Date: 1730

"Thou golden chain 'twixt God and men, / Bless'd Reason! guide my life and pen."

— Young, Edward (bap. 1683, d. 1765)

Date: 1731

"I've try'd all Arts my Passion to controul, / And still the giddy Tumult of my Soul; / But all in vain, no Charm has Strength to bind, / In lasting Chains, my wild disorder'd Mind."

— Thompson, Isaac (1703-1776)

Date: November 10, 1730

"The pleasing Pain, / The gentle Chain, / That constant Hearts unite, / Such Joy bestows, / That Freedom knows / No such sincere Delight."

— Lillo, George (1691/3-1739)

Date: 1731

"Or here on Earth in diff'rent Bodies plac'd, / Still Acts new Scenes, forgetful of the past: / Till from her dull material Chain set free, / (The mortal Curtain drawn) she smiles to see, / The various Prospects of Immensity."

— Boyse, Samuel (1708-1749)

Date: 1731

"Here Arlington, thy mighty Mind disdains / Inferior Earth, and breaks its servile Chains, / Aloft on Contemplations Wings you rise, / Scorn all below and mingle with the Skies."

— Boyse, Samuel (1708-1749)

Date: 1732

"Bind up bold Thought, in Slumber's silky Chain, / Since all we act, and all we know, is vain."

— Mitchell, Joseph (c. 1684-1738)

Date: 1733-5

"[Love's] Pleasures have so many Pains, / And leave such Stings behind, / That I'm resolv'd to quit the Chains, / And free my captive Mind."

— Bowden, Samuel (fl. 1733-1761)

Date: 1733

"For well you twist the secret chains that bind / With gentle force the captivated mind."

— Lyttleton, George, 1st Baron Lyttleton (1709-1773)

Date: 1734

"Such the Dalrymples, Father and the Son, / Whose virtuous Minds no servile Chains can wear."

— Hamilton, William, of Bangour (1704-1754)

Date: 1734

"Hail, holy souls, no more confin'd / To limbs and bones that clog the mind; / Ye have escap'd the snares, and left the chains behind."

— Watts, Isaac (1674-1748)