Date: 1781

"It cannot be said that he made use of his abilities for the direction of his own conduct: an irregular and dissipated manner of life had made him the slave of every passion that happened to be excited by the presence of its object, and that slavery to his passions reciprocally produced a life ir...

— Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784)

Date: 1781

"His temper was, in consequence of the dominion of his passions, uncertain and capricious: he was easily engaged, and easily disgusted; but he is accused of retaining his hatred more tenaciously than his benevolence."

— Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784)

Date: 1781

"He [Young] plays, indeed, only on the surface of life; he never penetrates the recesses of the mind, and therefore the whole power of his poetry is exhausted by a single perusal; his conceits please only when they surprise."

— Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784)

Date: 1781

"In his 'Night Thoughts' he has exhibited a very wide display of original poetry, variegated with deep reflections and striking allusions, a wilderness of thought, in which the fertility of fancy scatters flowers of every hue and of every odour."

— Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784)

Date: 1781

"Insulted Reason fled the grov'ling soul, / For Fear to guide, and visions to control: / But now, when Reason has assumed her throne, / She, in her turn, demands to reign alone"

— Crabbe, George (1754-1832)

Date: 1781

Reason may reject "all that lies beyond her view / And being judge, will be a witness too"

— Crabbe, George (1754-1832)

Date: 1781

"Blest be the gracious Power, who taught mankind / To stamp a lasting image of the mind!"

— Crabbe, George (1754-1832)

Date: 1781

"Gold hath steeled your hearts"

— Wesley, John (1703-1791)

Date: 1781

"May God write it upon all your hearts!"

— Wesley, John (1703-1791)

Date: December, 1781; 1835

"Smooth, ductile, and even, [the poet's] fancy must flow, / Must tinkle and glitter like gold to the sight / And catch in its progress a sensible glow."

— Cowper, William (1731-1800)