Date: 1777

"People do not always know what taste they have, till it is awakened by some corresponding object; nay, genius itself is a fire, which in many minds would never blaze, if not kindled by some external cause."

— More, Hannah (1745-1833)

Date: 1777

"When a nation begins to emerge from a state of mental darkness, and to strike out the first rudiments of improvement, it chalks out a few strong but incorrect sketches, gives the rude out-lines of general art, and leaves the filling up to the leisure of happier days, and the refinement of more e...

— More, Hannah (1745-1833)

Date: 1777

"To conclude; Genius is a rare and precious gem, of which few know the worth; it is fitter for the cabinet of the connoisseur, than for the commerce of mankind."

— More, Hannah (1745-1833)

Date: 1777

"Good sense is a bank-bill, convenient for change, negotiable at all times, and current in all places."

— More, Hannah (1745-1833)

Date: 1777

"As it is the character of Genius to penetrate with a lynx's beam into unfathomable abysses and uncreated worlds, and to see what is not, so it is the property of good sense to distinguish perfectly, and judge accurately what really is."

— More, Hannah (1745-1833)

Date: 1777

"Good sense has not so piercing an eye, but it has as clear a sight: it does not penetrate so deeply, but as far as it does see, it discerns distinctly."

— More, Hannah (1745-1833)

Date: 1777

"Good sense is a judicious mechanic, who can produce beauty and convenience out of suitable means; but Genius (I speak with reverence of the immeasurable distance) bears some remote resemblance to the divine architect, who produced perfection of beauty without any visible materials, 'who spake, a...

— More, Hannah (1745-1833)

Date: ca. 1780

"No Pleasures, believe me, that wretch shall e'er taste, / No comfort his bosom e'er find; / Who suffers ill-temper to ruffle his breast, / And fretfulness reign in his mind."

— Kilner, Dorothy (1755-1836)

Date: ca. 1780

"Let Truth then, my dear, still dwell on your tongue, / From her maxims O never depart; / But give yourself up to her guidance while young, / Her precepts engrave on your heart."

— Kilner, Dorothy (1755-1836)

Date: 1781

"The peculiar design of this publication is, to impress devotional feelings as early as possible on the infant mind; fully convinced as the author is, that they cannot be impressed too soon, and that a child, to feel the full force of the idea of God, ought never to remember the time when he had ...

— Barbauld, Anna Letitia [née Aikin] (1743-1825)