Date: 1769

"The first reverend sage who delivered himself on this mysterious subject, having stroked his grey beard, and hemmed thrice with great solemnity, declared that the soul was an animal; a second pronounced it to be the number three, or proportion; a third contended for the number seven, or harmony;...

— Smollett, Tobias (1721-1777)

Date: 1773

"But his temper was not altogether of that fiery kind, which some young men, so circumstanced, and so educated, are possessed of."

— Mackenzie, Henry (1745-1831)

Date: w. 1782, 1786, 1816

"Till then I am in torments, ineffable torments! an unrelenting fire preys on my heart."

— Beckford, William (1760-1844)

Date: w. 1782, 1786, 1816

"Having uttered this exclamation, Soliman raised his hands towards heaven, in token of supplication; and the Caliph discerned through his bosom, which was transparent as crystal, his heart enveloped in flames."

— Beckford, William (1760-1844)

Date: w. 1782, 1786, 1816

"They went wandering on, from chamber to chamber; hall to hall; and gallery to gallery; all without bounds or limit; all distinguishable by the same louring gloom; all adorned with the same awful grandeur; all traversed by persons in search of repose and consolation; but, who sought them in vain;...

— Beckford, William (1760-1844)

Date: w. 1782, 1786, 1816

"Instantaneously, the haughty forehead of the intrepid princess became corrugated with agony: she uttered a tremendous yell; and fixed, no more to be withdrawn, her right hand upon her heart, which was become a receptacle of eternal fire."

— Beckford, William (1760-1844)

Date: w. 1782, 1786, 1816

"Their hearts immediately took fire, and they, at once, lost the most precious gift of heaven:--Hope."

— Beckford, William (1760-1844)