| 释义 |
heart of grace, phr.
Forms: 6 herte a gresse; 6 hart a grasse, hart of grease, grasse, grace, 6–7 hart at grasse; 6–7 heart of grasse, h. at grasse, 7 h. to grasse, a grasse, 7–8 h. a grace, 6– heart of grace.
[Not known before 1530: origin and early form uncertain.
The simple take heart (= F. prendre cœur) is as old or older. The words heart, hart, were both written hert(e, hart in 16th c. Hence it has been surmised that take herte a gresse, or hart of grease, was orig. a punning or sportive expansion of take herte, after the earlier herte of gresse, hart of grease, fat hart (see hart 1 b); and that when the expression became proverbial, attempts were made to put sense into it by substituting grass and grace. Of course, heart of grace might be the original, and all the other forms popular corruptions of it; but it is not easy to explain grace in such a connexion; there is no corresponding F. cœur de grâce. In any case, the number and variety of the forms show that the analysis was not clear even in the 16th c.]
a. in phrase to take h. of gr., h. a gr., to pluck up courage. Cf. take heart (heart 49).
1530Palsgr. 748/1, I take herte a gresse, as one doth that taketh a sodayne courage upon hym, je prens cueur en pance. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Matt. xxii. 106 They takyng hart of grace agayne. 1560Becon New Catech. Wks. (1564) 516 a, They [evil wives] shame not to answer..They haue bene made dolts and foles long inough: it is now high time to take hart of grease vnto them. There is no worme so vile, but if it be troden vpon it will tourne again. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epig. (1867) 140 Thou takest hart of grasse, wyfe, not hart of grace. 1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 43 The Fir tree..being cut, eyther hindred or hurt..it by and by taketh hart a grasse, and groweth..a little beneath his top. 1583Golding Calvin on Deut. clvii. 971 When he seeth that we take heart of grasse against him. 1600Holland Livy 115 The Commons should take heart of grasse and hold up head againe. 1673R. Head Canting Acad. 141 His wife..took heart a-grace. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iv. iv, He was afraid to venture himself alone with him. At last he took heart of grace. a1734North Exam. ii. v. §10 (1740) 321 The Loyallists began to chear up, and to take Heart-a-grace. 1823Scott Quentin D. vi, The peasants, who at first shrunk from him in horror..took heart of grace as he got to a distance. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xxxiv, In a day or two, however, Tom began to take heart of grace. 1890Times 14 Oct. 6/2 The non⁓union labourers..took heart of grace and applied for work.
b. Hence to get, give, keep, gather h. of gr.
1587Higins in Mirr. Mag., Sir N. Burdet xv, By our losses they gate heart of grasse. 1591Harington Orl. Fur. xxi. xxxix, His absence gaue him so much heart of grace. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. II. xxi. 213 But they kept heart of grace. 1870Morris Earthly Par. II. iii. 297 She gathered heart of grace to meet The few words they might speak together.
†c. Also 16–17th c. to take heart (hart) at grass, to grass. Obs.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 80 Taking courage and hart at grasse. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 65 Rise therefore Euphues, and take heart at grasse, younger thou shalt neuer be. 1602Carew Cornwall 134 b, Our Foyens tooke heart at grasse, and..stiffly refused to vaile their bonets. 1631Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 866 Animated by his manly prowesse, they tooke heart to grasse, as the prouerbe is.
d. In other expressions.
(In 1609 perh. associated with herb of grace, rue.)
1609W. M. Man in Moone (1849) 3 After I had eaten a little heart a grasse, which grew at my feete, I feared not. 1703R. Wilkinson iv. Vice Reclaimed G ij b, I will hide my self in thy Bosom, and be not far from thy Heart of Grace. |