text,updated_at,metaphor,created_at,context,theme,reviewed_on,dictionary,comments,provenance,id,work_id
"That the general Maxims, we are discoursing of, are not known to Children, Ideots, and a great part of Mankind we have already sufficiently proved: whereby it is evident, they have not an universal assent, nor are general Impressions. But there is this farther Argument in it against their being innate: That these Characters, if they were native and original Impressions, should appear fairest and clearest in those Persons, in whom yet we find no Footsteps of them: And 'tis, in my Opinion, a strong Presumption, that they are not innate; since they are not in the least known to those, in whom, if they were innate, they must needs exert themselves with most Force and Vigour. For Children, Ideots, Savages, and illiterate People, being of all others the least corrupted by Custom, or borrowed Opinions; Learning, and Education, having not cast their Native thoughts into new Moulds; nor by super-inducing foreign and studied Doctrines, confounded those fair Characters Nature had written there, one might reasonably imagine, that in their Minds these innate Notions should lie open fairly to every one's view, as 'tis certain the thoughts of Children do. It might be very well expected, that these Principles should be perfectly known to Naturals; which being stamped immediately on the Soul (as these Men suppose) can have no dependence on the Constitutions, or Organs of the Body, the only confessed difference between them and others. One would think, according to these Men's Principles, That all these native Beams of Light (were there any such) should in those, who have no Reserves, no Arts of Concealment, shine out in their full Lustre, and leave us in no more doubt of their being there, than we are of their love of Pleasure, and abhorrence of Pain. But alas, amongst Children, Ideots, and Savages, and the grosly Illiterate, what general Maxims are to be found? What universal Principles of Knowledge? Their Notions are few and narrow, borrowed only from those Objects, they have had the most to do with, and which have made upon their Senses the frequentest and strongest Impressions.
(I.ii.27)",2011-05-26 03:39:27 UTC,"""But there is this farther Argument in it against their being innate: That these Characters, if they were native and original Impressions, should appear fairest and clearest in those Persons, in whom yet we find no Footsteps of them.""",2003-09-04 00:00:00 UTC,I.ii.27,Innate Ideas,2011-05-23,Impressions,"• There is a lot happening in this passage. You can almost see Locke's language uncoil and strike. Locke's parting shot in Book I, Chapter ii",Reading,9930,3866
"That the general Maxims, we are discoursing of, are not known to Children, Ideots, and a great part of Mankind we have already sufficiently proved: whereby it is evident, they have not an universal assent, nor are general Impressions. But there is this farther Argument in it against their being innate: That these Characters, if they were native and original Impressions, should appear fairest and clearest in those Persons, in whom yet we find no Footsteps of them: And 'tis, in my Opinion, a strong Presumption, that they are not innate; since they are not in the least known to those, in whom, if they were innate, they must needs exert themselves with most Force and Vigour. For Children, Ideots, Savages, and illiterate People, being of all others the least corrupted by Custom, or borrowed Opinions; Learning, and Education, having not cast their Native thoughts into new Moulds; nor by super-inducing foreign and studied Doctrines, confounded those fair Characters Nature had written there, one might reasonably imagine, that in their Minds these innate Notions should lie open fairly to every one's view, as 'tis certain the thoughts of Children do. It might be very well expected, that these Principles should be perfectly known to Naturals; which being stamped immediately on the Soul (as these Men suppose) can have no dependence on the Constitutions, or Organs of the Body, the only confessed difference between them and others. One would think, according to these Men's Principles, That all these native Beams of Light (were there any such) should in those, who have no Reserves, no Arts of Concealment, shine out in their full Lustre, and leave us in no more doubt of their being there, than we are of their love of Pleasure, and abhorrence of Pain. But alas, amongst Children, Ideots, and Savages, and the grosly Illiterate, what general Maxims are to be found? What universal Principles of Knowledge? Their Notions are few and narrow, borrowed only from those Objects, they have had the most to do with, and which have made upon their Senses the frequentest and strongest Impressions.
