work_id,theme,provenance,created_at,text,reviewed_on,id,comments,metaphor,dictionary,updated_at,context
4416,"","Searching ""empire"" and ""mind"" in HDIS (Drama)",2004-08-11 00:00:00 UTC,"WISEM.
What am I to think? Am I in a Dream? or was this writ in one? Sure, Madness has possessed the World, and Men, like the Limbs of a tainted Body, universally share the Infection. What shall I do! to go, is to encounter a Mad-man, and yet I will. Some strange Circumstances may have wrought this Delusion, which my Presence may dissipate. And, since Love and Jealousie are his Diseases, I ought to pity him, who know by dreadful Experience,
When Love in an impetuous Torrent flows,
How vainly Reason would its Force oppose;
Hurl'd down the Stream, like Flowers before the Wind,
She leaves to Love, the Empire of the Mind.",2012-01-12,11651,"","""When Love in an impetuous Torrent flows, / How vainly Reason would its Force oppose; / Hurl'd down the Stream, like Flowers before the Wind, / She leaves to Love, the Empire of the Mind.""",Empire,2012-01-12 19:14:47 UTC,"Act III, scene xvi"
4531,"",HDIS,2004-08-07 00:00:00 UTC,"AIR III. Fanny blooming Fair, &c.
Let bold Ambition lie
Within the Warrior's Mind;
False Honours let him buy,
With Slaughter of Mankind:
To Crowns a doubtful Right,
Lay thousands in their Grave:
While wretched Armies fight
Which Master shall enslave.
Love took my Heart with Storm,
Let him there rule alone,
In Charlotte's charming Form,
Still sitting on his Throne:
How will my Soul rejoice,
At his Commands to fly,
If spoken in that Voice,
Or look'd from that dear Eye!
To Universal Sway
Love's Title is the best;
Well, shall we him obey,
Who makes his Subjects blest?
If Heaven for Human Good
Did Empire first design,
Love must be understood
To rule by Right Divine",,11916,"",Love may take the heart with storm and rule there alone,"",2009-09-14 19:36:23 UTC,""
4730,Ruling Passion,"Searching HDIS for ""predominant passion""",2004-06-05 00:00:00 UTC,"Wild immediately asked for his Beloved, and was informed, that she was not at Home. He then enquired, where she was to be found, and declared, he would not depart till he had seen her; nay, not till he had married her; for, indeed, his Passion for her was truly honourable, in other Words, he had so ungovernable a Desire for her Person, that he would go any Lengths to satisfy it. He then pulled out the Casket, which he swore was full of the finest Jewels, and that he would give them all to her, with other Promises; which so prevailed on Miss Doshy, who had not the common Failure of Sisters in envying, and often endeavouring to disappoint each other's Happiness; that she desired Mr. Wild to sit down a few Minutes, whilst she endeavoured to find her Sister, and to bring her to him. The Lover thanked her, and promised to stay till her Return; and Miss Doshy, leaving Mr. Wild to his Meditations, fastened him in the Kitchen by barring the Door (for most of the Doors in this Mansion were made to be bolted on the outside) and then slapping to the Door of the House with great Violence, without going out at it, she stole softly up Stairs, where Miss Lætitia was engaged in close Conference with Mr. Bagshot. Miss Letty, being informed by her Sister in a Whisper of what Mr. Wild had said, and what he had produced, told Mr. Bagshot, that a young Lady was below to visit her, whom she would dispatch with all imaginable Haste, and return to him. She desired him therefore to stay with Patience for her in the mean Time, and that she would leave the Door unlocked, tho' her Papa would never forgive her if he should discover it. Bagshotpromised on his Honour, not to step without his Chamber; and the two young Ladies went softly down Stairs; when pretending first to make their Entry into the House, they repaired to the Kitchen, where not even the Presence of the chaste Lætitia could restore that Harmony to the Countenance of her Lover, which Miss Theodosia had left him possessed of; for during her Absence he had discovered the Absence of that Purse which had been taken from Mr.Heartfree, and which, indeed, Miss Straddle had in the Warmth of his amorous Caresses, unperceived, drawn from him. However, as he had that perfect Mastery of his Temper, or rather of his Muscles, which is as necessary to form a GREAT Character as to personate it on the Stage, he soon