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Dear Professor Henry,
It’s my sense that for Lewis the term “adminicular” came from Plato’s dialogue “The Statesman” most probably where Plato is distinguishing the art of weaving from the adminicular art of producing the instruments of weaving; or from Bacon’s Novum Organum where Bacon discusses “adminicular” induction. Lewis read both philosophers very closely having obtained a Master’s degree in philosophy. As for “gear” it seems to me that it is one of Lewis’s original twists on words which he’s known for. In these situations, he usually puts quotation marks around these original phrases. Of course, there might be a more plausible source.
Best,
Salwa
Salwa Khoddam, PhD.
Professor of English, Emerita
Oklahoma City University
From: Sidney-Spenser Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sean Henry
Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2017 10:48 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Query: "adminicular gear"
A question which someone might be able to answer. I was rereading part of C.S. Lewis's volume in the OHEL where Lewis assesses Watson's Hekatompathia, commenting on the "adminicular gear" Watson includes with his sonnets (p.482). As is usual with Lewis, he doesn't cite the phrase, and I cannot turn it up after a cursory search through Hekatompathia, EEBO, or Google.
I may reveal myself a very cursory searcher indeed (or ill-read beyond worlds, since given Lewis's habits, it's probably from a novel), but does anyone know the source of "adminicular gear," please?
Seeking adminicular aid,
Sean.
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Sean Henry, B.A., M.A., PhD.
Lecturer, Department of English
University of Victoria, B.C., Canada
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