Date: w. 1788-93, 1796 (rev. 1815, 1827, 1837, 1897)

"His argument on topics of less absurdity is specious and acute, his manner is lively, his style forcible and clear; and, had not his vigorous mind been clouded by enthusiasm, he might be ranked with the most agreeable and ingenious writers of the times."

— Gibbon, Edward (1737-1794)

Date: March, 1826

"And both these effects are of equal use to human life; for the mind of man is like the sea, which is neither agreeable to the beholder nor the voyager, in a calm or in a storm, but is so to both when a little agitated by gentle gales; and so the mind, when moved by soft and easy passions or affe...

— Lamb, Charles (1775-1834)

Date: 1831

"There are conceptions of the mind, that come forth like the coruscations of lightning."

— Godwin, William (1756-1836)