"Kindness can woo the Lion from his den, / A moral teaching to the sons of men; / His mighty heart in silken bonds can draw, / And bend his nature to sweet Pity's law."
— Pratt, Samuel Jackson [pseud. Courtney Melmoth] (1749-1814)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by Whittingham and Rowland ... for Sharpe and Hailes [etc.]
Date
1810
Metaphor
"Kindness can woo the Lion from his den, / A moral teaching to the sons of men; / His mighty heart in silken bonds can draw, / And bend his nature to sweet Pity's law."
Metaphor in Context
Yet, haply, custom, searing up thy mind,
Ne'er hast thou felt the charm of being kind.
Kindness can woo the Lion from his den,
A moral teaching to the sons of men;
His mighty heart in silken bonds can draw,
And bend his nature to sweet Pity's law.
Kindness can lure the Eagle from her nest,
Midst sunbeams plac'd, content with man to rest:
Can make the Elephant, whose bulk supplies
The warrior tower, compassionate, as wise:
Make the fell Tigress, from her chain unbound,
Herself unfed, her craving offspring round,--
Forget the force of hunger and of blood,
Meekly receive from man her long-wish'd food;
Take, too, the chastisement, and if 'tis just,
Submissive take it, crouching to the dust.
Kindness can habit, nay, can nature change,
Of all that swim the deep or forest range.
And for the mild, domestic train, who come--
The Dog--the Steed--with thee to find a home;
Gladly they serve thee, serve thee better too,
When only happy beings meet the view:
Ah! then let gentler accents, gentler looks supply
The thunders of thy voice, and lightnings of thine eye.
Ne'er hast thou felt the charm of being kind.
Kindness can woo the Lion from his den,
A moral teaching to the sons of men;
His mighty heart in silken bonds can draw,
And bend his nature to sweet Pity's law.
Kindness can lure the Eagle from her nest,
Midst sunbeams plac'd, content with man to rest:
Can make the Elephant, whose bulk supplies
The warrior tower, compassionate, as wise:
Make the fell Tigress, from her chain unbound,
Herself unfed, her craving offspring round,--
Forget the force of hunger and of blood,
Meekly receive from man her long-wish'd food;
Take, too, the chastisement, and if 'tis just,
Submissive take it, crouching to the dust.
Kindness can habit, nay, can nature change,
Of all that swim the deep or forest range.
And for the mild, domestic train, who come--
The Dog--the Steed--with thee to find a home;
Gladly they serve thee, serve thee better too,
When only happy beings meet the view:
Ah! then let gentler accents, gentler looks supply
The thunders of thy voice, and lightnings of thine eye.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "bond" and "heart" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Samuel Jackson Pratt, The Lower World (London: Whittingham and Rowland, 1810). <Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
01/06/2012
