"Is it therefore to be wondered at, if the generality of men, who are ever intent on business or pleasure, and little used to fix or open the eye of their mind, should not have all that conviction and evidence of the being of God, which might be expected in reasonable creatures?"
— Berkeley, George (1685-1753)
Author
Place of Publication
Dublin
Publisher
Printed by Aaron Rhames, for Jeremy Pepyat
Date
1710, 1734
Metaphor
"Is it therefore to be wondered at, if the generality of men, who are ever intent on business or pleasure, and little used to fix or open the eye of their mind, should not have all that conviction and evidence of the being of God, which might be expected in reasonable creatures?"
Metaphor in Context
From what hath been said it will be manifest to any considering person, that it is merely for want of attention and comprehensiveness of mind, that there are any favourers of atheism or the Manichean heresy to be found. Little and unreflecting souls may indeed burlesque the works of Providence, the beauty and order whereof they have not capacity, or will not be at the pains to comprehend. But those who are masters of any justness and extent of thought, and are withal used to reflect, can never sufficiently admire the divine traces of wisdom and goodness that shine throughout the economy of Nature. But what truth is there which shineth so strongly on the mind, that by an aversion of thought, a wilful shutting of the eyes, we may not escape seeing it? Is it therefore to be wondered at, if the generality of men, who are ever intent on business or pleasure, and little used to fix or open the eye of their mind, should not have all that conviction and evidence of the being of God, which might be expected in reasonable creatures?
(Part I, §154, p. 112)
(Part I, §154, p. 112)
Categories
Provenance
Past Masters
Citation
George Berkeley, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge: Wherein the chief cause of error and difficulty in the Sciences, with the grounds of Scepticism, Atheism, and Irreligion are inquired Into (Dublin: printed by Aaron Rhames, for Jeremey Pepyet, 1710). <Link to ECCO>
See also Tonson's London edition: A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. Wherein the Chief Causes of Error and Difficulty in the Sciences, with the Grounds of Scepticism, Atheism, and Irreligion, are Inquired Into. First Printed in the Year 1710. To Which are Added Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, in Opposition to Scepticks and Atheists. First Printed in the Year 1713. Both Written by George Berkeley, M. A. Fellow of Trinity-College, Dublin (London: Jacob Tonson, 1734). <Link to ECCO>
Text from Past Masters digitized version, based on second edition of 1734. From The Works of George Berkeley, ed. T. E. Jessop and A. A. Luce, vol. ii (Desirée Park: Thomas Nelson, 1979).
See also Tonson's London edition: A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. Wherein the Chief Causes of Error and Difficulty in the Sciences, with the Grounds of Scepticism, Atheism, and Irreligion, are Inquired Into. First Printed in the Year 1710. To Which are Added Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous, in Opposition to Scepticks and Atheists. First Printed in the Year 1713. Both Written by George Berkeley, M. A. Fellow of Trinity-College, Dublin (London: Jacob Tonson, 1734). <Link to ECCO>
Text from Past Masters digitized version, based on second edition of 1734. From The Works of George Berkeley, ed. T. E. Jessop and A. A. Luce, vol. ii (Desirée Park: Thomas Nelson, 1979).
Theme
Mind's Eye
Date of Entry
02/18/2004
