"Fair truth shall chase th' unreal Forms away; / And Reason's piercing Beam restore the Day."
— Anonymous
Author
Date
December 9-11, 1766
Metaphor
"Fair truth shall chase th' unreal Forms away; / And Reason's piercing Beam restore the Day."
Metaphor in Context
Rousseau be firm! tho' Malice like Voltaire,
And supercilious Pride, like d'Alembert,
Though mad Presumption W--le's form assume,
And base born Treachery appear like H--e,
Yet droop not thou, these Spectres gathering round,
These night-drawn Phantoms want the power to wound:
Fair truth shall chase th' unreal Forms away;
And Reason's piercing Beam restore the Day;
Britain shall snatch the Exile to her Breast,
And conscious Virtue soothe his Soul to rest.
And supercilious Pride, like d'Alembert,
Though mad Presumption W--le's form assume,
And base born Treachery appear like H--e,
Yet droop not thou, these Spectres gathering round,
These night-drawn Phantoms want the power to wound:
Fair truth shall chase th' unreal Forms away;
And Reason's piercing Beam restore the Day;
Britain shall snatch the Exile to her Breast,
And conscious Virtue soothe his Soul to rest.
Categories
Provenance
Reading David Edmond's and John Eidinow's Rousseau's Dog (New York: Harper Perennial, 2007), 213. See also Maurice Cranston's The Solitary Self (U of Chicago Press, 1997), p. 169.
Citation
See St. James's Chronicle or the British Evening Post (London: December 9-11, 1766), Poet's Corner. <Link to Burney Collection Newspapers>
Date of Entry
01/11/2014
