Date: 1746

"As the great light that rules the radiant sphere, / The passions of a generous mind extend"

— Ruffhead, James

Date: 1746

The "heart of man" may be probed with the Muse's microscope

— Ruffhead, James

Date: 1746

The "light of reason's ray" may be extinguished

— Ruffhead, James

Date: 1746

Words may make the soul glow with rapture

— Ruffhead, James

Date: 1733, 1748

"Where thou [Memory] art not, the cheerless human mind / Is one vast void, all darksome, sad, and blind; / No trace of anything remains behind."

— Pilkington, Laetitia (c. 1709-1750)

Date: w. 1740, 1748

"Thirsting for Knowledge, but to know the right, / Thro' judgment's optick guide th' illusive sight, / To let in rays on Reason's darkling cell, / And Prejudice's lagging mists dispel."

— Walpole, Horatio [Horace], fourth earl of Orford (1717-1797)

Date: 1749

"Nature's bright Mirrour in thy Bosom shone"

— Jones, Henry (1721-1770)

Date: 1750, 1770

"And, Morpheus, thus may thy mild Lethéan powers, / For ever hovering round my midnight hours, / Thro' Fancy's mirror wrap me in idéal joy."

— Hamilton, William Gerard (1729-1796)

Date: 1750

"A mind in wisdom old, in lenience young, / From fervent truth where every virtue sprung; / Where all was real, modest, plain, sincere; / Worth above show, and goodness unsevere: / View'd round and round, as lucid diamonds throw / Still as you turn them a revolving glow, / So did his mind reflect...

— Thomson, James (1700-1748)

Date: 1751, 1791

"The mirrour, faithful to its charge, / Reflects the virgin's soul in large."

— Cotton, Nathaniel, the elder (1705-1788)