"Sadly he says, that pity is the best, / The noblest passion of the human breast: / For when its sacred streams the heart o'erflow, / In gushes pleasure with the tide of woe; / And when its waves retire, like those of Nile, / They leave behind them such a golden soil, / That there the virtues without culture grow, / There the sweet blossoms of affection blow."
— Home, John (1722-1808)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
Edinburgh
Publisher
Printed for G. Hamilton
Date
Performed Dec 1756, published 1757
Metaphor
"Sadly he says, that pity is the best, / The noblest passion of the human breast: / For when its sacred streams the heart o'erflow, / In gushes pleasure with the tide of woe; / And when its waves retire, like those of Nile, / They leave behind them such a golden soil, / That there the virtues without culture grow, / There the sweet blossoms of affection blow."
Metaphor in Context
EPILOGUE.
An Epilogue I ask'd; but not one word
Our bard will write. He vows, 'tis most absurd
With comic wit to contradict the strain
Of tragedy, and make your sorrows vain.
Sadly he says, that pity is the best,
The noblest passion of the human breast:
For when its sacred streams the heart o'erflow,
In gushes pleasure with the tide of woe;
And when its waves retire, like those of Nile,
They leave behind them such a golden soil,
That there the virtues without culture grow,
There the sweet blossoms of affection blow.
These were his words:---void of delusive art
I felt them; for he spoke them from his heart.
Nor will I now attempt, with witty folly,
To chase away celestial melancholy.
An Epilogue I ask'd; but not one word
Our bard will write. He vows, 'tis most absurd
With comic wit to contradict the strain
Of tragedy, and make your sorrows vain.
Sadly he says, that pity is the best,
The noblest passion of the human breast:
For when its sacred streams the heart o'erflow,
In gushes pleasure with the tide of woe;
And when its waves retire, like those of Nile,
They leave behind them such a golden soil,
That there the virtues without culture grow,
There the sweet blossoms of affection blow.
These were his words:---void of delusive art
I felt them; for he spoke them from his heart.
Nor will I now attempt, with witty folly,
To chase away celestial melancholy.
Categories
Provenance
C-H Lion
Citation
At least 10 entries in ESTC (1757, 1764, 1768, 769, 1770, 1773, 1775).
Douglas: A Tragedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Covent-Garden (Edinburgh: Printed for G. Hamilton, 1757). <Link to ESTC>
Douglas: A Tragedy. As it is Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Covent-Garden (Edinburgh: Printed for G. Hamilton, 1757). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
06/28/2013
