Date: 1744, 1753

"Thus my fancied Friends became my Plagues, and my real ones, by their Sufferings, tore up my Heart by the Roots, and frightened me into the bearing the insolent Persecutions of the others--I found my Mind in such Chains as are much worse than any Slavery of the Body."

— Fielding, Sarah (1710-1768)

Date: 1745

"These were Virtues unknown to him, who like the Ungrateful lessen'd the Obligations he had to her, by viewing his own Merit in the flattering Glass, his Fancy held before him. This false Mirror soon turn'd the Scale in his Favour, attributing her Choice of him to his own good Sense, which had Ar...

— Anonymous

Date: 1745

"The Idea of her lov'd Orsino presented itself to her distracted Imagination like an incens'd Lover to demand an Account of her Conduct: Which made such an Impression on her Mind, that she could scarce find Amusements for a few Hours, in all the Pleasures that surrounded her."

— Anonymous

Date: 1747

"Now the Purpose for which [Lestrange] principally intended his Book, as in his Preface he spends a great many Words to inform us, was for the Use and Instruction of Children; who being, as it were, a mere rasa tabula, or blank Paper, are ready indifferently for any Opinion, good or bad, taking a...

— Croxall, Samuel (1688/9-1752); Aesop

Date: 1747

"What sort of Children therefore are the Blank Paper, upon which such Morality as this ought to be written?"

— Croxall, Samuel (1688/9-1752); Aesop

Date: 1747

"Let the Children of Italy, France, Spain, and the rest of the Popish Countries, furnish him with Blank Paper for Principles, of which free-born Britons are not capable."

— Croxall, Samuel (1688/9-1752); Aesop

Date: 1747-8

"Lovelace, tell me, if thou canst, what sort of sign must thou hang out, wert thou obliged to give us a clear idea by it of the furniture of thy mind?"

— Richardson, Samuel (bap. 1689, d. 1761)

Date: 1747-8

"A man who is gross in a woman's company ought to be knocked down with a club: for, like so many musical instruments, touch but a single wire, and the dear souls are sensible all over "

— Richardson, Samuel (bap. 1689, d. 1761)

Date: 1748

"[B]ut now that I looked upon myself as a murderer, it is impossible to express the terrors of my imagination, which was incessantly haunted by the image of the deceased, and my bosom stung with the most exquisite agonies, of which I saw no end."

— Smollett, Tobias (1721-1777)

Date: 1748

"[A]nd in the mean time went to dress, with an intention of visiting Mrs. Snapper and Miss, whom I had utterly neglected and indeed almost forgot, since my dear Narcissa had resumed the empire of my soul."

— Smollett, Tobias (1721-1777)