(I.ii.27)",2011-05-26 03:29:02 UTC,"""It might be very well expected, that these Principles should be perfectly known to Naturals; which being stamped immediately on the Soul (as these Men suppose) can have no dependence on the Constitutions, or Organs of the Body, the only confessed difference between them and others.""",2003-09-04 00:00:00 UTC,I.ii.27,Innate Ideas,,"",•There is a lot happening in this passage. You can feel Locke's language uncoil and strike. ,Reading,9932,3866
"Hence naturally flows the great variety of Opinions, concerning Moral Rules, which are to be found amongst Men, according to the different sorts of Happiness, they have a Prospect of, or propose to themselves: Which could not be, if practical Principles were innate, and imprinted in our Minds immediately by the Hand of God.
(I.iii.6)",2011-05-26 03:31:59 UTC,"""Hence naturally flows the great variety of Opinions, concerning Moral Rules, which are to be found amongst Men, according to the different sorts of Happiness, they have a Prospect of, or propose to themselves: Which could not be, if practical Principles were innate, and imprinted in our Minds immediately by the Hand of God.""",2003-09-04 00:00:00 UTC,I.iii.6,"",,Impression,"•In a following ¶ Locke writes ""without being written on their Hearts, many Men, may, by the same way that they come to Knowledge of other things, come to assent to several Moral Rules, and be convinced of their Obligation"" (I.iii.8).",Reading,9935,3866
"If it has no memory of its own Thoughts; if it cannot lay them up for its use, and be able to recal them upon occasion; if it cannot reflect upon what is past, and make use of its former Experiences, Reasonings, and Contemplations to what purpose does it think? They who make the Soul a thinking Thing at this rate, will not make it a much more noble Being, than those do, whom they condemn, for allowing it to be nothing but the subtilest parts of Matter. Characters drawn on Dust, that the first breath of wind effaces; or Impressions made on a heap of Atoms, or animal Spirits, are altogether as useful, and render the Subject as noble, as the Thoughts of a Soul that perish in thinking; that once out of sight, are gone for ever, and leave no memory of themselves behind them. Nature never makes excellent things, for mean or no uses: and it is hardly to be conceived, that our infinitely wise Creator, should make so admirable a Faculty, as the power of Thinking, that Faculty which comes nearest the Excellency of his own incomprehensible Being, to be so idlely and uselessly employ'd, at least 1/4 part of its time here, as to think constantly, without remembering any of those Thoughts, without doing any good to it self or others, or being any way useful to any other part of Creation.
(II.i.15)",2011-05-30 18:46:31 UTC,"""Characters drawn on Dust, that the first breath of wind effaces; or Impressions made on a heap of Atoms, or animal Spirits, are altogether as useful, and render the Subject as noble, as the Thoughts of a Soul that perish in thinking; that once out of sight, are gone for ever, and leave no memory of themselves behind them.""",2003-09-06 00:00:00 UTC,II.i.15. On the suggestion that a man may think while he sleeps but does not remember it,"",2004-06-24,Impressions,"•I've included twice: Writing and Body. (6/24/2004)
•Cross-reference: Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's poem ""Epistle [to Lord Bathurst]""
•Cross-reference: Johnson uses in his Dictionary, illustrates third entry under Thought. ",Reading,9947,3866
"In this Part, the Understanding is meerly passive; and whether or no, it will have these Beginnings, and as it were materials of Knowledge, is not in its own Power. For the Objects of our Senses, do, many of them, obtrude their particular Ideas upon our minds, whether we will or no: And the Operations of our minds, will not let us be without, at least some obscure Notions of them. No Man, canbe wholly ignorant of what he does, when he thinks. These simple Ideas, when offered to the mind, the Understanding can no more refuse to have, nor alter, when they are imprinted, nor blot them out, and make new ones in it self, than a mirror can refuse, alter, or obliterate the Images or Ideas, which, the Objects set before it, do therein produce. As the Bodies that surround us, do diversly affect our Organs, the mind is forced to receive the Impressions; and cannot avoid the Perception of those Ideas that are annexed to them.
(II.i.25)",2014-07-29 15:15:29 UTC,"""These simple Ideas, when offered to the mind, the Understanding can no more refuse to have, nor alter, when they are imprinted, nor blot them out, and make new ones in it self, than a mirror can refuse, alter, or obliterate the Images or Ideas, which, the Objects set before it, do therein produce.""",2003-09-06 00:00:00 UTC,II.i.25.,"",,"Impressions, Mirror, and Writing","•INTEREST. IMPORTANT METAPHOR. I've included thrice: Mirror, Imprint, Blot.
