"Without such a Miracle, since the Soul and Body act mutually upon one another, and the Tabernacle of Clay is the weakest part of the Compound, it must at last be overborn and thrown down."

— Cheyne, George (1671-1743)


Place of Publication
London
Publisher
George Strahan
Date
1724
Metaphor
"Without such a Miracle, since the Soul and Body act mutually upon one another, and the Tabernacle of Clay is the weakest part of the Compound, it must at last be overborn and thrown down."
Metaphor in Context
[...] And there is no doubt to be made, but the Organs of Sensation, and those the Mind uses in its intellectual Operations, may be likewise improved, strengthened and perfected by constant Use, and proper Application. And if by Excesses, and original bad Conformation, or any Accident, these Organs come to be spoiled, of by the bad state of the Juices, they be weakned in their Functions; the Medicinal and Chirurgical Arts may take place, and come in play. But if the Passions be raging and tumultuous, and constantly fuelled, nothing less that He, who has the Hearts of Men in his Hands, and forms them as a Potter does his Clay, who stills the raging Seas, and calms the Tempests of the Air, can settle and quiet such tumultuous, overbearing Hurricanes in the Mind, and Animal Oeconomy. Without such a Miracle, since the Soul and Body act mutually upon one another, and the Tabernacle of Clay is the weakest part of the Compound, it must at last be overborn and thrown down.
(p. 161)
Provenance
Reading in the British Library
Citation
Cheyne, George. An Essay of Health and Long Life (London: George Strahan, 1724). <Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
02/08/2012

The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.