“ It was woman that taught me cruelty, and on woman therefore I have exercised it; but not upon such as thou. ”
Walter Scott, Ivanhoe (1820). copy citation
| Author | Walter Scott |
|---|---|
| Source | Ivanhoe |
| Topic | woman cruelty |
| Date | 1820 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/82/82-h/82-h.htm |
Context
“«I fear thee not,» replied she; «thanks to him that reared this dizzy tower so high, that nought could fall from it and live—thanks to him, and to the God of Israel!—I fear thee not.»
«Thou dost me injustice,» said the Templar; «by earth, sea, and sky, thou dost me injustice! I am not naturally that which you have seen me, hard, selfish, and relentless. It was woman that taught me cruelty, and on woman therefore I have exercised it; but not upon such as thou. Hear me, Rebecca—Never did knight take lance in his hand with a heart more devoted to the lady of his love than Brian de Bois-Guilbert. She, the daughter of a petty baron, who boasted for all his domains but a ruinous tower, and an unproductive vineyard, and some few leagues of the barren Landes of Bourdeaux, her name was known wherever deeds of arms were done, known wider than that of many a lady's that had a county for a dowery.—Yes,» he continued, pacing up and down the little platform, with an animation in which he seemed to lose all consciousness of Rebecca's presence—«Yes, my deeds, my danger, my blood, made the name of Adelaide de Montemare known from the court of Castile to that of Byzantium.” source
«Thou dost me injustice,» said the Templar; «by earth, sea, and sky, thou dost me injustice! I am not naturally that which you have seen me, hard, selfish, and relentless. It was woman that taught me cruelty, and on woman therefore I have exercised it; but not upon such as thou. Hear me, Rebecca—Never did knight take lance in his hand with a heart more devoted to the lady of his love than Brian de Bois-Guilbert. She, the daughter of a petty baron, who boasted for all his domains but a ruinous tower, and an unproductive vineyard, and some few leagues of the barren Landes of Bourdeaux, her name was known wherever deeds of arms were done, known wider than that of many a lady's that had a county for a dowery.—Yes,» he continued, pacing up and down the little platform, with an animation in which he seemed to lose all consciousness of Rebecca's presence—«Yes, my deeds, my danger, my blood, made the name of Adelaide de Montemare known from the court of Castile to that of Byzantium.” source
Meaning and analysis
