"But the Truth is, my Thoughts never look towards Dublin now, without casting such a Cloud upon my Mind, and laying such a Load of fresh Sorrow on me for the Loss of my dear Friend, your Brother, that I cannot without Displeasure turn them that Way; and when I do it I find my self very unfit for Conversation and the Entertainment of a Friend."

— Locke, John (1632-1704)


Date
January 25, 1698/9; 1708
Metaphor
"But the Truth is, my Thoughts never look towards Dublin now, without casting such a Cloud upon my Mind, and laying such a Load of fresh Sorrow on me for the Loss of my dear Friend, your Brother, that I cannot without Displeasure turn them that Way; and when I do it I find my self very unfit for Conversation and the Entertainment of a Friend."
Metaphor in Context
I Have been slower in returning you my Thanks for the Favour of your Letter of the 26th of November, and the Civilities you express to me in it, than perhaps I should have been. But the Truth is, my Thoughts never look towards Dublin now, without casting such a Cloud upon my Mind, and laying such a Load of fresh Sorrow on me for the Loss of my dear Friend, your Brother, that I cannot without Displeasure turn them that Way; and when I do it I find my self very unfit for Conversation and the Entertainment of a Friend. 'Tis therefore not without Pain that I bring my self to write you a scurvy Letter. What there wants in it of Expression, you must make up out of the Esteem I have for the Memory of our common Friend; and I desire you not to think my Respects to you the less, because the Loss of your Brother makes me not able to speak them as I would.
(pp. 232-3)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in Google Books
Citation
3 entries in ESTC for uniform title Some Familiar Letters Between Mr. Locke and Several of His Friends (1708, 1737, 1742).

Text from Familiar Letters Between Mr. John Locke, and Several of His Friends. In Which Are Explain'd, His Notions in His Essay Concerning Human Understanding, and in Some of His Other Works, 4th ed. (London: Printed for F. Noble; T. Wright; and J. Duncan, 1742). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>. ESTC note: "A reissue of the 1737 Bettesworth and Hitch edition, with the addition of the 'life', and a cancel titlepage."

See also Some Familiar Letters Between Mr. Locke, and Several of His Friends. (London: Printed for A. and J. Churchill at the Black Swan in Pater-Noster Row, 1708). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
10/13/2013

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