"Blind fortune that bestows / The perishable toys of wealth and pow'r, / At random oft resumes them, pleas'd to make / An hurricane of life: but the firm mind / Safe on exalted virtue reigns sedate, / Superior to the giddy whirls of fate."
— Fenton, Elijah (1683-1730)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Tonson
Date
February 22, 1723
Metaphor
"Blind fortune that bestows / The perishable toys of wealth and pow'r, / At random oft resumes them, pleas'd to make / An hurricane of life: but the firm mind / Safe on exalted virtue reigns sedate, / Superior to the giddy whirls of fate."
Metaphor in Context
MARIAMNE
Poor Arsinoe!
My favours shall deface the memory
Of past afflictions: on a soul secure
In native innocence, or grief or joy
Shou'd make no deeper prints than air retains;
Where fleet alike the vulture and the dove,
And leave no trace. Blind fortune that bestows
The perishable toys of wealth and pow'r,
At random oft resumes them, pleas'd to make
An hurricane of life: but the firm mind
Safe on exalted virtue reigns sedate,
Superior to the giddy whirls of fate.
(p. 12)
Poor Arsinoe!
My favours shall deface the memory
Of past afflictions: on a soul secure
In native innocence, or grief or joy
Shou'd make no deeper prints than air retains;
Where fleet alike the vulture and the dove,
And leave no trace. Blind fortune that bestows
The perishable toys of wealth and pow'r,
At random oft resumes them, pleas'd to make
An hurricane of life: but the firm mind
Safe on exalted virtue reigns sedate,
Superior to the giddy whirls of fate.
(p. 12)
Categories
Provenance
LION
Citation
First performed February 22, 1723. Over 16 entries in the ESTC (1723, 1726, 1728, 1735, 1745, 1759, 1760, 1768, 1774, 1777, 1781, 1794).
Mariamne. A Tragedy. Acted at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. Written by Mr. Fenton (London: Printed for J. Tonson, 1723). <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Mariamne. A Tragedy. Acted at the Theatre Royal in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. Written by Mr. Fenton (London: Printed for J. Tonson, 1723). <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Date of Entry
08/20/2013
