"That turn of imagination which fits a person for productions in the arts, may no doubt be most properly said to soar, to fly, and to have wings. To dig with labour and patience, is a metaphor which may with equal propriety be applied to the investigation of philosophical truth; it is strongly expressive of the intense and continued exertion of judgment, which is requisite in observing all the circumstances of the several experiments, discerning which of them are essential, comparing them together, and tracing out the result of the whole: but the metaphor must not be overstrained, it must not be understood so strictly as to represent the philosopher as a mere drudge, destitute of fancy; without great vigour and activity of imagination, the experiments and observations made use of in that curious work, or in any philosophical enquiry of a like nature, could not be contrived, suggested, and arranged, so as to lay a foundation for legitimate conclusions."
An Essay on Genius
Only 1 entry in ESTC (1774).<br>
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<u>An Essay on Genius. By Alexander Gerard, D.D. Professor of Divinity in King's College, Aberdeen.</u> (London: Printed for W. Strahan; T. Cadell, and W. Creech at Edinburgh 1774). &lt;<a href="http://find.galegroup.com/ecco/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=ECCO&userGroupName=viva_uva&tabID=T001&docId=CW3315407235&type=multipage&contentSet=ECCOArticles&version=1.0&docLevel=FASCIMILE">Link to ECCO</a>&gt;