"Ye hallowed Men! / In whom Vice sanctifies, whose Precepts teach / Zeal without Truth, Religion without Virtue, / Who ne'er preach Heav'n but with a downward Eye / That turns your Souls to Dross; who shouting loose / The Dogs of Hell upon us."
— Brooke, Henry (c. 1703-1783)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Dodsley
Date
1739
Metaphor
"Ye hallowed Men! / In whom Vice sanctifies, whose Precepts teach / Zeal without Truth, Religion without Virtue, / Who ne'er preach Heav'n but with a downward Eye / That turns your Souls to Dross; who shouting loose / The Dogs of Hell upon us."
Metaphor in Context
GUSTAVUS.
Yes, I know,
When such as thou with sacrilegious Hand
Seize on the Apostolic Key of Heav'n,
It then becomes a Tool for crafty Knaves
To shut out Virtue, and unfold those Gates,
That Heav'n itself had barr'd against the Lusts
Of Avarice and Ambition--soft, and sweet,
As Looks of Charity, or Voice of Lambs
That bleat upon the Morning, are the Words
Of Christian Meekness! Mission all divine!
The Law of Love sole Mandate--but your Gall,
Ye Swedish Prelacy! Your Gall hath turn'd
The Words of sweet, but indigested Peace,
To Wrath and Bitterness--Ye hallowed Men!
In whom Vice sanctifies, whose Precepts teach
Zeal without Truth, Religion without Virtue,
Who ne'er preach Heav'n but with a downward Eye
That turns your Souls to Dross; who shouting loose
The Dogs of Hell upon us. Thefts, and Rapes,
Sack'd Towns, and midnight Howlings thro' the Realm
Receive your Sanction--O 'tis glorious Mischief!
When Vice turns holy, puts Religion on,
Assumes the Robe pontifical, the Eye
Of saintly Elevation, blesseth Sin,
And makes the Seal of sweet offended Heav'n
A Sign of Blood, a Label for Decrees,
That Hell wou'd shrink to own.--
(p. 62)
Yes, I know,
When such as thou with sacrilegious Hand
Seize on the Apostolic Key of Heav'n,
It then becomes a Tool for crafty Knaves
To shut out Virtue, and unfold those Gates,
That Heav'n itself had barr'd against the Lusts
Of Avarice and Ambition--soft, and sweet,
As Looks of Charity, or Voice of Lambs
That bleat upon the Morning, are the Words
Of Christian Meekness! Mission all divine!
The Law of Love sole Mandate--but your Gall,
Ye Swedish Prelacy! Your Gall hath turn'd
The Words of sweet, but indigested Peace,
To Wrath and Bitterness--Ye hallowed Men!
In whom Vice sanctifies, whose Precepts teach
Zeal without Truth, Religion without Virtue,
Who ne'er preach Heav'n but with a downward Eye
That turns your Souls to Dross; who shouting loose
The Dogs of Hell upon us. Thefts, and Rapes,
Sack'd Towns, and midnight Howlings thro' the Realm
Receive your Sanction--O 'tis glorious Mischief!
When Vice turns holy, puts Religion on,
Assumes the Robe pontifical, the Eye
Of saintly Elevation, blesseth Sin,
And makes the Seal of sweet offended Heav'n
A Sign of Blood, a Label for Decrees,
That Hell wou'd shrink to own.--
(p. 62)
Categories
Provenance
LION
Citation
21 entries in the ESTC (1739, 1753, 1761, 1763, 1773, 1778, 1780, 1791, 1792, 1794, 1796).
Gustavus Vasa, the Deliverer of His Country. A Tragedy. As It Was to Have Been Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane. by Henry Brooke (London: Printed for R. Dodsley, 1739). <Link to ESTC>
Gustavus Vasa, the Deliverer of His Country. A Tragedy. As It Was to Have Been Acted at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane. by Henry Brooke (London: Printed for R. Dodsley, 1739). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
09/16/2013
