One's band may "all want the stamp of a genuine great mind."
— Render, William (fl. 1790-1801); August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue (1761-1819)
Place of Publication
Cambridge
Publisher
Printed for the authour, and sold by J. Deighbon, and J. Nicholson; also by W. H. Lunn
Date
1798
Metaphor
One's band may "all want the stamp of a genuine great mind."
Metaphor in Context
CRUSTIEW.
How? It will never be extinguished.
(With an air of secrecy and solemnity.)
For three and twenty years have I been brooding over the great project. It has ripened slowly, like gold in the womb of the mine. Many things I have already prepared; much is done, much still remains to be done. Twenty men have bound themselves to me by an oath. My band is furnished with powerful engines. Boldness--ability--experience --courage--despair! One thing is still wanting. In none have I discovered the true spirit of a commander. One man is tickled by ambition; another quarrels about birth and rank even in fetters; one has no comprehension for a methodical and systematic whole; another will contend for his object to-day, and to-morrow stop midway to consider of it; in short, every one fills his proper station tolerably well, but all want the stamp of a genuine great mind. There are wheels enough, but no main-spring.
How? It will never be extinguished.
(With an air of secrecy and solemnity.)
For three and twenty years have I been brooding over the great project. It has ripened slowly, like gold in the womb of the mine. Many things I have already prepared; much is done, much still remains to be done. Twenty men have bound themselves to me by an oath. My band is furnished with powerful engines. Boldness--ability--experience --courage--despair! One thing is still wanting. In none have I discovered the true spirit of a commander. One man is tickled by ambition; another quarrels about birth and rank even in fetters; one has no comprehension for a methodical and systematic whole; another will contend for his object to-day, and to-morrow stop midway to consider of it; in short, every one fills his proper station tolerably well, but all want the stamp of a genuine great mind. There are wheels enough, but no main-spring.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "mind" and "stamp" in HDIS (Drama)
Citation
Second edition in Google Books: Count Benyowsky, or the Conspiracy of Kamtschatka. A Tragi-Comedy, in Five Acts, Translated from the German, by the Rev. W. Render, 2nd ed. (London: W. J. and J. Richardson, 1798). <Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
04/11/2005
