Date: April, 1783

"If impressions are made upon some substance in the mind, may not forgetfulness of them be only that the perceptive faculty of the soul is turned to other objects, while these still remain ready to be perceived whenever the 'mind's eye,' glances upon them?"

— Boswell, James (1740-1795)

Date: April, 1783

"Has he been at work all night without being conscious of it. Have other spirits been making impressions on his sensorium. Are there faculties in the mind quite separate one from another, which, like the eyes of Argus, may some of them be awake while others are asleep, and is the great faculty of...

— Boswell, James (1740-1795)

Date: 1783

"From reading the most admired productions of genius, whether in poetry or prose, almost every one rises with some good impressions left on his mind; and though these may not always be durable, they are at least to be ranked among the means of disposing the heart to virtue."

— Blair, Hugh (1718-1800)

Date: 1783

"There is, too, in architecture, what is called Greatness of manner; which seems chiefly to arise, from presenting the object to us in one full point of view; so that it shall make its impression whole, entire, and undivided, upon the mind."

— Blair, Hugh (1718-1800)

Date: 1783

"Objects and ideas which have been long familiar, make too faint an impression to give an agreeable exercise to our faculties. New and strange objects rouse the mind from its dormant state, by giving it a quick and pleasing impulse."

— Blair, Hugh (1718-1800)

Date: 1783

"I admit, at the same time, that Imitation and Description agree in their principal effect, of recalling by external signs, the ideas of things which we do not see. But though in this they coincide, yet it should not be forgotten, that the terms themselves are not synonymous; that they import dif...

— Blair, Hugh (1718-1800)

Date: 1783

"It is, indeed, in every sort of writing, a great beauty to have, at least, some measure of Precision, in distinction from that loose profusion of words which imprints no clear idea on the reader's mind."

— Blair, Hugh (1718-1800)

Date: 1783

"It may consist of parts, indeed; but these parts must be so closely bound together, as to make the impression upon the mind, of one object, not of many."

— Blair, Hugh (1718-1800)

Date: 1783

"A sentiment which is expressed in a period, clearly, neatly, and happily arranged, makes always a stronger impression on the mind, than one that is any how feeble or embarrassed."

— Blair, Hugh (1718-1800)

Date: 1783

"EVERY object which makes any impression on the human mind, is constantly accompanied with certain circumstances and relations, that strike us at the same time."

— Blair, Hugh (1718-1800)