Uncouth men may have "minds like rich metals, as yet unpurify'd from alloy; but let it once be known that the ore is gold, and the refiner's hand will soon bring forth the bullion"
— Pilon, Frederick (1750-1788)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for G.G.J. and J. Robinson, Pater-Noster Row
Date
1786
Metaphor
Uncouth men may have "minds like rich metals, as yet unpurify'd from alloy; but let it once be known that the ore is gold, and the refiner's hand will soon bring forth the bullion"
Metaphor in Context
MAN.
That's a good hearing, faith! If he's fond of history, he must possess from nature a strong inquisitive mind under all this unpromising d'abord. Men, educated in a low sphere of life, however uncouthly they express themselves, often manifest a strong intellect; and on being put to the test, discover a fund of knowledge the better-educated man wou'd not expect from a slight acquaintance with them: I consider such minds like rich metals, as yet unpurify'd from alloy; but let it once be known that the ore is gold, and the refiner's hand will soon bring forth the bullion. --As you are fond of history, you have no doubt dipt into the histories of Greece and Rome?
That's a good hearing, faith! If he's fond of history, he must possess from nature a strong inquisitive mind under all this unpromising d'abord. Men, educated in a low sphere of life, however uncouthly they express themselves, often manifest a strong intellect; and on being put to the test, discover a fund of knowledge the better-educated man wou'd not expect from a slight acquaintance with them: I consider such minds like rich metals, as yet unpurify'd from alloy; but let it once be known that the ore is gold, and the refiner's hand will soon bring forth the bullion. --As you are fond of history, you have no doubt dipt into the histories of Greece and Rome?
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" and "alloy" in HDIS (Drama)
Citation
At least 5 entries in ECCO and ESTC (1786, 1787, 1790).
See He Would be a Soldier. A Comedy in Five Acts. (London: Printed for G.G.J. and J. Robinson, Pater-Noster Row, 1786). <Link to ECCO>
See He Would be a Soldier. A Comedy in Five Acts. (London: Printed for G.G.J. and J. Robinson, Pater-Noster Row, 1786). <Link to ECCO>
Date of Entry
05/25/2005
