"It [Genius] is an incommunicable faculty: no art or skill of the possessor can bestow the smallest portion of it on another: no pains or labour can reach the summit of perfection, where the seeds of it are wanting in the mind; yet it is capable of infinite improvement where it actually exists, and is attended with the highest capacity of communicating instruction, as well as delight to others."
— More, Hannah (1745-1833)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Wilkie; and T. Cadell
Date
1777
Metaphor
"It [Genius] is an incommunicable faculty: no art or skill of the possessor can bestow the smallest portion of it on another: no pains or labour can reach the summit of perfection, where the seeds of it are wanting in the mind; yet it is capable of infinite improvement where it actually exists, and is attended with the highest capacity of communicating instruction, as well as delight to others."
Metaphor in Context
GENIUS is the power of invention and imitation. It is an incommunicable faculty: no art or skill of the possessor can bestow the smallest portion of it on another: no pains or labour can reach the summit of perfection, where the seeds of it are wanting in the mind; yet it is capable of infinite improvement where it actually exists, and is attended with the highest capacity of communicating instruction, as well as delight to others.
(pp. 181-2)
(pp. 181-2)
Categories
Provenance
ECCO-TCP
Citation
11 entries in ESTC (1777, 1778, 1785, 1786, 1787, 1791, 1792, 1796).
Essays on Various Subjects: Principally Designed for Young Ladies. (London: Printed for J. Wilkie; and T. Cadell, 1777). <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Essays on Various Subjects: Principally Designed for Young Ladies. (London: Printed for J. Wilkie; and T. Cadell, 1777). <Link to ECCO-TCP>
Date of Entry
10/16/2013
