"Thy simple diction, free from glaring art, / With sweet allurement steals upon the heart; / Pure as the rill, that Nature's hand refines, / A cloudless mirror of thy soul it shines"
— Hayley, William (1745-1820)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Date
1780, 1781, 1788
Metaphor
"Thy simple diction, free from glaring art, / With sweet allurement steals upon the heart; / Pure as the rill, that Nature's hand refines, / A cloudless mirror of thy soul it shines"
Metaphor in Context
Soft as the stream, whose dimpling waters play,
And wind in lucid lapse their pleasing way,
His rich, Homeric elocution flows,
For all the Muses modulate his prose:
Tho' blind Credulity his step misleads
Thro' the dark mist of her Egyptian meads,
Yet when return'd, with patriot passions warm,
He paints the progress of the Persian storm,
In Truth's illumin'd field, his labours rear
A trophy worthy of the Spartan spear:
His eager country, in th' Olympic vale,
Throngs with proud joy to catch the martial tale.
Behold! where Valour, resting on his lance,
Drinks the sweet sound in rapture's silent trance,
Then with a grateful shout of fond acclaim,
Hails the just herald of his country's fame!--
But mark the Youth, in dumb delight immers'd!
See the proud tear of emulation burst!
O faithful sign of a superior soul!
Thy prayer is heard:--'tis thine to reach the goal.
See! blest Olorus! see the palm is won!
Sublimity and Wisdom crown thy Son:
His the rich prize, that caught his early gaze,
Th' eternal treasure of increasing praise!
Pure from the stain of favor, or of hate,
His nervous line unfolds the deep Debate;
Explores the seeds of War; with matchless force
Draws Discord, springing from Ambition's source,
With all her Demagogues, who murder peace,
In the fierce struggles of contentious Greece.
Stript by Ingratitude of just command--
Above resentment to a thankless land,
Above all envy, rancour, pride, and spleen,
In exile patient, in disgrace serene,
And proud to celebrate, as Truth inspires,
Each patriot Hero, that his soul admires--
The deep-ton'd trumpet of renown he blows,
In sage retirement 'mid the Thracian snows.
But to untimely silence Fate devotes
Those lips, yet trembling with imperfect notes,
And base Oblivion threatens to devour
E'en this first offspring of historic power.
A generous guardian of a rival's fame,
Mars the dark Fiend in this malignant aim:
Accomplish'd Xenophon! thy truth has shewn
A brother's glory sacred as thy own:
O rich in all the blended gifts, that grace
Minerva's darling sons of Attic race!
The Sage's olive, the Historian's palm,
The Victor's laurel, all thy name embalm!
Thy simple diction, free from glaring art,
With sweet allurement steals upon the heart;
Pure as the rill, that Nature's hand refines,
A cloudless mirror of thy soul it shines.
Two passions there by soft contention please,
The love of martial Fame, and learned Ease:
These friendly colours, exquisitely join'd,
Form the enchanting picture of thy mind.
(pp. 14-17; cf. pp. 14-17 in 1780 ed.)
And wind in lucid lapse their pleasing way,
His rich, Homeric elocution flows,
For all the Muses modulate his prose:
Tho' blind Credulity his step misleads
Thro' the dark mist of her Egyptian meads,
Yet when return'd, with patriot passions warm,
He paints the progress of the Persian storm,
In Truth's illumin'd field, his labours rear
A trophy worthy of the Spartan spear:
His eager country, in th' Olympic vale,
Throngs with proud joy to catch the martial tale.
Behold! where Valour, resting on his lance,
Drinks the sweet sound in rapture's silent trance,
Then with a grateful shout of fond acclaim,
Hails the just herald of his country's fame!--
But mark the Youth, in dumb delight immers'd!
See the proud tear of emulation burst!
O faithful sign of a superior soul!
Thy prayer is heard:--'tis thine to reach the goal.
See! blest Olorus! see the palm is won!
Sublimity and Wisdom crown thy Son:
His the rich prize, that caught his early gaze,
Th' eternal treasure of increasing praise!
Pure from the stain of favor, or of hate,
His nervous line unfolds the deep Debate;
Explores the seeds of War; with matchless force
Draws Discord, springing from Ambition's source,
With all her Demagogues, who murder peace,
In the fierce struggles of contentious Greece.
Stript by Ingratitude of just command--
Above resentment to a thankless land,
Above all envy, rancour, pride, and spleen,
In exile patient, in disgrace serene,
And proud to celebrate, as Truth inspires,
Each patriot Hero, that his soul admires--
The deep-ton'd trumpet of renown he blows,
In sage retirement 'mid the Thracian snows.
But to untimely silence Fate devotes
Those lips, yet trembling with imperfect notes,
And base Oblivion threatens to devour
E'en this first offspring of historic power.
A generous guardian of a rival's fame,
Mars the dark Fiend in this malignant aim:
Accomplish'd Xenophon! thy truth has shewn
A brother's glory sacred as thy own:
O rich in all the blended gifts, that grace
Minerva's darling sons of Attic race!
The Sage's olive, the Historian's palm,
The Victor's laurel, all thy name embalm!
Thy simple diction, free from glaring art,
With sweet allurement steals upon the heart;
Pure as the rill, that Nature's hand refines,
A cloudless mirror of thy soul it shines.
Two passions there by soft contention please,
The love of martial Fame, and learned Ease:
These friendly colours, exquisitely join'd,
Form the enchanting picture of thy mind.
(pp. 14-17; cf. pp. 14-17 in 1780 ed.)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "soul" and "mirror" in HDIS (Poetry); found again "passion." Collated with 1780 edition: note, variant metaphor (see p 17): "cloudless mirror" metaphor replaces "harmony of the soul."
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
11/21/2005
