 |
The kiss, snatch'd hasty from the sidelong maid.
The Seasons. Winter. Line 625.
These as they change, Almighty Father! these Are but the varied God. The rolling year Is full of Thee.
Hymn. Line 1.
Shade, unperceiv'd, so softening into shade.
Hymn. Line 25.
From seeming evil still educing good.
Hymn. Line 114.
Come then, expressive silence, muse His praise.
Hymn. Line 118.
A pleasing land of drowsyhed it was, Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye; And of gay castles in the clouds that pass, Forever flushing round a summer sky: There eke the soft delights that witchingly Instil a wanton sweetness through the breast, And the calm pleasures always hover'd nigh; But whate'er smack'd of noyance or unrest Was far, far off expell'd from this delicious nest.
The Castle of Indolence. Canto i. Stanza 6.
O fair undress, best dress! it checks no vein, But every flowing limb in pleasure drowns, And heightens ease with grace.
The Castle of Indolence. Canto i. Stanza 26.
Plac'd far amid the melancholy main.
The Castle of Indolence. Canto i. Stanza 30.
Scoundrel maxim.
The Castle of Indolence. Canto i. Stanza 30.
A bard here dwelt, more fat than bard beseems.
The Castle of Indolence. Canto i. Stanza 68.
A little round, fat, oily man of God.
The Castle of Indolence. Canto i. Stanza 69.
I care not, Fortune, what you me deny: You cannot rob me of free Nature's grace, You cannot shut the windows of the sky Through which Aurora shows her brightening face; You cannot bar my constant feet to trace The woods and lawns, by living stream, at eve: Let health my nerves and finer fibres brace, And I their toys to the great children leave: Of fancy, reason, virtue, naught can me bereave.
The Castle of Indolence. Canto ii. Stanza 3.
Health is the vital principle of bliss, And exercise, of health.
The Castle of Indolence. Canto ii. Stanza 55.
Forever, Fortune, wilt thou prove An unrelenting foe to love; And when we meet a mutual heart, Come in between and bid us part?
Song.
Whoe'er amidst the sons Of reason, valour, liberty, and virtue Displays distinguish'd merit, is a noble Of Nature's own creating.
Coriolanus. Act iii. Sc. 3.
O Sophonisba! Sophonisba, O![358-1]
Sophonisba. Act iii. Sc. 2.
When Britain first, at Heaven's command, Arose from out the azure main, This was the charter of her land, And guardian angels sung the strain: Rule, Britannia! Britannia rules the waves! Britons never shall be slaves.
Alfred. Act ii. Sc. 5.
FOOTNOTES:
[356-1] See Milton, page 234.
Nam ut mulieres esse dicuntur nonnullae inornatae, quas id ipsum diceat, sic haec subtilis oratio etiam incompta delectat (For as lack of adornment is said to become some women; so this subtle oration, though without embellishment, gives delight).—CICERO: Orator, 23, 78.
[356-2] O Winter, ruler of the inverted year.—COWPER: The Task, book iv. Winter Evening, line 34.
[358-1] The line was altered after the second edition to "O Sophonisba! I am wholly thine."
JOHN DYER. 1700-1758.
A little rule, a little sway, A sunbeam in a winter's day, Is all the proud and mighty have Between the cradle and the grave.
Grongar Hill. Line 88.
Ever charming, ever new, When will the landscape tire the view?
Grongar Hill. Line 102.
Disparting towers Trembling all precipitate down dash'd, Rattling around, loud thundering to the moon.
The Ruins of Rome. Line 40.
PHILIP DODDRIDGE. 1702-1751.
Live while you live, the epicure would say, And seize the pleasures of the present day; Live while you live, the sacred preacher cries, And give to God each moment as it flies. Lord, in my views, let both united be: I live in pleasure when I live to thee.
Epigram on his Family Arms.[359-1]
Awake, my soul! stretch every nerve, And press with vigour on; A heavenly race demands thy zeal, And an immortal crown.
Zeal and Vigour in the Christian Race.
FOOTNOTES:
[359-1] Dum vivimus vivamus (Let us live while we live).—ORTON: Life of Doddridge.
JOHN WESLEY. 1703-1791.
That execrable sum of all villanies commonly called a Slave Trade.
