"It [the light of Elysium] pierces the thickest Bodies, in the same Manner as the Sun Beams pass through Chrystal: It strengthens the Sight instead of dazzling it; and nourishes in the most inward Recesses of the Mind, a perpetual Serenity that is not to be express'd."
— Addison, Joseph (1672-1719)
Author
Work Title
Date
From Thursd. April 6. to Saturd. April 8. 1710
Metaphor
"It [the light of Elysium] pierces the thickest Bodies, in the same Manner as the Sun Beams pass through Chrystal: It strengthens the Sight instead of dazzling it; and nourishes in the most inward Recesses of the Mind, a perpetual Serenity that is not to be express'd."
Metaphor in Context
The Description of that pure and gentle Light which overflows these happy Regions, and cloaths the Spirits of these virtuous Persons, hath something in it of that Enthusiasm which this Author was accused of by his Enemies in the Church of Rome; but however it may look in Religion, it makes a very beautiful Figure in Poetry.
The Rays of the Sun, says he, are Darkness in Comparison with this Light, which rather deserves the Name of Glory, than that of Light. It pierces the thickest Bodies, in the same Manner as the Sun Beams pass through Chrystal: It strengthens the Sight instead of dazzling it; and nourishes in the most inward Recesses of the Mind, a perpetual Serenity that is not to be express'd. It enters and incorporates it self with the very Substance of the Soul: The Spirits of the Blessed feel it in all their Senses, and in all their Perceptions. It produces a certain Source of Peace and Joy that arises in them for ever, running through all the Faculties, and refreshing all the Desires of the Soul. External Pleasures and Delights, with all their Charms and Allurements, are regarded with the utmost Indifference and Neglect by these happy Spirits who have this great Principle of Pleasure within them, drawing the whole Mind to its self, calling off their Attention from the most delightful Objects, and giving them all the Transports of Inebriation, without the Confusion and the Folly of it.
(III, pp. 209-10; cf. II, )
The Rays of the Sun, says he, are Darkness in Comparison with this Light, which rather deserves the Name of Glory, than that of Light. It pierces the thickest Bodies, in the same Manner as the Sun Beams pass through Chrystal: It strengthens the Sight instead of dazzling it; and nourishes in the most inward Recesses of the Mind, a perpetual Serenity that is not to be express'd. It enters and incorporates it self with the very Substance of the Soul: The Spirits of the Blessed feel it in all their Senses, and in all their Perceptions. It produces a certain Source of Peace and Joy that arises in them for ever, running through all the Faculties, and refreshing all the Desires of the Soul. External Pleasures and Delights, with all their Charms and Allurements, are regarded with the utmost Indifference and Neglect by these happy Spirits who have this great Principle of Pleasure within them, drawing the whole Mind to its self, calling off their Attention from the most delightful Objects, and giving them all the Transports of Inebriation, without the Confusion and the Folly of it.
(III, pp. 209-10; cf. II, )
Categories
Provenance
ECCO-TCP
Citation
Over 50 entries in the ESTC (1709, 1710, 1711, 1712, 1713, 1716, 1720, 1723, 1728, 1733, 1737, 1743, 1747, 1749, 1750, 1751, 1752, 1754, 1759, 1764, 1772, 1774, 1776, 1777, 1785, 1786, 1789, 1794, 1795, 1797).
See The Tatler. By Isaac Bickerstaff Esq. Dates of Publication: No. 1 (Tuesday, April 12, 1709.) through No. 271 (From Saturday December 30, to Tuesday January 2, 1710 [i.e. 1711]). <Link to ESTC>
Collected in two volumes, and printed and sold by J. Morphew in 1710, 1711. Also collected and reprinted as The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq.
Consulting Donald Bond's edition of The Tatler, 3 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987). Searching and pasting text from The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff Esq: Revised and Corrected by the Author (London: Printed by John Nutt, and sold by John Morphew, 1712): <Link to Vol. 1><Vol. 2><Vol. 3><Vol. 4><Vol. 5>. Some text also from Project Gutenberg digitization of 1899 edition edited by George A. Aitken.
See The Tatler. By Isaac Bickerstaff Esq. Dates of Publication: No. 1 (Tuesday, April 12, 1709.) through No. 271 (From Saturday December 30, to Tuesday January 2, 1710 [i.e. 1711]). <Link to ESTC>
Collected in two volumes, and printed and sold by J. Morphew in 1710, 1711. Also collected and reprinted as The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff, Esq.
Consulting Donald Bond's edition of The Tatler, 3 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987). Searching and pasting text from The Lucubrations of Isaac Bickerstaff Esq: Revised and Corrected by the Author (London: Printed by John Nutt, and sold by John Morphew, 1712): <Link to Vol. 1><Vol. 2><Vol. 3><Vol. 4><Vol. 5>. Some text also from Project Gutenberg digitization of 1899 edition edited by George A. Aitken.
Date of Entry
03/02/2014
