The Letters of the British Spy |
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Page 14
... spirit of respect- ful diffidence , a species of silent , reverential abasement , which , as it could not have been excited by his personal qualities , must havǝ Judge , then , been homage to his rank . 14 THE BRITISH SPY .
... spirit of respect- ful diffidence , a species of silent , reverential abasement , which , as it could not have been excited by his personal qualities , must havǝ Judge , then , been homage to his rank . 14 THE BRITISH SPY .
Page 45
... spirit , I not only excuse , but am grateful even for , the wildest of Dr. Darwin's philosophical chimeras . In the same spirit , I offer , without the expectation of its final adoption , the idea suggested by this note as to the cause ...
... spirit , I not only excuse , but am grateful even for , the wildest of Dr. Darwin's philosophical chimeras . In the same spirit , I offer , without the expectation of its final adoption , the idea suggested by this note as to the cause ...
Page 57
... spirit , have , with me , sunk far below the grade at which we have been taught to fix them . It is true , that at school , I learned , like the rest of the world , to lisp , " Cicero the orator : " but when I grew up and began to judge ...
... spirit , have , with me , sunk far below the grade at which we have been taught to fix them . It is true , that at school , I learned , like the rest of the world , to lisp , " Cicero the orator : " but when I grew up and began to judge ...
Page 59
... Spirits of Car and of Ascham ! have mercy upon me ! Wo betide the hand that plucks the wizard beard of hoary errour ! From lisping infancy to stooping age , the reproach- es , the curses of the world shall be upon it ! -But to you , my ...
... Spirits of Car and of Ascham ! have mercy upon me ! Wo betide the hand that plucks the wizard beard of hoary errour ! From lisping infancy to stooping age , the reproach- es , the curses of the world shall be upon it ! -But to you , my ...
Page 62
... spirit to " spirit , without the mediation of the senses ; " whence the conceits have grown , now al- " most made civil , of the mastering spirit , " and the force of confidence , and the like . " This notion is farther explained in his ...
... spirit to " spirit , without the mediation of the senses ; " whence the conceits have grown , now al- " most made civil , of the mastering spirit , " and the force of confidence , and the like . " This notion is farther explained in his ...
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Common terms and phrases
Adieu alluvion America appearance argument astonishing Atlantick audience beautiful believe Blue Ridge British Spy Briton Buffon cause censure certainly character classick clear continent curious dear deism Demosthenes doubt earth east eastern coast effect eleva elevation eloquence ergy errour eyes fancy feelings fluid force furnish genius gentleman give glass house hearers heart heaven honour human Indians Inquirer intirely James river judgment lava letters light look lord Verulam manner ment miles mind motion mountains native nature neral never observed ocean once orator passion perpetual person Pliny the younger Pocahuntas polite present principles produced reason remarks republick Richmond river sand shore solid soul South America speaker spirit stratum style sublime superiour suppose surface tain talents taste theory thing thought tides tion town truth ture universal genius Virginia voice western whole WIRT NBV writer
Popular passages
Page 176 - Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire; Hands, that the rod of empire might have swayed, Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.
Page 134 - I had thought it exhausted long ago. Little did I suppose that in the wild woods of America I was to meet with a man whose eloquence would give to this topic a new and more sublime pathos than I had ever before witnessed. "As he descended from the pulpit to distribute the mystic symbols...
Page 137 - ... be able to let his audience down from the height to which he had wound them, without impairing the solemnity and dignity of his subject, or perhaps shocking them by the abruptness of the fall. But, no ; the descent was as beautiful and sublime as the elevation had been rapid and enthusiastic. The first sentence with which he broke the awful silence was a quotation from Rousseau, "Socrates died like a philosopher, but Jesus Christ like a God.
Page 176 - Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear: Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air. Some village Hampden that with dauntless breast The little tyrant of his fields withstood; Some mute inglorious Milton here may rest, Some Cromwell guiltless of his country's blood. Th...
Page 137 - ... of portentous, deathlike silence which reigned throughout the house ; the preacher removing his white handkerchief from his aged face, (even yet wet from the recent torrent of his tears) , and slowly stretching forth the palsied hand which holds it, begins the sentence, "Socrates died like a philosopher...
Page 150 - This grew speedily to an excess; for men began to hunt more after words than matter; and more after the choiceness of the phrase, and the round and clean composition of the sentence, and the sweet falling of the clauses, and the varying and illustration of their works with tropes and figures, than after the weight of matter, w•orth of subject, soundness of argument, life of invention, or depth of judgment.
Page 138 - Socrates died like a philosopher," — then pausing, raising his other hand, pressing them both clasped together with warmth and energy to his breast, lifting his "sightless balls" to heaven, and pouring his whole soul into his tremulous voice, " but Jesus Christ — like a God...
Page 109 - This extraordinary man, without the aid of fancy, without the advantages of person, voice, attitude, gesture, or any of the ornaments of an orator, deserves to be considered as one of the most eloquent men in the world — if eloquence may be said to consist in the power of seizing the attention with irresistible force, and never permitting it to elude the grasp, until the hearer has received the conviction which the speaker intends.
Page 121 - Heaven, and glances at that divinely consoling proclamation, " come unto me, all ye, who are weary and " heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Page 135 - His peculiar phrases had that force of description that the original scene appeared to be, at that moment, acting before our eyes. We saw the very faces of the Jews; the staring, frightful distortions of malice and rage. We saw the buffet: my soul kindled with a flame of indignation; and my hands were involuntarily and convulsively clinched.