"But, if thy faint springs / Refuse this large supply, steel thy firm soul / With stoic pride"
— Mason, William (1725-1797)
Author
Work Title
Date
1772-1781, 1781
Metaphor
"But, if thy faint springs / Refuse this large supply, steel thy firm soul / With stoic pride"
Metaphor in Context
He, who would seize the river's sov'reign charm,
Must wind the moving mirror through his lawn
Ev'n to remotest distance; deep must delve
The gravelly channel that prescribes its course;
Closely conceal each terminating bound
By hill or shade oppos'd; and to its bank
Lifting the level of the copious stream,
Must there retain it. But, if thy faint springs
Refuse this large supply, steel thy firm soul
With stoic pride; imperfect charms despise:
Beauty, like Virtue, knows no groveling mean.
Must wind the moving mirror through his lawn
Ev'n to remotest distance; deep must delve
The gravelly channel that prescribes its course;
Closely conceal each terminating bound
By hill or shade oppos'd; and to its bank
Lifting the level of the copious stream,
Must there retain it. But, if thy faint springs
Refuse this large supply, steel thy firm soul
With stoic pride; imperfect charms despise:
Beauty, like Virtue, knows no groveling mean.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "soul" and "steel" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Text from The Works of William Mason 4 vols. (London: Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1811). <Link to Google Books>
See also The English Garden: A Poem. In Four Books. By W. Mason, M.A. (York: Printed by A. Ward, 1781). <Link to ECCO>
See also The English Garden: A Poem. In Four Books. By W. Mason, M.A. (York: Printed by A. Ward, 1781). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
06/12/2005