conveyed a Smile into his Countenance, and concealing as well his Misfortune as his Chagrin at it, began to pay honourable Addresses to Miss Letty. This young Lady, amongst many other good Ingredients, had three very predominant Passion s, to wit, Vanity, Wantonness, and Avarice. To satisfy the first of these, she applied Mr.Smith and Comp. to the second, Mr. Bagshot and Comp. and our Hero had the Honour and Happiness of solely engrossing the third. Now, these three Sorts of Lovers she had very different Ways of entertaining. With the first, she was all gay and coquette; with the second, all fond and rampant; and with the last, all cold and reserved. She, therefore, told Mr. Wild, with a most composed Aspect, that she was glad he had repented of his Manner of treating her at their last Interview, where his Behaviour was so monstrous, that she had resolved never to see him any more; that she was afraid her own Sex would hardly pardon her the Weakness she was guilty of in receding from that Resolution, which she was persuaded she never should have prevailed with herself to do, had not her Sister, who was there to confirm what she said, (as she did with many Oaths) betrayed her into his Company, by pretending it was another Person to visit her: But however, as he now thought proper to give her more convincing Proofs of his Affection (for he had now the Casket in his Hand) and since she perceived his Designs were no longer against her Virtue, but were such as a Woman of Honour might listen to, she must own--and then she feign'd an Hesitation, when Theodosia began. ""Nay, Sister, I am resolved you shall counterfeit no longer. I assure you, Mr. Wild, she hath the most violent Passion for you in the World; and if you offer to go back, since I plainly see Mr. Wild's Designs are honourable, I will betray all you have ever said. --How, Sister, (answeredLætitia ) I protest you will drive me out of the Room: I did not expect this Usage from you."" Wild then fell on his Knees, and taking hold of her Hand, repeated a Speech which, as the Reader may easily suggest it to himself, I shall not here minutely set down. He then offered her the Casket, but she gently rejected it; and on a second Offer, with a modest Countenance and Voice, desired to know what it contained. Wild then open'd it, and took forth, (with Sorrow I write it, and with Sorrow will it be read) one of those beautiful Necklaces, with which at the Fair of Bartholomew, they deck the well whitened Neck of Thalestris Queen of theAmazons, Anna Bullen, Queen Elizabeth, or some other High Princess in Drollic Story. It was indeed composed of that Paste, which Derdæus Magnus, an ingenious Toyman, doth at a very moderate Price dispose of to the second Rate Beaus of the Metropolis. For, to open a Truth, which we ask our Reader's Pardon for having concealed from him so long; the sagacious Count, wisely fearing, lest some Accident might prevent Mr. Wild's Return at the appointed Time, had carefully conveyed the Jewels which Mr. Heartfree had brought with him, into his own Pocket; and in their Stead had placed in the Casket these artificial Stones, which, tho' of equal Value to a Philosopher, and perhaps of a much greater to a true Admirer of the Compositions of Art, had not however the same Charms in the Eyes of Miss Letty; who had indeed some Knowledge of Jewels: For Mr. Snap, with great Reason considering how valuable a Part of a young Lady's Education it would be to have his Daughter instructed in these Things, in an Age when young Ladies learn little more than how to dress themselves, had in her youth, placed Miss Letty as the Handmaid (or House-maid, as the Vulgar call it) of an eminent Pawn-broker. The lightning, therefore, which should have flashed from the Jewels, flashed from her Eyes, and thunder immediately followed from her Voice. She be-knaved, be-rascalled, be-rogued the unhappy Hero, who stood silent, confounded with Astonishment, but more with Shame and Indignation, at being thus out-witted and over-reached. At length, he recovered his Spirits, and throwing down the Casket in a Rage, he snatched the Key from the Table; and without making any Answer to the Ladies, who both very plentifully open'd upon him, or taking any leave of them, he flew out at the Door, and repaired with the utmost Expedition to the Count's Habitation.
