"Let Critic Reason all her light diffuse / O'er the wide empire of this injur'd [Epic] Muse"
— Hayley, William (1745-1820)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Dodsley
Date
1782
Metaphor
"Let Critic Reason all her light diffuse / O'er the wide empire of this injur'd [Epic] Muse"
Metaphor in Context
What! is the Epic Muse, that lofty Fair,
Who makes the discipline of Earth her care!
That mighty Minister, whom Virtue leads
To train the noblest minds to noblest deeds!
Is she, in office great, in glory rich,
Degraded to a poor, pretended Witch,
Who rais'd her spells, and all her magic power,
But on the folly of the favoring hour?
Whose dark, despis'd illusions melt away
At the clear dawn of Philosophic day?
To such they sink her, who lament her fall
From the high Synod of th' Olympian Hall;
Who worship System, hid in Fancy's veil.
And think that all her Epic force must fail,
If she no more can borrow or create
Celestial Agents to uphold her state.
To prove if this fam'd doctrine may be found
To rest on solid, or on sandy ground,
Let Critic Reason all her light diffuse
O'er the wide empire of this injur'd Muse,
To guide our search to every varied source
And separate sinew of her vital force.--
To three prime powers within the human frame,
With equal energy she points her aim:
By pure exalted Sentiment she draws
From Judgment's steady voice no light applause;
By Nature's simple and pathetic strains,
The willing homage of the Heart she gains;
The precious tribute she receives from these,
Shines undebas'd by changing Time's decrees;
The noble thought, that fir'd a Grecian soul,
Keeps o'er a British mind its firm controul;
The scenes, where Nature seems herself to speak,
Still touch a Briton, as they touch'd a Greek:
To captivate admiring Fancy's eyes,
She bids celestial decorations rise;
But, as a playful and capricious child
Frowns at the splendid toy on which it smil'd;
So wayward Fancy now with scorn surveys
Those specious Miracles she lov'd to praise;
Still fond of change, and fickle Fashion's dupe,
Now keen to soar, and eager now to stoop,
Her Gods, Dev'ls, Saints, Magicians, rise and fall,
And now she worships each, now laughs at all.
Who makes the discipline of Earth her care!
That mighty Minister, whom Virtue leads
To train the noblest minds to noblest deeds!
Is she, in office great, in glory rich,
Degraded to a poor, pretended Witch,
Who rais'd her spells, and all her magic power,
But on the folly of the favoring hour?
Whose dark, despis'd illusions melt away
At the clear dawn of Philosophic day?
To such they sink her, who lament her fall
From the high Synod of th' Olympian Hall;
Who worship System, hid in Fancy's veil.
And think that all her Epic force must fail,
If she no more can borrow or create
Celestial Agents to uphold her state.
To prove if this fam'd doctrine may be found
To rest on solid, or on sandy ground,
Let Critic Reason all her light diffuse
O'er the wide empire of this injur'd Muse,
To guide our search to every varied source
And separate sinew of her vital force.--
To three prime powers within the human frame,
With equal energy she points her aim:
By pure exalted Sentiment she draws
From Judgment's steady voice no light applause;
By Nature's simple and pathetic strains,
The willing homage of the Heart she gains;
The precious tribute she receives from these,
Shines undebas'd by changing Time's decrees;
The noble thought, that fir'd a Grecian soul,
Keeps o'er a British mind its firm controul;
The scenes, where Nature seems herself to speak,
Still touch a Briton, as they touch'd a Greek:
To captivate admiring Fancy's eyes,
She bids celestial decorations rise;
But, as a playful and capricious child
Frowns at the splendid toy on which it smil'd;
So wayward Fancy now with scorn surveys
Those specious Miracles she lov'd to praise;
Still fond of change, and fickle Fashion's dupe,
Now keen to soar, and eager now to stoop,
Her Gods, Dev'ls, Saints, Magicians, rise and fall,
And now she worships each, now laughs at all.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "reason" and "empire" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
4 entries in LION and ESTC (1782, 1785, 1788).
First published as An Essay on Epic Poetry; in Five Epistles to the Revd. Mr. Mason. With Notes. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley, 1782). <Link to Hathi Trust>
Reprinted in Poems and Plays, by William Hayley, Esq. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1785). <Link to ECCO>
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. 3 of 6 vols. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1785). <Link to ECCO>
First published as An Essay on Epic Poetry; in Five Epistles to the Revd. Mr. Mason. With Notes. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley, 1782). <Link to Hathi Trust>
Reprinted in Poems and Plays, by William Hayley, Esq. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1785). <Link to ECCO>
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. 3 of 6 vols. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1785). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
08/16/2004
