Date: 1752

"Perhaps there may be such; but if there are, those Hearts may be compared, I believe, to Damps, in which it is more difficult to keep Fire alive than to prevent its blazing: In mine, it was placed in the Midst of combustible Matter."

— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)

Date: 1752

"In this Chapter there are some Passages that may serve as a Kind of Touchstone, by which a young Lady may examine the Heart of her Lover/"

— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)

Date: 1752

"By the latter I shall see whether you can keep a Secret; and if it is no otherwise material, it will be a wholesome Exercise to your Mind; for the Practice of any Virtue is a kind of mental Exercise, and serves to maintain the Health and Vigour of the Soul."

— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)

Date: 1752

"I hope I am not guilty of Profaneness; but in Pursuance of that cheerful Chain of Thoughts with which you have inspired me this Afternoon, I was just now lost in a Reverie, and fancied myself in those blissful Mansions which we hope to enjoy hereafter."

— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)

Date: 1752

"'The greatest Difficulty,' added the Gentleman, 'which Persons of your Turn of Mind meet with, is in finding proper Objects of their Goodness: For nothing sure can be more irksome to a generous Mind, than to discover, that it hath thrown away all its good Offices on a Soil that bears no other Fr...

— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)