"[H]e bewailed her Loss with Groans, which would have pierced any Heart but those which are possessed by some People, and are made of a certain Composition not unlike Flint in its Hardness and other Properties; for you may strike Fire from them which will dart through the Eyes, but they can never distil one Drop of Water the same way."
— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for A. Millar
Date
1742
Metaphor
"[H]e bewailed her Loss with Groans,
which would have pierced any Heart but
those which are possessed by some People,
and are made of a certain Composition not
unlike Flint in its Hardness and other
Properties; for you may strike Fire from
them which will dart through the Eyes,
but they can never distil one Drop of
Water the same way."
Metaphor in Context
Joseph no sooner came perfectly to
himself, than perceiving his Mistress
gone, he bewailed her Loss with Groans,
which would have pierced any Heart but
those which are possessed by some People,
and are made of a certain Composition not
unlike Flint in its Hardness and other
Properties; for you may strike Fire from
them which will dart through the Eyes,
but they can never distil one Drop of
Water the same way. His own, poor
Youth, was of a softer Composition; and
at those Words, O my dear Fanny! O
my Love! shall I never, never see thee
more? his Eyes overflowed with Tears,
which would have become any thing but
a Hero. In a word, his Despair was
more easy to be conceived than related.--
(II.iii.11, p. 235)
(II.iii.11, p. 235)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Text from Henry Fielding, The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews, And of his Friend Mr. Abraham Adams. Written in Imitation of The Manner of Cervantes, Author of Don Quixote, 2 vols. (London: Printed for A. Millar, 1742). <Link to ECCO>
See also Henry Fielding, The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and An Apology for the Life of Shamela Andrews, ed. Douglas Brooks-Davies. World Classics Edition (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1980).
See also Henry Fielding, The History of the Adventures of Joseph Andrews and An Apology for the Life of Shamela Andrews, ed. Douglas Brooks-Davies. World Classics Edition (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1980).
Date of Entry
09/29/2008
Date of Review
09/29/2008