Journal. Feb. 12, 1772.
Certainly this is a duty, not a sin. "Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness."[359-2]
Sermon xciii. On Dress.
I am always in haste, but never in a hurry.[359-3]
FOOTNOTES:
[359-2] See Bacon, page 170.
[359-3] Given as a saying of Wesley, in the "Saturday Review," Nov. 28, 1874.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.[359-4] 1706-1790.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.[359-5]
Historical Review of Pennsylvania.
God helps them that help themselves.[360-1]
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
Early to bed and early to rise, Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.[360-2]
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
Plough deep while sluggards sleep.
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
Never leave that till to-morrow which you can do to-day.
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
Three removes are as bad as a fire.
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
Little strokes fell great oaks.[360-3]
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
A little neglect may breed mischief: for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost.
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing.[360-4]
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose to the grindstone.[360-5]
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
Vessels large may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore.
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
It is hard for an empty bag to stand upright.
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.
Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757.
We are a kind of posterity in respect to them.[361-1]
Letter to William Strahan, 1745.
Remember that time is money.
Advice to a Young Tradesman, 1748.
Idleness and pride tax with a heavier hand than kings and parliaments. If we can get rid of the former, we may easily bear the latter.
Letter on the Stamp Act, July 1, 1765.
Here Skugg lies snug As a bug in a rug.[361-2]
Letter to Miss Georgiana Shipley, September, 1772.
There never was a good war or a bad peace.[361-3]
Letter to Josiah Quincy, Sept. 11, 1773.
You and I were long friends: you are now my enemy, and I am yours.
Letter to William Strahan, July 5, 1775.
We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.
At the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.
He has paid dear, very dear, for his whistle.
The Whistle. November, 1779.
Here you would know and enjoy what posterity will say of Washington. For a thousand leagues have nearly the same effect with a thousand years.
Letter to Washington, March 5, 1780.
Our Constitution is in actual operation; everything appears to promise that it will last; but in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
Letter to M. Leroy, 1789.
FOOTNOTES:
[359-4] Eripuit coelo fulmen sceptrumque tyrannis (He snatched the lightning from heaven, and the sceptre from tyrants),—a line attributed to Turgot, and inscribed on Houdon's bust of Franklin. Frederick von der Trenck asserted on his trial, 1794, that he was the author of this line.
[359-5] This sentence was much used in the Revolutionary period. It occurs even so early as November, 1755, in an answer by the Assembly of Pennsylvania to the Governor, and forms the motto of Franklin's "Historical Review," 1759, appearing also in the body of the work.—FROTHINGHAM: Rise of the Republic of the United States, p. 413.
[360-1] See Herbert, page 206.
[360-2] CLARKE: Paraemiolgia, 1639.
My hour is eight o'clock, though it is an infallible rule, "Sanat, sanctificat, et ditat, surgere mane" (That he may be healthy, happy, and wise, let him rise early).—A Health to the Gentle Profession of Serving-men, 1598 (reprinted in Roxburghe Library), p. 121.
[360-3] See Lyly, page 32.
[360-4] See Tusser, page 21.
[360-5] See Heywood, page 11.
[361-1] Byron's European fame is the best earnest of his immortality, for a foreign nation is a kind of contemporaneous posterity.—HORACE BINNEY WALLACE: Stanley, or the Recollections of a Man of the World, vol. ii. p. 89.
[361-2] Snug as a bug in a rug.—The Stratford Jubilee, ii. 1, 1779.
[361-3] It hath been said that an unjust peace is to be preferred before a just war.—SAMUEL BUTLER: Speeches in the Rump Parliament. Butler's Remains.
NATHANIEL COTTON. 1707-1788.
If solid happiness we prize, Within our breast this jewel lies, And they are fools who roam. The world has nothing to bestow; From our own selves our joys must flow, And that dear hut, our home.
The Fireside. Stanza 3.
To be resign'd when ills betide, Patient when favours are deni'd, And pleas'd with favours given,— Dear Chloe, this is wisdom's part; This is that incense of the heart[362-1] Whose fragrance smells to heaven.
The Fireside. Stanza 11.
Thus hand in hand through life we 'll go; Its checker'd paths of joy and woe With cautious steps we 'll tread.
