"There fawning flatt'ry wins its way, / There the base passions join the fray, / Like beasts that on each other prey; / While the smile hides each trait'rous heart, / And interest plays a Proteus part."
— Combe, William (1742 -1823)
Author
Work Title
Date
1809, 1812
Metaphor
"There fawning flatt'ry wins its way, / There the base passions join the fray, / Like beasts that on each other prey; / While the smile hides each trait'rous heart, / And interest plays a Proteus part."
Metaphor in Context
My Lord.--
"Patient, my learned Doctor, hear;
And to my counsels give an ear:
I long have known, and known too well,
The country where you wish to dwell.
Corruption, fraud, and envy wait
At the proud Statesman's crowded gate;
There fawning flatt'ry wins its way,
There the base passions join the fray,
Like beasts that on each other prey;
While the smile hides each trait'rous heart,
And interest plays a Proteus part.
"Patient, my learned Doctor, hear;
And to my counsels give an ear:
I long have known, and known too well,
The country where you wish to dwell.
Corruption, fraud, and envy wait
At the proud Statesman's crowded gate;
There fawning flatt'ry wins its way,
There the base passions join the fray,
Like beasts that on each other prey;
While the smile hides each trait'rous heart,
And interest plays a Proteus part.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "passion" and "beast" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Serialized in The Poetical Magazine, from 1809. First published in a single volume by Ackermann in 1812
Text from 1869 edition of the Three Tours. See also The Three Tours of Doctor Syntax (London: A. Murray, 1871). <Link to Hathi Trust>
Text from 1869 edition of the Three Tours. See also The Three Tours of Doctor Syntax (London: A. Murray, 1871). <Link to Hathi Trust>
Date of Entry
07/03/2012
