id,comments,provenance,dictionary,created_at,reviewed_on,work_id,theme,context,updated_at,metaphor,text
10892,Hilarious,Reading,"",2004-11-08 00:00:00 UTC,,4200,"",Remark H.,2010-07-01 20:29:06 UTC,"""A vicious young Fellow, after having been an Hour or two at Church, a Ball, or any other Assembly, where there is a great parcel of handsome Women dress'd to the best Advantage, will have his Imagination more fired than if he had the same time been Poling at Guildhall, or walking in the Country among a Flock of Sheep.""","Who would imagine, that Virtuous Women, unknowingly, should be instrumental in promoting the Advantage of Prostitutes? Or (what still seems the greater Paradox) that Incontinence should be made serviceable to the Preservation of Chastity? and yet nothing is more true. A vicious young Fellow, after having been an Hour or two at Church, a Ball, or any other Assembly, where there is a great parcel of handsome Women dress'd to the best Advantage, will have his Imagination more fired than if he had the same time been Poling at Guildhall, or walking in the Country among a Flock of Sheep. The consequence of this is, that he'll strive to satisfy the Appetite that is raised in him; and when he finds honest Women obstinate and uncomatable, 'tis very natural to think, that he'll hasten to others that are more compliable. Who wou'd so much as surmise, that this is the Fault of the Virtuous Women? They have no Thoughts of Men in dressing themselves, Poor Souls, and endeavour only to appear clean and decent, every one according to her Quality.
(95)"
10893,"","","",2004-11-08 00:00:00 UTC,,4200,"",Remark N.,2009-09-14 19:35:22 UTC,"""How strangely our Passions govern us!""","A Gentleman well dress'd, who happens to be dirty'd all over by a Coach or a Cart, is laugh'd at, and by his Inferiors much more than his Equals, because they envy him more: they know he is vex'd at it, and imagining him to be happier than themselves, they are glad to see him meet with Displeasures in his turn: But a young Lady, if she be in a serious Mood, instead of laughing at, pities him, because a clean Man is a Sight she takes delight in, and there is no room for Envy. At Disasters, we either laugh, or pity those that befal them, according to the Stock we are possess'd of either of Malice or Compassion. If a Man falls or hurts himself so slightly that it moves not the lattera, we laugh, and here our Pity and Malice shake us alternately: Indeed, Sir, I am very sorry for it, I beg your Pardon for laughing, I am the silliest Creature in the World, then laugh again;b and again,c I am indeed very sorry, and so on. Some are so Malicious they would laugh if a Man broke his Leg, and others are so Compassionate that they can heartily pity a Man for the least Spot in his Clothes; but no Body is so Savage that no Compassion can touch him, nor any Man so good-natur'd as never to be affected with any Malicious Pleasure. How strangely our Passions govern us! We envy a Man for being Rich, and then perfectly hate him: But if we come to be his Equals, we are calm, and the least Condescension in him makes us Friends; but if we become visibly Superior to him we can pity his Misfortunes. The Reason why Men of true good Sense envy less than others, is because they admire themselves with less Hesitation than Fools and silly People; for tho' they do not shew this to others, yet the Solidity of their thinking gives them an Assurance of their real Worth, which Men of weak Understanding can never feel within, tho' they often counterfeit it.
(139-40)"
10894,"•Rich Passage. See also the countervailing passions below, played off on another. Also disguised passion met with in own breast.
