Virtue may be a man's "eternal flame" or "ruling passion"
— Blacklock, Thomas (1721-1791)
Place of Publication
London [etc.]
Publisher
Rivington [etc.]
Date
1801
Metaphor
Virtue may be a man's "eternal flame" or "ruling passion"
Metaphor in Context
DEAR madam, hear a suppliant's pray'r,
And on our bard your censure spare,
Whase bluntness slights ilk trivial care
Of mock decorum:
Since for a bard its unko rare
To look before him.
With joy to praise, with freedom blame,
To ca' folk by their Christian name,
To speak his mind, but fear or shame,
Was at his fashion:
But virtue his eternal flame,
His ruling passion.
This by-past time, as fame reports,
The author's Muse was out of sorts,
And in some freak, perhaps in dorts,
Or ablins spleen:
She paid her visists at the shorts,
An' lang between.
And on our bard your censure spare,
Whase bluntness slights ilk trivial care
Of mock decorum:
Since for a bard its unko rare
To look before him.
With joy to praise, with freedom blame,
To ca' folk by their Christian name,
To speak his mind, but fear or shame,
Was at his fashion:
But virtue his eternal flame,
His ruling passion.
This by-past time, as fame reports,
The author's Muse was out of sorts,
And in some freak, perhaps in dorts,
Or ablins spleen:
She paid her visists at the shorts,
An' lang between.
Provenance
Searching "ruling passion" in HDIS (Restoration and C18)
Theme
Ruling Passion
Date of Entry
05/18/2004
