"Yet in such pursuits great moderation is requisite, lest the mind too freely rove, and idly indulge itself in the airy wilds of fancy, to the neglect of real science and useful improvement."
— Berington, Joseph (1743-1827)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for G. Robinson, and M. Swinney, Birmingham
Date
1776
Metaphor
"Yet in such pursuits great moderation is requisite, lest the mind too freely rove, and idly indulge itself in the airy wilds of fancy, to the neglect of real science and useful improvement."
Metaphor in Context
I allow with you that, speculations on such subjects as Dr. Hartly hath treated, tend greatly to enlarge the mind, by filling it with ideas, so noble, and so far elevated above the level of common life and manners. Yet in such pursuits great moderation is requisite, lest the mind too freely rove, and idly indulge itself in the airy wilds of fancy, to the neglect of real science and useful improvement. Many are inclined to think that the public, in general, is more indebted ot Dr. Priestley for his physical discoveries, than for all he either hath done, or may continue to do in his metaphysical, or even religious enquiries. But in these, as in all things else, each one judges according to his own ideas and attachments.
(p. 14, in. 19)
(p. 14, in. 19)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in ECCO
Citation
Berington, Joseph. Letters on Materialism and Hartley's theory of the Human Mind, Addressed to Dr. Priestley, F. R. S. (London: Printed for G. Robinson, and M. Swinney, Birmingham, 1776). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
01/08/2004
Date of Review
07/22/2011
