Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley [née Lady Mary Pierrepont] (1689-1762)

Irregular Verses to Truth. Written at Fourteen Years of Age

w. 1703?

"Descend, O Goddess, to my breast; / There thou may'st reign, unrivall'd and alone, / My thoughts thy subjects, and my heart thy throne."

Where, lovely Goddess, dost thou dwell?
    In what remote and silent shade?
    Within what cave or lonely cell?
With what old hermit, or unpractis'd maid?
    In vain I've sought thee all around,
    But thy unfashionable sound
       In crowds was never heard,
Nor ever has thy form in town or court appear'd.
    The sanctuary is not safe to thee,
    Chas'd thence by endless mystery;
    Thy own professors chase thee thence,
  And wage eternal war with thee and sense;
    Then in perplexing comments lost,
E'en when they would be thought to show the most.
    Most beautiful when most distress'd,
    Descend, O Goddess, to my breast;
There thou may'st reign, unrivall'd and alone,
My thoughts thy subjects, and my heart thy throne.

Government::Throne Government::Rule and Subjection::Rule of Truth Population::Subjects

Searching "throne" and "heart" in HDIS (Poetry)

Text from Prose and Poetry of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu. Electronic Text Center, University of Virginia. [This e-text edition of works of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu derives from the 1861 Moy Thomas revision of Lord Wharncliffe's edition of 1837].

08/07/2004

04/14/2009