"The Count had never yet seen a Beauty formidable enough to give him an Hour's Uneasiness (purely for the Sake of Love) and would often say, Cupid's Quiver never held an Arrow of force to reach his Heart; those little Delicacies, those trembling aking Transports, which every Sight of the belov'd Object occasions, and so visibly distinguishes a real Passion from a Counterfeit, he look'd on as the Chimera's of an idle Brain, form'd to inspire Notions of an imaginary Bliss, and make Fools lose themselves in seeking; or if they had a Being, it was only in weak Souls, a kind of a Disease with which he assur'd himself he should never be infected."

— Haywood [née Fowler], Eliza (1693?-1756)


Place of Publication
London
Date
1719-1720, 1725
Metaphor
"The Count had never yet seen a Beauty formidable enough to give him an Hour's Uneasiness (purely for the Sake of Love) and would often say, Cupid's Quiver never held an Arrow of force to reach his Heart; those little Delicacies, those trembling aking Transports, which every Sight of the belov'd Object occasions, and so visibly distinguishes a real Passion from a Counterfeit, he look'd on as the Chimera's of an idle Brain, form'd to inspire Notions of an imaginary Bliss, and make Fools lose themselves in seeking; or if they had a Being, it was only in weak Souls, a kind of a Disease with which he assur'd himself he should never be infected."
Metaphor in Context
The Letters he receiv'd from a Lady incognito, his little Gallantries with Amena, and the Accident that presented to his View the unknown Lady in the Person of one of the greatest Fortunes in all France. Nothing cou'd be a greater Cordial to the Chevalier, than to find his Brother was beloved by the Sister of Ansellina; he did not doubt but that by this there might be a Possibility of seeing her sooner than else he cou'd have hop'd, and the two Brothers began to enter into a serious Consultation of this Affair, which ended with a Resolution to fix their Fortunes there. The Count had never yet seen a Beauty formidable enough to give him an Hour's Uneasiness (purely for the Sake of Love) and would often say, Cupid's Quiver never held an Arrow of force to reach his Heart; those little Delicacies, those trembling aking Transports, which every Sight of the belov'd Object occasions, and so visibly distinguishes a real Passion from a Counterfeit, he look'd on as the Chimera's of an idle Brain, form'd to inspire Notions of an imaginary Bliss, and make Fools lose themselves in seeking; or if they had a Being, it was only in weak Souls, a kind of a Disease with which he assur'd himself he should never be infected. Ambition was certainly the reigning Passion in his Soul, and Alovisa's Quality and vast Possessions, promising a full Gratification of that, he ne'er so much as wish'd to know a farther Happiness in Marriage.
(p. 47)
Categories
Provenance
C-H Lion
Citation
At least 12 entries in ESTC (1719, 1720, 1721, 1722, 1724, 1725, 1732, 1742).

Published in 3 parts in 1719-1720. <Part 1, ESTC><Part 2, ESTC><Part 3, ESTC>

See Eliza Haywood, Love in Excess: or the Fatal Enquiry, a Novel (London: Printed for W. Chetwood; and R. Francklin; and sold by J. Roberts, 1719). <Link to ECCO>

Text from Vol. 1 of Secret Histories, Novels and Poems. In Four Volumes. Written by Mrs. Eliza Haywood. (London: Printed [partly by Samuel Aris] for Dan. Browne, jun. at the Black Swan without Temple-Bar; and S. Chapman, at the Angel in Pall-Mall, 1725). <Link to ESTC><Link to LION>
Date of Entry
06/30/2013

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