page 1 of 1     per page:
sorted by:

Date: 1756

"But the Truth is, this unnatural Power corrupts both the Heart, and the Understanding. And to prevent the least Hope of Amendment, a King is ever surrounded by a Crowd of infamous Flatterers, who find their Account in keeping him from the least Light of Reason, till all Ideas of Rectitude and Ju...

— Burke, Edmund (1729-1797)

preview | full record

Date: 1756

"But the Passions which prop these Opinions are withdrawn one after another, and the cool Light of Reason at the Setting of our Life shews us what a false Splendor played upon these Objects during our more sanguine Seasons."

— Burke, Edmund (1729-1797)

preview | full record

Date: 1757

"They who have not taken these methods, if their Taste decides quickly, it is always uncertainly; and their quickness is owing to their presumption and rashness, and not to any sudden irradiation that in a moment dispels all darkness from their minds."

— Burke, Edmund (1729-1797)

preview | full record

Date: 1760-1761, 1762

"His boasted reason seems only to light him astray, and brutal instinct more regularly points out the path to happiness."

— Goldsmith, Oliver (1728?-1774)

preview | full record

Date: 1760-1761, 1762

"Where, I again repeat it, is human reason! not only some men, but whole nations, seem divested of its illumination."

— Goldsmith, Oliver (1728?-1774)

preview | full record

Date: 1760-1761, 1762

"Reason cannot resolve. It lends a ray to shew the horrors of my prison, but not a light to guide me to escape them."

— Goldsmith, Oliver (1728?-1774)

preview | full record

Date: 1790

"All the pleasing illusions, which made power gentle, and obedience liberal, which harmonized the different shades of life, and which, by a bland assimilation, incorporated into politics the sentiments which beautify and soften private society, are to be dissolved by this new conquering empire of...

— Burke, Edmund (1729-1797)

preview | full record

Date: 1790

"This was reserved to our time, to quench the little glimmerings of reason which might break in upon the solid darkness of this enlightened age."

— Burke, Edmund (1729-1797)

preview | full record

Date: January 19, 1791

"You know them but at a distance, on the statements of those who always flatter the reigning power, and who, amidst their representations of the grievances, inflame your minds against those who are oppressed. These are amongst the effects of unremitted labour, when men exhaust their attention, bu...

— Burke, Edmund (1729-1797)

preview | full record

Date: November 19, 1793

"Like the blue firmament above us, our minds and fortunes are constantly changing. The sun that descends in glory amidst the serenity of an evening sky, frequently rises in the morning, through the gloom of clouds, and the rage of storms."

— Boyd, Hugh (1746-1794)

preview | full record

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