"And hence it will follow, that with the foregoing exceptions, we may, among Europeans, bring genius to actual admeasurement, and determine its degrees by the size of the possessor's head, just as an exciseman gauges a beer barrel."
— Ramsay, James (1733-1789)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed and Sold by James Phillips
Date
1784
Metaphor
"And hence it will follow, that with the foregoing exceptions, we may, among Europeans, bring genius to actual admeasurement, and determine its degrees by the size of the possessor's head, just as an exciseman gauges a beer barrel."
Metaphor in Context
1. In this case it must be established as a maxim, that except in cases of idiotism, or accidental ill conformation, the rational powers are in proportion directly as the quantity of brains. And hence it will follow, that with the foregoing exceptions, we may, among Europeans, bring genius to actual admeasurement, and determine its degrees by the size of the possessor's head, just as an exciseman gauges a beer barrel. How much of those wranglings, that render us contemptible in the eyes of all Europe, should we save in both houses, if our competitors for power, instead of wasting the nation's time in a war of words, should each submit his head to this simple trial of its capacity?
(p. 222)
(p. 222)
Categories
Provenance
Searching in Google Books
Citation
James Ramsay, An Essay on the Treatment and Conversion of African Slaves in the British Sugar Colonies (London: printed and sold by James Phillips, 1784). <Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
07/29/2011
