"And though it may seem difficult to be a Saint, in passing ones days in a Prophane Place, yet think not my Piety grows luke-warm, or my Friendship diminished; seeing I have made a Mosque of my Heart, where Friends are ever present."
— Marana, Giovanni Paolo (1642-1693); Anonymous [William Bradshaw (fl. 1700) or Robert Midgley (1655?-1723)?]
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by J. Leake
Date
1687, 1691
Metaphor
"And though it may seem difficult to be a Saint, in passing ones days in a Prophane Place, yet think not my Piety grows luke-warm, or my Friendship diminished; seeing I have made a Mosque of my Heart, where Friends are ever present."
Metaphor in Context
Thou hast gotten up from a great Sickness, and I expect one. I have had, for some Days, a Faintness, which does extreamly depress me, but by the Grace of God, I need not yet the Physician. The Letter which I received from thee this Moon, has given me some ease in my Indisposedness, which is no new Thing with me, being necessitated to live so far from my Friends, Country, yea, and Religion too. And though it may seem difficult to be a Saint, in passing ones days in a Prophane Place, yet think not my Piety grows luke-warm, or my Friendship diminished; seeing I have made a Mosque of my Heart, where Friends are ever present. Be then perswaded, 'tis impossible for Mahmut to become unfaithful, and lose the Affection he has for his Friends; for he never ceases to love, where he has once begun. 'Tis true indeed, that I call my self Titus at present, and am cloathed in an odd sort of Dress; yet that is no Hindrance of my Affections to my Religion, my Country, and my Friends.
(pp. 211-2)
(pp. 211-2)
Categories
Provenance
EEBO-TCP
Citation
Based on a 30-letter Italian original, L'esploratore turco (1684), by Giovannia Paolo Marana (1642-1693), L'espion turc was published in French in 1684; The Turkish Spy, in English in 1687. Multiple entries in the ESTC. Sixth edition in 1694, 19th edition in 1718, 25th in 1753. After the success of the first volume, the work was expanded to 632 letters and published in eight volumes, attributed to various authors in 1696-97.
Text from second edition: The First Volume of Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy, Who lived Five and Forty Years, Undiscovered, at Paris: Giving an Impartial Account to the Divan at Constantinople, of the most Remarkable Transactions of Europe; And discovering several Intrigues and Secrets of the Christian Courts, (especially of that of France) from the Year 1637, to the Year 1682. Written Originally in Arabick, first Translated into Italian, afterwards into French, and now into English. 2nd edition (London: Printed for Henry Rhodes, 1691). <Link to EEBO-TCP>
Text from second edition: The First Volume of Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy, Who lived Five and Forty Years, Undiscovered, at Paris: Giving an Impartial Account to the Divan at Constantinople, of the most Remarkable Transactions of Europe; And discovering several Intrigues and Secrets of the Christian Courts, (especially of that of France) from the Year 1637, to the Year 1682. Written Originally in Arabick, first Translated into Italian, afterwards into French, and now into English. 2nd edition (London: Printed for Henry Rhodes, 1691). <Link to EEBO-TCP>
Date of Entry
07/26/2013
