" Soft female hearts are prone as wax to melt, / And, true or false, impressions will be felt;"
— Cumberland, Richard (1732-1811)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for C. Dilly [etc.]
Date
1797
Metaphor
" Soft female hearts are prone as wax to melt, / And, true or false, impressions will be felt;"
Metaphor in Context
He writes, because, tho' writing is abus'd,
The world is not too grave to be amus'd;
He writes, and ever to some moral end,
Because the world is not too good to mend.
Soft female hearts are prone as wax to melt,
And, true or false, impressions will be felt;
Youth's yielding clay too easily receives
The featur'd stamp that cross-ey'd cunning gives:
Therefore let her, whose dang'rous lot in life
Hangs on the balance betwixt maid and wife,
Lay those few short prescriptions to her heart,
With which the Lady Cypress clos'd her part;
For base seduction spreads on every side
His treach'rous snares to mesh th'unwary bride.
She, in whose eyes enticing Cupids play,
Gives impudence the clue, and leads the way.
What tho' the faithless husband quits her hand,
Truth, like a column, of itself can stand:
To reas'ning minds sufficient strength is giv'n,
And none but fools can charge their faults on heav'n.
The world is not too grave to be amus'd;
He writes, and ever to some moral end,
Because the world is not too good to mend.
Soft female hearts are prone as wax to melt,
And, true or false, impressions will be felt;
Youth's yielding clay too easily receives
The featur'd stamp that cross-ey'd cunning gives:
Therefore let her, whose dang'rous lot in life
Hangs on the balance betwixt maid and wife,
Lay those few short prescriptions to her heart,
With which the Lady Cypress clos'd her part;
For base seduction spreads on every side
His treach'rous snares to mesh th'unwary bride.
She, in whose eyes enticing Cupids play,
Gives impudence the clue, and leads the way.
What tho' the faithless husband quits her hand,
Truth, like a column, of itself can stand:
To reas'ning minds sufficient strength is giv'n,
And none but fools can charge their faults on heav'n.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "wax" and "heart" in HDIS (Drama)
Date of Entry
04/11/2005
