Date: 1709, 1714

"And I am persuaded, that had Reason herself been to judg of her own Interest, she wou'd have thought she receiv'd more Advantage in the main from that easy and familiar way, than from the usual stiff Adherence to a particular Opinion."

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

Date: 1709, 1714

"But according to refin'd Sense, the only well-advis'd Persons, as to this World, are errant Knaves; and they alone are thought to serve themselves, who serve their Passions, and indulge their loosest Appetites and Desires."

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

Date: 1710, 1714

"For let will be ever so free, humour and fancy, we see, govern it."

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

Date: 1710, 1714

"And here it is that our Sovereign Remedy and Gymnastick Method of Soliloquy takes its Rise: when by a certain powerful Figure of inward Rhetorick, the Mind apostrophizes its own Fancys, raises'em in their proper Shapes and Personages, and addresses 'em familiarly, without the least Ceremony or R...

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

Date: 1710, 1714

"Those on the side of the elder Brother Appetite, are strangely subtile and insinuating. They have always the Faculty to speak by Nods and Winks. By this practice they conceal half their meaning, and like modern Politicians pass for deeply wise, and adorn themselves with the finest Pretexts and m...

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

Date: 1710, 1714

"He shou'd set afoot the powerfullest Facultys of his Mind, and assemble the best Forces of his Wit and Judgment, in order to make a formal Descent on the Territorys of the Heart: resolving to decline no Combat, nor hearken to any Terms, till he had pierc'd into its inmost Provinces, and reach'd ...

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

Date: 1710, 1714

"As cruel a Court as the Inquisition appears; there must, it seems, be full as formidable a one, erected in our-selves; if we wou'd pretend to that Uniformity of Opinion which is necessary to hold us to one Will, and preserve us in the same Mind, from one day to another."

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

Date: 1710, 1714

"When a Revolution of this kind, tho not so total, happens at any time in a Character; when the Passion or Humour of a known Person changes remarkably from what it once was; 'tis to Philosophy we then appeal."

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

Date: 1710, 1714

"Can there be Strength of Mind; can there be Command over one's self; if the Ideas of Pleasure, the Suggestions of Fancy, and the strong Pleadings of Appetite and Desire are not often withstood, and the Imaginations soundly reprimanded, and brought under Subjection?"

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

Date: 1710, 1714

"This indeed is but too certain; That as long as we enjoy a Mind; as long as we have Appetites and Sense, the Fancys of all kinds will be hard at work; and whether we are in company, or alone, they must range still, and be active. They must have their Field. The Question is, Whether they shall ha...

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