","","",2004-11-08 00:00:00 UTC,,4200,"",Remark N.,2009-09-14 19:35:22 UTC,"There are the curious ""that are skill'd in anatomizing the invisible Part of Man""","The curious, that are skill'd in anatomizing the invisible Part of Man, will observe that the more sublime and exempt this Love is from all Thoughts of Sensuality, the more spurious it is, and the more it degenerates from its honest Original and primitive Simplicity. The Power and Sagacity as well as Labour and Care of the Politician in civilizing the Society, has been no where more conspicuous, than in the happy Contrivance of playing our Passions against one another. By flattering our Pride and still increasing the good Opinion we have of ourselves on the one hand, and inspiring us on the other with a superlative Dread and mortal Aversion against Shame, the Artful Moralists have taught us chearfully to encounter our selves, and if not subdue, at least so to conceal and disguise our darling Passion, Lust, that we scarce know it when we meet with it in our own Breasts; Oh! the mighty Prize we have in view for all our Self-denial! can any Man be so serious as to abstain from Laughter, when he considers that for so much deceit and insin-cerity practis'd upon our selves as well as others, we have no other Recompense than the vain Satisfaction of making our Species appear more exalted and remote from that of other Animals, than it really is; and we in our Consciences know it to be? yet this is fact, and in it we plainly perceive the reason why it was necessary to render odious every Word or Action by which we might discover the innate Desire we feel to perpetuate our Kind; and why tamely to submit to the violence of a Furious Appetite (which it isa painful to resist) and innocently to obey the most pressing demand of Nature without Guile or Hypocrisy, like other Creatures, should be branded with the Ignominious Name of Brutality.
(145)"
10895,"•Rich Passage. See also the countervailing passions below, played off on another. Also disguised passion met with in own breast.
","","",2004-11-08 00:00:00 UTC,,4200,"",Remark O.,2009-09-14 19:35:22 UTC,"The generality of Wise Men agree that there is ""no Conquest like that of our Passions""","These among the Ancients have always bore the greatest Sway; yet others that were no Fools neither, have exploded those Precepts as impracticable, call'd their Notions Romantick, and endeavour'd to prove that what these Stoicks asserted of themselves exceeded all human Force and Possibility, and that therefore the Virtues they boasted of could be nothing but haughty Pretencea, full of Arrogance and Hypocrisy; yet notwithstanding these Censures, the serious Part of the World, and the generality of Wise Men that have liv'd ever since to this Day, agree with the Stoicks in the most material Points; as that there can be no true Felicity in what depends on Things perishable; that Peace within is the greatest Blessing, and no Conquest like that of our Passions; that Knowledge, Temperance, Fortitude, Humility, and other Embellishments of the Mind are the most valuable Acquisitions; that no Man can be happy but he that is good; and that the Virtuous are only capable of enjoying real Pleasures.
(151)"
10896,•INTEREST. REVISIT. I love this analogy!
,Found again looking through old notes (3/24/2005),Rooms,2004-11-08 00:00:00 UTC,2007-11-10,4200,"",Remark O.,2014-10-13 21:18:37 UTC,"""I could tell People that to extricate themselves from all worldly Engagements, and to purify the Mind, they must divest themselves of their Passions, as Men take out the Furniture when they would clean a Room thoroughly.""","I could swagger about Fortitude and the Contempt of Riches as much as Seneca himself, and would undertake to write twice as much in behalf of Poverty as ever he did, for the tenth Part of his Estate: I could teach the way to his Summum bonum as exactly as I know my way home: I could tell People that to extricate themselves from all worldly Engagements, and to purify the Mind, they must divest themselves of their Passions, as Men take out the Furniture when they would clean a Room thoroughly; and I am clearly of the Opinion, that the Malice and most severe Strokes of Fortune can do no more Injury to a Mind thus stript of all Fears, Wishes and Inclinations, than a blind Horse can do in an empty Barn. In the The-ory of all this I am very perfect, but the Practice is very difficult; and if you went about picking my Pocket, offer'd to take the Victuals from before me when I am hungry, or made but the least Motion of spitting in my Face, I dare not promise how Philosophically I should behave my self. But that I am forced to submit to every Caprice of my unruly Nature, you'll say, is no Argument that others are as little Masters of theirs, and therefore I am willing to pay Adoration to Virtue wherever I can meet with it, with a Proviso that I shall not be obliged to admit any as such, where I can see no Self-denial, or to judge of Mens Sentiments from their Words, where I have their Lives before me.
