"Well, I know that too, William, said I; but the Captain is a Man will be ruled by Reason; what have you to say to it?."
— Defoe, Daniel (1660?-1731)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Brotherton, J. Graves, and A. Dodd
Date
1720
Metaphor
"Well, I know that too, William, said I; but the Captain is a Man will be ruled by Reason; what have you to say to it?."
Metaphor in Context
But our Friend William gave us better Counsel; for he came to me, Friend, says he, I understand the Captain is for sailing back to the Rio Janiero, in Hopes to meet with the other Ship that was in Chase of thee yesterday; is it true, dost thou intend it? Why, yes, says I, William, pray why not? Nay, says he, thou mayst do so if thou wilt. Well, I know that too, William, said I; but the Captain is a Man will be ruled by Reason; what have you to say to it? Why, saysWilliam gravely, I only ask what is thy Business, and the Business of all the People thou hast with thee? Is it not to get Money? Yes, William, it is so, in our honest Way: And wouldst thou, says he, rather have Money without Fighting, or Fighting without Money? I mean, which wouldst thou have by Choice, suppose it to be left to thee? O William, says I, the first of the two, to be sure. Why then, says he, what great Gain hast thou made of the Prize thou hast taken now, tho' it has cost the Lives of thirteen of thy Men, besides some hurt? It is true, thou hast got the Ship and some Prisoners, but thou wouldst have had twice the Booty in a Merchant Ship, with not one Quarter of the Fighting; and how dost thou know either what Force, or what Number of Men may be in the other Ship, and what Loss thou mayst suffer, and what Gain it shall be to thee, if thou take her? I think indeed thou mayst much better let her alone.
Provenance
Searching "rule" and "reason" in HDIS (Prose Fiction)
Citation
At least 3 entries in the ESTC (1720, 1737, 1768).
See Daniel Defoe, The Life, Adventures, and Pyracies, Of the Famous Captain Singleton: Containing an Account of his being set on Shore in the Island of Madagascar, his Settlement there, with a Description of the Place and Inhabitants: Of his Passage from thence, in a Paraguay, to the main Land of Africa, with an Account of the Customs and Manners of the People: His great Deliverances from the barbarous Natives and wild Beasts: Of his meeting with an Englishman, a Citizen of London, among the Indians, the great Riches he acquired, and his Voyage Home to England: As also Captain Singleton's Return to Sea, with an Account of his many Adventures and Pyracies with the famous Captain Avery and others (London: Printed for J. Brotherton, J. Graves, and A. Dodd, 1720).
See Daniel Defoe, The Life, Adventures, and Pyracies, Of the Famous Captain Singleton: Containing an Account of his being set on Shore in the Island of Madagascar, his Settlement there, with a Description of the Place and Inhabitants: Of his Passage from thence, in a Paraguay, to the main Land of Africa, with an Account of the Customs and Manners of the People: His great Deliverances from the barbarous Natives and wild Beasts: Of his meeting with an Englishman, a Citizen of London, among the Indians, the great Riches he acquired, and his Voyage Home to England: As also Captain Singleton's Return to Sea, with an Account of his many Adventures and Pyracies with the famous Captain Avery and others (London: Printed for J. Brotherton, J. Graves, and A. Dodd, 1720).
Date of Entry
06/09/2004
Date of Review
06/07/2011
