London streets are paved with gold
"London streets are paved with gold" is a saying that came from the 19th century story
The phrase appears in The Universal Songster (1826) — "The tykes no more can now be told / That London streets are paved with gold; / For, wishing their tales e'en to trepan, / He knocks gold from the stones does the highwayman."[2]
The Leisure Hour (1866) wrote that "The rural poor grow up (we are told) with the notion that London is a mine of wealth — that its streets are "paved with gold;" and their heads are full of traditions of pennyless youngsters getting on in London until they become men of fortune."[3]
The origin of the phrase may be Revelation 21:21, where the New Jerusalem is described: "The twelve gates were twelve pearls, and each gate was made of a single pearl. The street of the city was made of pure gold, as clear as glass." (International Standard Version)[4]
The term also appears in John Bunyan's Pilgrims Progress (1678). His Celestial City is described as: "builded of pearls and precious stones, also the streets thereof were paved with gold"
See also
- Roald Dahl, 'Dick Whittington and his Cat' in Rhyme Stew (1989)
References
- ^ "PAVED WITH GOLD | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org.
- ^ "The Universal Songster, Or, Museum of Mirth: Forming the Most Complete, Extensive, and Valuable Collection of Ancient and Modern Songs in the English Language, with a Copious and Classified Index ..." Jones and Company. 17 August 1826 – via Google Books.
- ^ Miller, William Haig; Macaulay, James; Stevens, William (17 August 1866). "The Leisure Hour". Richard Jones – via Google Books.
- ^ "Revelation 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, with each gate consisting of a single pearl. The main street of the city was pure gold, as pure as transparent glass". biblehub.com.
Pilgrims Progress, John Bunyan, 1678 http://utc.iath.virginia.edu/christn/chfijba6f.html
External links