"Deceiving gold was once my only toy, / With it my soul within the coffer lay"
— Chatterton, Thomas (1752-1770)
Work Title
Date
1789
Metaphor
"Deceiving gold was once my only toy, / With it my soul within the coffer lay"
Metaphor in Context
Sprite of Segowen
speaks.
Deceiving gold was once my only toy,
With it my soul within the coffer lay,
It did the mastery of my life employ,
By night my mistress, and my jub by day.
Once, as I dozing in the witch-hour lay,
Thinking how best to filch the orphan's bread,
And from the helpless take their goods away,
I from the skyën heard a voice, which said:
"Thou sleepest; but lo! Satan is awake,
Some deed that's holy do, or he thy soul will take."
speaks.
Deceiving gold was once my only toy,
With it my soul within the coffer lay,
It did the mastery of my life employ,
By night my mistress, and my jub by day.
Once, as I dozing in the witch-hour lay,
Thinking how best to filch the orphan's bread,
And from the helpless take their goods away,
I from the skyën heard a voice, which said:
"Thou sleepest; but lo! Satan is awake,
Some deed that's holy do, or he thy soul will take."
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Barrett, William. The history and antiquities of the City of Bristol; ... illustrated with copper-plate prints.…. Bristol, [1789]. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale. University of Virginia Library. 18 Feb. 2009
Date of Entry
05/31/2005
