"And we must be content to rest upon the surface without straining to pierce into causes which are hidden from us, and which have hitherto mocked the attempts of impatient philosophers. We should resolve to wait till a longer fathom line is granted us, and then we shall be able to sound depths which we cannot do in our present state of frail imperfection."
— Boswell, James (1740-1795)
Author
Work Title
Date
April, 1783
Metaphor
"And we must be content to rest upon the surface without straining to pierce into causes which are hidden from us, and which have hitherto mocked the attempts of impatient philosophers. We should resolve to wait till a longer fathom line is granted us, and then we shall be able to sound depths which we cannot do in our present state of frail imperfection."
Metaphor in Context
Watts, in his Improvement of the Mind, says "Our Memory is our natural power of retaining what we learn, and of recalling it on every occasion." This is a good definition of a good memory. And we must be content to rest upon the surface without straining to pierce into causes which are hidden from us, and which have hitherto mocked the attempts of impatient philosophers. We should resolve to wait till a longer fathom line is granted us, and then we shall be able to sound depths which we cannot do in our present state of frail imperfection.
(p. 158 in London Magazine)
(p. 158 in London Magazine)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
The Hypochondriack, No. 67 (April, 1783). See also The London Magazine, or Gentleman's Monthly Intelligencer
<Link to Google Books>
See also James Boswell, The Hypochondriack, ed. Margery Bailey, 2 vols. (Stanford UP, 1928).
See also James Boswell, The Hypochondriack, ed. Margery Bailey, 2 vols. (Stanford UP, 1928).
Theme
Lockean Literature
Date of Entry
07/09/2013
