« back to search

"The minde thinks a thought, now conscience goes beyond the minde, and knowes what the minde thinks; so as if a man would go about to hide his sinnefull thoughts from God, his conscience as an other person within him, shall discouer all."

— Perkins, William (1558-1602)

Author

A Discourse of Conscience

Place of Publication

Cambridge

Publisher

Printed by John Legate

Date

1596

Metaphor

"The minde thinks a thought, now conscience goes beyond the minde, and knowes what the minde thinks; so as if a man would go about to hide his sinnefull thoughts from God, his conscience as an other person within him, shall discouer all."

Metaphor in Context

That it beares witnes of our secret thoughts, it appeares by the solemne protestation which at some time men vse In my conscience I never thought it: whereby they signifie that they think something, or they thinke it not, and that their consciences can tell what they thinke. Neither must this seeme strange. For there must be two actions of the vnderstanding, the one is simple, which barely conceiueth or thinketh this or that: the other is a reflecting or doubling of the former, whereby a man conceiues and thinkes with himselfe what he thinks. And this action properly pertaines to the conscience. The minde thinks a thought, now conscience goes beyond the minde, and knowes what the minde thinks; so as if a man would go about to hide his sinnefull thoughts from God, his conscience as an other person within him, shall discouer all. By meanes of this second action conscience may beare witnes euen of thoughts, and from hence also it seemes to borrow his name, because conscience is a science or knowledge ioyned with an other knowledge; for by it I conceiue and know what I know.
(pp. 6-7)