text: I am as free as nature first made man , Ere the base laws of servitude began , When wild in woods the noble savage ran .
simplified: In English , the phrase Noble Savage first appeared in Dryden 's play , The Conquest of Granada ( 1672 ) : `` I am as free as nature first made man , \/ Ere the base laws of servitude began , \/ When wild in woods the noble savage ran . ''