Date: 1748, 1749

"The former have explored and unravelled the labyrinth of Man. They alone have discovered to us those hidden springs concealed under a cover, which hides from us so many wonders."

— Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709-1751)

Date: 1748, 1749

"A person would be tempted to think, at certain times, that the soul is lodged in the stomach, and that Van Helmont in placing it in the pylorus, is not deceived but by taking a part for the whole."

— Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709-1751)

Date: 1748, 1749

"The eye is, in reality, a sort of peep-hole, thro' which the soul can view the images of objects, according as they are represented from different bodies."

— Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709-1751)

Date: 1762

"Grâce au ciel, nous voilà délivrés de tout cet effrayant appareil de philosophie: nous pouvons être. Hommes sans être savants; dispensés de consumer notre vie à l’étude de la morale, nous avons à moindres frais un guide plus assuré dans ce dédale immense des opinions humaines."

— Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1712-1778)

Date: 1764

"But behold, this soul of thought frequently has the ascendancy over the animal soul. The thinking soul orders its hands to grasp, and they grasp. It does not tell its heart to beat, its blood to run, its chyle to form; all these things happen without it: so here we have two perplexed souls which...

— Arouet, François-Marie [known as Voltaire] (1694-1778)

Date: 1772

"It will remind me of what I used to be, and Pride will have to come to a standstill at the threshold of my heart."

— Diderot, Denis (1713-1784)