Date: w. 1628, published in 1684, 1701

"First, in so far as our external senses are all parts of the body, sense-perception, strictly speaking, is merely passive, even though our application of the senses to objects involves action, viz. local motion; sense-perception occurs in the same way in which wax takes on an impression from a s...

— Descartes, René (1596-1650)

Date: w. 1628, published in 1684, 1701

"In all these functions the cognitive power is sometimes passive, sometimes active; sometimes resembling the seal, sometimes the wax."

— Descartes, René (1596-1650)

Date: w. 1628, published in 1684, 1701

"It should not be thought that I have a mere analogy in mind here: we must think of the external shape of the sentient body as being really changed by the object in exactly the same way as the shape of the surface of the wax is altered by the seal."

— Descartes, René (1596-1650)

Date: 1687

"Their thoughts or words can leave no mark behind; / Thy self dost make th' impression on thy mind."

— Rawlet, John (bap. 1642, d. 1686)

Date: Dated August 6, 1707; 1711

"The mind of man is at first (if you will pardon the expression) like a tabula rasa, or like wax, which, while it is soft, is capable of any impression, till time has hardened it."

— Swift, Jonathan (1667-1745)

Date: 1718

"A thousand little Nerves She sends / Quite to our Toes, and Fingers Ends; / And These in Gratitude again / Return their Spirits to the Brain; / In which their Figure being printed / (As just before, I think, I hinted) / Alma inform'd can try the Case, / As She had seen upon the Place. // Thus, w...

— Prior, Matthew (1664-1721)

Date: 1741

"The same Apology of the Length of Years in composing this Book may serve also to excuse a Repetition of the same Sentiments which may happen to be found in different Places without the Author's Design; but in other Pages it was intended, so that those Rules for the Conduct of the Understanding w...

— Watts, Isaac (1674-1748)

Date: 1741

"You should therefore contrive and practice some proper Methods to acquaint yourself with your own Ignorance, and to impress your Mind with a deep and painful sense of the low and imperfect Degrees of your present Knowledge, that you may be incited with Labour and Activity to pursue after greater...

— Watts, Isaac (1674-1748)

Date: 1741

"This gives Life and Spirit to every thing that is spoken, and has a natural Tendency to make a deeper impression on the Minds of Men."

— Watts, Isaac (1674-1748)

Date: 1741

"An active Fancy readily wanders over a multitude of objects, and is continually entertaining itself with new flying Images; it runs thro' a Number of new Scenes or new Pages with pleasure, but without due Attention, and seldom suffers itself to dwell long enough upon any one of them to make a de...

— Watts, Isaac (1674-1748)