A blessing in disguise is an English language idiom referring to the idea that something that appears to be a misfortune can have unexpected benefits. [3] It first appeared in James Hervey's hymn "Since all the downward tracts of time" in 1746, and is in current use in everyday speech and as the title of creative works such as novels, songs and poetry. [4]
The phrase originated in the hymn "Since all the downward tracts of time" by James Hervey (1714–1758), first published in "Reflections on a Flower-garden. In a letter to a lady" (1746), a volume in his best known work, Meditations and Contemplations (1746–1747), but composed earlier. [5] [6] In the hymn, Hervey meditated on the wisdom of accepting whatever God, in his infinite wisdom, chose to bestow on us, even things that appeared at first to be negative, because they were "blessings in disguise": [7]
The draft manuscript of "Reflections on a Flower-garden", along with other works by Hervey, is held by the University of Leeds Special Collections. [8]
The phrase has been used in a variety of mediums. In 1865, a cartoon titled "Blessings in Disguise" from the American Civil War era showed Confederate President Jefferson Davis surrounded by cities in which the Confederate States had been defeated. It asked whether the losses were a "blessing in disguise" that prevented the Confederate Army being stretched too thinly. [2] A Chinese folk tale tells of how an injury saved a man's life by preventing him from being killed in battle. [9] The phrase is expressed in the words An Zhi Fei Fu. [10] In 1900, The British Medical Journal commented on a number of cases where an assault or injury inadvertently led to the curing of a medical condition, describing them as surgical blessings in disguise. [11]
In the modern era, the phrase has been used as the title of multiple books, such as the novel of that name by Danielle Steel (2019), [12] songs by Michael McDonald, [13] Michael Martin Murphy [14] and others, and as the name of a charity. [15]
Related phrases are "count your blessings", meaning to be grateful for the good things that have happened to you and not spending time regretting the bad, [16] and a "mixed blessing", meaning something that has good and bad aspects. [17]
Wisdom is the act of using one's depth and breadth of knowledge and experience to do good by oneself and others. Wisdom is the interpretating and understanding of knowledge that leads to greater insight. Wisdom is a pragmatic kind of "praxis (process)" where one is constantly using metacognition.
Chengyu are a type of traditional Chinese idiomatic expressions, most of which consist of four Chinese characters. Chengyu were widely used in Literary Chinese and are still common in written vernacular Chinese writing and in the spoken language today. According to the most stringent definition, there are about 5,000 chengyu in the Chinese language, though some dictionaries list over 20,000. Chengyu are considered the collected wisdom of the Chinese culture, and contain the experiences, moral concepts, and admonishments from previous generations of Chinese speakers. Chengyu still play an important role in Chinese conversation and education. Chinese idioms are one of four types of formulaic expressions, which also include collocations, two-part allegorical sayings called xiehouyu, and proverbs.
John Taylor (1694–1761) was an English dissenting preacher, Hebrew scholar, and theologian.
This article contains information about the literary events and publications of 1746.
Shikantaza (只管打坐) is Dogen's Japanese translation of the Chinese phrase zhǐguǎn dǎzuò, "just sitting." The phrase was used by his teacher Rujing, a monk of the Caodong school of Chan Buddhism, to refer to the meditation-practice called "Silent Illumination", or "Serene Reflection," taught by the Caodong master Hongzhi Zhengjue (1091–1157). In Japan, it is associated with the Zen Soto school. In shikantaza one does not focus attention on a specific object ; instead, practitioners "just sit" in a state of conscious awareness.
You can't have your cake and eat it (too) is a popular English idiomatic proverb or figure of speech. The proverb literally means "you cannot simultaneously retain possession of a cake and eat it, too". Once the cake is eaten, it is gone. It can be used to say that one cannot have two incompatible things, or that one should not try to have more than is reasonable. The proverb's meaning is similar to the phrases "you can't have it both ways" and "you can't have the best of both worlds."
Zhiyi also Chen De'an (陳德安), is the fourth patriarch of the Tiantai tradition of Buddhism in China. His standard title was Śramaṇa Zhiyi (沙門智顗), linking him to the broad tradition of Indian asceticism. Zhiyi is famous for being the first in the history of Chinese Buddhism to elaborate a complete, critical and systematic classification of the Buddhist teachings. He is also regarded as the first major figure to make a significant break from the Indian tradition, to form an indigenous Chinese system.
William Garden Blaikie FRSE was a Scottish minister, writer, biographer, and temperance reformer.
Maitrī means benevolence, loving-kindness, friendliness, amity, good will, and active interest in others. It is the first of the four sublime states and one of the ten pāramīs of the Theravāda school of Buddhism.
Literal translation, direct translation, or word-for-word translation is a translation of a text done by translating each word separately without looking at how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence.
God bless you is a common English phrase generally used to wish a person blessings in various situations, especially to "will the good of another person", as a response to a sneeze, and also, when parting or writing a valediction. The phrase has been used in the Hebrew Bible by Jews, and by Christians, since the time of the early Church as a benediction, as well as a means of bidding a person Godspeed. Many clergy, when blessing their congregants individually or as a group, use the phrase "God bless you".
"Break a leg" is an English language idiom used in the theatre or other performing arts to wish a performer "good luck". An ironic or non-literal saying of uncertain origin, "break a leg" is commonly said to actors and musicians before they go on stage to perform or before an audition. Though the term likely originates in German, the English expression is first attributed in the 1930s or possibly 1920s, originally documented without specifically theatrical associations. Among professional dancers, the traditional saying is not "break a leg", but the French word merde
"______, thy name is ______" is a snowclone used to indicate the completeness with which something or somebody embodies a particular quality, usually a negative one.
Gorzkie żale (Polish pronunciation:[ˈɡɔʂkʲeˈʐalɛ] Lenten is a Catholic devotion containing many hymns that developed out of Poland in the 18th century. The devotion is primarily a sung reflection and meditation on the Passion of Christ and the sorrows of His Blessed Mother. The devotion consists of a three-part cycle, subdivided into five unique parts. One part of the cycle is held on each Sunday in the period of Lent, including Palm Sunday, and the entire ceremony is held on Good Friday. The devotion originated in Holy Cross Church in Warsaw and from there it spread to the whole of Poland.
"Hail fellow well met" is an English idiom used when referring to a person whose behavior is hearty, friendly, and congenial, in the affirmative sense.
The phrase "apple of my eye" refers in English to something or someone that one cherishes above all others. Originally, the phrase was simply an idiom referring to the pupil of the eye.
Prayer in the Catholic Church is "the raising of one's mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God." It is an act of the moral virtue of religion, which Catholic theologians identify as a part of the cardinal virtue of justice.
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions" is a proverb or aphorism. An alternative form is "Hell is full of good meanings, but heaven is full of good works".
Thomas Newcomb (1682?–1765) was an English clergyman and teacher, known as a poet. He was pro-government writer of the ascendance of Robert Walpole, associated to Walpole through the interest of his patron Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle.
"Après moi, le déluge" is a French expression attributed to King Louis XV of France, or in the form "Après nous, le déluge" to Madame de Pompadour, his favourite. It is generally regarded as a nihilistic expression of indifference to whatever happens after one is gone. Its meaning is translated by Brewer in the forms "When I am dead the deluge may come for aught I care", and "Ruin, if you like, when we are dead and gone."
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Media related to Blessing in disguise at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of blessing in disguise at Wiktionary