"His Flattery had made such a Dupe of my Aunt, that she assented, without the least Suspicion of his Sincerity, to all he said; so sure is Vanity to weaken every Fortress of the Understanding, and to betray us to every Attack of the Enemy."
— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for A. Millar
Date
1752
Metaphor
"His Flattery had made such a Dupe of my Aunt, that she assented, without the least Suspicion of his Sincerity, to all he said; so sure is Vanity to weaken every Fortress of the Understanding, and to betray us to every Attack of the Enemy."
Metaphor in Context
He said, he had discovered, that as she valued herself chiefly on her Understanding, so she was extremely jealous of mine, and hated me on Account of my Learning. That as he had loved me passionately from his first seeing me, and had thought of Nothing, from that Time, but of throwing himself at my Feet, he saw no Way so open to propitiate my Aunt as that which he had taken; by commending my Beauty, a Perfection to which she had long resigned all Claim, at the Expence of my Understanding, in which he lamented my Deficiency to a Degree almost of Ridicule. This he imputed chiefly to my Learning; on this Occasion he advanced a Sentiment, which so pleased my Aunt, that she thought proper to make it her own: For I heard it afterwards more than once from her own Mouth. Learning, he said, had the same Effect on the Mind, that strong Liquors have on the Constitution; both tending to eradicate all our natural Fire and Energy. His Flattery had made such a Dupe of my Aunt, that she assented, without the least Suspicion of his Sincerity, to all he said; so sure is Vanity to weaken every Fortress of the Understanding, and to betray us to every Attack of the Enemy.
You will believe, Madam, that I readily forgave him all he had said, not only from that Motive which I have mentioned, but as I was assured he had spoke the Reverse of his real Sentiments. I was not, however, quite so well pleased with my Aunt, who began to treat me as if I was really an Ideot. Her Contempt, I own, a little piqued me; and I could not help often expressing my Resentment, when we were alone together, to Mr. Bennet; who never failed to gratify me, by making her Conceit the Subject of his Wit; a Talent which he possessed in the most extraordinary Degree.
(III.vii.5)
You will believe, Madam, that I readily forgave him all he had said, not only from that Motive which I have mentioned, but as I was assured he had spoke the Reverse of his real Sentiments. I was not, however, quite so well pleased with my Aunt, who began to treat me as if I was really an Ideot. Her Contempt, I own, a little piqued me; and I could not help often expressing my Resentment, when we were alone together, to Mr. Bennet; who never failed to gratify me, by making her Conceit the Subject of his Wit; a Talent which he possessed in the most extraordinary Degree.
(III.vii.5)
Categories
Provenance
HDIS (Prose)
Citation
13 entries in ESTC (1752, 1762, 1771, 1775, 1777, 1780, 1790, 1793).
See Amelia. By Henry Fielding, 4 vols. (London: A. Millar, 1752). <Link to ECCO>
Reading Henry Fielding, Amelia, ed. David Blewett (London: Penguin Books, 1987).
See Amelia. By Henry Fielding, 4 vols. (London: A. Millar, 1752). <Link to ECCO>
Reading Henry Fielding, Amelia, ed. David Blewett (London: Penguin Books, 1987).
Date of Entry
09/14/2009
