"These three words denote, equally, an advantageous state, and agreeable situation; but that of happiness, marks, properly, the state of fortune, capable of dispensing pleasures, and placing them within our reach; that of felicity, expresses, particularly, the state of the heart; disposed to taste pleasure, which it finds, in whatsoever it possesses; that of bliss, which conveys a mystic idea, paints a state of imagination, which we anticipate, as it were, from a thorough conviction that we shall inherit it hereafter."
— Trusler, John (1735-1820)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Dodsley
Date
1766
Metaphor
"These three words denote, equally, an advantageous state, and agreeable situation; but that of happiness, marks, properly, the state of fortune, capable of dispensing pleasures, and placing them within our reach; that of felicity, expresses, particularly, the state of the heart; disposed to taste pleasure, which it finds, in whatsoever it possesses; that of bliss, which conveys a mystic idea, paints a state of imagination, which we anticipate, as it were, from a thorough conviction that we shall inherit it hereafter."
Metaphor in Context
31. Happiness, Felicity, Bliss.
These three words denote, equally, an advantageous state, and agreeable situation; but that of happiness, marks, properly, the state of fortune, capable of dispensing pleasures, and placing them within our reach; that of felicity, expresses, particularly, the state of the heart; disposed to taste pleasure, which it finds, in whatsoever it possesses; that of bliss, which conveys a mystic idea, paints a state of imagination, which we anticipate, as it were, from a thorough conviction that we shall inherit it hereafter.
Our happiness glares in the eyes of the world, and exposes us, often, to envy. Our felicity is known only to ourselves, and gives us continual satisfaction. The idea of bliss, extends itself beyond a life temporal.
We are sometimes in a state of happiness, without being in a state of felicity. Happiness consists in the possession of wealth, honours, friends and health; but 'tis the satisfaction of the mind, and the enjoyment of those things, that constitutes felicity. As to bliss, it is the portion of the godly, and depends in each religion, on the persuasion of the mind.
Satisfaction without, forms the happiness of man; satisfaction within, his felicity: bliss must be asked of God. The first, is within the reach of riches, the second, of wisdom, but, the third, is reserved for those, whom the scripture calls, the poor in spirit.
(I, pp. 42-3)
These three words denote, equally, an advantageous state, and agreeable situation; but that of happiness, marks, properly, the state of fortune, capable of dispensing pleasures, and placing them within our reach; that of felicity, expresses, particularly, the state of the heart; disposed to taste pleasure, which it finds, in whatsoever it possesses; that of bliss, which conveys a mystic idea, paints a state of imagination, which we anticipate, as it were, from a thorough conviction that we shall inherit it hereafter.
Our happiness glares in the eyes of the world, and exposes us, often, to envy. Our felicity is known only to ourselves, and gives us continual satisfaction. The idea of bliss, extends itself beyond a life temporal.
We are sometimes in a state of happiness, without being in a state of felicity. Happiness consists in the possession of wealth, honours, friends and health; but 'tis the satisfaction of the mind, and the enjoyment of those things, that constitutes felicity. As to bliss, it is the portion of the godly, and depends in each religion, on the persuasion of the mind.
Satisfaction without, forms the happiness of man; satisfaction within, his felicity: bliss must be asked of God. The first, is within the reach of riches, the second, of wisdom, but, the third, is reserved for those, whom the scripture calls, the poor in spirit.
(I, pp. 42-3)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Credited as being the first thesaurus in English. 4 entries in the ESTC (1766, 1776, 1783, 1795).
See John Trusler, The Difference, Between Words, Esteemed Synonymous: in the English Language; and, the Proper Choice of them Determined: Together with, so much of Abbé Girard's Treatise, on this Subject, as Would Agree, with our Mode of Expression, 2 vols. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley, 1766). <Vol. I, Link to ECCO-TCP><Vol. II, Link to ECCO-TCP>
See John Trusler, The Difference, Between Words, Esteemed Synonymous: in the English Language; and, the Proper Choice of them Determined: Together with, so much of Abbé Girard's Treatise, on this Subject, as Would Agree, with our Mode of Expression, 2 vols. (London: Printed for J. Dodsley, 1766). <Vol. I, Link to ECCO-TCP><Vol. II, Link to ECCO-TCP>
Date of Entry
08/15/2013
