The British Essayists;: RamblerJ. Johnson, J. Nichols and son, R. Baldwin, F. and C. Rivington, W. Otridge and son, W.J. and J. Richardson, A. Strahan, R. Faulder, ... [and 40 others], 1808 - English essays |
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Page xviii
... sentiments may be frequently dis- covered , but as compositions , we can discover in them no defects that are not common to those who though writing at ease write rapidly , and without revision . This remark , however , applies only to ...
... sentiments may be frequently dis- covered , but as compositions , we can discover in them no defects that are not common to those who though writing at ease write rapidly , and without revision . This remark , however , applies only to ...
Page xxv
... sentiments , the train of argument , and the arrangement of the whole . As he often thought aloud , he had , perhaps , talked it over to him- self . This may account for that rapidity with which , in general , he dispatched his sheets ...
... sentiments , the train of argument , and the arrangement of the whole . As he often thought aloud , he had , perhaps , talked it over to him- self . This may account for that rapidity with which , in general , he dispatched his sheets ...
Page xxviii
... sentiments on this subject . " Men have sometimes appeared of such transcendent abilities , that their slightest and most cursory performances excel all that labour and study can enable meaner intellects to com- pose : as there are ...
... sentiments on this subject . " Men have sometimes appeared of such transcendent abilities , that their slightest and most cursory performances excel all that labour and study can enable meaner intellects to com- pose : as there are ...
Page xxix
... sentiments it must appear at least probable that our author would in his own case endeavour to repair the mischiefs of haste or negligence ; but as these were not very obvious to his friends , they made no inquiry after them , nor ...
... sentiments it must appear at least probable that our author would in his own case endeavour to repair the mischiefs of haste or negligence ; but as these were not very obvious to his friends , they made no inquiry after them , nor ...
Page xli
... and that the attempt to translate them was absurd . Mr. Payne the pub- lisher expresses the same sentiments in a letter to Dr. Warton now before me . nor artificial , has elevated the style of every species d3 BIOGRAPHICAL PREFACE . : xli.
... and that the attempt to translate them was absurd . Mr. Payne the pub- lisher expresses the same sentiments in a letter to Dr. Warton now before me . nor artificial , has elevated the style of every species d3 BIOGRAPHICAL PREFACE . : xli.
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Common terms and phrases
acquaintance amusements Anthea appearance beauty calamity censure character Cleobulus common consider contempt conversation danger delight desire dignity discover easily ELPHINSTON eminent endeavour envy Epictetus equally error evils excellence eyes favour fear folly force fortune frequently friends gain genius give happen happiness heart hinder honour hope hopes and fears hour human imagination incited indulge innu JOHNSON Jovianus Pontanus Jupiter kind knowledge labour Lacedemon lady learning less lest lives mankind marriage means Melanthia ment mind miscarriages misery moral nature nerally never objects observed once opinion ourselves OVID pain passions pastoral Penthesilea perhaps Periander pleasing pleasure Plutus portunity praise precepts Prudentius publick racter RAMBLER reason reflection regard reproach reputation rest rience riety SATIETY SATURDAY seldom sentiments shew sometimes soon sophism suffer thing thou thought tion told TUESDAY vanity Virgil virtue vojenes write
Popular passages
Page 33 - O Thou whose power o'er moving worlds presides, Whose voice created, and whose wisdom guides, On darkling man in pure effulgence shine, And cheer the clouded mind with light divine. Tis thine alone to calm the pious breast, With silent confidence and holy rest : From thee, great God ! we spring, to thee we tend, Path, motive, guide, original, and end...
Page xii - Almighty God, the giver of all good things, without whose help all labour is ineffectual, and without whose grace .all wisdom is folly : grant, I beseech Thee, that in this undertaking thy Holy Spirit may not be withheld from me, but that I may promote thy glory, and the salvation of myself and others : grant this, O Lord, for the sake of thy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen...
Page 229 - Happy the man - and happy he alone He who can call today his own, He who, secure within, can say 'Tomorrow, do thy worst, for I have...
Page 88 - The gates of hell are open night and day ; Smooth the descent, and easy is the way : But, to return, and view the cheerful skies — In this the task and mighty labour lies.
Page 18 - ... retire to his closet, let loose his invention, and heat his mind with incredibilities ; a book was thus produced without fear of criticism, without the toil of study, without knowledge of nature, or acquaintance with life.
Page 245 - ... but that all might rejoice in the privilege of existence, and be filled with gratitude to the beneficent Author of it ? Thus to enjoy the blessings he has sent, is virtue and obedience ; and to reject them merely as means of pleasure, is pitiable ignorance or absurd perverseness.
Page 17 - THE works of fiction, with which the present generation seems more particularly delighted, are such as exhibit life in its true state, diversified only by accidents that daily happen in the world, and influenced by passions and qualities which are really to be found in conversing with mankind.
Page xviii - A transition from an author's book to his conversation, is too often like an entrance into a large city, after a distant prospect. Remotely, we see nothing but spires of temples and turrets of palaces, and imagine it the residence of splendour, grandeur, and magnificence ; but, when we have passed the gates, we find it perplexed with narrow passages, disgraced with despicable cottages, embarrassed with obstructions, and clouded with smoke.
Page 13 - Cerberus quieted with a sop ; and am, therefore, inclined to believe that modern critics, who, if they have not the eyes, have the watchfulness of Argus, and can bark as loud as Cerberus, though, perhaps, they cannot bite with equal force, might be subdued by methods of the same kind. I have heard how some have been pacified with claret and a supper, and others laid asleep with the soft notes of flattery.
Page 48 - Who, when he saw the first sand or ashes, by a casual intenseness of heat, melted into a metalline form, rugged with excrescences, and clouded with impurities, would have imagined, that in this shapeless lump lay concealed so many conveniences of life, as would in time constitute a great part of the happiness of the world...