"But pr'ythee, with that heart of steel, / Revile the dead, and maul them soundly."
— Stevenson, John Hall (1717-1785)
Work Title
Place of Publication
Dublin
Publisher
Thomas Ewing
Date
1772
Metaphor
"But pr'ythee, with that heart of steel, / Revile the dead, and maul them soundly."
Metaphor in Context
Sucking his paws for his diversion,
A Bear, a huge mis-shapen mass,
Beheld a Fox, with great aversion,
Picking the bones of a dead Ass.
I never touch the dead, said Bruin,
Nor break their sacred rest, like you,
To whom destruction and dire ruin,
For such a wicked act, is due.
With a sly grin, the Fox reply'd,
My learned Friend, we differ wide;
Pray heaven, that you and all your kin
Would take a fancy to such fare!
To eat the dead is no great sin,
It is the living you should spare.
Your piety I understand;
You, Sir, and all your brethren, chuse
To fit yourselves with those at hand,
Rather than wait for dead folks shoes.
Happy are they that have no dealings
With Bears of nice and tender feelings!
Says Crito the benign:
Crito would sooner lose his head
Than vent his spleen
By speaking evil of the dead.
Crito, you talk and look profoundly,
But pr'ythee, with that heart of steel,
Revile the dead, and maul them soundly;
Flea none but those that cannot feel.
Your cruel pastime, Junius, cease:
Had you been just to honour and to fame,
Had you let Virtue sleep in peace,
And lash'd those only that are dead to shame;
I should have cry'd, why let him slash,
I like both Junius and his plan;
None but a knave need fear his lash,
For Brutus is an honourable man.
A Bear, a huge mis-shapen mass,
Beheld a Fox, with great aversion,
Picking the bones of a dead Ass.
I never touch the dead, said Bruin,
Nor break their sacred rest, like you,
To whom destruction and dire ruin,
For such a wicked act, is due.
With a sly grin, the Fox reply'd,
My learned Friend, we differ wide;
Pray heaven, that you and all your kin
Would take a fancy to such fare!
To eat the dead is no great sin,
It is the living you should spare.
Your piety I understand;
You, Sir, and all your brethren, chuse
To fit yourselves with those at hand,
Rather than wait for dead folks shoes.
Happy are they that have no dealings
With Bears of nice and tender feelings!
Says Crito the benign:
Crito would sooner lose his head
Than vent his spleen
By speaking evil of the dead.
Crito, you talk and look profoundly,
But pr'ythee, with that heart of steel,
Revile the dead, and maul them soundly;
Flea none but those that cannot feel.
Your cruel pastime, Junius, cease:
Had you been just to honour and to fame,
Had you let Virtue sleep in peace,
And lash'd those only that are dead to shame;
I should have cry'd, why let him slash,
I like both Junius and his plan;
None but a knave need fear his lash,
For Brutus is an honourable man.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "steel" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Text from The Works, 3 vols. (London: J. Nichols, J. Debrett, T. Beckett). <Link to ECCO>
See also Makarony Fables: Fables for Grown Gentlemen; Lyrick Epistles; and Several Other Poems; by the Author of Crazy Tales (Dublin: Thomas Ewing, 1772). <Link to ECCO>
And also Crazy Tales: and Fables for Grown Gentlemen, new ed. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley and T. Becket, 1780). <Link to Google Books>
See also Makarony Fables: Fables for Grown Gentlemen; Lyrick Epistles; and Several Other Poems; by the Author of Crazy Tales (Dublin: Thomas Ewing, 1772). <Link to ECCO>
And also Crazy Tales: and Fables for Grown Gentlemen, new ed. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley and T. Becket, 1780). <Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
06/10/2005
Date of Review
07/03/2012
