Date: 1708

"And the Consideration of this Supream Agent was then so rooted in his Heart, that it diverted him from thinking upon any thing else: and he so far forgot the Consideration of the Creatures, and the Enquiring into their Natures, that as soon as e'er he cast his Eyes upon any thing of what kind so...

— Ockley, Simon (bap. 1679, d. 1720)

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)

Date: 1708

"So Hai Ebn Yokdhan began to teach them, and explain the Mysteries of Wisdom to them; but so soon as e'er he began to raise his Discourse above External Things a little, and to inculcate that, the contrary whereof had been settled, and deeply rooted in their Minds; they began to withdraw themselv...

— Ockley, Simon (bap. 1679, d. 1720)

Date: 1719

"Pray note, all this was the Fruit of a disturb'd Mind, an impatient Temper, made as it were desperate, by the long Continuance of my Troubles, and the Disappointments I had met in the Wreck I had been on Board of, and where I had been so near the obtaining what I so earnestly long'd for, viz. so...

— Defoe, Daniel (1660?-1731)

Date: 1741 [1740]; continued in 1741

A mother may "prepare the sweet Virgin Soil of [her childrens'] Minds to receive the Seeds of Virtue and Goodness so early, that as they grow up, one need only now a little Pruning, and now a little Watering, to make them the Ornaments and Delights of the Garden of this Life!

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

Date: 1741 [1740]; continued in 1741

"Why, the Trees of Resolution, and the Shrubs of cautious Fear, whose intertwining Roots had contributed to support the frail Mound, being loosen'd from their Hold, they, and the Bank itself, will be seen floating on the Surface of the triumphant Waters."

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

Date: 1752

"Love, on the contrary, sprouts usually up in the richest and noblest Minds; but there unless nicely watched, pruned, and cultivated, and carefully kept clear of those vicious Weeds which are too apt to surround it, it branches forth into Wildness and Disorder, produces nothing desirable, but ch...

— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)

Date: 1752

"Ambition scarce ever produces any Evil, but when it reigns in cruel and savage Bosoms; and Avarice seldom flourishes at all but in the basest and poorest Soil."

— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)

Date: 1752

"Love ... sprouts usually up in the richest and noblest minds; but there, unless nicely watched, pruned, and cultivated, and carefully kept clear of those vicious weed which are too apt to surround it, it branches forth into wildness and disorder, produces nothing desirable, but chokes up and kil...

— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)

Date: 1752

"'The greatest Difficulty,' added the Gentleman, 'which Persons of your Turn of Mind meet with, is in finding proper Objects of their Goodness: For nothing sure can be more irksome to a generous Mind, than to discover, that it hath thrown away all its good Offices on a Soil that bears no other Fr...

— Fielding, Henry (1707-1754)