"Some few there are of sordid mould, / Who barter youth and bloom for gold; / Careless with what, or whom they mate, / Their ruling passion's all for state."
— Cotton, Nathaniel, the elder (1705-1788)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for R. Dodsley
Date
1751, 1791
Metaphor
"Some few there are of sordid mould, / Who barter youth and bloom for gold; / Careless with what, or whom they mate, / Their ruling passion's all for state."
Metaphor in Context
Some few there are of sordid mould,
Who barter youth and bloom for gold;
Careless with what, or whom they mate,
Their ruling passion's all for state.
But Hymen, gen'rous, just, and kind,
Abhors the mercenary mind:
Such rebels groan beneath his rod,
For Hymen's a vindictive god;
Be joyless ev'ry night, he said,
And barren be their nuptial bed.
(Cf. p. 86 in 1751 ed.)
Who barter youth and bloom for gold;
Careless with what, or whom they mate,
Their ruling passion's all for state.
But Hymen, gen'rous, just, and kind,
Abhors the mercenary mind:
Such rebels groan beneath his rod,
For Hymen's a vindictive god;
Be joyless ev'ry night, he said,
And barren be their nuptial bed.
(Cf. p. 86 in 1751 ed.)
Provenance
Searching "ruling passion" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
At least 20 entries in ESTC (1751, 1752, 1753, 1755, 1760, 1767, 1771, 1776, 1781, 1782, 1786, 1787, 1790, 1794, 1798).
Text from Various Pieces in Verse and Prose, 2 vols. (London: J. Dodsley, 1791). <Link to Google Books>
See also Nathaniel Cotton, Visions in Verse, for the Entertainment and Instruction of Younger Minds. 2nd edition (London: Printed for R. Dodsley in Pall-Mall; and Sold by M. Cooper, at the Globe in Pater-Noster Row, 1751). <Link to ECCO><Link to 2nd edition>
See also Visions in Verse: For the Entertainment and Instruction of Younger Minds. A New Edition. (London: J. Dodsley, 1790). <Link to Google Books>
The revised and enlarged 3rd edition adds a new, ninth vision: "Death. Vision the Last"
Text from Various Pieces in Verse and Prose, 2 vols. (London: J. Dodsley, 1791). <Link to Google Books>
See also Nathaniel Cotton, Visions in Verse, for the Entertainment and Instruction of Younger Minds. 2nd edition (London: Printed for R. Dodsley in Pall-Mall; and Sold by M. Cooper, at the Globe in Pater-Noster Row, 1751). <Link to ECCO><Link to 2nd edition>
See also Visions in Verse: For the Entertainment and Instruction of Younger Minds. A New Edition. (London: J. Dodsley, 1790). <Link to Google Books>
The revised and enlarged 3rd edition adds a new, ninth vision: "Death. Vision the Last"
Theme
Ruling Passion
Date of Entry
05/20/2004
Date of Review
07/14/2011
