Stanzas 7-8 Summary

Lines 25-28

But hope not, courted idol of mankind,
On this proud eminence secure to stay;
Subduing and subdued; thou soon shalt find
Thy coldness soften, and thy pride give way.

• Watch out: this stanza starts with the word "but," which suggests that there's a shift coming. Let's see if that pans out.
• The speaker warns women that even though they are being idolized by all of mankind that they might not be able to stay in that high position.
• The speaker uses a metaphor when she says that women are on a "proud eminence," or a high position—really, these women are just in a position of power, so they're only metaphorically "above" the men.
• Again, it's that same kind of metaphor that suggests that women are somehow sacred or holy. But the problem with being sacred or holy is that you don't get to interact with mere mortals, and that can get lonely.
• The speaker warns that eventually, women will be "subdued" and they will find that they can't maintain the kind of distance and arrogant "coldness" that the speaker has been calling for. Sooner or later, they'll give way.
• Another metaphor: the kind of "coldness" of attitude that the speaker describes can't literally "soften" or melt. After all, women aren't literal ice cubes here.

Lines 29-32

Then, then, abandon each ambitious thought,
Conquest or rule thy heart shall feebly move,
In Nature's school, by her soft maxims taught,
That separate rights are lost in mutual love.

• If women are going to go all soft and mushy anyway, then they shouldn't be ambitious to rule over men, the speaker says.
• Being in charge won't be emotionally satisfying—it won't "move" a woman's heart.
• The speaker ends by saying that women should take a lesson from Nature: the ideal of having rights separate from men doesn't mean anything if women and men love each other.
• By talking about "Nature's school," it sounds like the speaker wants us to believe that this is the natural order of things.
• The speaker capitalizes Nature as though "Nature" is another character in the poem. And she talks about "Nature's school" as though Nature were a teacher. Sounds like personification to Shmoop. (Although "Nature" would be an awesome name for a Biology teacher, don't you think?) 
• So, is the kind of "mutual love" that the speaker describes different from the kind of adoration and worship that women managed to attain earlier in the poem? Totally. "Mutual love" sounds like equal love, and earlier in the poem, women only managed to get one-sided worship. That kind of lopsided relationship isn't really all that fun, according to the speaker, and it's certainly not natural.