"So eager and intangled was our Hidalgo in this kind of history, that he would often read from morning to night, and from night to morning again, without interruption; till at last, the moisture of his brain being quite exhausted with indefatigable watching and study, he fairly lost his wits."
— Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de (1547-1616); Smollett, Tobias (1721-1771)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for A. Millar
Date
1755
Metaphor
"So eager and intangled was our Hidalgo in this kind of history, that he would often read from morning to night, and from night to morning again, without interruption; till at last, the moisture of his brain being quite exhausted with indefatigable watching and study, he fairly lost his wits."
Metaphor in Context
So eager and intangled was our Hidalgo in this kind of history, that he would often read from morning to night, and from night to morning again, without interruption; till at last, the moisture of his brain being quite exhausted with indefatigable watching and study, he fairly lost his wits: all that he had read of quarrels, enchantments, battles, challenges, wounds, tortures, amorous complaints, and other improbable conceits, took full possession of his fancy; and he believed all those romantic exploits so implicitly, that in his opinion, the holy scripture was not more true. He observed that Cid Ruydias was an excellent knight; but not equal to the Lord of the Flaming-sword, who with one back stroke had cut two fierce and monstrous giants through the middle. He had still a better opinion of Bernardo del Carpio, who, at the battle of Roncevalles, put the inchanter Orlando to death, by the same means that Hercules used, when he strangled earth-born Anteon [...]
(I.i.1, p. 46)
(I.i.1, p. 46)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
At least 21 entries in the ESTC (1755, 1761, 1765, 1766, 1770, 1782, 1783, 1784, 1786, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796)
See The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote. Translated from the Spanish of Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra, To Which is Prefixed, Some Account of the Author’s Life. By T. Smollett, M.D. Illustrated with Twenty-Eight New Copper-Plates, Designed by Hayman, and Engraved by the Best Artists. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for A. Millar, over against Catherine-Street, in the Strand; T. Osborn, T. and T. Longman, C. Hitch and L. Hawes, J. Hodges, and J. and J. Rivington, 1755). <Link to ESTC>
Reading Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de. The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote, trans. Tobias Smollett (New York: Random House, 2001).
See The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote. Translated from the Spanish of Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra, To Which is Prefixed, Some Account of the Author’s Life. By T. Smollett, M.D. Illustrated with Twenty-Eight New Copper-Plates, Designed by Hayman, and Engraved by the Best Artists. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for A. Millar, over against Catherine-Street, in the Strand; T. Osborn, T. and T. Longman, C. Hitch and L. Hawes, J. Hodges, and J. and J. Rivington, 1755). <Link to ESTC>
Reading Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de. The History and Adventures of the Renowned Don Quixote, trans. Tobias Smollett (New York: Random House, 2001).
Date of Entry
09/12/2008
