"Since, therefore, the mind of man appears of so loose and unsteddy a contexture, that, even at present, when so many persons find an interest in continually employing on it the chissel and the hammer, yet are they not able to engrave theological tenets with any lasting impression; how much more must this have been the case in antient times, when the retainers to the holy function were so much fewer in comparison?"
— Hume, David (1711-1776)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
A. Millar
Date
1757
Metaphor
"Since, therefore, the mind of man appears of so loose and unsteddy a contexture, that, even at present, when so many persons find an interest in continually employing on it the chissel and the hammer, yet are they not able to engrave theological tenets with any lasting impression; how much more must this have been the case in antient times, when the retainers to the holy function were so much fewer in comparison?"
Metaphor in Context
Since, therefore, the mind of man appears of so loose and unsteddy a contexture, that, even at present, when so many persons find an interest in continually employing on it the chissel and the hammer, yet are they not able to engrave theological tenets with any lasting impression; how much more must this have been the case in antient times, when the retainers to the holy function were so much fewer in comparison? No wonder, that the appearances were then very inconsistent, and that men, on some occasions, might seem determined infidels, and enemies to the established religion, without being so in reality; or at least, without knowing their own minds in that particular.
(p. 84)
(p. 84)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
At least 16 entries in the ESTC (1757, 1758, 1760, 1764, 1768, 1770, 1772, 1777, 1779, 1784, 1788, 1793, 1800)
See Hume, David. Four Dissertations (London: A. Millar, 1757). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>
See Hume, David. Four Dissertations (London: A. Millar, 1757). <Link to ESTC><Link to Google Books>
Date of Entry
07/28/2012
