"By Him instructed, even the meanest Prince / Shall rise to envy'd Greatness, shall advance / His dreaded Pow'r above Restraint and Fear, / And all the Rules, that in fantastick Chains / Inferior Minds confine."
— West, Gilbert (1703-1756)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Dodsley
Date
1742
Metaphor
"By Him instructed, even the meanest Prince / Shall rise to envy'd Greatness, shall advance / His dreaded Pow'r above Restraint and Fear, / And all the Rules, that in fantastick Chains / Inferior Minds confine."
Metaphor in Context
POLITICIAN
Well has thy sovereign Wisdom, Royal Judge,
The Suit refus'd of these Pretenders vain,
And, by rejecting them, embolden'd Me.
For Valour, and Nobility and Wealth,
Though by their proud Possessors vaunted high,
Are but subordinate, the Slaves and Tools,
Not the Companions, and the Counsellors
Of Godlike Monarchy; whose awful Throne
By darksome Clouds envelop'd, far beyond
The Ken of vulgar Eyes, supported stands
On that deep-rooted Prop, the Craft of State,
Mysterious Policy.--Who best hath learn'd
Her wily Lessons, best deserves to share
The Honours, Counsels, and the Hearts of Kings.
By Him instructed, even the meanest Prince
Shall rise to envy'd Greatness, shall advance
His dreaded Pow'r above Restraint and Fear,
And all the Rules, that in fantastick Chains
Inferior Minds confine. Thus Milan's Dukes,
Thus Padoua's Lords above their Country's Laws
Have rais'd their Heads, and trampled to the Dust
The Pride of Freedom, that essays in vain
Their high, superior Genius to controul.
These were my Masters, mighty Prince; beneath
Their Rule, and in their Councils was I form'd
To know the false corrupted Heart of Man,
His every Weakness, every Vice, and thence
To tempt, or break his Passions to the Yoke:
To scorn the Publick as an empty Name,
And on the helpless Multitude impose
The Adamantine Bonds of Fraud and Force.
(pp. 40-1)
Well has thy sovereign Wisdom, Royal Judge,
The Suit refus'd of these Pretenders vain,
And, by rejecting them, embolden'd Me.
For Valour, and Nobility and Wealth,
Though by their proud Possessors vaunted high,
Are but subordinate, the Slaves and Tools,
Not the Companions, and the Counsellors
Of Godlike Monarchy; whose awful Throne
By darksome Clouds envelop'd, far beyond
The Ken of vulgar Eyes, supported stands
On that deep-rooted Prop, the Craft of State,
Mysterious Policy.--Who best hath learn'd
Her wily Lessons, best deserves to share
The Honours, Counsels, and the Hearts of Kings.
By Him instructed, even the meanest Prince
Shall rise to envy'd Greatness, shall advance
His dreaded Pow'r above Restraint and Fear,
And all the Rules, that in fantastick Chains
Inferior Minds confine. Thus Milan's Dukes,
Thus Padoua's Lords above their Country's Laws
Have rais'd their Heads, and trampled to the Dust
The Pride of Freedom, that essays in vain
Their high, superior Genius to controul.
These were my Masters, mighty Prince; beneath
Their Rule, and in their Councils was I form'd
To know the false corrupted Heart of Man,
His every Weakness, every Vice, and thence
To tempt, or break his Passions to the Yoke:
To scorn the Publick as an empty Name,
And on the helpless Multitude impose
The Adamantine Bonds of Fraud and Force.
(pp. 40-1)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" and "chains" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Only 1 entry in ESTC (1742).
See The Institution of the Order of the Garter. A Dramatick Poem (London: Printed for R. Dodsley, 1742). <Link to ESTC>
See The Institution of the Order of the Garter. A Dramatick Poem (London: Printed for R. Dodsley, 1742). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
07/20/2011
