"How solidly he establishes, in Opposition to the celebrated Mr. Locke, the Doctrine of Innate Ideas; or that the Soul of Man, is not in its first created State, a mere Rasa Tabula, or blank Paper, but full of divine Sensations, and the Powers, Riches and Glories of Eternity; all treasured up and lying dormant in it."

— Anonymous; [L--]


Place of Publication
Bath
Publisher
Printed and sold by S. Hazard
Date
1781
Metaphor
"How solidly he establishes, in Opposition to the celebrated Mr. Locke, the Doctrine of Innate Ideas; or that the Soul of Man, is not in its first created State, a mere Rasa Tabula, or blank Paper, but full of divine Sensations, and the Powers, Riches and Glories of Eternity; all treasured up and lying dormant in it."
Metaphor in Context
[...} How marvellously he unfolds the great Volume of Temporal and Eternal Nature, and discovers the true Origin of natural and moral Evil; which has so perplexed modern Divines and Philosophers, as it formerly did the Ancient Sages to Account for. How solidly he establishes, in Opposition to the celebrated Mr. Locke, the Doctrine of Innate Ideas; or that the Soul of Man, is not in its first created State, a mere Rasa Tabula, or blank Paper, but full of divine Sensations, and the Powers, Riches and Glories of Eternity; all treasured up and lying dormant in it. In [end page 5] a Word, how clearly he demonstrates to the ingenuous, enquiring Mind, the essential, eternal, and unchangeable Distinction, between God and Nature; a Mystery, with respect to its true Ground, hidden for Ages; and many other Truths of the utmost Moment, all coming Home to the Bosoms of Men; I am filled with Admiration; and cannot but consider him as a resplendent Luminary, newly arisen in the intellectual and spiritual World, in order to dispel the Darkness of bewildered Reason and Learning, and to establish in their Room, a Philosophy founded upon the solid and sublime Principles of the Gospel, the manifest Operations of Nature, and the immutable Relations of Things [...]
(pp. 5-6)
Provenance
Searching "tabula rasa" in ECCO
Citation
Only 1 entry in the ESTC (1781).

A Serious and Affectionate Address, to All Orders of Men, Adapted to This Awful Crisis. in Which Are Earnestly Recommended, the Works of the Late Rev. William Law, ... to Which Are Added Three Letters, Written by Mr. Law, to the Author. (Bath: Printed and sold by S. Hazard: sold also by G. Robinson, London, and T. Mills, Bristol, 1781). <Link to ESTC>
Theme
Blank Slate
Date of Entry
10/13/2006

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.