"What though Astrea decks my soul in gold, / My mortal lumber trembles with the cold;"

— Chatterton, Thomas (1752-1770)


Date
1803
Metaphor
"What though Astrea decks my soul in gold, / My mortal lumber trembles with the cold;"
Metaphor in Context
Interest, thou universal god of men,
Wait on the couplet and reprove the pen;
If aught unwelcome to thy ears shall rise,
Hold jails and famine to the poet's eyes,
Bid satire sheathe her sharp avenging steel,
And lose a number rather than a meal.
Nay, prithee, honour, do not make us mad,
When I am hungry something must be had:
Can honest consciousness of doing right
Provide a dinner or a bed at night?
What though Astrea decks my soul in gold,
My mortal lumber trembles with the cold;

Then, cursed tormentor of my peace, begone!
Flattery's a cloak, and I will put it on.
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Chatterton, Thomas, Joseph Cottle, Robert Southey, and G. Gregory. The Works of Thomas Chatterton. London: T.N. Longman and O. Rees, 1803.
Date of Entry
05/31/2005

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.