(152; cf. p. 120 in 1714 ed., p. 162 in 1723 ed.)"
10897,•I've included twice: Barn and Horse
,"","",2004-11-08 00:00:00 UTC,,4200,"",Remark O.,2009-09-14 19:35:22 UTC,"""Malice and most severe Strokes of Fortune can do no more Injury to a Mind thus stript of all Fears, Wishes and Inclinations, than a blind Horse can do in an empty Barn""","I could swagger about Fortitude and the Contempt of Riches as much as Seneca himself, and would undertake to write twice as much in behalf of Poverty as ever he did, for the tenth Part of his Estate:1 I could teach the way to his Summum bonum as exactly as I know my way home: I could tell People that to extricate themselves from all worldly Engagements, and to purify the Mind, they must divest themselves of their Passions, as Men take out the Furniture when they would clean a Room thoroughly; and I am clearly of the Opinion, that the Malice and most severe Strokes of Fortune can do no more Injury to a Mind thus stript of all Fears, Wishes and Inclinations, than a blind Horse can do in an empty Barn. In the The-ory of all this I am very perfect, but the Practice is very difficult; and if you went about picking my Pocket, offer'd to take the Victuals from before me when I am hungry, or made but the least Motion of spitting in my Face, I dare not promise how Philosophically I should behave my self. But that I am forced to submit to every Caprice of my unruly Nature, you'll say, is no Argument that others are as little Masters of theirs, and therefore I am willing to pay Adoration to Virtue wherever I can meet with it, with a Proviso that I shall not be obliged to admit any as such, where I can see no Self-denial, or to judge of Mens Sentiments from their Words, where I have their Lives before me.
(152)"
10899,"","","",2004-11-08 00:00:00 UTC,2011-11-24,4200,Inner and Outer,Remark O.,2011-11-24 19:21:40 UTC,"""This has often made me compare the Virtues of great Men to your large China Jars: they make a fine Shew, and are Ornamental even to a Chimney; one would by the Bulk they appear in, and the Value that is set upon 'em, think they might be very useful, but look into a thousand of them, and you'll find nothing in them but Dust and Cobwebs.""","This Contradiction in the Frame of Man is the Reason that the Theory of Virtue is so well understood, and the Practice of it so rarely to be met with. If you ask me where to look for those beautiful shining Qualities of Prime Ministers, and the great Favourites of Princes that are so finely painted in Dedications, Addresses, Epitaphs, Funeral Sermons and Inscriptions, I answer There, and no where else. Where would you look for the Excellency of a Statue, but in that Part which you see of it? 'Tis the Polish'd Outside only that has the Skill and Labour of the Sculptor to boast of; what's out of sight is untouch'd. Would you break the Head or cut open the Breast to look for the Brains or the Heart, you'd only shew your Ignorance, and destroy the Workmanship. This has often made me compare the Virtues of great Men to your large China Jars: they make a fine Shew, and are Ornamental even to a Chimney; one would by the Bulk they appear in, and the Value that is set upon 'em, think they might be very useful, but look into a thousand of them, and you'll find nothing in them but Dust and Cobwebs.
(168)"
10900,"","","",2004-11-08 00:00:00 UTC,,4200,Inner and Outer,Remark O.,2011-11-24 19:22:36 UTC,"""Where would you look for the Excellency of a Statue, but in that Part which you see of it? 'Tis the Polish'd Outside only that has the Skill and Labour of the Sculptor to boast of; what's out of sight is untouch'd. Would you break the Head or cut open the Breast to look for the Brains or the Heart, you'd only shew your Ignorance, and destroy the Workmanship.""","This Contradiction in the Frame of Man is the Reason that the Theory of Virtue is so well understood, and the Practice of it so rarely to be met with. If you ask me where to look for those beautiful shining Qualities of Prime Ministers, and the great Favourites of Princes that are so finely painted in Dedications, Addresses, Epitaphs, Funeral Sermons and Inscriptions, I answer There, and no where else. Where would you look for the Excellency of a Statue, but in that Part which you see of it? 'Tis the Polish'd Outside only that has the Skill and Labour of the Sculptor to boast of; what's out of sight is untouch'd. Would you break the Head or cut open the Breast to look for the Brains or the Heart, you'd only shew your Ignorance, and destroy the Workmanship. This has often made me compare the Virtues of great Men to your large China Jars: they make a fine Shew, and are Ornamental evena to a Chimney; one would by the Bulk they appear in, and the Value that is set upon 'em,b think they might be very useful, but look into a thousand of them, and you'll find nothing in them but Dust and Cobwebs.
