"Low in a humble Preface authors kneel; / In vain, the wearied reader's heart is steel."
— Disraeli, Isaac (1766-1848)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies
Date
1796
Metaphor
"Low in a humble Preface authors kneel; / In vain, the wearied reader's heart is steel."
Metaphor in Context
The confession of the ignorance of the language we employ, is like that excuse which some writers form for composing on topics, of which they acknowledge their inability. A reader's heart → is not so easily mollified; and it is a melancholy truth for literary men, that the pleasure of abusing an author is generally superior to that of admiring him. One appears to display more critical acumen than the other, by shewing, that though we do not chuse to take the trouble of writing, we have infinitely more genius than the author. These suppliant Prefacers are described by Boileau.
Un auteur a genoux dans une humble Preface
Au lecteur qu'il ennuie a beau demander grace;
Il ne gagnera rien sur ce juge irrité,
Qui lui fait son procès de pleine autorité.
IMITATED.
Low in a humble Preface authors kneel;
In vain, the wearied reader's heart is steel.
Callous, the irritated judge is seen
To use him—as he used the magazine.
(p. 90)
Un auteur a genoux dans une humble Preface
Au lecteur qu'il ennuie a beau demander grace;
Il ne gagnera rien sur ce juge irrité,
Qui lui fait son procès de pleine autorité.
IMITATED.
Low in a humble Preface authors kneel;
In vain, the wearied reader's heart is steel.
Callous, the irritated judge is seen
To use him—as he used the magazine.
(p. 90)
Categories
Provenance
Searching "heart" and "steel" in ECCO-TCP
Citation
Only 1 entry in ESTC (1796).
Miscellanies; or, Literary Recreations. By I. D'Israeli. (London: Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1796). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO-TCP>
Miscellanies; or, Literary Recreations. By I. D'Israeli. (London: Printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies, 1796). <Link to ESTC><Link to ECCO-TCP>
Date of Entry
03/12/2014
