"'Tis Power's supreme prerogative to stamp / On others' minds an image of its own"
— Young, Edward (bap. 1683, d. 1765)
Place of Publication
London
Date
1743, 1745
Metaphor
"'Tis Power's supreme prerogative to stamp / On others' minds an image of its own"
Metaphor in Context
Nor shall or Europe or Britannia blame
Thine absent ear, but gain by the delay.
Long versed in senates and in cabinets,
States' intricate demands and high debates,
As thou of use to those, so this to thee;
And in a point that empire far outweighs,
That far outweighs all Europe's thrones in one.
Let Greatness prove its title to be great:
'Tis Power's supreme prerogative to stamp
On others' minds an image of its own.
Bend the strong influence of high place, to stem
The stream that sweeps away thy country's weal;
The Stygian stream, the torrent of our guilt.
Far as thou mayst, give life to Virtue's cause.
Let not the ties of personal regard
Betray the nation's trusts to feeble hands:
Let not fomented flames of private pique
Prey on the vitals of the public good:
Let not our streets with blasphemies resound,
Nor Lewdness whisper where the laws can reach:
Let not best laws, the wisdom of our sires,
Turn satires on their sunk, degenerate sons,
The bastards of their blood, and serve no point
But with more emphasis to call them fools:
Let not our rank enormities unhinge
Britannia's welfare from Divine support.
Thine absent ear, but gain by the delay.
Long versed in senates and in cabinets,
States' intricate demands and high debates,
As thou of use to those, so this to thee;
And in a point that empire far outweighs,
That far outweighs all Europe's thrones in one.
Let Greatness prove its title to be great:
'Tis Power's supreme prerogative to stamp
On others' minds an image of its own.
Bend the strong influence of high place, to stem
The stream that sweeps away thy country's weal;
The Stygian stream, the torrent of our guilt.
Far as thou mayst, give life to Virtue's cause.
Let not the ties of personal regard
Betray the nation's trusts to feeble hands:
Let not fomented flames of private pique
Prey on the vitals of the public good:
Let not our streets with blasphemies resound,
Nor Lewdness whisper where the laws can reach:
Let not best laws, the wisdom of our sires,
Turn satires on their sunk, degenerate sons,
The bastards of their blood, and serve no point
But with more emphasis to call them fools:
Let not our rank enormities unhinge
Britannia's welfare from Divine support.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "stamp" and "mind" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Searching in ECCO and ESTC (1743, 1745, 1774, 1777, 1778, 1784, 1790, 1795).
Also titled "Some Thoughts, Occasioned by the Present Juncture: Humbly Inscribed to His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State," in The Consolation (London: G. Hawkins, 1745).
Text from The Complete Works, Poetry and Prose, of the Rev. Edward Young, LL.D., Formerly Rector of Welwyn, Hertfordshire, &c. Revised and Collated With the Earliest Editions. To Which Is Prefixed, a Life of the Author, by John Doran, LL.D. With Eight Illustrations on Steel, and a Portrait. 2 vols. (London: William Tegg and Co., 1854).
Also titled "Some Thoughts, Occasioned by the Present Juncture: Humbly Inscribed to His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, One of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State," in The Consolation (London: G. Hawkins, 1745).
Text from The Complete Works, Poetry and Prose, of the Rev. Edward Young, LL.D., Formerly Rector of Welwyn, Hertfordshire, &c. Revised and Collated With the Earliest Editions. To Which Is Prefixed, a Life of the Author, by John Doran, LL.D. With Eight Illustrations on Steel, and a Portrait. 2 vols. (London: William Tegg and Co., 1854).
Date of Entry
04/07/2005
