Date: 1700

"In short, taking it for granted, that we two understand one another by half a Word, I will set both his and my Imagination on the Ramble."

— Brown, Thomas (bap. 1663, d. 1704)

Date: 1709

"The Duke try'd every corner of his uneasie Bed! whether shut or open, Charlot was still before his Eyes! his Lips and Face retain'd the dear Impression of her Kisses! the Idea of her innocent and charming Touches, wander'd o'er his Mind!"

— Manley, Delarivier (c. 1670-1724)

Date: 1710 [1719, 1729]

"The Senses stand around; the Spirits roam / To seize and bring the fleeting Objects home: / Thro' every Nerve and every Pore they pass."

— Oldisworth, William (1680-1734)

Date: 1713

"Imperial Reason keeps her awful Throne, / Above the Tumult reigns unmov'd alone: / At her Command intestine Discords cease, / And all th' inferiour Pow'rs lie hush'd in Peace."

— Trapp, Joseph (1679-1747)

Date: 1735, 1745

"Mean while, What think'st thou? Was the human Soul, / Which by a transient Glance from Pole to Pole / Travels more swift than Light, to Heav'n sublime / Can fly, descend to Hell, six fleeting Time, / The Past and Future to the Present join, / And knows no Bounds which can Its Range confine,...

— Trapp, Joseph (1679-1747)

Date: Saturday March 24, 1750

"The natural flights of the human mind are not from pleasure to pleasure, but from hope to hope."

— Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784)

Date: August 27, 1751

"She applies by turns to every object, enjoys it for a short time, and flies with equal ardour to another. She delights to catch up loose and unconnected ideas, but starts away from systems and complications which would obstruct the rapidity of her transitions, and detain her long in the same pur...

— Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784)

Date: August 27, 1751

"The painted vales of imagination are deserted, and our intellectual activity is exercised in winding through the labyrinths of fallacy, and toiling with firm and cautious steps up the narrow tracks of demonstration."

— Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784)

Date: August 27, 1751

"At length weariness succeeds to labour, and the mind lies at ease in the contemplation of her own attainments, without any desire of new conquests or excursions."

— Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784)

Date: April 10, 1753

"The same contrariety of impulse may be perhaps discovered in the motions of men: we are formed for society, not for combination; we are equally unqualified to live in a close connection with our fellow beings, and in total separation from them: we are attracted towards each other by general symp...

— Johnson, Samuel (1709-1784)