(II.iii, pp. 116-22)",,12482,•Ruling passions seem always to be singular. Is this not the case with predominant passions?,"""This young Lady, amongst many other good Ingredients, had three very predominant Passions, to wit, Vanity, Wantonness, and Avarice.""","",2011-04-26 18:02:51 UTC,""
4730,Ruling Passion,"Searching HDIS for ""predominant passion""",2004-06-05 00:00:00 UTC,"Jonathan Wild had every Qualification necessary to form a great Man: As his most powerful and predominant Passion was Ambition, so Nature had with consummate Propriety, adapted all his Faculties to the attaining those glorious Ends, to which this Passion directed him. He was extremely ingenious in inventing Designs; artful in contriving the Means to accomplish his Purposes, and resolute in executing them: For, as the most exquisite Cunning, and most undaunted Boldness qualified him for any Undertaking, so was he not restrained by any of those Weaknesses which disappoint the Views of mean and vulgar Souls, and which are comprehended in one general Term of Honesty, which is a Corruption ofHonosty, a Word derived from what theGreeks call an Ass. He was entirely free from those low Vices of Modesty and Goodnature, which, as he said, implied a total Negative of human Greatness, and were the only Qualities which absolutely rendered a Man incapable of making a considerable Figure in the World. His Lust was inferior only to his Ambition; but, as for what simple People call Love, he knew not what it was. His Avarice was immense; but it was of the rapacious not of the tenacious Kind; his Rapaciousness was indeed so violent, that nothing ever contented him but the whole; for, however considerable the Share was, which his Coadjutors allowed him of a Booty, he was restless in inventing Means to make himself Master of the meanest Pittance reserved by them. He said, Laws were made for the Use ofPrigs only, and to secure their Property; they were never therefore more perverted, than when their Edge was turned against these; but that this generally happened through their Want of sufficient Dexterity. The Character which he most valued himself upon, and which he principally honoured in others, was that of Hypocrisy. His Opinion was, that no one could carry Priggism very far without it; for which Reason, he said, there was little Greatness to be expected in a Man who acknowledged his Vices; but always much to be hoped from him, who professed great Virtues; wherefore, though he would always shun the Person whom he discovered guilty of a good Action, yet he was never deterred by a good Character, which was more commonly the Effect of Profession than of Action: For which Reason, he himself was always very liberal of honest Professions, and had as much Virtue and Goodness in his Mouth as a Saint; never in the least scrupling to swear by his Honour, even to those who knew him the best; nay, tho, he held Good-nature and Modesty in the highest Contempt, he constantly practised the Affectation of both, and recommended it to others, whose welfare, on his own Account, he wished well to. He laid down several Maxims, as the certain Methods of attaining Greatness, to which, in his own Pursuit of it, he constantly adhered.
(IV.xvi, pp. 408-11)",,12483,"","""As his most powerful and predominant Passion was Ambition, so Nature had with consummate Propriety, adapted all his Faculties to the attaining those glorious Ends, to which this Passion directed him.""","",2011-04-26 18:03:59 UTC,""
4731,Ruling Passion,"Searching HDIS (Prose) for ""predominant passion""",2004-06-05 00:00:00 UTC,"'The first great Perplexity I fell into, was on the account of my Son Swane, who had deflowered the Abbess of Leon, since called Leominster in Herefordshire. After this Fact, he retired into Denmark, whence he sent to me, to obtain his Pardon. The King at first refused it; being moved thereto, as I afterwards found, by some Churchmen, particularly by one of his Chaplains, whom I had prevented from obtaining a Bishoprick. Upon this, my Son Swane invaded the Coasts with several Ships, and committed many outragious Cruelties; which, indeed, did his business, as they served me to apply to the Fear of this King, which I had long since discovered to be his predominant Passion. And at last, he who had refused Pardon to his first Offence, submitted to give it him, after he had committed many other more monstrous Crimes; by which his Pardon lost all Grace to the Offended, and received double Censure from all others.
