James Thomson

Thus safely low, my Friend, thou canst not fall

Stoic philosophy claim

Thomson is arguing that staying 'low'—humble, without ambition—guarantees safety. This is a deliberate reversal of Renaissance ambition literature. He's selling restraint as a security strategy.

Thus safely low, my Friend, thou canst not fall;
Here reigns a deep tranquillity o'er all;
No noise, no care, no vanity, no strife;
Men woods and fields all breathe untroubled life:
Then keep each passion down however dear;
Trust me the tender are the most severe

Passion as danger

Notice 'tender are the most severe'—Thomson paradoxically claims that soft emotions cause the most damage. This contradicts Romantic ideology (which was emerging in his lifetime) that celebrated feeling.

Guard while 'tis thine, thy philosopic ease
And ask no joy but that of virtuous peace;
That bids defiance to the storms of fate;

Two-tier afterlife

The final couplet introduces a hierarchy: virtuous peace is available now, but 'high bliss' requires 'a higher state.' Thomson is distinguishing between earthly contentment and heavenly reward—a Christian framework masquerading as philosophy.

High bliss is only for a higher state.10
Thomson.
Source Wikipedia Poetry Foundation

Reading Notes

Stoicism dressed as friendship advice

This poem presents itself as counsel to a friend, but it's really Thomson's argument for Stoic withdrawal. The speaker isn't describing a natural state—he's prescribing a discipline: suppress passion, abandon vanity, accept a modest life. [CONTEXT: Thomson (1700-1748) was writing during the rise of sentiment and individualism; this poem pushes back against both.]

The key move is lines 5-6: 'Then keep each passion down however dear; / Trust me the tender are the most severe.' Thomson isn't saying feelings don't matter—he's saying they're *dangerous*. A 'tender' (sensitive, delicate) temperament causes severe suffering because it's reactive, vulnerable to fortune. The solution: philosophic ease, a deliberate emotional flatness that protects you from fate's storms.

Why 'safely low' isn't pessimism

The poem's argument hinges on a distinction between two kinds of happiness. Earthly life offers only 'virtuous peace'—stable, reliable, achievable through discipline. But there's a 'higher state' (heaven, or enlightenment) where 'high bliss' exists. Thomson isn't denying joy; he's deferring it and making his friend feel wise for accepting less now.

This structure was common in 18th-century moral verse: console the reader by reframing limitation as virtue. Notice the rhetorical move—by saying 'keep each passion down however dear,' Thomson acknowledges that passions *are* dear, then immediately claims they're also severe. He's not arguing you don't want them; he's arguing you shouldn't want them. The poem's real work is persuasion, not description.