"The infant Mind is ductile like Wax; you may stamp a fair or ugly Impression upon it, Error or Knowledge, Indolence or Application, Virtue or Vice."
— Fordyce, David (bap. 1711, d. 1751)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
[s.n.]
Date
1745
Metaphor
"The infant Mind is ductile like Wax; you may stamp a fair or ugly Impression upon it, Error or Knowledge, Indolence or Application, Virtue or Vice."
Metaphor in Context
[...] Nature gives us Talents, it is Education that applies them right or wrong. Nature bestows Propensions and Affections, which may be directed to Good, either public or private. 'Tis Culture that improves or perverts them. The infant Mind is ductile like Wax; you may stamp a fair or ugly Impression upon it, Error or Knowledge, Indolence or Application, Virtue or Vice. What makes little Miss, who is is admired, caressed and flattered, the pert imperious Dame, but the early Incense offered to her Vanity? Why does Master, when he comes of Age, turn out so stubborn and insolent, an abandoned Rake or wretched Spendthrift, but the Good-nature of doating Parents, or the Mismanagement of Tutors, or the Company he falls into? [...]
(vol I, pp. 179)
(vol I, pp. 179)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in ECCO
Citation
8 entries in ESTC (1745, 1748, 1753, 1755, 1757, 1768).
Fordyce, David. Dialogues Concerning Education. 2 vols. (London: [s.n.], 1745).
Fordyce, David. Dialogues Concerning Education. 2 vols. (London: [s.n.], 1745).
Date of Entry
10/19/2006
Date of Review
10/10/2010
