"To Fancy's court we strait apply, / And wait the sentence of her eye."
— Cotton, Nathaniel, the elder (1705-1788)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Dodsley
Date
1751, 1791
Metaphor
"To Fancy's court we strait apply, / And wait the sentence of her eye."
Metaphor in Context
But Hymen, when he heard her name,
Call'd her an interloping dame;
Look'd thro' the crowd with angry state,
And blam'd the porter at the gate,
For giving entrance to the fair,
When she was no essential there.
To sink this haughty tyrant's pride,
He order'd Fancy to preside.
Hence, when debates on beauty rise,
And each bright fair disputes the prize,
To Fancy's court we strait apply,
And wait the sentence of her eye;
In Beauty's realms she holds the seals,
And her awards preclude appeals.
(Cf. p. 95 in 1751 ed.)
Call'd her an interloping dame;
Look'd thro' the crowd with angry state,
And blam'd the porter at the gate,
For giving entrance to the fair,
When she was no essential there.
To sink this haughty tyrant's pride,
He order'd Fancy to preside.
Hence, when debates on beauty rise,
And each bright fair disputes the prize,
To Fancy's court we strait apply,
And wait the sentence of her eye;
In Beauty's realms she holds the seals,
And her awards preclude appeals.
(Cf. p. 95 in 1751 ed.)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "court" and "fancy" in HDIS (Poetry); confirmed in ECCO (1751).
Citation
At least 20 entries in ESTC (1751, 1752, 1753, 1755, 1760, 1767, 1771, 1776, 1781, 1782, 1786, 1787, 1790, 1794, 1798).
Text from Various Pieces in Verse and Prose, 2 vols. (London: J. Dodsley, 1791). <Link to Google Books>
See also Nathaniel Cotton, Visions in Verse, for the Entertainment and Instruction of Younger Minds. 2nd edition (London: Printed for R. Dodsley in Pall-Mall; and Sold by M. Cooper, at the Globe in Pater-Noster Row, 1751). <Link to ECCO><Link to 2nd edition>
See also Visions in Verse: For the Entertainment and Instruction of Younger Minds. A New Edition. (London: J. Dodsley, 1790). <Link to Google Books>
The revised and enlarged 3rd edition adds a new, ninth vision: "Death. Vision the Last"
Text from Various Pieces in Verse and Prose, 2 vols. (London: J. Dodsley, 1791). <Link to Google Books>
See also Nathaniel Cotton, Visions in Verse, for the Entertainment and Instruction of Younger Minds. 2nd edition (London: Printed for R. Dodsley in Pall-Mall; and Sold by M. Cooper, at the Globe in Pater-Noster Row, 1751). <Link to ECCO><Link to 2nd edition>
See also Visions in Verse: For the Entertainment and Instruction of Younger Minds. A New Edition. (London: J. Dodsley, 1790). <Link to Google Books>
The revised and enlarged 3rd edition adds a new, ninth vision: "Death. Vision the Last"
Date of Entry
08/25/2004
