"A Man receives a sensible Injury from another, thinks on the Man and that Action over and over; and by ruminating on them strongly, or much in his mind, so cements those two Ideas together, that he makes them almost one."

— Locke, John (1632-1704)


Place of Publication
London
Date
1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706
Metaphor
"A Man receives a sensible Injury from another, thinks on the Man and that Action over and over; and by ruminating on them strongly, or much in his mind, so cements those two Ideas together, that he makes them almost one."
Metaphor in Context
A Man receives a sensible Injury from another, thinks on the Man and that Action over and over; and by ruminating on them strongly, or much in his mind, so cements those two Ideas together, that he makes them almost one; Never thinks on the Man, but the Pain and Displeasure he suffered comes into his Mind with it, so that he scarce distinguishes them, but has as much an aversion for the one as the other. Thus Hatreds are often begotten from slight and innocent Occasions, and Quarrels propagated and continued in the World.
(II.xxxiii.11)
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Locke began composition as early as 1671 (Drafts A and B).

I find over 25 entries in the ESTC (1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706, 1710, 1715, 1721, 1726, 1731, 1735, 1741, 1748, 1753, 1759, 1760, 1765, 1768, 1775, 1777, 1786, 1788, 1793, 1795, 1796, 1798). See also the many abridgements issued in the period.

First published as An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. In Four Books. (London: Printed by Eliz. Holt, for Thomas Basset, at the George in Fleetstreet, near St. Dunstan's Church, 1690). <Link to EEBO><EEBO-TCP>

Searching first in a Past Masters edition based on the 12th Edition of Locke's Works and proofread against the 1959 Fraser edition. More recent searches in EEBO-TCP.

Reading John Locke's An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, ed. Peter Nidditch (Oxford, Oxford UP, 1975)--against which I have checked the text searched in Past Masters. Note, Nidditch's text is based on 4th ed. of 1700.
Theme
Associationism
Date of Entry
07/21/2011

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.