Beattie, James (1735-1803)

Of Memory and Imagination [from Dissertations Moral and Critical]

London

Printed for W. Strahan; and T. Cadell ... and W. Creech

1783

"The human brain is a bodily substance; and sensible and permanent impressions made upon it must so far resemble those made on sand by the foot, or on wax by the seal, as to have certain shape, length, breadth, and deepness"

The human brain is a bodily substance; and sensible and permanent impressions made upon it must so far resemble those made [end page 10] on sand by the foot, or on wax by the seal, as to have certain shape, length, breadth, and deepness. Now such an impression can only be made by that, which had solidity, magnitude, and figure. If then we remember thoughts, feelings, sounds, as well as things visible and tangible, which will hardly be denied; those sounds, thoughts, and feelings, must have a body, and, consequently, shape, size, and weight. What then is the size or weight of a sound? Is it an inch long, or half an inch? Does it weigh an ounce, or a grain? Does the roar of a cannon bear any resemblance to the ball, or to the powder, in shape, in weight, or in magnitude? What figure has the pain of the toothach, and our remembrance of that pain? Is it triangular, or circular, or of a square form? The bare mention of these consequences may prove the absurdity of the theories that lead to them.
(II.i, pp. 10-11)

Uncategorized::Footprint Body::Foot Impressions Uncategorized::Wax and Seal

Reading

At least 2 entries in ESTC (1783).

Beattie, James. Dissertations Moral and Critical (London: Printed for Strahan, Cadell, and Creech, 1783). Facsimile-Reprint: Friedrich Frommann Verlag, Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt, 1970. <Link to Google Books>

07/25/2005

01/28/2012