"Try, thou State-Juggler, ev'ry paltry art, / Ransack the inmost closet of my heart / Swear Thou'rt my Friend; by that base oath make way / Into my breast, and flatter to betray."
— Churchill, Charles (1731-1764)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for W. Flexney
Date
1763
Metaphor
"Try, thou State-Juggler, ev'ry paltry art, / Ransack the inmost closet of my heart / Swear Thou'rt my Friend; by that base oath make way / Into my breast, and flatter to betray."
Metaphor in Context
With laurell'd wreaths the flatt'rer's brows adorn,
Bid Virtue crouch, bid Vice exalt her horn,
Bid Cowards thrive, put honesty to flight,
MURPHY shall prove, or try to prove it right.
Try, thou State-Juggler, ev'ry paltry art,
Ransack the inmost closet of my heart,
Swear Thou'rt my Friend; by that base oath make way
Into my breast, and flatter to betray;
Or, if those tricks are vain, if wholesome doubt
Detects the fraud, and points the Villain out,
Bribe those who daily at my board are fed,
And make them take my life who eat my bread;
On Authors for defence, for praise depend;
Pay him but well, and MURPHY is thy friend.
(p. 13)
Bid Virtue crouch, bid Vice exalt her horn,
Bid Cowards thrive, put honesty to flight,
MURPHY shall prove, or try to prove it right.
Try, thou State-Juggler, ev'ry paltry art,
Ransack the inmost closet of my heart,
Swear Thou'rt my Friend; by that base oath make way
Into my breast, and flatter to betray;
Or, if those tricks are vain, if wholesome doubt
Detects the fraud, and points the Villain out,
Bribe those who daily at my board are fed,
And make them take my life who eat my bread;
On Authors for defence, for praise depend;
Pay him but well, and MURPHY is thy friend.
(p. 13)
Categories
Provenance
Reading; text from Google Books
Citation
Charles Churchill, The Author (London: Printed for W. Flexney, 1763). <Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
09/06/2011