(168)"
10901,•La R. reference is to Maxim 220 in Oeuvres.
,Reading,"",2004-11-08 00:00:00 UTC,2011-04-26,4200,"",Remark O.,2011-04-26 17:37:04 UTC,"""That Resolution depends upon this Tone of the Spirits, appears likewise from the effects of strong Liquors, the fiery Particles whereof crowding into the Brain, strengthen the Spirits; their Operation imitates that of Anger, which I said before was an Ebullition of the Spirits.""","That Resolution depends upon this Tone of the Spirits, appears likewise from the effects of strong Liquors, the fiery Particles whereof crowding into the Brain, strengthen the Spirits; their Operation imitates that of Anger, which I said before was an Ebullition of the Spirits. It is for this reason that most People when they are in Drink, are sooner touch'd and more prone to Anger than at other times, and some raving Mad without any Provocation at all. It is likewise observ'd, that Brandy makes Men more Quarrelsome at the same pitch of Drunkenness than Wine; because the Spirits of distill'd Waters have abundance of fiery Particles mixt with them, which the other has not. The Contexture of Spirits is so weak in some, that tho' they have Pride enough, no Art can ever make them fight, or overcome their Fears; but this is a Defect in the Principle of the Fluids, as other Deformities are faults of the Solids.1' These pusillanimous People are never thoroughly provok'd to Anger, where there is any Danger, and drinking ever makes 'em bolder, but seldom so resolute as to attack any, unless they be Women or Children, or such who they know dare not resist. This Constitution is often influenced by Health and Sickness, and impair'd by great Losses of Blood; sometimes it is corrected by Diet; and it is this which the Duke de la Rochefocault means when he says; Vanity, Shame, and above all Consti-tution, make up very often the Courage of Men and Virtue of Women.
(212)"
23843,INTEREST,Searching in ECCO-TCP,"",2014-04-30 03:18:37 UTC,,7880,"","",2014-04-30 03:18:37 UTC,"""This latter Meeting was like the Clinching of a Nail; confirming, and fastening in my Mind, those good Principles, which had sunk into me at the former.""","This latter Meeting was like the Clinching of a Nail; confirming, and fastening in my Mind, those good Principles, which had sunk into me at the former. My Understanding began to open, and I felt some Stirrings in my Breast, tending to the Work of a New Creation in me. The general Trouble, and Confusion of Mind, which had for some Days lain heavy upon me, and pressed me down, without a distinct Discovery of the particular Cause for which it came, began now to wear off; and some Glimmerings of Light began to break forth in me; which let me see my Inward State, and Condition towards God. The Light (which before had shone in my Darkness, and the Darkness could not comprehend it) began now to shine out of Darkness, and in some Measure discovered to me what it was, that had before clouded me, and brought that Sadness and Trouble upon me. And now I saw, that although I had been, in a great degree, preserved from the common Immoralities, and gross Pollutions of the World; yet the Spirit of the World had hitherto ruled in me, and led me into Pride, Flattery, Vanity and Superfluity; [date 1659] all which was Naught. I found there were many Plants growing in me, which were not of the Heavenly Father's Planting: and that all these (of whatever sort or kind they were, or how specious soever they might appear) must be plucked up.
(pp. 54-5)"