"To this cabinet volition, or will, has a key; so when an arduous subject occurs, I unlock my bureau, pull out the particular drawer, and am supply'd with what I want in an instant."
— Foote, Samuel (1720-1777)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for G. Kearsly
Date
1764
Metaphor
"To this cabinet volition, or will, has a key; so when an arduous subject occurs, I unlock my bureau, pull out the particular drawer, and am supply'd with what I want in an instant."
Metaphor in Context
PUFF.
It is amazing where Sir Thomas Lofty stores all his knowlege.
DACTYL.
It is wonderful how the mind of man can contain it.
SIR THOMAS.
Why, to tell you the truth, that circumstance has a good deal engag'd my attention; and I believe you will admit my method of solving the phenomenon philosophical and ingenious enough.
PUFF.
Without question.
ALL.
Doubtless.
SIR THOMAS.
I suppose, Gentlemen, my memory, or mind , to be a chest of drawers, a kind of bureau; where, in separate cellules, my different knowlege on different subjects is stor'd.
RUST.
A prodigious discovery!
ALL.
Amazing!
SIR THOMAS.
To this cabinet volition, or will, has a key; so when an arduous subject occurs, I unlock my bureau, pull out the particular drawer, and am supply'd with what I want in an instant.
DACTYL.
A Malbranch!
PUFF.
A Boyle!
ALL.
A Locke! (II.ii, pp. 41-42)
It is amazing where Sir Thomas Lofty stores all his knowlege.
DACTYL.
It is wonderful how the mind of man can contain it.
SIR THOMAS.
Why, to tell you the truth, that circumstance has a good deal engag'd my attention; and I believe you will admit my method of solving the phenomenon philosophical and ingenious enough.
PUFF.
Without question.
ALL.
Doubtless.
SIR THOMAS.
I suppose, Gentlemen, my memory, or mind , to be a chest of drawers, a kind of bureau; where, in separate cellules, my different knowlege on different subjects is stor'd.
RUST.
A prodigious discovery!
ALL.
Amazing!
SIR THOMAS.
To this cabinet volition, or will, has a key; so when an arduous subject occurs, I unlock my bureau, pull out the particular drawer, and am supply'd with what I want in an instant.
DACTYL.
A Malbranch!
PUFF.
A Boyle!
ALL.
A Locke! (II.ii, pp. 41-42)
Provenance
Searching in HDIS (Drama)
Citation
At least 30 entries in ESTC (1764, 1770, 1773, 1774, 1776, 1778, 1779, 1780, 1781, 1782, 1783, 1786, 1787, 1788, 1794, 1797, 1798, 1799).
The Patron. A Comedy in Three Acts. As It Is Performed at the Theatre in the Hay-Market. By Samuel Foote, Esq. (London: Printed for G. Kearsly, in Ludgate-Street, 1764). <Link to ESTC>
The Patron. A Comedy in Three Acts. As It Is Performed at the Theatre in the Hay-Market. By Samuel Foote, Esq. (London: Printed for G. Kearsly, in Ludgate-Street, 1764). <Link to ESTC>
Date of Entry
08/10/2014
