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Date: 1603

"And my imaginations are as foul / As Vulcan's stithy."

— Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

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Date: 1641

"As Lots wife was turned into a Pillar of Salt, that her inconstancie might be fixt, and yet be melting still: So, thou, my Soule, if I had my wish, shouldst be turned into a Pillar of Thoughts; that thy volubility might be restrain'd, and yet be thinking still."

— Baker, Richard, Sir (c. 1568-1645)

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Date: 1681

"In Pow'r unpleas'd, impatient of Disgrace. / A fiery Soul, which working out its way, / Fretted the Pigmy-Body to decay; / And o'r inform'd the Tenement of Clay."

— Dryden, John (1631-1700)

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Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"And our Minds represent to us those Tombs, to which we are approaching; where though the Brass and Marble remain, yet the Inscriptions are effaced by time, and the Imagery moulders away."

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

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Date: 1690, 1694, 1695, 1700, 1706

"Earthly minds, like mud-walls, resist the strongest batteries: And though perhaps sometimes the force of a clear argument may make some impression, yet they nevertheless stand firm, and keep out the enemy truth, that would captivate or disturb them."

— Locke, John (1632-1704)

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Date: 1691

"Thirdly, Let us hence duly learn to prize and value our Souls; is the Body such a rare Piece, what this is the Soul? the Body is but the Husk or Shell, the Soul is the Kernel; the Body is but the Cask, the Soul the precious Liquor contained in it; the Body is but the Cabinet; the Soul the Jewel;...

— Ray [formerly Wray], John (1627–1705)

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Date: 1692

"Or grant some Knowledge dwells below, / 'Tis but for some few years to stay / Till I'm set loose from this dark House of Clay, / And in an Instant I shall all things know."

— Norris, John (1657-1712)

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Date: 1697

"Our Senses to the Mind while lodg'd in Clay, / Do all their various Images convey. / Things that we tast, and feel, and see, afford / The Seeds of Thought with which our Minds are stor'd."

— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

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Date: 1710, 1714

"Thus I contend with Fancy and Opinion; and search the Mint and Foundery of Imagination. For here the Appetites and Desires are fabricated. Hence they derive their Privilege and Currency. If I can stop the Mischief here, and prevent false Coinage; I am safe."

— Cooper, Anthony Ashley, third earl of Shaftesbury (1671-1713)

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Date: 1715

"Or can they ought that's mean, when God has set / A Jewel in their earthly Cabinet?"

— Wesley, Samuel, The Elder (bap. 1662, d. 1735)

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The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.