"On the one hand, they make me shed tears in abundance; and, on the other, they inflame my heart with a fire which supports it, and hinders me to die of grief."
— Anonymous
Author
Date
1706, 1715 [1706-1721]
Metaphor
"On the one hand, they make me shed tears in abundance; and, on the other, they inflame my heart with a fire which supports it, and hinders me to die of grief."
Metaphor in Context
I was swallowed up with mortal grief when I received your letter; at the sight of which I was transported with unspeakable joy; and, at the view of the characters writ by your lovely hand, my eyes were enlightened more sensibly than they were darkened, when yours were closed on a sudden at the feet of my rival. These words, which your courteous letter contains, are so many rays of light, which have dispelled the darkness my soul was obscured with; they shew me how much you suffer by your love to me, and that you are not ignorant of what I endure for you, and thereby comfort me in my afflications. On the one hand, they make me shed tears in abundance; and, on the other, they inflame my heart with a fire which supports it, and hinders me to die of grief. I have not had one moment's rest since our cruel separation. Your letter only gave me some ease: I kept a sorrowful silence till the moment I received it, and then it restored to me speech. I was buried in a profound melancholy, but it inspired me with joy, which immediately appeared in my eyes and countenance. But my surprise, at receiving a favour which I had not deserved, was so great, that I knew not which way to begin to testify my thankfulness for it. In a word, after having kissed it several times as a valuable pledge of your goodness, I read it over and over, and was confounded at the excess of my good fortune. You would have me to signify to you that I always love you. Ah, though I did not love you so perfect, as I do, I could not forbear adoring you, after all the marks you have given me of a love so uncommon: Yes, I love you, my dear soul, and shall account it my glory to burn all my days with that sweet fire you have kindled in my heart. I will never complain of that brisk ardour with which I find it consumes me: And how rigorous soever the grief be which I suffer, I will bear it courageously, in hopes to see you some time or other. Would to heaven it were to-day, and that, instead of sending you my letter, I might be allowed to come and assure you that I die for love of you! My tears hinder me from saying any more. Adieu.
(I, p. 163; cf. V, 109-10 in ECCO; pp. 327-8 in Mack's ed.)
(I, p. 163; cf. V, 109-10 in ECCO; pp. 327-8 in Mack's ed.)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
81 entries in ESTC (1706, 1712, 1713, 1715, 1717, 1718, 1721, 1722, 1725, 1726, 1728, 1730, 1736, 1744, 1745, 1748, 1753, 1754, 1763, 1767, 1772, 1776, 1777, 1778, 1781, 1783, 1785, 1789, 1790, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1796, 1797, 1798, 1800).
See Antoine Galland's Mille et une Nuit (1704-1717); translated into English from 1706 to 1721 (six volumes published in French and translated into English by 1706; 1717 vols. xi and xii published and translated).
Some text from Tales of the East: Comprising the Most Popular Romances of Oriental Origin, ed. Henry Weber, 3 vols. (Edinburgh: Ballantyne, 1812). <Link to Google Books>
Reading Arabian Nights Entertainments, ed. Robert L. Mack (Oxford: OUP, 1995). [Mack bases his text on Weber's Tales of the East]
Confirmed in ECCO.
See Antoine Galland's Mille et une Nuit (1704-1717); translated into English from 1706 to 1721 (six volumes published in French and translated into English by 1706; 1717 vols. xi and xii published and translated).
Some text from Tales of the East: Comprising the Most Popular Romances of Oriental Origin, ed. Henry Weber, 3 vols. (Edinburgh: Ballantyne, 1812). <Link to Google Books>
Reading Arabian Nights Entertainments, ed. Robert L. Mack (Oxford: OUP, 1995). [Mack bases his text on Weber's Tales of the East]
Confirmed in ECCO.
Date of Entry
06/20/2014
