"Conscious the mortal stamp is on thy breast."
— Seward, Anna (1742-1809)
Author
Date
w. October, 1796; 1810
Metaphor
"Conscious the mortal stamp is on thy breast."
Metaphor in Context
Conscious the mortal stamp is on thy breast,
O, Erskine! still an equal mind maintain,
That wild Ambition ne'er may goad thy rest,
Nor Fortune's smile awake thy triumph vain,
Whether thro' toilsome tho' renowned years
'Tis thine to trace the law's perplexing maze,
Or win the Sacred Seals, whose awful cares
To high decrees devote thy honour'd days.
O, Erskine! still an equal mind maintain,
That wild Ambition ne'er may goad thy rest,
Nor Fortune's smile awake thy triumph vain,
Whether thro' toilsome tho' renowned years
'Tis thine to trace the law's perplexing maze,
Or win the Sacred Seals, whose awful cares
To high decrees devote thy honour'd days.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "stamp" and "breast" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Text from The Poetical Works of Anna Seward; with Extracts from Her Literary Correspondence. ed. Walter Scott. 3 vols. (Edinburgh: Printed by James Ballantyne and Co. for John Ballantyne and Co., 1810).
Date of Entry
04/11/2005
