E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Lie.
(Anglo-Saxon, licgan, to ’bide or rest; but lie, to deceive, is the Anglo-Saxon verb leg-an.)
1
“Lie heavy on him, earth, for he
Laid many a heavy load on thee
This is part of Dr. Evans’s epitaph on Sir John Vanbrugh, the comic poet, herald, and architect. The “heavy loads” referred to were Blenheim, Greenwich Hospital (which he finished), Castle Howard in Yorkshire, and other massive buildings. (1666–1726.)
g-an.)
