“With curious art the brain, too finely wrought,
Preys on herself, and is destroy'd by thought”
Charles Churchill (satirist) (1731–1764) British poet
Epistle to William Hogarth (July 1763), line 645
Context: With curious art the brain, too finely wrought,
Preys on herself, and is destroy'd by thought:
Constant attention wears the active mind,
Blots out our powers, and leaves a blank behind.