"But when Studentio had once persuaded his Mind to tie itself down to this Method which I have prescribed, he sensibly gain'd an admirable Facility to read, and judge of what he read, by his daily Practice of it, and the Man made large Advances in the Pursuit of Truth; while Plumbinus and Plumeo made less progress in Knowledge, though they had read over more Folio's."

— Watts, Isaac (1674-1748)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for James Brackstone
Date
1741
Metaphor
"But when Studentio had once persuaded his Mind to tie itself down to this Method which I have prescribed, he sensibly gain'd an admirable Facility to read, and judge of what he read, by his daily Practice of it, and the Man made large Advances in the Pursuit of Truth; while Plumbinus and Plumeo made less progress in Knowledge, though they had read over more Folio's."
Metaphor in Context
This is laborious indeed, and the Mind is backward to undergo the Fatigue of weighing every Argument and tracing every Thing to its Original. 'Tis much less Labour to take all Things upon Trust: Believing is much easier than arguing. But when Studentio had once persuaded his Mind to tie itself down to this Method which I have prescribed, he sensibly gain'd an admirable Facility to read, and judge of what he read, by his daily Practice of it, and the Man made large Advances in the Pursuit of Truth; while Plumbinus and Plumeo made less progress in Knowledge, though they had read over more Folio's. Plumeo skim'd over the Pages like a Swallow over the flowry Meads in May. Plumbinus read every Line and Syllable, but did not give himself the Trouble of thinking and judging about them. They both could boast in Company of their great reading, for they knew more Titles and Pages than Studentio, but were far less acquainted with Science.
(pp. 68-9)
Provenance
Searching and Reading in Google Books
Citation
32 entries in ESTC (1741, 1743, 1753, 1754, 1761, 1768, 1773, 1782, 1784, 1785, 1786, 1787, 1789, 1790, 1791, 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, 1798, 1799, 1800).

Most text drawn from Google Books. See The Improvement of the Mind: or, a Supplement to the Art of Logick: Containing a Variety of Remarks and Rules for the Attainment and Communication of Useful Knowledge, in Religion, in the Sciences, and in Common Life. By I. Watts, D.D. (London: Printed for James Brackstone, at the Globe in Cornhill, 1741). <Link to ESTC><Link to 2nd edition in Google Books>

Date of Entry
02/05/2014

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