"Think not my breast is steel'd against the claims / Of sweet humanity."

— Jago, Richard (1715-1781)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Dodsley
Date
1767, 1784
Metaphor
"Think not my breast is steel'd against the claims / Of sweet humanity."
Metaphor in Context
Why will the lovely partner of my joys,
Forbidden, thus her wild petition urge?
Think not my breast is steel'd against the claims
Of sweet humanity.
Think not I hear
Regardless thy request. If piety,
Or other motive, with mistaken zeal,
Call'd to thy aid, pierc'd not my stubborn frame,
Yet to the pleader's worth, and modest charms,
Wou'd my fond love no trivial gift impart.
But pomp and fame forbid. That vassalage,
Which, thoughtless, thou wou'dst tempt me to dissolve,
Exalts our splendor, and augments my pow'r.
With tender bosoms form'd, and yielding hearts,
Your sex soon melts at sights of vulgar woe;
Heedless how glory fires the manly breast
With love of rank sublime. This principle
In female minds a feebler empire holds,
Opposing less the specious arguments
For milder rule, and freedom's popular theme.
But plant some gentler passion in its room,
Some virtuous instinct suited to your make,
As glory is to ours, alike requir'd
A ransom for the vulgar's vassal state,
Then wou'dst thou soon the strong contention own,
And justify my conduct. Thou art fair,
And chaste as fair; with nicest sense of shame,
And sanctity of thought. Thy bosom thou
Did'st ne'er expose to shameless dalliance
Of wanton eyes; nor, ill-concealing it
Beneath the treach'rous cov'ring, tempt aside
The secret glance, with meditated fraud.
Go now, and lay thy modest garments by:
In naked beauty, mount thy milk-white steed,
And through the streets, in face of open day,
And gazing slaves, their fair deliv'rer ride:
Then will I own thy pity was sincere,
Applaud thy virtue, and confirm thy suit.
But if thou lik'st not such ungentle terms,
And sure thy soul the guilty thought abhors!
Know then that Leofric, like thee, can feel,
Like thee, may pity, while he seems severe,
And urge thy suit no more. His speech he clos'd,
And, with strange oaths, confirm'd the sad decree.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "breast" and "steel" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 2 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1767, 1784).

See Edge-Hill, or, the Rural Prospect Delineated and Moralized. A Poem. In Four Books. By Richard Jago, A.M. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley, in Pall-Mall, 1767). <Link to ESTC>

Text from 2nd edition "Corrected and Enlarged," published in Poems, Moral and Descriptive. By the Late Richard Jago (London: Printed for J. Dodsley 1784). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
06/13/2005

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.