Date: Friday, June 8, 1711
"I have seen a very ingenious Author on this Subject, who founds his Speculations on the Supposition, That as a Man hath in the Mould of his Face a remote Likeness to that of an Ox, a Sheep, a Lion, an Hog, or any other Creature; he hath the same Resemblance in the Frame of his Mind, and is subje...
preview | full record— Addison, Joseph (1672-1719)
Date: Thursday, November 1, 1711
"Horace has a Thought which is something akin to this, when, in order to excuse himself to his Mistress, for an Invective which he had written against her, and to account for that unreasonable Fury with which the Heart of Man is often transported, he tells us that, when Prometheus made his Man of...
preview | full record— Addison, Joseph (1672-1719)
Date: Thursday, November 1, 1711
"But upon turning this Plan to and fro in my Thoughts, I observed so many unaccountable Humours in Man, that I did not know out of what Animals to fetch them."
preview | full record— Addison, Joseph (1672-1719)
Date: Wednesday, June 18, 1712
"These Motions are given us with our Being, they are little Spirits that are born and dye with us; to some they are mild, easie, and gentle, to others wayward and unruly, yet never too strong for the Reins of Reason and the Guidance of Judgment."
preview | full record— Anonymous
Date: Wednesday, June 18, 1712
"We may generally observe a pretty nice Proportion between the Strength of Reason and Passion; the greatest Genius's have commonly the strongest Affections, as on the other hand, the weaker Understandings have generally the weaker Passions; and 'tis fit the Fury of the Coursers should not be too ...
preview | full record— Anonymous
Date: Friday, June 20, 1712
"Upon her Tongue did such smooth Mischief dwell, / And from her Lips such welcome Flatt'ry fell, / Th' unguarded Youth, in Silken Fetters ty'd, / Resign'd his Reason, and with Ease complied. / Thus does the Ox to his own Slaughter go, / And thus is senseless of th' impending Blow. / Thus flies th...
preview | full record— Steele, Sir Richard (1672-1729)
Date: 1705, 1714, 1732
"Malice and most severe Strokes of Fortune can do no more Injury to a Mind thus stript of all Fears, Wishes and Inclinations, than a blind Horse can do in an empty Barn"
preview | full record— Mandeville, Bernard (bap. 1670, d. 1733)
Date: 1716
"Let thy Studies [he writes] be as free as thy Thoughts and Contemplations: but fly not only upon the wings of Imagination."
preview | full record— Browne, Sir Thomas (1605-1682)
Date: 1724
"But in its proper Vacuity, and being freed from these Letts and Impediments, it [the soul] would mount towards its Original, like an Eagle toward the Sun."
preview | full record— Cheyne, George (1671-1743)
Date: 1727
"Conscience draws the Picture of the Crime in Apparition just before him, and the Reflection, not the injur'd Soul, is the Spectre that haunts him: Nor can he need a worse Tormenter in this Life; whether there is a worse hereafter, or no, I do not pretend to determine. This is certainly 'a Worm t...
preview | full record— Defoe, Daniel (1660?-1731)