"So, gold, pernicious in its nature, may, / By souls, like yours, be bent a nobler way:/ Thus, as the needle, by magnetic force, / Once touch'd, still, to the magnet guides its course. / Trembling, while wand'ring thence, and finds no rest, / 'Till clasp'd, and fastened, to its darling breast."
— Hill, Aaron (1685-1750)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the Benefit of the Family
Date
1753
Metaphor
"So, gold, pernicious in its nature, may, / By souls, like yours, be bent a nobler way:/ Thus, as the needle, by magnetic force, / Once touch'd, still, to the magnet guides its course. / Trembling, while wand'ring thence, and finds no rest, / 'Till clasp'd, and fastened, to its darling breast."
Metaphor in Context
Damon.
All your strong arguments no proof produce,
Of gold's intrinsic value, but its use!
Your generous soul, your friends would entertain,
And general bliss, with wide-spread aids, maintain;
Call forth dim virtue, on the world to shine!
'Tis great! 'tis wond'rous great! 'tis all divine!
But still, Philemon, this sublime delight,
Springs not from gold's access, but from its flight!
You praise the use, yet cannot bear the sight.
Shou'd villains aid me, some worse foe to kill,
I'd love the act, but hate the villain, still!
I'd prize a truth, sent in the Devil's name,
But still abhor that Devil, from whom it came.
So, gold, pernicious in its nature, may,
By souls, like yours, be bent a nobler way:
Thus, as the needle, by magnetic force,
Once touch'd, still, to the magnet guides its course.
Trembling, while wand'ring thence, and finds no rest,
'Till clasp'd, and fastened, to its darling breast.
So, tho' our thoughts, on diff'rent points, design,
Meeting, at last, we, in one center, join,
And, in the union, lose the terms of mine and thine.
All your strong arguments no proof produce,
Of gold's intrinsic value, but its use!
Your generous soul, your friends would entertain,
And general bliss, with wide-spread aids, maintain;
Call forth dim virtue, on the world to shine!
'Tis great! 'tis wond'rous great! 'tis all divine!
But still, Philemon, this sublime delight,
Springs not from gold's access, but from its flight!
You praise the use, yet cannot bear the sight.
Shou'd villains aid me, some worse foe to kill,
I'd love the act, but hate the villain, still!
I'd prize a truth, sent in the Devil's name,
But still abhor that Devil, from whom it came.
So, gold, pernicious in its nature, may,
By souls, like yours, be bent a nobler way:
Thus, as the needle, by magnetic force,
Once touch'd, still, to the magnet guides its course.
Trembling, while wand'ring thence, and finds no rest,
'Till clasp'd, and fastened, to its darling breast.
So, tho' our thoughts, on diff'rent points, design,
Meeting, at last, we, in one center, join,
And, in the union, lose the terms of mine and thine.
Categories
Provenance
Searching HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
2 entries in ESTC (1753, 1754).
Text from The Works of the Late Aaron Hill, Esq; in Four Volumes. Consisting of Letters on Various Subjects, and of Original Poems, Moral and Facetious. With an Essay on the Art of Acting. (London: Printed for the benefit of the family, 1753). <Link to ESTC>
Text from The Works of the Late Aaron Hill, Esq; in Four Volumes. Consisting of Letters on Various Subjects, and of Original Poems, Moral and Facetious. With an Essay on the Art of Acting. (London: Printed for the benefit of the family, 1753). <Link to ESTC>
Theme
Magnetism
Date of Entry
05/31/2005
