"Like to the head o'er which infection reigns, / That soon pollutes the blood in distant veins; / E'en so ill precepts will their poison spread / Among inferiors, when by greatness led."
— Bennet, John (fl. 1774-1796)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
Oxford
Publisher
Mess. Prince, Fletcher and Parker ... and by the author
Date
1774
Metaphor
"Like to the head o'er which infection reigns, / That soon pollutes the blood in distant veins; / E'en so ill precepts will their poison spread / Among inferiors, when by greatness led."
Metaphor in Context
Like to the head o'er which infection reigns,
That soon pollutes the blood in distant veins;
E'en so ill precepts will their poison spread
Among inferiors, when by greatness led.
They, tho' in midst of pray'r, sin to atone,
And begging blessings from a gracious throne:
Should but the clatt'ring chaise Sir John convey,
Or should his Grace or Lordship pass this way,
Would leave Religion, cease t'adore their God,
Nor heed the smart of his avenging rod.
That soon pollutes the blood in distant veins;
E'en so ill precepts will their poison spread
Among inferiors, when by greatness led.
They, tho' in midst of pray'r, sin to atone,
And begging blessings from a gracious throne:
Should but the clatt'ring chaise Sir John convey,
Or should his Grace or Lordship pass this way,
Would leave Religion, cease t'adore their God,
Nor heed the smart of his avenging rod.
Categories
Provenance
Reading in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
John Bennet, Poems on Several Occasions (Oxford: Mess. Prince, Fletcher and Parker ... and by the author, 1774). Cambridge: Chadwyck-Healey English Poetry Full-Text Database, 1992.
Date of Entry
05/09/2011
