"It is not to be doubted but that these things, altho' purely material, contribute to the Beauty and Nicety of Wit, because the Soul, when it is enclos'd in the Body, depends on the Organs, and those, when well dispos'd, are of much greater Aid to it in the performance of its Duty. Suppose a Painter be never so expert, he must have a Pencil for his Purpose when he has aim'd to draw fine and delicate Lines."

— Manley, Delarivier (c. 1670-1724)


Place of Publication
London
Date
1705
Metaphor
"It is not to be doubted but that these things, altho' purely material, contribute to the Beauty and Nicety of Wit, because the Soul, when it is enclos'd in the Body, depends on the Organs, and those, when well dispos'd, are of much greater Aid to it in the performance of its Duty. Suppose a Painter be never so expert, he must have a Pencil for his Purpose when he has aim'd to draw fine and delicate Lines."
Metaphor in Context
There are Men of Sense as well as Wit, who think differently of every thing. Those who are endow'd with a fine and delicate manner of discerning, conceive those things under nice Ideas to be the same as they really are: Wits of a narrower Size generally conceive but the superficial Part of Objects. Subtle Wits define too much, and evaporate all their Conceptions into vain Imaginations. The difference which is observable in these arises from the Disposition of the Organs Diversity of the Fibres of the Brain, and the Substance wherewith it is fill'd. It is not to be doubted but that these things, altho' purely material, contribute to the Beauty and Nicety of Wit, because the Soul, when it is enclos'd in the Body, depends on the Organs, and those, when well dispos'd, are of much greater Aid to it in the performance of its Duty. Suppose a Painter be never so expert, he must have a Pencil for his Purpose when he has aim'd to draw fine and delicate Lines.
(II< pp. 124-5)
Provenance
Searching in C-H Lion
Citation
At least 15 entries in the ESTC (1705, 1708, 1711, 1712, 1713, 1743, 1745, 1749).

Joseph Browne [ascribed to Delariviere Manley], The Secret History of Queen Zarah, and the Zarazians; Being a Looking-glass for In the Kingdom of Albigion. Faithfully Translated from the Italian Copy now lodg'd in the Vatican at Rome and never before Printed in any Language (Albigion [i.e. London]: Printed in the year 1705). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
06/21/2013

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