"When the Mind finds herself very much inflamed with her Devotions, she is too much inclined to think they are not of her own kindling, but blown up by something Divine within her."
— Addison, Joseph (1672-1719)
Author
Work Title
Date
Saturday, October 20, 1711
Metaphor
"When the Mind finds herself very much inflamed with her Devotions, she is too much inclined to think they are not of her own kindling, but blown up by something Divine within her."
Metaphor in Context
Devotion, when it does not lie under the Check of Reason, is very apt to degenerate into Enthusiasm. When the Mind finds herself very much inflamed with her Devotions, she is too much inclined to think they are not of her own kindling, but blown up by something Divine within her. If she indulges this Thought too far, and humours the growing Passion, she at last flings her self into imaginary Raptures and Extasies; and when once she fancies her self under the Influence of a Divine Impulse, it is no Wonder if she slights Human Ordinances, and refuses to comply with any established Form of Religion, as thinking her self directed by a much superior Guide.
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
See Donald Bond's edition: The Spectator, 5 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965), ii, 287-90.
Date of Entry
06/17/2013
