"[I]f Knowledge had broke in upon [Adam] too fast, it would have overwhelm'd, and depress'd him; so that, as in the Case of some intolerable Load laid upon the Body, his Mind must have sunk under the Weight of it"
— Holloway, Benjamin (1690/1-1759)
Place of Publication
Oxford
Publisher
Printed at the Theatre for S. Parker, and E. Withers
Date
1754
Metaphor
"[I]f Knowledge had broke in upon [Adam] too fast, it would have overwhelm'd, and depress'd him; so that, as in the Case of some intolerable Load laid upon the Body, his Mind must have sunk under the Weight of it"
Metaphor in Context
All which Dr. Shuckford holds, and makes him next to a Mute too, yea, next to an Ideot; for Knowledge he had scarce any, but a Capacity only to attain it by Degrees, as Observation enabled him to pick it out, a little here, a little there, as he had Opportunity to acquire Sentiments, &c. confer supp. p. 22, 34, 53. & al. and thinks it was best that He should be so; because if Knowledge had broke in upon him too fast, it would have overwhelm'd, and depress'd him; so that, as in the Case of some intolerable Load laid upon the Body, his Mind must have sunk under the Weight of it: he forgot that where God giveth the Riches of Wisdom and Knowledge, he giveth largeness of Heart, with ample Faculties and Powers to receive and use it; without adding any Kind of Sorrow, or Excess, with it; but as it is Life and Joy in itself, so He makes it to give Life and Joy to all them that have it. I observ'd just above, that Adam according to our Dr. had not Knowledge, but a Capacity only, in Process of Time, to know, Supplem. p. 21 & al. pass. And so Dr. Edwards remarks of Socinus, that Adam, according to Him, had only the Faculty of Understanding, but none of the Accomplishments of it: His Mind being a pure rasa tabula, capable indeed of any Impressions, but having no Characters of Wisdom engraven upon it, by the Finger of God, when he first drop'd out of his Hands.
(pp. xxvi)
(pp. xxvi)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in ECCO
Citation
Holloway, Benjamin. The primævity and preeminence of the sacred Hebrew, above all other languages, vindicated from the repeated attempts of the Reverend Dr. Hunt to level it with the Arabic, and other oriental dialects; in a letter to a friend. With a word in the preface to Dr. Shuckford. By Benjamin Holloway, LL.B. Oxford. 1754. Based on information from English Short Title Catalogue. Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Gale Group. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/ECCO
Date of Entry
10/11/2006
