Date: May 10, 1704

"But when a man's fancy gets astride his reason, when imagination is at cuffs with the senses, and common understanding as well as common sense, is kicked out of doors; the first proselyte he makes is himself, and when that is once compassed the difficulty is not so great in bringing over others,...

— Swift, Jonathan (1667-1745)

Date: 1723

"Mine [heart] open lies, without the least Defence; / No Guard of Art; but its own Innocence; / Under which Fort it could fierce Storms endure: / But from thy Wit I find no Fort secure."

— Barker, Jane (1675-1743)

Date: 1736

"Then, Madam, reply'd Broscomin, sullenly, I shall waste no farther Time in attacking so impregnable a Fortress: this unconquerable Mind shall be left to its own liberty; and I must content myself with the means which more indulgent Heaven has given me of becoming Master of your more defenceless ...

— Haywood [née Fowler], Eliza (1693?-1756)

Date: 1760-7

"Whether they were above my uncle Toby's reason,--or contrary to it,-- or that his brain was like wet tinder, and no spark could possibly take hold,--or that it was so full of saps, mines, blinds, curtins, and such military disqualifications to his seeing clearly into Prignitz and Scroderus's doc...

— Sterne, Laurence (1713-1768)

Date: 1796

"Anxious to authorise the presence of his dangerous guest, yet conscious that her stay was infringing the laws of his order, Ambrosio's bosom became the theatre of a thousand contending passions."

— Lewis, Matthew Gregory (1775-1818)

Date: 1949-1952, 1953

"Hard, hard work, excavating and digging, mining, moling through tunnels, heaving, pushing, moving rock, working, working, working, working, working, panting, hauling, hoisting. And none of this work is seen from the outside. It's internally done. It happens because you are powerless and unable t...

— Bellow, Saul (1915-2005)

Date: July 23, 2012

"I'm O.K., you tell them, but with each passing week the depression deepens. You try to describe it. Like someone flew a plane into your soul. Like someone flew two planes into your soul."

— Díaz, Junot (b. 1968)