitious gales impatient blown,
With rapid speed and motion not their own.
See next a steeple on yon hill appear,
Yon distant hill, the Proteus of the year;
From whose oft-changing look, the watchful swain
Foretells the weather, and avoids the rain.
The blue ætherial hills see last uprise,
In azure robe to meet the bending skies.
Here pendent gardens with rich fruits appear,
The rip'ning bounty of the lavish year.
The temple rais'd above the group see sway,
And all th' extended various view survey.
Divine ambition in the choice is found,
Nay taste itself mark'd out the sacred ground;
With holy pride the lofty seat to shew,
And reign exulting o'er the world below;
Where some on others look with scornful phlegm,
Whilst others look with equal scorn on them;
With mole-hill malice dash the cup of life,
An inch in difference makes the mountain strife:
From proud comparison we quaff our all,
That source of human sweets, or human gall:
At which the restless soul impatient pants,
Begets her anguish, and creates her wants.
Oh frantic fallacy! oh brain-sick need!
Shall thy sleek beaver make my bosom bleed?
Thy better buckled belt make me repine,
Or if thy nails be closer cut than mine?
Shall I my lips with inward anguish bite,
If thy black kitten's tail be tipt with white?
Or if thy leeks than mine should greener grow,
And make thy fancied bliss, my real woe?
Envy in courts and cottages will dwell,
Nay climb to heaven itself, tho' born in hell:
In every living bosom lurks this pest,
But reigns unrival'd in the human breast;
On reason's throne usurps a thorny part,
And plants a thousand daggers in the heart.
(Cf. pp. 2-5 in 1767 ed.)
There, distant beauties strain th' impassion'd sight;
See rocks coeval with the world arise,
Whose cloud-swept groves seem waving in the skies;
By ages furrow'd deep, with time-plow'd mien,
With adverse frowns, with fractur'd foreheads seen,
Whilst Neptune rolls his rapid tides between.
See Wealth quick flying in the freighted gale,
See East, see West expand th' impatient sail;
Here earth, here ocean, mountains, rocks unite,
And in harmonious discord give delight;
There, princely piles in classic taste express'd,
In Grecian garb, in Roman grandeur dress'd,
A line of palaces o'erlook the town,
That with a jealous pride the prospect crown:
On different heights they stand in stately strife,
Like rank and dignity in moral life:
In various climax court th' attracted eyes,
The objects changing as the structures rise:
From pile to pile a prospect new appears,
And now the hills and now the river cheers.
See num'rous ships with sudden glance shoot by,
The sails and streamers only strike the eye:
Between th' embracing banks, for ever green,
They seem to move on land, their bulk unseen;
By glad propitious gales impatient blown,
With rapid speed and motion not their own.
See next a steeple on yon hill appear,
Yon distant hill, the Proteus of the year;
From whose oft-changing look, the watchful swain
Foretells the weather, and avoids the rain.
The blue ætherial hills see last uprise,
In azure robe to meet the bending skies.
Here pendent gardens with rich fruits appear,
The rip'ning bounty of the lavish year.
The temple rais'd above the group see sway,
And all th' extended various view survey.
Divine ambition in the choice is found,
Nay taste itself mark'd out the sacred ground;
With holy pride the lofty seat to shew,
And reign exulting o'er the world below;
Where some on others look with scornful phlegm,
Whilst others look with equal scorn on them;
With mole-hill malice dash the cup of life,
An inch in difference makes the mountain strife:
From proud comparison we quaff our all,
That source of human sweets, or human gall:
At which the restless soul impatient pants,
Begets her anguish, and creates her wants.
Oh frantic fallacy! oh brain-sick need!
Shall thy sleek beaver make my bosom bleed?
Thy better buckled belt make me repine,
Or if thy nails be closer cut than mine?
Shall I my lips with inward anguish bite,
If thy black kitten's tail be tipt with white?
Or if thy leeks than mine should greener grow,
And make thy fancied bliss, my real woe?
Envy in courts and cottages will dwell,
Nay climb to heaven itself, tho' born in hell:
In every living bosom lurks this pest,
But reigns unrival'd in the human breast;
On reason's throne usurps a thorny part,
And plants a thousand daggers in the heart.
(Cf. pp. 2-5 in 1767 ed.)
Provenance
HDIS
Citation
4 entries in ESTC (1767, 1773, 1779)
Text from Clifton: A Poem. In Two Cantos. Including Bristol and all its Environs. By the late Henry Jones ... To Which is Added, An Ode to Shakespear, In Honor of the Jubilee. Written by the Same Author. 2nd ed. (London: Printed and Sold by T. Cocking, 1778).
See also Clifton: a Poem, in Two Cantos. Including Bristol and all its Environs. By Henry Jones (Bristol: Printed and Sold by E. Farley and Co.: sold also by the booksellers of Bristol and Bath, 1767). <Link to ECCO>
Text from Clifton: A Poem. In Two Cantos. Including Bristol and all its Environs. By the late Henry Jones ... To Which is Added, An Ode to Shakespear, In Honor of the Jubilee. Written by the Same Author. 2nd ed. (London: Printed and Sold by T. Cocking, 1778).
See also Clifton: a Poem, in Two Cantos. Including Bristol and all its Environs. By Henry Jones (Bristol: Printed and Sold by E. Farley and Co.: sold also by the booksellers of Bristol and Bath, 1767). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
07/19/2004
