"He perceived the additional impression which the brain of his uncle had sustained, from the happy manner in which the benevolence of Sir Launcelot had so lately operated"
— Smollett, Tobias (1721-1777)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Coote
Date
January 1, 1760 - January 1, 1762; 1762
Metaphor
"He perceived the additional impression which the brain of his uncle had sustained, from the happy manner in which the benevolence of Sir Launcelot had so lately operated"
Metaphor in Context
The success of our adventurer, which we have particularized in the last chapter, could not fail of inhancing his character, not only among those who knew him, but also among the people of the town to whom he was an utter stranger. The populace surrounded the house, and testified their approbation in loud huzzas. Captain Crowe was more than ever inspired with veneration for his admired patron, and more than ever determined to pursue his footsteps in the road of chivalry. Fillet, and his friend the lawyer, could not help conceiving an affection, and even a profound esteem, for the exalted virtue, the person, and the accomplishments of the knight, dashed as they were with a mixture of extravagance and insanity. Even Sir Launcelot himself was elevated to an extraordinary degree of self-complacency on the fortunate issue of his adventure, and became more and more persuaded that a knight-errant's profession might be exercised, even in England, to the advantage of the community. The only person of the company who seemed unanimated with the general satisfaction was Mr. Thomas Clarke. He had, not without good reason, laid it down as a maxim, that knight-errantry and madness were synonimous terms: and that madness, though exhibited in the most advantageous and agreeable light, could not change its nature, but must continue a perversion of sense to the end of the chapter. He perceived the additional impression which the brain of his uncle had sustained, from the happy manner in which the benevolence of Sir Launcelot had so lately operated; and began to fear it would be, in a little time, quite necessary to have recourse to a commission of lunacy, which might not only disgrace the family of the Crowes, but also tend to invalidate the settlement which the captain had already made in favour of our young lawyer.
(pp. 2-3)
(pp. 2-3)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "brain" and "impression" in HDIS (Prose)
Citation
24 entries in ESTC (1762, 1763, 1767, 1774, 1775, 1776, 1780, 1782, 1783, 1786, 1787, 1792, 1793, 1795, 1796, 1800).
The Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves. By the Author of Roderick Random. 2 vols. (London: Printed for J. Coote, 1762).
Note, first published serially in 25 consecutive issues of The British Magazine (January 1, 1760 to January 1, 1762), the novel was longest work of fiction yet to be serialized and the first to be illustrated.
The Adventures of Sir Launcelot Greaves. By the Author of Roderick Random. 2 vols. (London: Printed for J. Coote, 1762).
Note, first published serially in 25 consecutive issues of The British Magazine (January 1, 1760 to January 1, 1762), the novel was longest work of fiction yet to be serialized and the first to be illustrated.
Date of Entry
05/18/2005
