"Men do not know the natural infirmity of their mind: it does nothing but ferret and quest and keeps incessantly whirling arounnd building up and becoming entangled in its own work, like our silkworms, and is suffocated in it."
— Montaigne, Michel Eyquem seigneur de (1533-1592)
Work Title
Date
1588
Metaphor
"Men do not know the natural infirmity of their mind: it does nothing but ferret and quest and keeps incessantly whirling arounnd building up and becoming entangled in its own work, like our silkworms, and is suffocated in it."
Metaphor in Context
Men do not know the natural infirmity of their mind: it does nothing but ferret and quest and keeps incessantly whirling arounnd building up and becoming entangled in its own work, like our silkworms, and is suffocated in it. 'A mouse in a pitch barrel [erasmus]'. ...Crates said of the writings of heraclitus, that they needed a good swimmer for a reader, so that the depth and weight of heraclitus' learning should not sink him and drown him.
Categories
Provenance
Dave Moon
Date of Entry
02/05/2004
