Books · 1642
He was one of a lean body and visage, as if his eager soul, biting for anger at the clog of his body, desired to fret a passage through it.
— Thomas Fuller · The Holy State and the Profane State
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Our reading
An editorial interpretation.
The description pictures a thin man whose restless spirit seems so impatient with his body that it wants to gnaw its way out. It's a vivid metaphor: the body is a heavy obstacle, and the soul's eagerness shows in how lean he looks.
Context reviewed