I am reading a book about Coleridge who has been praised by William Hazlitt with below sentence.
As Hazlitt said, "To the man had been given in high measure the seeds of noble endowment, but to unfold them had been forbidden him."
While this comment is quite difficult to me. “had been forbidden” is a passive voice, and why it follows a pronoun (him)? Can anyone paraphrase it to plain English for easy comprehension?
This is an example of figurative language. It's an elaborate trope, one which likens poetic ability to the blooming of a flower.
The seeds of noble endowment
... all flowers start with a seed. The noble endowment is the poetic talent.
had been given in high measure
... the potential for Coleridge's ability had been great
but to unfold them had been forbidden him.
... but some force or circumstance had stood in the way of him fully blooming as a poet. (Read "forbidden him" as "forbidden to him.")
This assessment of Coleridge's ability paints him as poet manqué, an unfulfilled poet, which is rather harsh considering the iconic status of poems like "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and "Kubla Khan."
This might be an easier version to follow:
The seeds of noble endowment had been given in high measure to the man, but he was forbidden from unfolding them.
What exactly "seeds of noble endowment" are, or what it means to "unfold" them, I couldn't tell you for sure. I would guess that seeds of noble endowment has something to do with being born into a life of luxury, and unfolding them means being able to use it.
