Humanity "Assists thy roving fancy in its flight, / To crown thy airy sallies with delight."
— Pratt, Samuel Jackson [pseud. Courtney Melmoth] (1749-1814)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for T. Cadell
Date
1788
Metaphor
Humanity "Assists thy roving fancy in its flight, / To crown thy airy sallies with delight."
Metaphor in Context
When sovereign Reason from her throne is hurl'd,
And with her all the subject senses whirl'd,
From sweet HUMANITY, the nurse of grief,
Even thy deep woes, O Phrenzy! find relief;
For tho' the tresses loose and bosom bare,
And maniac glance thy hapless state declare,
With gentle hand she still supports thy head,
Beguiles thy wand'ring wit, and smoothes thy bed;
Assists thy roving fancy in its flight,
To crown thy airy sallies with delight;
An healing balm to thy warp'd sense she brings,
Till from her softness magic comfort springs,
And joys which reason with a frown denies,
Her tender pity with a smile supplies;
Ev'n in thy prison-house she bids thee draw
From the rush sceptre, and the crown of straw,
The mimic truncheon, and the love-knot true,
Full many a transport Reason never knew;
And at thy grated cell she oft appears,
She culls thee flowers, and bathes them with her tears;
The perfum'd violet and the blooming rose,
On thy hurt mind a transient bliss bestows;
Into a thousand shapes the garlands change,
As fairy fancy takes its antic range;
Then as thy brows the fragrant wreaths adorn,
The roses seem to bloom without a thorn.
And with her all the subject senses whirl'd,
From sweet HUMANITY, the nurse of grief,
Even thy deep woes, O Phrenzy! find relief;
For tho' the tresses loose and bosom bare,
And maniac glance thy hapless state declare,
With gentle hand she still supports thy head,
Beguiles thy wand'ring wit, and smoothes thy bed;
Assists thy roving fancy in its flight,
To crown thy airy sallies with delight;
An healing balm to thy warp'd sense she brings,
Till from her softness magic comfort springs,
And joys which reason with a frown denies,
Her tender pity with a smile supplies;
Ev'n in thy prison-house she bids thee draw
From the rush sceptre, and the crown of straw,
The mimic truncheon, and the love-knot true,
Full many a transport Reason never knew;
And at thy grated cell she oft appears,
She culls thee flowers, and bathes them with her tears;
The perfum'd violet and the blooming rose,
On thy hurt mind a transient bliss bestows;
Into a thousand shapes the garlands change,
As fairy fancy takes its antic range;
Then as thy brows the fragrant wreaths adorn,
The roses seem to bloom without a thorn.
Categories
Provenance
HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 7 entries in ESTC (1788, 1795, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1800).
Samuel Jackson Pratt, Humanity, or the Rights of Nature, a Poem; in Two Books. By the Author of Sympathy (London: T. Cadell, 1788). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>
Added to Gleanings through Wales, Holland and Westphalia (1795, 1796, 1798, 1800).
Samuel Jackson Pratt, Humanity, or the Rights of Nature, a Poem; in Two Books. By the Author of Sympathy (London: T. Cadell, 1788). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>
Added to Gleanings through Wales, Holland and Westphalia (1795, 1796, 1798, 1800).
Theme
Flights of Fancy
Date of Entry
07/27/2004
Date of Review
07/18/2011
