"O Gold! thou pois'nous dross, whose subtile pow'r / Can change men's souls, or captive take the will."
— Robinson [Née Darby], Mary [Perdita] (1758-1800)
Place of Publication
London
Date
1799, 1806
Metaphor
"O Gold! thou pois'nous dross, whose subtile pow'r / Can change men's souls, or captive take the will."
Metaphor in Context
O Gold! thou pois'nous dross, whose subtile pow'r
Can change men's souls, or captive take the will;
Thou, whose fell potency can save or kill,
Illume or darken life's precarious hour.
Thou tipp'st the leaves of fancy's fairest flow'r
With glitt'ring drops: it feels the numbing spell
Creep through each fibre slow; while ev'ry ill
Of sordid mis'ry blossoms to devour.
The bland and lustrous morn of mental grace
Thy touch contaminates: thy sev'ring force
Breaks friendship's charm; bids honour's wreath decay;
Tears the pure blush of love from beauty's face;
Arms bold oppression in her ruthless course:
While the wide groaning world feels thy destructive sway.
(I, pp. 242-243 in 1799 printing)
Can change men's souls, or captive take the will;
Thou, whose fell potency can save or kill,
Illume or darken life's precarious hour.
Thou tipp'st the leaves of fancy's fairest flow'r
With glitt'ring drops: it feels the numbing spell
Creep through each fibre slow; while ev'ry ill
Of sordid mis'ry blossoms to devour.
The bland and lustrous morn of mental grace
Thy touch contaminates: thy sev'ring force
Breaks friendship's charm; bids honour's wreath decay;
Tears the pure blush of love from beauty's face;
Arms bold oppression in her ruthless course:
While the wide groaning world feels thy destructive sway.
(I, pp. 242-243 in 1799 printing)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Text from The Poetical Works of the Late Mrs Mary Robinson: Including Many Pieces Never Before Published. 3 vols. (London: Printed for Richard Phillips, 1806). <Link to vol. I in Google Books><Vol. II><Vol. III>
See also The Natural Daughter. With Portraits of the Leadenhead Family. A Novel. By Mrs. Robinson, Author of Poems, Walsingham, the False Friend, &c. &c. 2 vols. (London: 1799). <Link to ECCO>
See also The Natural Daughter. With Portraits of the Leadenhead Family. A Novel. By Mrs. Robinson, Author of Poems, Walsingham, the False Friend, &c. &c. 2 vols. (London: 1799). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
07/19/2005
