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Date: 1691

"I cannot conceive the true Cause hereof [that Men of Learning are uncouth in their discourse], unless it be, that as Plants are Choakt by over-much Moisture, and Lamps are Stifl'd with too much Oil; so are the Actions of the Mind overwhelm'd by over-abundance of Matter and Study."

— Blount, Thomas Pope, Sir (1649-1697)

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Date: 1708

"And this misgrounded Conceit of his, had like to have firmly rooted itself in his Mind, unless God had pursu'd him with his Mercy, and directed him by his gracious Guidance; and then he perceiv'd that it arose from the Relicks of that Obscurity which is natural to Body, and the Dregs of sensible...

— Ockley, Simon (bap. 1679, d. 1720)

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Date: 1711

"When Fancy makes superior Flight her Aim, / Wing'd with this vig'rous, clear seraphick Flame, / She ranges Nature's universal Frame; / Bright Seeds of Thought from various Objects takes, / Whence her fair Scenes and Images she makes: / Spirits so swift, so fine, so bold, so strong, / Gave Milton...

— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

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Date: 1711

"Your Hearts, as barren as your Rocks and Sand, / Her Charms and pow'rful Influence withstand; / Whose heav'nly Rays defeated thence recoil, / Like Sun-Beams wasted on unfruitful Soil."

— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

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Date: 1711

"These Spirits rais'd from Choler to the Brain, / Like those extracted from the basest Grain, / Impure and crude, produce unnatural Heat, / And an ignoble Flame of Life create."

— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

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Date: 1712

"The Crimson Jets rais'd with Elastic Force / Swift to the Seats of Sense pursue their Course; / Arterial Streams thro' the soft Brain diffuse, / And water all its Fields with vital Dews."

— Blackmore, Sir Richard (1654-1729)

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The Mind is a Metaphor is authored by Brad Pasanek, Assistant Professor of English, University of Virginia.