James Thomson

For ever, Fortune

For ever, Fortune.
[The following words are by James Thomson, author of the Seasons, and they appear in the Orpheus Caledonius so far back as 1725, attached to the tune of Logan Water.]

Personified Fortune

Fortune addressed directly as an active enemy who deliberately interferes. Not random bad luck—an intentional saboteur of love matches.

For ever, Fortune, wilt thou prove
An unrelenting foe to love,
And, when we meet a mutual heart,
Come in between, and bid us part—
Bid us sigh on from day to day,
And wish, and wish—the soul away;

Soul-wasting time

The repetition of 'wish' captures futile longing—not active hoping but passive deterioration. Youth consumed by waiting.

Till youth and genial years are flown,
And all the life of life is gone.
But busy, busy, still art thou,

Loveless marriages

Fortune arranges marriages without love—'joyless vow' suggests arranged or mercenary matches common in 18th-century society.

To bind the loveless joyless vow,
The heart from pleasure to delude,
And join the gentle to the rude.
For once, oh, Fortune, hear my prayer,
And I absolve thy future care;
All other blessings I resign,

Bargaining stakes

The final turn: he'll stop complaining about Fortune entirely if he gets this one thing. Total renunciation for one granted wish.

Make but the dear Amanda mine.
Source Wikipedia Poetry Foundation

Reading Notes

Thomson Before The Seasons

CONTEXT This appeared in 1725, before Thomson became famous for *The Seasons* (1726-30). The headnote matters: *Orpheus Caledonius* was a collection of Scottish songs, and this was written for the traditional tune Logan Water—a melody already associated with separation and loss.

The poem is a song lyric, not a reading-room poem. It was meant to be sung, which explains the simple diction, the direct address, and the refrain-like repetition in "wish, and wish." Thomson is working within the constraints of a pre-existing melody.

Amanda appears in Thomson's later work too—she's his recurring name for an idealized beloved. Whether this refers to a real person is unknown, but the name became his signature for unattainable love.

Fortune's Two Crimes

The poem divides Fortune's interference into two types. First crime (stanza 1): separating people who actually love each other—"when we meet a mutual heart, / Come in between." This is about external obstacles: money, family, distance, timing.

Second crime (stanza 2): forcing together people who don't love each other—"bind the loveless joyless vow." Notice the pairing: "gentle to the rude." This isn't just loveless, it's mismatched in temperament. Thomson's thinking of arranged marriages where compatibility wasn't the point.

The final bargain is structured like a prayer: "For once, oh, Fortune, hear my prayer." He'll "absolve thy future care"—release Fortune from any obligation to him—if she grants this single request. It's the logic of a desperate negotiation: I'll never ask for anything again.