Date: 1742, 1777

"The fabric and constitution of our mind no more depends on our choice, than that of our body."

— Hume, David (1711-1776)

Date: 1744

"I shall, having now crack'd the Shell of my Spleen against the Town, come to the Kernel of Reason, and present 'em this little sweet Nut of theirs, worm-eaten to the Sight, imbitter'd to their Taste, and abhorr'd to their Imaginations, as Shakespear terms it."

— Garrick, David (1717-1779)

Date: 1745

"The infant Mind is ductile like Wax; you may stamp a fair or ugly Impression upon it, Error or Knowledge, Indolence or Application, Virtue or Vice."

— Fordyce, David (bap. 1711, d. 1751)

Date: 1745

"The body is but the house; the soul is the tenant that inhabits it; the body is the instrument; the soul the artist that directs it."

— Mason, John (1706-1763)

Date: November 6, 1746

"She [Desdemona] saw, as the truly valuable Part of the Sex do, Othello's Visage in his Mind; she was too innocent and resigned to be guarded against the Wiles of envious and designing Men; and thus, while basking in the Sunshine of Love, and sporting in the Splendor of its divine Emanations, she...

— Horsley, William (attrib.)

Date: 1748, 1777

"An artist must be better qualified to succeed in this undertaking, who, besides a delicate taste and a quick apprehension, possesses an accurate knowledge of the internal fabric, the operations of the understanding, the workings of the passions, and the various species of sentiment which discrim...

— Hume, David (1711-1776)

Date: 1748, 1777

"And if we can go no farther than this mental geography, or delineation of the distinct parts and powers of the mind, it is at least a satisfaction to go so far."

— Hume, David (1711-1776)

Date: 1748, 1777

"Chaced from the open country, these robbers [i.e., superstitions] fly into the forest, and lie in wait to break in upon every unguarded avenue of the mind, and overwhelm it with religious fears and prejudices."

— Hume, David (1711-1776)

Date: 1748, 1777

"In our more serious thinking or discourse, this is so observable, that any particular thought, which breaks in upon the regular tract or chain of ideas, is immediately remarked and rejected."

— Hume, David (1711-1776)

Date: 1748, 1777

"The passion for philosophy, like that for religion, seems liable to this inconvenience, that, though it aims at the correction of our manners, and extirpation of our vices, it may only serve, by imprudent management, to foster a predominant inclination, and push the mind, with more determined re...

— Hume, David (1711-1776)