"Perhaps I may catch up even one from the gulph, and that will be great gain; for is there upon earth a gem so precious as the human soul?"
— Goldsmith, Oliver (1728?-1774)
Work Title
Place of Publication
Salisbury
Publisher
Printed by B. Collins for F. Newbery in Pater-Noster Row
Date
1766
Metaphor
"Perhaps I may catch up even one from the gulph, and that will be great gain; for is there upon earth a gem so precious as the human soul?"
Metaphor in Context
"Excuse me," returned I, "these people, however fallen, are still men, and that is a very good title to my affections. Good council rejected returns to enrich the giver's bosom; and though the instruction I communicate may not mend them, yet it will assuredly mend myself. If these wretches, my children, were princes, there would be thousands ready to offer their ministry; but, in my opinion, the heart that is buried in a dungeon is as precious as that seated upon a throne. Yes, my treasures, if I can mend them I will; perhaps they will not all despise me. Perhaps I may catch up even one from the gulph, and that will be great gain; for is there upon earth a gem so precious as the human soul?"
(pp. 160-1 in Penguin edition; cf. Vol. II, pp. 115-116 in ECCO-TCP)
(pp. 160-1 in Penguin edition; cf. Vol. II, pp. 115-116 in ECCO-TCP)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Prose)
Citation
68 entries in the ESTC (1766, 1767, 1769, 1772, 1774, 1775, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1783, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1795, 1797, 1799, 1800).
See also Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale. Supposed to be Written by Himself, 2 vols. (Salisbury: B. Collins, 1766). <Link to ECCO><Link to Vol. I in ECCO-TCP><Vol. II>
Reading Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield, ed. Stephen Coote (London and New York: Penguin Books, 1986).
See also Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale. Supposed to be Written by Himself, 2 vols. (Salisbury: B. Collins, 1766). <Link to ECCO><Link to Vol. I in ECCO-TCP><Vol. II>
Reading Oliver Goldsmith, The Vicar of Wakefield, ed. Stephen Coote (London and New York: Penguin Books, 1986).
Date of Entry
07/06/2004
Date of Review
01/04/2011
