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"He was confirm'd in his Conjecture, when he heard the beautiful Virgin (after having by a Pressure of her Hand to her Breast, re-seated that lovely Heart in its native Throne) caress and embrace the melancholly Beauty whom he found to be Solitude, who then lifted up her languishing Eyes, and seem'd with a satisfy'd Smile, to clasp, kiss, and congratulate the Arrival of her amiable Companion!"

— Manley, Delarivier (c. 1670-1724)

Author

Manley, Delarivier (c. 1670-1724)

Work Title

Memoirs of Europe

Place of Publication

London

Publisher

Printed for John Morphew

Date

1710

Metaphor

"He was confirm'd in his Conjecture, when he heard the beautiful Virgin (after having by a Pressure of her Hand to her Breast, re-seated that lovely Heart in its native Throne) caress and embrace the melancholly Beauty whom he found to be Solitude, who then lifted up her languishing Eyes, and seem'd with a satisfy'd Smile, to clasp, kiss, and congratulate the Arrival of her amiable Companion!"

Metaphor in Context

Horatio approach'd very near thisSolitary Fair, with an Intent to inform himself of the Name of the Place where they were, what Retreat was at hand, and the Occasion of her extraordinary Manner and Garb in so cold, so destitute a Region! A certain new-born Curiosity (which he had been a Stranger to since the Loss of his adored Ximena) reviving in his Breast; but she repay'd him not in Kind, nor witnessed the least Inclination to raise her Eyes or her Contemplation at the Noise his Horses might possibly make, though it cou'd not be great, upon that withered grassy Carpet. Horatio stop'd some Moments to contemplate so satisfying a Beauty! When from that Part of the wild that immediately faced her Eyes, he saw advance another blooming Maid, who seem'd to carry her Heart in her Hand! Her flowing Robes and Hair, as if not affected with any Season, discoveredall the Charms of her Face and Person! There was no Disguise, nor the Attempt of any, all was Artless, all was ravishing and heavenly! Horatio seized with a certain Reverence and Awe; believ'd himself advanced upon forbidden Ground, that these were not Mortals he beheld, but something Divine, and the rather because in the Form which last appeared, he saw the Emblem of Sincerity bearing her transparent Heart in her Hand! He was confirm'd in his Conjecture, when he heard the beautiful Virgin (after having by a Pressure of her Hand to her Breast, re-seated that lovely Heart in its native Throne ) caress and embrace the melancholly Beauty whom he found to be Solitude, who then lifted up her languishing Eyes, and seem'd with a satisfy'd Smile, to clasp, kiss, and congratulate the Arrival of her amiable Companion! Well, my Dear, said she to her, Did I not prophecy to thee aright ? Did I not tell thee, thou woud'streturn to me again, that the World was unworthy of thee! Mancini having been so long since abandon'd by Justice andVirtue, what Employment can Sincerity expect? Of what Use art thou amidst a Race who never know what it is to converse with Truth? Hast thou not beheld in the greatest Courts, how littleRefuge there is for thee? Interest! Corruption! Ambition! Flattery! every Thing has excluded thee from so much as the Possibility of being cherished amongst Them? Live then with me, my adored Companion! Here all is native Honesty andTruth ! Returning to the World, thou must resolve to take up thy Habitation with the Indigent and Forlorn, for thou bringest along with thee Principles that will make, whoever entertains thee, poor! Principles destructive to their false Glory! glittering Pomp! swelling Ambition! noisy Wisdom! pretended Loves! boasted Knowledge! seeming Piety! affected Honesty! Wert thou to appear thus artlesly array'd in native Beauty, how woud'st thou be admired and avoided? Oh! how faded wou'd all their Pretences seem? How ridiculous! How unworthy the divine Original they count? Hast thou not Abhorrence at beholding their sublimest Wits, their brightest Genius's, prostituting that Brightness to those in Power; such are to be bought and sold according to their real or imaginary Necessities, who live up to the Enjoyment of every Vice that their narrow Circumstances can reach, yet declaim against what they notoriously pursue, their whole Lives being but one continu'd Masquerade. These are no nearer acquainted with Virtue than by Name, which they have indeed by Rote, and apply only to those who have Power to raise and compleat their Advancement. What generous Breast can bear, without a Glow of Indignation, to hear a Tyrant famed for Cruelty, one that gratifies his own specifick ill Nature, under the Appearance of publick Good, and who would rather ruin than preserve the World: To hear him, I say, commended for Religion, who never knew so much of it as the very pretence, pursuing his Aversion to all Opinions under his Persecution of one, whose tyrannical Principles and Barbarian Temper wou'd equally lead him (were his Power equal) to the Destruction of the Whole: And who though as bold as witty Vice and native Confidence can make him, yet was never so hardned as to pretend the least Acquaintance with any of the Vertues, especially Religion, till the fulsom Orator had applauded him for the Extirpation of it, insomuch that himself forced a Smile at the Report, and cry'd till now, he had never thought to have been calender'd for aSaint!
(pp. 12-5)