"If it were otherwise, no one could even set down on paper a closely reasoned argument, for the attention would be skipping like a stone hurrying down a sharp incline, or it would be moving hither and thither like a helpless shuttlecock at the mercy of eager players."
— Spiller, Gustav (1864-1940)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Swan Sonnenschein
Date
1902
Metaphor
"If it were otherwise, no one could even set down on paper a closely reasoned argument, for the attention would be skipping like a stone hurrying down a sharp incline, or it would be moving hither and thither like a helpless shuttlecock at the mercy of eager players."
Metaphor in Context
Normal development takes place in time. We are, consequently, dependent on our memory. If immediately after asserting that "normal development takes place in time," I forgot what I had uttered, or grew doubtful, coherent thought would become impossible. As I am at the present instant writing, I re-develop from moment to moment sentences without any notable effort and without ceasing to write or to think. If it were otherwise, no one could even set down on paper a closely reasoned argument, for the attention would be skipping like a stone hurrying down a sharp incline, or it would be moving hither and thither like a helpless shuttlecock at the mercy of eager players.
(p. 178)
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
