Date: December 10, 1784; 1785

"The daily food and nourishment of the mind of an Artist is found in the great works of his predecessors."

— Reynolds, Joshua (1723-1792)

Date: 1788

"In their frequent conversation, she observed that the very name of Emmeline had the power of fascination; that he was never weary of hearing her praises; and that whenever he thought himself unobserved, his eyes were in pursuit of her; or fondly gazing on her face, he seemed to drink deep draugh...

— Smith, Charlotte (1749-1806)

Date: 1790

"A contented mind is a continual feast."

— Trusler, John (1735-1820)

Date: December 1790

"A few fundamental truths meet the first enquiry of reason, and appear as clear to an unwarped mind, as that air and bread are necessary to enable the body to fulfil its vital functions; but the opinions which men discuss with so much heat must be simplified and brought back to first principles; ...

— Wollstonecraft, Mary (1759-1797)

Date: 1793

"A few pages of interesting anecdotes, afford ample food for the mind."

— Disraeli, Isaac (1766-1848)

Date: 1794

"Adjoining the library was a green-house, stored with scarce and beautiful plants; for one of the amusements of St. Aubert was the study of botany, and among the neighbouring mountains, which afforded a luxurious feast to the mind of the naturalist, he often passed the day in the pursuits of his ...

— Radcliffe [née Ward], Ann (1764-1823)

Date: 1814

"Instruction is the food of the mind; it is like the dew and the rain and the rich soil."

— Barbauld, Anna Letitia [née Aikin] (1743-1825)

Date: 1814, 1816, 1896

"For when his Mind once tasted Wisdom's treat, / Her luscious liquors, and pure mental meat, / His Spirit, raptur'd o'er the rich repast, / Soon shrunk to learn life must so shortly last!"

— Woodhouse, James (bap. 1735, d. 1820)