Date: 1701

"Man is a Creature of so mixed a Composure, and of a Frame so inconsistent and different from Itself, that it easily speaks his Affinity to the highest and meanest Beings; that is to say, he is made of Body and Soul, he is at once an Engine and an Engineer."

— Steele, Sir Richard (1672-1729)

Date: 1706

"Ah, my Life's dear Guardian, methinks now you are here, my Heart has Warmth again, and active Motion which, lately like a worn-out Clock, had none."

— D'Urfey, Thomas (1653?-1723)

Date: 1709, 1714

"'Tis hard, that in the Plan or Description of this Clock-work, no Wheel or Ballance shou'd be allow'd on the side of the better and more enlarg'd Affections; that nothing shou'd be understood to be done in Kindness or Generosity; nothing in pure good-Nature or Friendship , or thro any social or ...

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

Date: 1709, 1714

"They wou'd new frame the Human Heart; and have a mighty Fancy to reduce all its Motions, Ballances and Weights, to that one Principle and Foundation of a cool and deliberate Selfishness."

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

Date: 1710, 1714

"Shou'd a Philosopher, after the same manner [as a visitor to a Watchmaker's Shop], employing himself in the Study of human Nature, discover only, what Effects each Passion wrought upon the Body; what change of Aspect or Feature they produc'd; and in what different manner they affected the Limbs ...

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

Date: From Thursday July 13. to Saturday July 15. 1710

"Her Air discovered her Body a meer Machine of her Mind, and not that her Thoughts were employed in studying Graces and Attractions for her Person."

— Steele, Sir Richard (1672-1729)

Date: w. c. 1709, 1711

"'Tis with our judgments as our watches, none / Go just alike, yet each believes his own."

— Pope, Alexander (1688-1744)

Date: Thursday, July 12, 1711

"I consider the Body as a System of Tubes and Glands, or to use a more Rustick Phrase, a Bundle of Pipes and Strainers, fitted to one another after so wonderful a Manner as to make a proper Engine for the Soul to work with."

— Addison, Joseph (1672-1719)

Date: Wednesday, June 18, 1712

"The extraordinary Severity used in most of our Schools has this fatal Effect, it breaks the Spring of the Mind, and most certainly destroys more good Genius's than it can possibly improve."

— Anonymous

Date: 1712, 1728

"Poor, Senseless Party Engines! Who are taught / To act by Mechanism, not by Thought, / Who speak by rote, and sell their venal Words, / To please Grandees, and smooth Intriguing Lords!"

— Sewell, George (1690-1726)