Works, Volume 10W. Durell, 1811 |
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Page 8
... writing to turn to his share in the work , as by far the most relishing part of the entertainment . As his parts were extraor- dinary , so he well knew how to improve them ; and not only to polish the diamond , but enchase it in the ...
... writing to turn to his share in the work , as by far the most relishing part of the entertainment . As his parts were extraor- dinary , so he well knew how to improve them ; and not only to polish the diamond , but enchase it in the ...
Page 14
... Writing with ease what ( as Mr. Wycherley speaks ) may be easily written , moved his indignation . When he was writing upon a subject , he would seri- ously consider what Demosthenes , Homer , Virgil , or Horace , if alive , would say ...
... Writing with ease what ( as Mr. Wycherley speaks ) may be easily written , moved his indignation . When he was writing upon a subject , he would seri- ously consider what Demosthenes , Homer , Virgil , or Horace , if alive , would say ...
Page 18
... written while his admiration was yet fresh and his kindness warm ; and therefore such as , without any criminal purpose of deceiving , shews a strong desire to make the most of all favourable truth . I cannot much commend the per ...
... written while his admiration was yet fresh and his kindness warm ; and therefore such as , without any criminal purpose of deceiving , shews a strong desire to make the most of all favourable truth . I cannot much commend the per ...
Page 19
... written by Smith when he had been but two years in the university . This ode , which closed the second volume of the Musa Anglicane , though perhaps some objections may be made to its Latinity , is by far the best Lyric com- position in ...
... written by Smith when he had been but two years in the university . This ode , which closed the second volume of the Musa Anglicane , though perhaps some objections may be made to its Latinity , is by far the best Lyric com- position in ...
Page 22
... writing the dedication till Lintot , after fruitless importunity , gave notice that he would publish the play without it . Now , therefore , it was written ; and Halifax expected the author with his book , and had prepared to reward him ...
... writing the dedication till Lintot , after fruitless importunity , gave notice that he would publish the play without it . Now , therefore , it was written ; and Halifax expected the author with his book , and had prepared to reward him ...
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Common terms and phrases
acquaintance Addison afterwards appeared battle of Ramillies Beggar's Opera Cato censure character Congreve considered contempt court criticism death declared delight diligence Dryden duke earl elegant endeavoured excellence favour fortune friends genius honour house of Hanover imagined Juba justly kind king William lady letter likewise lines lived lord Landsdown lord Tyrconnel mankind ment mentioned merit mind nature neglect ness never observed obtained occasion once opinion panegyric passion performance perhaps Pindaric play pleased pleasure poem poet poetical poetry Pope pounds praise present Prior published queen reason received regard remarkable Savage Savage's says seems seldom Sempronius sent shew shewn Siege of Damascus sir Robert Walpole solicited sometimes Spectator Spence Steele sufficient supposed Syphax Tatler Theophilus Cibber thought Tickell tion told tragedy Tyrconnel verses virtue whigs write written wrote
Popular passages
Page 130 - What he attempted, he performed ; he is never feeble, and he did not wish to be energetic ; he is never rapid, and he never stagnates. His sentences have neither studied amplitude, nor affected brevity ; his periods, though not diligently rounded, are voluble and easy. Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison, HUGHES.
Page 27 - He was of an advanced age, and I was only not a boy; yet he never received my notions with contempt. He was a Whig, with all the virulence and malevolence of his party; yet difference of opinion did not keep us apart. I honoured him, and he endured me. He had mingled with the gay world without exemption from its vices or its follies, but had never neglected the cultivation of his mind ; his belief of Revelation was unshaken ; his learning preserved his principles : he grew first regular, and then...
Page 176 - The cause of Congreve was not tenable: whatever glosses he might use for the defence or palliation of single passages, the general tenour and tendency of his plays must always be condemned. It is acknowledged, with universal conviction, that the perusal of his works will make no man better ; and that their ultimate effect is to represent pleasure in alliance with vice, and to relax those obligations by which life ought to be regulated.
Page 105 - ... truth. He has dissipated the prejudice that had long connected gaiety with vice, and easiness of manners with laxity of principles. He has restored virtue to its dignity, and taught innocence not to be ashamed. This is an elevation of literary character, " above all Greek, above all Roman fame.
Page 27 - His studies had been so various, that I am not able to name a man of equal knowledge. His acquaintance with books was great, and what he did not immediately know, he could, at least, tell where to find.
Page 180 - Looking tranquillity ! it strikes an awe And terror on my aching sight ; the tombs And monumental caves of death look cold, And shoot a chillness to my trembling heart. Give me thy hand, and let me hear thy voice, Nay, quickly speak to me, and let me hear Thy voice — my own affrights me with its echoes.
Page 129 - outsteps the modesty of nature," nor raises merriment or wonder by the violation of truth. His figures neither divert by distortion nor amaze by aggravation. He copies life with so much fidelity that he can be hardly said to invent; yet his exhibitions have an air so much original, that it is difficult to suppose them not merely the product of imagination.
Page 127 - That general knowledge which now circulates in common talk, was in his time rarely to be found. Men not professing learning were not ashamed of ignorance ; and, in the female world, any acquaintance with books was distinguished only to be censured.
Page 83 - The irregularities in sir Roger's conduct seem not so much the effects of a mind deviating from the beaten track of life, by the perpetual pressure of some overwhelming idea, as of habitual rusticity, and that negligence which solitary grandeur naturally generates. The variable weather of the mind, the flying vapours of incipient madness, which from time to time cloud reason, without eclipsing it, it requires so much nicety to exhibit, that Addison seems to have been deterred from prosecuting his...
Page 103 - It is said that when Addison had suffered any vexation from the countess, he withdrew the company from Button's house. From the coffee-house he went again to a tavern, where he often sat late, and drank too much wine.