 |
Bowels of Mercy
Compassion, sympathy. The affections were at one time supposed
to be the outcome of certain secretions or organs, as the bile, the
kidneys, the heart, the head, the liver, the bowels, the spleen, and so
on. Hence such words and phrases as melancholy (black bile); the
Psalmist says that his reins, or kidneys, instructed him (Psa.
x. 7), meaning his inward conviction; the head is the seat of
understanding; the heart of affection and memory (hence
“learning by heart”), the bowels of mercy, the spleen of
passion or anger, etc.
His bowels yearned over him
(upon or towards him). He felt a secret affection for
him.
“Joseph made haste, for his bowels did yearn upon his brother.” - Gen. xliii. 30; see also 1 Kings iii. 26.
Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894 More on Bowels of Mercy from Infoplease:
- Bowels of Mercy - Bowels of Mercy Compassion, sympathy. The affections were at one time supposed to be the outcome of ...
- Colossians: 3 - If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those…
- Philippians: 2 - If there be therefore any consolation in Christ…
- Pluck - Pluck To reject a candidate for literary honours because he is not up to the required mark. The ...
- Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: B - Definitions, origins, and illustrative excerpts for words, phases, and literary allusions starting with "B"
|
|
