Date: 1766

"We should then find that creatures, whose souls are held as dross, only wanted the hand of a refiner; we should then find that wretches, now stuck up for long tortures, lest luxury should feel a momentary pang, might, if properly treated, serve to sinew the state in times of danger."

— Goldsmith, Oliver (1728?-1774)

Date: 1766

"[A] little cunning is sufficient to enable us to take advantage of the discovery; for cunning attains its little ends more surely than wisdom; like the despicable mole which works its way through the greatest mountains, while the noble lion cannot penetrate one foot deep into the earth"

— Scott [née Robinson], Sarah (1720-1795)

Date: 1767

"If this be all, cried Nourjahad, then am I sure I shall never incur the penalty; for though I mean to enjoy all the pleasures that life can bestow, yet am I a stranger to my own heart, if it ever lead me to the wilful commission of a crime."

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

Date: 1767

"It is not, replied the sultan, with a mildness chastened with gravity, it is not for mortal eyes to penetrate into the close recesses of the human heart

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

Date: 1767

"His mind, however, was by pleasure rendered too volatile to suffer any thing to make a lasting impression on him; and he had still too many resources of happiness in his power, to give himself up to despair."

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

Date: 1767

"He gave the reins to his passions; he again became the slave of voluptuous appetites."

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

Date: 1767

"The vacancy he found in his heart was insupportable."

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

Date: 1767

"Whilst he endeavoured to fill up the vacuity he found in his mind, his time was spent at best but in a sort of insipid tranquillity. The voluptuary has no taste for mental pleasures."

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

Date: 1767

"Strike then, Nourjahad, if thou darest; dismiss me to endless and uninterrupted joys, and live thyself a prey to remorse and disappointment, the slave of passions never to be gratified, and a sport to the vicissitudes of fortune."

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

Date: 1767

"How transitory have been all my pleasures! the recollection of them dies on my memory, like the departing colours of the rainbow, which fades under the eye of the beholder, and leaves not a trace behind."

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