•""The passivity of the understanding""","Reading. Found again searching ""mind"" and ""mirror"" in Past Masters. See also Jonathan Miller, On Reflection (London: National Gallery Publications, 1998), 207.",9949,3866
"Concerning the several degrees of lasting, wherewith Ideas are imprinted on the Memory, we may observe, That some of them have been produced in the Understanding, by an Object affecting the Senses once only, and no more than once: Others, that have more than once offer'd themselves to the Senses, have yet been little taken notice of; the Mind, either heedless, as in Children, or otherwise employ'd, as in Men, intent only on one thing, not setting the stamp deep into it self. And in some, where they are set on with care and repeated impressions, either through the temper of the Body, or some other default, the Memory is very weak: In all these cases, Ideas in the Mind, quickly fade, and often vanish quite out of the Understanding, leaving no more footsteps or remaining Characters of themselves, than Shadows do flying over fields of Corn; and the Mind is as void of them, as if they never had been there.
(II.x.4)",2009-09-14 19:34:36 UTC,"""[I]n some, where they are set on with care and repeated impressions, either through the temper of the Body, or some other default, the Memory is very weak""",2003-09-15 00:00:00 UTC,II.x.4,"",,Impression,"•Part of this passage appears in Johnson's Dictionary as an illustration of the ""Stamp ... 2. A mark set on any thing; impression.""","Found again searching ""stamp"" in Past Masters",9961,3866
"Thus the Ideas, as well as Children, of our youth, often die before us: And our Minds represent to us those Tombs, to which we are approaching; where though the Brass and Marble remain, yet the Inscriptions are effaced by time, and the Imagery moulders away. The pictures drawn in our Minds, are laid in fading Colours; and if not sometimes refreshed, vanish and disappear. How much the Constitution of our Bodies, and the make of our animal Spirits, are concerned in this; and whether the Temper of the Brain make this difference, that in some it retains the Characters drawn on it like Marble, in others like Free-stone, and in others little better than Sand, I shall not here enquire, though it may seem probable, that the Constitution of the Body does sometimes influence the Memory; since we oftentimes find a Disease quite strip the Mind of all its Ideas, and the flames of a Fever, in a few days, calcine all those Images to dust and confusion, which seem'd to be as lasting, as if graved in Marble.
(II.x.5)",2012-01-30 20:00:58 UTC,"""I shall not here enquire, though it may seem probable, that the Constitution of the Body does sometimes influence the Memory; since we oftentimes find a Disease quite strip the Mind of all its Ideas, and the flames of a Fever, in a few days, calcine all those Images to dust and confusion, which seem'd to be as lasting, as if graved in Marble.""",2003-09-15 00:00:00 UTC,II.x.5,"",2012-01-28,Impressions and Writing,"•This is a metaphorically rich chapter! Even more entries follow this paragraph!
• Calcine and engraving? Is this a mixed metaphor? Does this make sense? Yes, it looks like it... Marble can be calcined. But then, why the as if?
•OED gives for calcine: ""1. v.t. a Reduce by roasting or burning to quicklime or a similar friable substance or powder""
","Reading; found again, reading P. B. Wood, “Hume, Reid, and the Science of Mind” in Hume and Hume’s Connexions, ed. M.A. Stewart and J.P. Wright (University Park: The Pennsylvania State UP, 1994), 130.",9966,3866
"Concerning the several degrees of lasting, wherewith Ideas are imprinted on the Memory, we may observe, That some of them have been produced in the Understanding, by an Object affecting the Senses once only, and no more than once: Others, that have more than once offer'd themselves to the Senses, have yet been little taken notice of; the Mind, either heedless, as in Children, or otherwise employ'd, as in Men, intent only on one thing, not setting the stamp deep into it self. And in some, where they are set on with care and repeated impressions, either through the temper of the Body, or some other default, the Memory is very weak: In all these cases, Ideas in the Mind, quickly fade, and often vanish quite out of the Understanding, leaving no more footsteps or remaining Characters of themselves, than Shadows do flying over fields of Corn; and the Mind is as void of them, as if they never had been there.