(I.xx)",,12484,"","""Upon this, my Son Swane invaded the Coasts with several Ships, and committed many outragious Cruelties; which, indeed, did his business, as they served me to apply to the Fear of this King, which I had long since discovered to be his predominant Passion.""","",2011-04-26 18:14:55 UTC,""
4731,Ruling Passion,"Searching HDIS for ""predominant passion""",2004-06-05 00:00:00 UTC,"He was very bad at acting any Part that was not quite sincere; but the present Confusion of her Mind was so great, she could not distinguish very clearly; and not knowing he was acquainted with what had passed between her and her Confidant, his Behaviour threw her into a great Consternation, and had so much the desired Effect of piquing her Vanity, that I verily believe, had his Design been to have gained her, and could he have taken the pains to have turned about, and made a sudden Transition in her Mind, from the Uneasiness his Coldness gave her Pride, to a Triumph in a certain Conquest of him, joined to the Love which she really had for him, notwithstanding it was not her predominant Passion, he might have carried her wherever he pleased. But as that was not his Design, he durst not stay long with her; for he was several times tempted by her Behaviour to think he was not in his Senses, when he fancied he over-heard her say any thing that could be construed to her Disadvantage. And certainly, if the longest experienced Friend had told him what he heard himself, he would have suspected him of Falshood; and if, on being taxed with it, she had denied it, he would have believed her against the whole World. But as he was witness himself to what she had said, and was convinced that she could think of such a Fellow as his Rival, for the sake of Money, he had just Resolution enough to leave her, tho' he had a great Struggle in his Mind before he could compass it; and he has often said since, that if he had staid five Minutes longer his Love would have vanquished his Reason, and he should have turned the fond Lover again. Before he went, he took leave of her Father and Sister, with great Civility, for he was resolved to avoid any bustle. He sent for a Coach, put his Clothes into it, and drove from the Door.
(I.i.6)",,12485,"","""He was very bad at acting any Part that was not quite sincere; but the present Confusion of her Mind was so great, she could not distinguish very clearly; and not knowing he was acquainted with what had passed between her and her Confidant, his Behaviour threw her into a great Consternation, and had so much the desired Effect of piquing her Vanity, that I verily believe, had his Design been to have gained her, and could he have taken the pains to have turned about, and made a sudden Transition in her Mind, from the Uneasiness his Coldness gave her Pride, to a Triumph in a certain Conquest of him, joined to the Love which she really had for him, notwithstanding it was not her predominant Passion, he might have carried her wherever he pleased.""","",2011-04-26 18:38:37 UTC,""
4730,Soliloquy,"Searching ""empire"" and ""mind"" in HDIS (Prose)",2004-06-05 00:00:00 UTC,"What shall I do? Shall I abandon myself to a dispirited Despair, or fly in the Face of the Almighty! Surely both are unworthy of a wise Man; for what can be more vain than weakly to lament my Fortune, if irretrievable, or, if Hope remains, to offend that Being, who can most strongly support it: But are my Passions then voluntary? Am I so absolutely their Master, that I can resolve with myself, so far only will I grieve? Certainly no. Reason, however we flatter ourselves, hath not such despotic Empire in our Minds, that it can, with imperial Voice, hush all our Sorrow in a Moment. Where then is its Use? for either it is an empty Sound, and we are deceived in thinking we have Reason, or it is given us to some End, and hath a Part assigned it by the All-wise Creator. Why, what can its Office be, other than justly to weigh the Worth of all Things, and to direct us to that Perfection of human Wisdom, which proportions our Esteem of every Object by its real Merit, and prevents us from over or undervaluing whatever we hope for, we enjoy, or we lose. It doth not foolishly say to us, be not glad, orbe not sorry, which would be as vain and idle, as to bid the purling River cease to run, or the raging Wind to blow. It prevents us only from exulting, like Children, when we receive a Toy, or from lamenting when we are deprived of it. Suppose then I have lost the Enjoyments of this World, and my Expectation of future Pleasure and Profit is for ever disappointed; what Relief can my Reason afford! What, unless it can shew me I had fixed my Affections on a Toy; that what I desired was not, by a wise Man, eagerly to be affected, nor its Loss violently deplored; for there are Toys adapted to all Ages, from the Rattle to the Throne. And perhaps the Value of all is equal to their several Possessors; for if the Rattle pleases the Ears of the Infant, what can the Flattery of Sycophants do more to the Prince. The latter is as far from examining into the Reality and Source of his Pleasure as the former; for if both did, they must both equally despise it. And surely if we consider them seriously, and compare them together, we shall be forced to conclude all those Pomps and Pleasures, of which Men are so fond, and which, through so much Danger