Date: 1760-7

"It is curious to observe the triumph of slight incidents over the mind:--What incredible weight they have in forming and governing our opinions, both of men and things,--that trifles light as air, shall waft a belief into the soul, and plant it so immoveably within it,--that Euclid's de...

— Sterne, Laurence (1713-1768)

Date: 1760-7

"But here, you must distinguish--the thought floated only in Dr. Slop's mind, without sail or ballast to it, as a simple proposition; millions of which, as your worship knows, are every day swiming quietly in the middle of the thin juice of a man's understanding, without being carried backwards o...

— Sterne, Laurence (1713-1768)

Date: 1761

"His looks, and the tone of voice with which he spoke this, made my blood run cold, and my heart die within me."

— Sheridan [née Chamberlaine], Frances (1724-1766)

Date: 1761

"Soft pity may touch the manly Breast, / And on thy soul mild Nature's stamp imprest"

— Jerningham, Edward (1727-1812)

Date: 1761

"By no forc'd laws his passions were confin'd, / For conscience kept his heart, and calm'd his mind / Peace o'er the world her blessed sway maintain'd, / And e'en in desarts smiling Plenty reign'd."

— Telescope, Tom [pseud.]

Date: 1761

"Why must I only answer thee with sighs? / What is it hangs thus heavy on my heart, / And weighs it down, when it should spring with joy? / Alas! 'tis conscience; 'tis the pride of honour; / 'Tis the severe condition of my fate, / Which makes it ruin to be lov'd by Tullia, / And warns me to suppr...

— Cumberland, Richard (1732-1811)

Date: 1761

"O Love, thou wear'st a smiling Cupid's face, / Till we fond virgins take thee in our arms; / There warm'd, thou grow'st into an ugly fiend, / And strik'st a thousand daggers in our hearts."

— Cumberland, Richard (1732-1811)

Date: 1761

"Soon as the guilty passion is allay'd, / The green and morbid colour of our souls / Is chang'd to virgin white; a gentle breeze / Of pity springs within us."

— Cumberland, Richard (1732-1811)

Date: 1761

"Dream on, till Vengeance wake thee, till thy Conscience / Bloated and swell'd, from Pleasure's guilty feast / Starts up aghast, turns suddenly upon thee, / And stings thee to the Heart."

— Cumberland, Richard (1732-1811)

Date: 1761, 1765

"If Prejudices rule with tyrant sway, / Teach them the voice of Reason to obey."

— Stevenson, William (1730-1783)