(II.x.4)",2011-09-13 14:30:39 UTC,"""Concerning the several degrees of lasting, wherewith Ideas are imprinted on the Memory, we may observe, That some of them have been produced in the Understanding, by an Object affecting the Senses once only, and no more than once: Others, that have more than once offer'd themselves to the Senses, have yet been little taken notice of; the Mind, either heedless, as in Children, or otherwise employ'd, as in Men, intent only on one thing, not setting the stamp deep into it self.""",2003-09-15 00:00:00 UTC,II.x.4. ,"",,Impression,"•The retention of ideas. I've included twice
•Part of this passage appears in Johnson's Dictionary as an illustration of the ""Stamp ... 2. A mark set on any thing; impression.""",Reading,9977,3866
" Great Sir, renown'd for Constancy, how just
'Have we obey'd the Crown, and serv'd our Trust,
'Espous'd your Cause and Interest in Distress,
'Your self must witness, and our Foes confess!
'Permit us then ill Fortune to accuse,
'That you at last unhappy Councils use,
'And ask the only thing we must refuse.
'Our Lives and Fortunes freely we'll expose,
'Honour alone we cannot, must not lose:
'Honour, that Spark of the Celestial Fire,
'That above Nature makes Mankind aspire;
'Enobles the rude Passions of our Frame,
'With Thirst of Glory, and Desire of Fame;
'The richest Treasure of a generous Breast,
'That gives the Stamp and Standard to the rest.
'Wit, Strength, and Courage, are wild dangerous Force,
'Unless this softens and directs their Course;
'And would you rob us of the noblest Part,
'Accept a Sacrifice without a Heart?
''Tis much beneath the Greatness of a Throne,
'To take the Casket when the Jewel's gone;
'Debauch our Principles, corrupt our Race,
'And teach the Nobles to be False and Base;
'What Confidence can you in them repose,
'Who e're they serve you, all their Value lose?
'Who once enslave their Conscience to their Lust,
'Have lost their Reins, and can no more be Just.
(pp. 11-12, ll. 20-46; pp. 1-2 in 1689 ed.)",2013-10-15 01:23:39 UTC,"Honor is ""The richest Treasure of a generous Breast, / 'That gives the Stamp and Standard to the rest.""",2005-04-11 00:00:00 UTC,"An embedded speech by ""brave SHREWSBURY and LUMLY's Name""","",,Coinage,•I've included twice: Stamp and Treasure,"Searching ""stamp"" and ""breast"" in HDIS (Poetry)",11013,4229
"12. Thirdly, probabilities, which cross men's appetites and prevailing passions, run the same fate. Let ever so much probability hang on one side of a covetous man's reasoning, and money on the other; it is easy to foresee which will outweigh. Earthly minds, like mud-walls, resist the strongest batteries: And though perhaps sometimes the force of a clear argument may make some impression, yet they nevertheless stand firm, and keep out the enemy truth, that would captivate or disturb them. Tell a man passionately in love, that he is jilted; bring a score of witnesses of the falsehood of his mistress, it is ten to one but three kind words of hers shall invalidate all their testimonies, Quod volumus, facile credits; What suits our wishes, is forwardly believed; is, I suppose, what every one hath more than once experimented: And though men cannot always openly gainsay or resist the force of manifest probabilities that make against them, yet yield they not to the argument. Not but that it is the nature of the understanding constantly to close with the more probable side; but yet a man hath a power to suspend and restrain its inquiries, and not permit a full and satisfactory examination, as far as the matter in question is capable, and will bear it to be made. Until that be done, there will be always these two ways left of evading the most apparent probabilities.
(IV.xx.12)",2012-06-12 20:34:32 UTC,"""Earthly minds, like mud-walls, resist the strongest batteries: And though perhaps sometimes the force of a clear argument may make some impression, yet they nevertheless stand firm, and keep out the enemy truth, that would captivate or disturb them.""",2012-06-12 20:34:32 UTC,IV.xx.12,"",,Empire and Impressions,"","Reading Arthur A. Cash, ""The Sermon in Tristram Shandy."" ELH 31:4 (1964): 399.",19792,3866