"People do not always know what taste they have, till it is awakened by some corresponding object; nay, genius itself is a fire, which in many minds would never blaze, if not kindled by some external cause."

— More, Hannah (1745-1833)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Wilkie; and T. Cadell
Date
1777
Metaphor
"People do not always know what taste they have, till it is awakened by some corresponding object; nay, genius itself is a fire, which in many minds would never blaze, if not kindled by some external cause."
Metaphor in Context
It seems very extraordinary, that it should be the most difficult thing in the world to be natural; and that it should be harder to hit off the manners of real life, and to delineate such characters as we converse with every day, than to imagine such as do not exist. But caricature is much easier than an exact outline, and the colouring of fancy less difficult than that of truth.

People do not always know what taste they have, till it is awakened by some corresponding object; nay, genius itself is a fire, which in many minds would never blaze, if not kindled by some external cause.
(p. 206)
Provenance
ECCO-TCP
Citation
11 entries in ESTC (1777, 1778, 1785, 1786, 1787, 1791, 1792, 1796).

Essays on Various Subjects: Principally Designed for Young Ladies. (London: Printed for J. Wilkie; and T. Cadell, 1777). <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Date of Entry
10/16/2013

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