James Hervey by Thomas Kitchin (1718–1784)[1]
"Blessings in Disguise", 1865.[2]

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]

Origins

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]

Since all the downward tracts of time
God's watchful eye surveys,
O who so wise to choose our lot
Or to appoint our ways?
Good when He gives, supremely good,
Nor less when He denies;
Ev'n crosses from His sovereign hand
Are blessings in disguise.
Why should we doubt a Father's love,
So constant and so kind?
To His unerring, gracious will
Be every wish resigned.

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]

Usage

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 states president Jefferson Davis surrounded by cities in which the Confederates had been defeated, asking 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]

See also

References

  1. ↑ James Hervey; William Romaine; Thomas Jones; Martin Madan, National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  2. 1 2 Cartoon: Civil War, 1865. 'Blessings in Disguise.' Granger – Historical Picture Archive. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  3. ↑ a blessing in disguise. Cambridge Dictionaries. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  4. ↑ a blessing in disguise. Theidioms.com Retrieved 08 January 2021.
  5. ↑ Brewers Dictionary of Phrase & Fable. 16th edition. London: Cassell, 1999, p. 139. ISBN 0304350966
  6. ↑ Hervey, James. Isabel Rivers, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004. Retrieved 17 August 2019. (subscription required)
  7. ↑ Since All the Downward Tracts of Time. Hymnary.org. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  8. ↑ Drafts of Meditations among the tombs, and Reflections on a flower-garden, with miscellaneous other material, by James Hervey. JISC Archives Hub. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Jiao, Liwei (2011). 500 Common Chinese Idioms: An annotated frequency dictionary. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 9781136882562.
  10. ↑ Cheng, Menghui. (2005). 汉英双解经典成语故事 / Chinese-English Classical Idiom Stories. Beijing. ISBN 9787801034205.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  11. ↑ "A Surgical Blessing In Disguise". The British Medical Journal. 1 (2052): 1047. 28 April 1900. ISSN 0007-1447. JSTOR 20264409.
  12. ↑ Steel, Danielle. (2019). Blessing In Disguise. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 9781509877812.
  13. ↑ Blessing In Disguise. Genius. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  14. ↑ Michael Martin Murphey – Blessings In Disguise, retrieved 2019-12-14
  15. ↑ Blessing in Disguise. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  16. ↑ "Count your blessings". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Mixed blessing". Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
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