"Thy mind expanded to her empire's bound; / There every Science a firm station found."
— Hayley, William (1745-1820)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Date
1780, 1781, 1788
Metaphor
"Thy mind expanded to her empire's bound; / There every Science a firm station found."
Metaphor in Context
Thou all-accomplish'd Youth! whose early page
Charm'd the astonish'd eye of learned Age,
Let admiration of thy worth inspire
Such liberal praise, as echoed from thy lyre,
When Honour crown'd, by thy poetic hand,
The far-fam'd Scholar of thy native land!
Learning ne'er saw, in all her numerous race,
A son more worthy of her fond embrace:
Thy mind expanded to her empire's bound;
There every Science a firm station found;
There gay and grave, in rare assemblage, shone;
A wonder, equall'd by thy heart alone!
For, by enlighten'd Faith's presiding care,
The rival Virtues were all marshall'd there.
Worth so transcendent, Heaven with smiles survey'd,
And with the choicest of its gifts repaid;
Gave thee a Partner of thy chequer'd fate,
Pure as thy Genius, and as firmly great;
With equal love, with equal courage warm,
A kindred Spirit in a softer form:
Thy dear Maria shar'd thy captive hour,
She brav'd the vengeance of offended power;
And, with the fondness of Admetus' wife,
Restor'd thy freedom at the risk of life:
Her days were guarded by the Powers above;
And thy just lyre immortaliz'd her love.
Ye peerless Couple! tho' with wrongs opprest,
In virtue happy, and by union blest,
From Fame's fond lips your blended praise shall flow,
While Excellence can find a friend below;
While Love's chaste fires thro' human bosoms roll;
While Liberty and Truth delight the soul!
Your names, applauded by the spacious earth,
Still dignify the land that boasts your birth;
Tho' her tame Genius, Wealth's more willing slave,
Soon lost that mental fire, which Freedom gave,
Whose brilliant flame in sickly languor dies,
Where'er the damps of Avarice arise:
Hence, tho' less free, yet true to Honour's aim,
France is more opulent in letter'd fame.
There, in the dignity of virtuous Pride,
Thro' painful scenes of public service try'd,
And keenly conscious of his Country's woes,
The liberal spirit of Thuanus rose:
O'er Earth's wide stage a curious eye he cast,
And caught the living pageant as it past:
With patriot care most eager to advance
The rights of Nature, and the weal of France!
His language noble, as his temper clear
From Faction's rage, and Superstition's fear!
In Wealth laborious! amid Wrongs sedate!
His Virtue lovely, as his Genius great!
Ting'd with some marks, that from his climate spring,
He priz'd his Country, but ador'd his King;
Yet with a zeal from slavish awe refin'd,
Shone the clear model of a Gallic mind.
Thou friend of Science! 'twas thy signal praise,
A just memorial of her Sons to raise;
To blazon first, on Hist'ry's brighter leaf,
The laurel'd Writer with the laurel'd Chief!
(pp. 49-52; cf. pp. 44ff. in 1781 ed.)
Charm'd the astonish'd eye of learned Age,
Let admiration of thy worth inspire
Such liberal praise, as echoed from thy lyre,
When Honour crown'd, by thy poetic hand,
The far-fam'd Scholar of thy native land!
Learning ne'er saw, in all her numerous race,
A son more worthy of her fond embrace:
Thy mind expanded to her empire's bound;
There every Science a firm station found;
There gay and grave, in rare assemblage, shone;
A wonder, equall'd by thy heart alone!
For, by enlighten'd Faith's presiding care,
The rival Virtues were all marshall'd there.
Worth so transcendent, Heaven with smiles survey'd,
And with the choicest of its gifts repaid;
Gave thee a Partner of thy chequer'd fate,
Pure as thy Genius, and as firmly great;
With equal love, with equal courage warm,
A kindred Spirit in a softer form:
Thy dear Maria shar'd thy captive hour,
She brav'd the vengeance of offended power;
And, with the fondness of Admetus' wife,
Restor'd thy freedom at the risk of life:
Her days were guarded by the Powers above;
And thy just lyre immortaliz'd her love.
Ye peerless Couple! tho' with wrongs opprest,
In virtue happy, and by union blest,
From Fame's fond lips your blended praise shall flow,
While Excellence can find a friend below;
While Love's chaste fires thro' human bosoms roll;
While Liberty and Truth delight the soul!
Your names, applauded by the spacious earth,
Still dignify the land that boasts your birth;
Tho' her tame Genius, Wealth's more willing slave,
Soon lost that mental fire, which Freedom gave,
Whose brilliant flame in sickly languor dies,
Where'er the damps of Avarice arise:
Hence, tho' less free, yet true to Honour's aim,
France is more opulent in letter'd fame.
There, in the dignity of virtuous Pride,
Thro' painful scenes of public service try'd,
And keenly conscious of his Country's woes,
The liberal spirit of Thuanus rose:
O'er Earth's wide stage a curious eye he cast,
And caught the living pageant as it past:
With patriot care most eager to advance
The rights of Nature, and the weal of France!
His language noble, as his temper clear
From Faction's rage, and Superstition's fear!
In Wealth laborious! amid Wrongs sedate!
His Virtue lovely, as his Genius great!
Ting'd with some marks, that from his climate spring,
He priz'd his Country, but ador'd his King;
Yet with a zeal from slavish awe refin'd,
Shone the clear model of a Gallic mind.
Thou friend of Science! 'twas thy signal praise,
A just memorial of her Sons to raise;
To blazon first, on Hist'ry's brighter leaf,
The laurel'd Writer with the laurel'd Chief!
(pp. 49-52; cf. pp. 44ff. in 1781 ed.)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "empire" and "mind" in HDIS (Poetry); 1781 edition confirmed in ECCO.
Citation
At least 6 entries in LION, ECCO, and ESTC (1780, 1781, 1782, 1785, 1787, 1788).
See An Essay on History; in Three Epistles to Edward Gibbon, Esq. With Notes. by William Hayley, Esq. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley in Pall-Mali, 1780). <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Text from new edition of Poems and Plays, by William Hayley, Esq. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1788). See also William Hayley, Poems and Plays, by William Hayley, Esq., vol. 2 of 6 vols. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1785). <Link to ECCO>
Found also in The Poetical Library; Being a Collection of the Best Modern English Poems (Leipzig: Printed for A.F. Boehme, 1787). <Link to ECCO>
See An Essay on History; in Three Epistles to Edward Gibbon, Esq. With Notes. by William Hayley, Esq. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley in Pall-Mali, 1780). <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Text from new edition of Poems and Plays, by William Hayley, Esq. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1788). See also William Hayley, Poems and Plays, by William Hayley, Esq., vol. 2 of 6 vols. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1785). <Link to ECCO>
Found also in The Poetical Library; Being a Collection of the Best Modern English Poems (Leipzig: Printed for A.F. Boehme, 1787). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
08/11/2004
