Date: 1699

"Reason 'tis true, should over sense preside, / Correct our Notions and our Judgments guide; / But false Opinions, rooted in the mind / Hood-wink the Soul, and keep the Reason blind."

— Pomfret, John (1667-1702)

Date: 1699

"Reason's a Taper, which but faintly burns: / A Languid Flame that glows and dies by turns: / We see't a while, and but a little way / We travel by its Light, as Men by Day; / But quickly dying, it forsakes us soon; / Like Morning Stars that never stay till Noon."

— Pomfret, John (1667-1702)

Date: 1699

"Reason has little now to do but prove / That some most perfect Being rules above, / And this by little Inference we find: / 'Tis plain; 'tis bright, 'tis written on the Mind."

— Pomfret, John (1667-1702)

Date: 1736

"Infuse a little Wit into the Scull, / Which never fails to make a mighty Fool; / Two Drams of Faith; a Tun of Doubting next; / Let all be with the Dregs of Reason mixt: / When, in his Mind, these jarring Seeds are sown, / He'll censure all Things, but approve of none."

— Duck, Stephen (1705-1756)