"Not all her attempted philosophy had calmed her mind like this plan; in merely refusing indulgence to grief, she had only locked it up in her heart, where eternally struggling for vent, she was almost overpowered by restraining it."

— Burney [married name D'Arblay], Frances (1752-1840)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for T. Payne and Son and T. Cadell
Date
1782
Metaphor
"Not all her attempted philosophy had calmed her mind like this plan; in merely refusing indulgence to grief, she had only locked it up in her heart, where eternally struggling for vent, she was almost overpowered by restraining it."
Metaphor in Context
Cecilia passed the rest of the day in fanciful projects of beneficence; she determined to wander with her romantic new ally whither-so-ever he would lead her, and to spare neither fortune, time, nor trouble, in seeking and relieving the distressed. Not all her attempted philosophy had calmed her mind like this plan; in merely refusing indulgence to grief, she had only locked it up in her heart, where eternally struggling for vent, she was almost overpowered by restraining it; but now her affliction had no longer her whole faculties to itself; the hope of doing good, the pleasure of easing pain, the intention of devoting her time to the service of the unhappy, once more delighted her imagination,--that source of promissory enjoyment, which though often obstructed, is never, in youth, exhausted.
(IV.ix, p. 323)
Categories
Provenance
C-H Lion
Citation
At least 14 entries in ESTC (1782, 1783, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1790, 1791, 1793, 1795, 1796).

Frances Burney, Cecilia, or Memoirs of an Heiress. By the Author of Evelina. 5 vols. (London: Printed for T. Payne and Son and T. Cadell, 1782). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
06/16/2013

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.