"I conceive every fair being as a temple, and would rather enter in, and see the original drawings and loose sketches hung up in it, than the transfiguration of Raphael itself."
— Sterne, Laurence (1713-1768)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt
Date
1768
Metaphor
"I conceive every fair being as a temple, and would rather enter in, and see the original drawings and loose sketches hung up in it, than the transfiguration of Raphael itself."
Metaphor in Context
Excuse me, Monsieur le Count, said I--as for the nakedness of your land, if I saw it, I should cast my eyes over it with tears in them--and for that of your women (blushing at the idea he had excited in me) I am so evangelical in this, and have such a fellow-feeling for what ever is weak about them, that I would cover it with a garment, if I knew how to throw it on--But I could wish, continued I, to spy the nakedness of their hearts, and through the different disguises of customs, climates, and religion, find out what is good in them to fashion my own by--and therefore am I come.
It is for this reason, Monsieur le Count, continued I, that I have not seen the Palais royal--nor the Luxembourg--nor the Façade of the Louvre--nor have attempted to swell the catalogues we have of pictures, statues, and churches--I conceive every fair being as a temple, and would rather enter in, and see the original drawings and loose sketches hung up in it, than the transfiguration of Raphael itself.
The thirst of this, continued I, as impatient as that which inflames the breast of the connoisseur, has led me from my own home into France--and from France will lead me through Italy--'tis a quiet journey of the heart in pursuit of Nature, and those affections which rise out of her, which make us love each other--and the world, better than we do.
(pp. 66-8)
It is for this reason, Monsieur le Count, continued I, that I have not seen the Palais royal--nor the Luxembourg--nor the Façade of the Louvre--nor have attempted to swell the catalogues we have of pictures, statues, and churches--I conceive every fair being as a temple, and would rather enter in, and see the original drawings and loose sketches hung up in it, than the transfiguration of Raphael itself.
The thirst of this, continued I, as impatient as that which inflames the breast of the connoisseur, has led me from my own home into France--and from France will lead me through Italy--'tis a quiet journey of the heart in pursuit of Nature, and those affections which rise out of her, which make us love each other--and the world, better than we do.
(pp. 66-8)
Provenance
Searching in LION
Citation
Over 86 entries in ESTC (1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, 1773, 1774, 1775, 1776, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1782, 1783, 1784, 1785, 1787, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1796, 1798, 1800).
First edition published February 27, 1768, in two issues (standard paper and large "imperial" paper issue).
See A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy. By Mr. Yorick., 2 vols. 2nd ed. (London: Printed for T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, 1768). <Link to ESTC>
Reading Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey, ed. Paul Goring (New York and London: Penguin, 2001)
First edition published February 27, 1768, in two issues (standard paper and large "imperial" paper issue).
See A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy. By Mr. Yorick., 2 vols. 2nd ed. (London: Printed for T. Becket and P. A. De Hondt, 1768). <Link to ESTC>
Reading Laurence Sterne, A Sentimental Journey, ed. Paul Goring (New York and London: Penguin, 2001)
Date of Entry
10/26/2013
