Date: 1722

"No Man can boast a God-like Mind, / From that Infernal Dross refin'd; / By Nature all are Base"

— Ward, Edward (1667-1731)

Date: 1742

"Thought in the mine may come forth gold or dross; / When coin'd in word, we know its real worth. / If sterling, store it for thy future use; / 'Twill buy thee benefit; perhaps, renown."

— Young, Edward (bap. 1683, d. 1765)

Date: 1742

"Wisdom, though richer than Peruvian mines, / And sweeter than the sweet ambrosial hive,-- / What is she but the means of happiness?"

— Young, Edward (bap. 1683, d. 1765)

Date: 1801

"Some fickle creatures boast a soul / True as the needle to the pole; / Yet shifting, like the weather, / The needle's constancy forego / For any novelty, and show / Its variations rather."

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)