and Difficulty, with such Violence and Villany they pursue, to be as worthless Trifles as any exposed to Sale in a Toyshop. I have often noted my little Girl viewing, with eager Eyes, a jointed Baby; I have marked the Pains and Solicitations she hath used, till I have been prevailed on to indulge her with it. At her first obtaining it, what Joy hath sparkled in her Countenance! with what Raptures hath she taken the Possession; but how little Satisfaction hath she found in it! What Pains to work out her Amusement from it! Its Dress must be varied; the Tinsel Ornaments which first caught her Eyes, produce no longer Pleasure; she endeavours to make it stand and walk in vain, and is constrained herself to supply it with Conversation. In a Day's time it is thrown by and neglected, and some less costly Toy preferred to it. How like the Situation of this Child is that of every Man! What Difficulties in the Pursuit of his Desires! What Inanity in the Possession of most, and Satiety in those which seem more real and substantial! The Delights of most Men are as childish and as superficial as that of my little Girl; a Feather or a Fiddle are their Pursuits and their Pleasures through Life, even to their ripest Years, if such Men may be said to attain any Ripeness at all. But let us survey those whose Understandings are of a more elevated and refined Temper, how empty do they soon find the World of Enjoyments worth their Desire or attaining! How soon do they retreat to Solitude and Contemplation, to Gardening and Planting, and such rural Amusements, where their Trees and they enjoy the Air and the Sun in common, and both vegetate with very little Difference between them. But suppose (which neither Honesty nor Wisdom will allow) we could admit something more valuable and substantial in those Blessings, would not the Uncertainty of their Possession be alone sufficient to lower their Price. How mean a Tenure is that at the Will of Fortune, which Chance, Fraud, and Rapine are every Day so likely to deprive us of, and the more likely, by how much the greater Worth our Possessions are of! Is it not to place our Affections on a Bubble in the Water, or a Picture in the Clouds! What Mad-man would build a fine House, or frame a beautiful Garden on Land in which he held so uncertain an Interest. But again, was all this less undeniable, did Fortune, like the Lady of a Manor, lease to us for our Lives; of how little Consideration must even this Term appear? For admitting that these Pleasures were not liable to be torn from us; how certainly must we be torn from them! Perhaps To-morrow,--Nay or even sooner: For as the excellent Poet says,
(III, pp. 196-201)",,12490,Soliloquy,"""Reason, however we flatter ourselves, hath not such despotic Empire in our Minds, that it can, with imperial Voice, hush all our Sorrow in a Moment""",Empire,2014-07-13 14:14:49 UTC,"Book III, chapter 2"
4730,"","Searching ""conque"" and ""mind"" in HDIS (Prose)",2004-09-23 00:00:00 UTC,"When his Mind was thoroughly fatigued, and worn out with the Horrours which the approaching Fate of the poor Wretch, who lay under a Sentence, which he had iniquitously brought upon him, had suggested. Sleep promised him Relief; but this Promise was, alas! delusive. This certain Friend to the tired Body, is often the severest Enemy to the oppressed Mind. So at least it proved to Wild, adding visionary to real Horrours, and tormenting his Imagination with Fantoms too dreadful to be described. At length starting from these Visions, he no sooner recovered his waking Senses than he cry'd out: ""I may yet prevent this Catastrophe. It is not too late to discover the whole."" He then paused a Moment: But Greatness instantly returning to his Assistance, checked the base Thought, as it first offered itself to his Mind. He then reasoned thus coolly with himself: ""Shall I, like a Child, or a Woman, or one of those mean Wretches, whom I have always despised, be frightened by Dreams and visionary Phantoms, to sully that Honour which I have so difficulty acquired, and so gloriously maintained! Shall I, to redeem the worthless Life of this silly Fellow, suffer my Reputation to contract a Stain, which the Blood of Millions cannot wipe away! Was it only that the few, the simple Part of Mankind, should call me a Rogue, perhaps I could submit; but to be for ever contemptible to the PRIGS, as a Wretch who wanted Spirit to execute my Undertaking, can never be digested. What is the Life of a single Man? Have not whole Armies and Nations been sacrificed to the Humour of ONE GREAT MAN? Nay, to omit that first Class of Greatness, the Conquerors of Mankind, how often have Numbers fallen, by a fictitious Plot, only to satisfy the Spleen, or perhaps exercise the Ingenuity of a Member of that second Order ofGreatness the Ministerial! What have I done then? Why, I have ruined a Family, and brought an innocent Man to the Gallows. I ought rather to weep, with Alexander, that I have ruined no more, than to regret the little I have done."" He at length, therefore, bravely resolved to consign over Heartfree to his Fate, though it cost him more struggling than may easily be believed, utterly to conquer his Reluctance, and to banish away every Degree of Humanity from his Mind, these little Sparks of which composed one of those Weaknesses, which we lamented in the opening of our History.
