"If conscious Genius stamp their chosen breast, / And on the forehead show her seal impressed."
— Bowles, William Lisle (1762-1850)
Work Title
Date
1789?
Metaphor
"If conscious Genius stamp their chosen breast, / And on the forehead show her seal impressed."
Metaphor in Context
It is the lot of man:--the best oft mourn,
As sad they journey through this cloudy bourne:
If conscious Genius stamp their chosen breast,
And on the forehead show her seal impressed,
Perhaps they mourn, in bleak Misfortune's shade,
Their age and cares with penury repaid;
Their errors deeply scanned, their worth forgot,
Or marked by hard injustice with a blot.
If high they soar, and keep their distant way,
And spread their ample pinions to the day,
Malignant Faction hears with hate their name,
And all her tongues are busy with their fame.
As sad they journey through this cloudy bourne:
If conscious Genius stamp their chosen breast,
And on the forehead show her seal impressed,
Perhaps they mourn, in bleak Misfortune's shade,
Their age and cares with penury repaid;
Their errors deeply scanned, their worth forgot,
Or marked by hard injustice with a blot.
If high they soar, and keep their distant way,
And spread their ample pinions to the day,
Malignant Faction hears with hate their name,
And all her tongues are busy with their fame.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "stamp" and "breast" in HDIS (Poetry); Found again "seal"
Theme
Physiognomy
Date of Entry
04/11/2005
