The fatal mist through which one judges may be dispelled
— Sheridan, Richard Brinsley (1751-1816); Kotzebue (1761-1819)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for James Ridgway
Date
1799
Metaphor
The fatal mist through which one judges may be dispelled
Metaphor in Context
ELV.
Each word thou speakest--each moment that I hear thee--dispels the fatal mist through which I've judged thee. Thou man of mighty name, but little soul, I see thou wert not born to feel what genuine fame and glory are--yes, prefer the flattery of thy own fleeting day to the bright circle of a deathless name--yes, prefer to stare upon the grain of sand on which you trample, to musing on the starred canopy above thee. Fame, the sovereign deity of proud ambition, is not to be worshipped so: who seeks alone for living homage, stands a mean canvasser in her temple's porch, wooing promiscuously from the fickle breath of every wretch that passes, the brittle tribute of his praise. He dares not approach the sacred altar--no noble sacrifice of his is placed there, nor ever shall his worship'd image, fix'd above, claim for his memory a glorious immortality.
Each word thou speakest--each moment that I hear thee--dispels the fatal mist through which I've judged thee. Thou man of mighty name, but little soul, I see thou wert not born to feel what genuine fame and glory are--yes, prefer the flattery of thy own fleeting day to the bright circle of a deathless name--yes, prefer to stare upon the grain of sand on which you trample, to musing on the starred canopy above thee. Fame, the sovereign deity of proud ambition, is not to be worshipped so: who seeks alone for living homage, stands a mean canvasser in her temple's porch, wooing promiscuously from the fickle breath of every wretch that passes, the brittle tribute of his praise. He dares not approach the sacred altar--no noble sacrifice of his is placed there, nor ever shall his worship'd image, fix'd above, claim for his memory a glorious immortality.
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Drama)
Citation
First performed May 24, 1799. Sheridan freely adapts from Kotzebue. Extremely popular, with over 30,000 copies of book sold in first year in print. At least 40 entries in ESTC (1799, 1800)
Pizarro; A Tragedy, in Five Acts; As Performed at The Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane: Taken from the German Drama of Kotzebue; and adapted to the English stage by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (London: Printed for James Ridgway, 1799). <Link to 4th edition in Google Books>
Pizarro; A Tragedy, in Five Acts; As Performed at The Theatre Royal in Drury-Lane: Taken from the German Drama of Kotzebue; and adapted to the English stage by Richard Brinsley Sheridan (London: Printed for James Ridgway, 1799). <Link to 4th edition in Google Books>
Date of Entry
10/14/2004