(pp. 312-5)",,12496,"","It may cost one ""more struggling than may easily be believed, utterly to conquer his Reluctance, and to banish away every Degree of Humanity from his Mind""","",2009-09-14 19:37:03 UTC,""
4730,"",Searching in HDIS (Prose),2005-01-26 00:00:00 UTC,"Mrs. Heartfree proceeded thus. ""The Vengeance which the French Captain exacted on that Villain, (our Hero) persuaded me, that I was fallen into the Hands of a Man of Honour and Justice; nor, indeed, was it possible for any Person to be treated with more Respect and Civility than I now was; but, if this could not mitigate my Sorrows, when I reflected on the Condition in which I had been betrayed to leave all that was dear to me, much less could it produce such an Effect, when I discovered, as I soon did, that I owed it chiefly to a Passion, which threatned me with great Uneasiness, as it quickly appeared to be very violent, and as I was absolutely in the Power of the Person who possessed it, or was rather possessed by it. I must however do him the Justice to say, my Fears carried my Suspicions farther than I afterwards found I had any Reason for: He did indeed, very soon acquaint me with his Passion, and used all the gentle Methods, which frequently succeed with our Sex, to prevail with me to gratify it; but never once threatned, nor had the least Recourse to Force. He did not even once insinuate to me, that I was totally in his Power, which I myself saw, and whence I drew the most dreadful Apprehensions, well knowing, that as there are some Dispositions so brutal, that Cruelty adds a Zest and Savour to their Pleasures; so there are others whose gentler Inclinations are better gratified, when they win us by softer Methods to comply with their Desires; yet even these may be often compelled by an unruly Passion to have recourse at last to the Means of Violence, when they despair of Success from Persuasion; but I was happily the Captive of a better Man. My Conqueror was one of those over whom Passion hath a limited Jurisdiction, and tho' he was easy enough to Sin, he was proof against any Temptation to Villany.
(pp. 328-9)",,12498,"","One's conqueror may be ""one of those over whom Passion hath a limited Jurisdiction""","",2009-09-14 19:37:03 UTC,"Book 4, Chap. 7"
4730,"",Reading John Bender's Imagining the Penitentiary (151-2),2005-08-31 00:00:00 UTC,"However the Glare of Riches, and Awe of Title, may dazzle and terrify the Vulgar; nay, however Hypocrisy may deceive the more Discerning, there is still a Judge in every Man's Breast, which none can cheat nor corrupt, tho' perhaps it is the only uncorrupt Thing about him. And yet, inflexible and honest as this Judge is, (however polluted the Bench be on he sits) no man can, in my Opinion, enjoy any Applause which is not thus adjudged to be his Due.
(p. 10)",,12516,"","""[T]here is still a Judge in every Man's Breast, which none can cheat nor corrupt, tho' perhaps it is the only uncorrupt Thing about him. And yet, inflexible and honest as this Judge is, (however polluted the Bench be on he sits) no man can, in my Opinion, enjoy any Applause which is not thus adjudged to be his Due""",Court,2009-09-14 19:37:04 UTC,Preface to Miscellanies