"Like a beggar at law, whom no barrister blesses, / His mind lacks an agent to plead its distresses; / All his muscles rebel 'gainst judicious controul"

— Williams, John [pseud. Anthony Pasquin] (1754-1818)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
J. Strahan, W. Creech, J. Potts, P. Byrne, and the Author
Date
1786, 1787, 1788; 1789
Metaphor
"Like a beggar at law, whom no barrister blesses, / His mind lacks an agent to plead its distresses; / All his muscles rebel 'gainst judicious controul"
Metaphor in Context
Tho' his strong understanding is blest with profundity,
His face mars its force by a stupid rotundity;
It was form'd to accomplish less amiable uses,
And wine, by a smile, every maid--but the Muses;
Too fastuous for exquisite passion's digression,
Too fair for a hero, too round for expression;
Like a beggar at law, whom no barrister blesses,
His mind lacks an agent to plead its distresses;
All his muscles rebel 'gainst judicious controul
,
And his face gives the lie to a sensible soul.
His fears to do less than enough, never quit him,
His cloaths in the gentleman ne'er seem to fit him:
With rant he too often disgusts the beholders,
And offends by continually writhing his shoulders.
But his faults like the stones of the pavement decay,
When quick dropping springs wear the surface away.

Provenance
Searching "mind" and "barrister" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
Published in parts: the first in 1786, the second in 1787, and the third in 1788. At least 9 entries in ECCO, LION, and ESTC (1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1792).

See The Children of Thespis. A Poem. Part First. (London: Printed by Denew and Grant, No 91, Wardour-Street, Soho; and sold by J. Bew; T. Hookman; and R. Jameson, 1786). <Link to ESTC>

And The Children of Thespis. A Poem. By Anthony Pasquin, Esq. Part the Second. (London: Printed by Denew & Grant; and sold by J. Bew; and J. Strahan, 1787). <Link to ESTC>

And The Children of Thespis. A Poem. By Anthony Pasquin, Esq. Part the Third. (London: Printed for J. Strahan, No. 67, near the Adelphi, Strand, 1788). <Link to ESTC>

Text from Poems: By Anthony Pasquin, 2nd ed. (London: Printed for J. Strahan, No. 67, Near the Adelphi, Strand; W. Creech, Edinburgh; J. Potts, and P. Byrne, Dublin; and the author, [London] No. 125, Strand, 1789). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO><Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
08/24/2005

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