"The body is but the house; the soul is the tenant that inhabits it; the body is the instrument; the soul the artist that directs it."
— Mason, John (1706-1763)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed by J. Waugh
Date
1745
Metaphor
"The body is but the house; the soul is the tenant that inhabits it; the body is the instrument; the soul the artist that directs it."
Metaphor in Context
Self-knowledge is that acquaintance with ourselves which shows us what we are, and do, and ought to be, in order to our living comfortably and usefully here, and happily hereafter. The means of it is self-examination; the end of it is self-government and self-fruition.--It principally consists in the knowledge of our souls; which is attained by a particular attention to their various powers, capacities, passions, inclinations, operations, state, happiness, and temper. For a man's soul is properly himself, Matt. xvi. 26. compared with Luke ix. 25. The body is but the house; the soul is the tenant that inhabits it; the body is the instrument; the soul the artist that directs it.
(I.i, pp. 10-1)
(I.i, pp. 10-1)
Provenance
Reading
Citation
20 entries in ESTC (1745, 1746, 1748, 1753, 1754, 1755, 1758, 1760, 1764, 1767, 1769, 1774, 1778, 1784, 1788, 1791, 1792, 1794, 1797).
Self-Knowledge. A Treatise, Shewing the Nature and Benefit of that Important Science, and The Way to attain it. Intermixed with various Reflections and Observations on Human Nature. By John Mason, A.M. (London: J. Waugh, 1745). <Link to Google>
Self-Knowledge. A Treatise, Shewing the Nature and Benefit of that Important Science, and The Way to attain it. Intermixed with various Reflections and Observations on Human Nature. By John Mason, A.M. (London: J. Waugh, 1745). <Link to Google>
Date of Entry
06/11/2013
