"But if a youth is once inspir'd, he'll find / He cannot void the poison from his mind; / No more than could the fish when snared withdraw / The crooked steel from his tormented jaw."
— Duncombe, John (1729-1786) [Editor]
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Triphook
Date
1809
Metaphor
"But if a youth is once inspir'd, he'll find / He cannot void the poison from his mind; / No more than could the fish when snared withdraw / The crooked steel from his tormented jaw."
Metaphor in Context
I to the fable lent a list'ning ear,
And thus began; when I both see and hear
The various arts of fishers, and survey
How they the fish deceitfully betray,
Reflect I must with equal grief and truth;
That the same arts deceive unwary youth,
The snares, of old for fish alone design'd,
Are now employ'd to captivate mankind;
Man catches man, and by the bait betrays
With proffer'd kindness, or, still cunning, lays
Nets to entrap th' unwary, and embroils
Cities and towns to profit from the spoils.
For you, dear youths, soft pleasure lies in wait,
And hides her hook beneath a honey'd bait,
But all her treach'rous gifts will only gain
For a short joy a lasting load of pain.
Here when the bait allures the fish to taste
The transient pleasure of a sweet repast,
You see for this how dearly he must pay;
Life is the purchase, and himself the prey.
Thus soft allurements serve to varnish o'er
The frauds of pleasure, unperceiv'd before;
But if a youth is once inspir'd, he'll find
He cannot void the poison from his mind;
No more than could the fish when snar'd withdraw
The crooked steel from his tormented jaw;
While lasting grief for short delights he gains,
Still rues his transient joys with ever-during pains.
And thus began; when I both see and hear
The various arts of fishers, and survey
How they the fish deceitfully betray,
Reflect I must with equal grief and truth;
That the same arts deceive unwary youth,
The snares, of old for fish alone design'd,
Are now employ'd to captivate mankind;
Man catches man, and by the bait betrays
With proffer'd kindness, or, still cunning, lays
Nets to entrap th' unwary, and embroils
Cities and towns to profit from the spoils.
For you, dear youths, soft pleasure lies in wait,
And hides her hook beneath a honey'd bait,
But all her treach'rous gifts will only gain
For a short joy a lasting load of pain.
Here when the bait allures the fish to taste
The transient pleasure of a sweet repast,
You see for this how dearly he must pay;
Life is the purchase, and himself the prey.
Thus soft allurements serve to varnish o'er
The frauds of pleasure, unperceiv'd before;
But if a youth is once inspir'd, he'll find
He cannot void the poison from his mind;
No more than could the fish when snar'd withdraw
The crooked steel from his tormented jaw;
While lasting grief for short delights he gains,
Still rues his transient joys with ever-during pains.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" and "fish" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Text from Fishing: a Translation from the Latin of Vaniere (London: Printed for R. Triphook, 1809)
Date of Entry
07/06/2012
