"If her heart was not quite at peace, its exquisite sensibility was corrected by the influence of reason; as the quivering needle, though subject to some variations, still tends to one fixed point."

— Williams, Helen Maria (1759-1827)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for T. Cadell
Date
1790
Metaphor
"If her heart was not quite at peace, its exquisite sensibility was corrected by the influence of reason; as the quivering needle, though subject to some variations, still tends to one fixed point."
Metaphor in Context
But whatever were Julia's real sensations, her conduct was irreproachable. Her ideas of rectitude were of the most exalted kind; and no pain would have been so insufferable to her pure and feeling bosom, as the conciousness of having in the smallest degree deviated from those principles of delicacy, truth, integrity, and honour, which were not only the inviolable sentiments of her soul, but the stedfast rules of her actions. If her heart was not quite at peace, its exquisite sensibility was corrected by the influence of reason; as the quivering needle, though subject to some variations, still tends to one fixed point.
(I.xi, p. 128)
Provenance
Searching in ECCO-TCP
Citation
2 entries in ESTC (1790).

Julia, a Novel; Interspersed with Some Poetical Pieces. By Helen Maria Williams. In Two Volumes. (London: Printed for T. Cadell, 1790). <Vol. I, Link to ECCO-TCP><Vol. II, Link to ECCO-TCP>
Date of Entry
08/16/2013

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.