"A plague on stoicks! / I cannot hoop my heart about with iron, / Like an old beer-butt"
— Colman, George, the younger (1762-1836)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by W. Woodfall. For Messrs. Cadell and Davies
Date
1796
Metaphor
"A plague on stoicks! / I cannot hoop my heart about with iron, / Like an old beer-butt"
Metaphor in Context
FITZ.
I have a kind of movement, still, for Wilford,
I cannot conquer. What can be this charge
Sir Edward brings against him?--Should the boy
Prove guilty!--well; why should I pity guilt?
Philosophers would call me driv'ler.--Let them.
Whip a deserter, and philosophy
Stands by, and says he merits it. That's true:--
But wherefore should philosophy take snuff,
When the poor culprit writhes? A plague on stoicks!
I cannot hoop my heart about with iron,
Like an old beer-butt. I would have the vessel
What some call weak:--I'd have it ooze a little.
Better compassion should be set abroach.
'Till it run waste, then let a system-monger
Bung it with Logick; or a trencher cap
Bawl out his ethics on it, 'till his thunder
Turns all the liquor sour.--So! Here he comes!
I have a kind of movement, still, for Wilford,
I cannot conquer. What can be this charge
Sir Edward brings against him?--Should the boy
Prove guilty!--well; why should I pity guilt?
Philosophers would call me driv'ler.--Let them.
Whip a deserter, and philosophy
Stands by, and says he merits it. That's true:--
But wherefore should philosophy take snuff,
When the poor culprit writhes? A plague on stoicks!
I cannot hoop my heart about with iron,
Like an old beer-butt. I would have the vessel
What some call weak:--I'd have it ooze a little.
Better compassion should be set abroach.
'Till it run waste, then let a system-monger
Bung it with Logick; or a trencher cap
Bawl out his ethics on it, 'till his thunder
Turns all the liquor sour.--So! Here he comes!
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "iron" in HDIS (Drama)
Citation
First performed on March 12, 1796. 6 entries in ESTC (1796, 1798).
See The Iron Chest: A Play; in Three Acts. Written by George Colman, the Younger. With a Preface. (London: Printed by W. Woodfall. For Messrs. Cadell and Davies, 1796).
See The Iron Chest: A Play; in Three Acts. Written by George Colman, the Younger. With a Preface. (London: Printed by W. Woodfall. For Messrs. Cadell and Davies, 1796).
Theme
Stoicism
Date of Entry
06/08/2005
