"But, the region of passion is a land of despotism, where reason exercises but a mock jurisdiction; and is continually forced to submit to an arbitrary tyrant, who, rejecting her fixed and temperate laws, is guided only by the dangerous impulse of his own violent and uncontroulable wishes."
— Williams, Helen Maria (1759-1827)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for T. Cadell
Date
1790
Metaphor
"But, the region of passion is a land of despotism, where reason exercises but a mock jurisdiction; and is continually forced to submit to an arbitrary tyrant, who, rejecting her fixed and temperate laws, is guided only by the dangerous impulse of his own violent and uncontroulable wishes."
Metaphor in Context
When Seymour reflected on what had past, he was not much displeased at the recollection of the cause of Julia's emotion at dinner; nor was he concerned at the information that she looked pale on the day of his marriage, and that her colour went and came during the last stage. Such is the selfishness, the inconsistency of passion, that Seymour, though he would chearfully have sacrificed his life to save Julia the slightest uneasiness, would yet willingly have excited in her mind those sensations which overwhelmed his own with anguish, and have been soothed by acquiring an influence over her heart, which, he well knew, would never, in the smallest degree, affect her conduct; and which, indeed, his own principles of honor, and a respect for her character, which amounted almost to idolatry, prevented him even from wishing it should. He might, therefore, have reflected, that any sensibility to his passion, could only serve to involve her in a degree of misery, which was almost insupportable to himself. But, the region of passion is a land of despotism, where reason exercises but a mock jurisdiction; and is continually forced to submit to an arbitrary tyrant, who, rejecting her fixed and temperate laws, is guided only by the dangerous impulse of his own violent and uncontroulable wishes.
(II.xxi, pp. 17-18)
(II.xxi, pp. 17-18)
Provenance
Searching in ECCO-TCP
Citation
2 entries in ESTC (1790).
Julia, a Novel; Interspersed with Some Poetical Pieces. By Helen Maria Williams. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1790). <Vol. I, Link to ECCO-TCP><Vol. II, Link to ECCO-TCP>
Julia, a Novel; Interspersed with Some Poetical Pieces. By Helen Maria Williams. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1790). <Vol. I, Link to ECCO-TCP><Vol. II, Link to ECCO-TCP>
Date of Entry
08/16/2013
