"Suddenly, in the midst of some train of thought, rises the sought-for line, like a ghost out of a gulf."
— Spiller, Gustav (1864-1940)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Swan Sonnenschein
Date
1902
Metaphor
"Suddenly, in the midst of some train of thought, rises the sought-for line, like a ghost out of a gulf."
Metaphor in Context
Perhaps an illustration or two will elucidate this problem. I wish to reintegrate the second line of a verse; but after repeated efforts I fail, and turn away from the subject. [Try deliberately to re-instate things or names which you do not easily re-develop, and note result.] Suddenly, in the midst of some train of thought, rises the sought-for line, like a ghost out of a gulf. How are we to account for this ? Coincidence is out of the question, and sub-conscious thought, in the sense in which we have defined it, we must also reject. These may account for individual cases; but they do not explain the facts as a whole. The line rises spontaneously, unbidden, unsought, perhaps unwelcome.
(p. 83)
Categories
Provenance
Searching Google Books
Citation
Gustav Spiller. The Mind of Man: A Text-book of Psychology. London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1902. <Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
03/16/2009
