"Covetousness we may truly call, The Dropsie of the Mind, it being an insatiable Thirst of Gain"
— Barker, Jane (1675-1743)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for E. Curll and T. Payne
Date
1723
Metaphor
"Covetousness we may truly call, The Dropsie of the Mind, it being an insatiable Thirst of Gain"
Metaphor in Context
Upon Covetousness.
Covetousness we may truly call, The Dropsie of the Mind, it being an insatiable Thirst of Gain: The more we get, the more we desire, and the more we have, the less willing are we to part with any. It was a wise Remark of him that said, A Poor Man wants Many things, but the Covetous Man wants All things; for a covetous Man will want Necessaries, rather than part with his Gold; and unless we do part with [Page 69] it, it is of no use to us; since we can't eat, drink, or warm ourselves by it: And, as of itself it can neither feed, warm, nor cloath us, so neither can it make us Ploughshares, Pruning-hooks, Weapons of Defence, or other Utensils worthy the Value we set upon it. Yet this shining Earth commands this Lower-Orb, and for it we often sell our Friends, King, Country, Laws, and even our eternal Happiness. ThusAvarice brings many to that Region where the Coveting of Thirty Pieces of Silver brought the most abominable of all Traitors.
(pp. 68-9)
Covetousness we may truly call, The Dropsie of the Mind, it being an insatiable Thirst of Gain: The more we get, the more we desire, and the more we have, the less willing are we to part with any. It was a wise Remark of him that said, A Poor Man wants Many things, but the Covetous Man wants All things; for a covetous Man will want Necessaries, rather than part with his Gold; and unless we do part with [Page 69] it, it is of no use to us; since we can't eat, drink, or warm ourselves by it: And, as of itself it can neither feed, warm, nor cloath us, so neither can it make us Ploughshares, Pruning-hooks, Weapons of Defence, or other Utensils worthy the Value we set upon it. Yet this shining Earth commands this Lower-Orb, and for it we often sell our Friends, King, Country, Laws, and even our eternal Happiness. ThusAvarice brings many to that Region where the Coveting of Thirty Pieces of Silver brought the most abominable of all Traitors.
(pp. 68-9)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Prose)
Citation
Only one entry in the ESTC (1723).
A Patch-Work Screen for the Ladies; or Love and Virtue Recommended: In a Collection of Instructive Novels. Related After a Manner Intirely New, and Interspersed with Rural Poems, describing the Innocence of a Country-Life. By Mrs. Jane Barker, of Wilsthorp, near Stamford, in Lincolnshire (London: Printed for E. Curll and T. Payne, 1723.) <Link to ECCO> <Link to Google>
A Patch-Work Screen for the Ladies; or Love and Virtue Recommended: In a Collection of Instructive Novels. Related After a Manner Intirely New, and Interspersed with Rural Poems, describing the Innocence of a Country-Life. By Mrs. Jane Barker, of Wilsthorp, near Stamford, in Lincolnshire (London: Printed for E. Curll and T. Payne, 1723.) <Link to ECCO> <Link to Google>
Date of Entry
08/09/2005
