God and truth. As such, Coleridge responds to the ideas of Trenchard and Gordon with a view that those who are virtuous are unaffected by suffering. Instead, only those who are vicious in nature really suffer and that people are able to conquer their fallen state. Sources The work is traditional and hearkens back to classical poetry. Coleridge studied Horace at Christ's Hospital, and his 13th line shows this influence: "With mirthful dance they beat the ground". This influence was common to his other earlier works. Use of the invocation "Hail!" was common during the 18th century and is connected to the epic tradition. Its predominant purpose was to address divinity of some form. His sources, including Plotinus and the Cato's Letters, originate in his studying metaphysics while attending Christ's Hospital. Notes References Ashton, Rosemary. The Life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Oxford: Blackwell, 1997. Kneale, J. Douglas. Romantic Aversions. Ithaca: McGill-Queen's Press, 1999. Sarker, Sunil. S. T. Coleridge. New Delhi: Atlantic, 2001. Smith, Cora. Horace in English Literature. Madison: University of Wisconsin, 1917. Thayer, Mary. The Influence of Horace on the Chief English Poets of the Nineteenth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1916. Werkmeister, Lucyle. "The Early Coleridge: His 'Rage for Metaphysics'" Harvard Theological Review, Vol. 54, No. 2 (April 1961): 99–123. Poetry by Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1787 poems Christian poetry British poems