The Fireside. Stanza 31.
Yet still we hug the dear deceit.
Content. Vision iv.
Hold the fleet angel fast until he bless thee.
To-morrow.
HENRY FIELDING. 1707-1754.
All Nature wears one universal grin.
Tom Thumb the Great. Act i. Sc. 1.
Petition me no petitions, sir, to-day; Let other hours be set apart for business. To-day it is our pleasure to be drunk; And this our queen shall be as drunk as we.
Tom Thumb the Great. Act i. Sc. 2.
When I 'm not thank'd at all, I 'm thank'd enough; I 've done my duty, and I 've done no more.
Tom Thumb the Great. Act i. Sc. 3.
Thy modesty 's a candle to thy merit.
Tom Thumb the Great. Act i. Sc. 3.
To sun myself in Huncamunca's eyes.
Tom Thumb the Great. Act i. Sc. 3.
Lo, when two dogs are fighting in the streets, With a third dog one of the two dogs meets; With angry teeth he bites him to the bone, And this dog smarts for what that dog has done.[363-1]
Tom Thumb the Great. Act i. Sc. 6.
I am as sober as a judge.[363-2]
Don Quixote in England. Act iii. Sc. 14.
Much may be said on both sides.[363-3]
The Covent Garden Tragedy. Act i. Sc. 8.
Enough is equal to a feast.[363-4]
The Covent Garden Tragedy. Act v. Sc. 1.
We must eat to live and live to eat.[363-5]
The Miser. Act iii. Sc. 3.
Penny saved is a penny got.[363-6]
The Miser. Act iii. Sc. 12.
Oh, the roast beef of England, And old England's roast beef!
The Grub Street Opera. Act iii. Sc. 2.
This story will not go down.
Tumble-down Dick.
Can any man have a higher notion of the rule of right and the eternal fitness of things?
Tom Jones. Book iv. Chap. iv.
Distinction without a difference.
Tom Jones. Book vi. Chap. xiii.
Amiable weakness.[364-1]
Tom Jones. Book x. chap. viii.
The dignity of history.[364-2]
Tom Jones. Book xi. Chap. ii.
Republic of letters.
Tom Jones. Book xiv. Chap. i.
Illustrious predecessors.[364-3]
Covent Garden Journal. Jan. 11, 1752.
FOOTNOTES:
[362-1] The incense of the heart may rise.—PIERPONT: Every Place a Temple.
[363-1] Thus when a barber and a collier fight, The barber beats the luckless collier—white; The dusty collier heaves his ponderous sack, And big with vengeance beats the barber—black. In comes the brick-dust man, with grime o'erspread, And beats the collier and the barber—red: Black, red, and white in various clouds are tost, And in the dust they raise the combatants are lost.
CHRISTOPHER SMART: The Trip to Cambridge (on "Campbell's Specimens of the British Poets," vol. vi. p. 185).
[363-2] Sober as a judge.—CHARLES LAMB: Letter to Mr. and Mrs. Moxon.
[363-3] See Addison, page 300.
[363-4] See Heywood, page 20.
[363-5] Socrates said, Bad men live that they may eat and drink, whereas good men eat and drink that they may live.—PLUTARCH: How a Young Man ought to hear Poems.
[363-6] A penny saved is twopence dear; A pin a day 's a groat a year.
FRANKLIN: Hints to those that would be Rich (1736).
[364-1] Amiable weaknesses of human nature.—GIBBON: Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. xiv.
[364-2] See Bolingbroke, page 304.
[364-3] Illustrious predecessor.—BURKE: The Present Discontents.
I tread in the footsteps of illustrious men. . . . In receiving from the people the sacred trust confided to my illustrious predecessor.—MARTIN VAN BUREN: Inaugural Address, March 4, 1837.
WILLIAM PITT, EARL OF CHATHAM. 1708-1778.
Confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom.
Speech, Jan. 14, 1766.
A long train of these practices has at length unwillingly convinced me that there is something behind the throne greater than the King himself.[364-4]
Chatham Correspondence. Speech, March 2, 1770.
Where law ends, tyranny begins.
Case of Wilkes. Speech, Jan. 9, 1770.
Reparation for our rights at home, and security against the like future violations.[364-5]
Letter to the Earl of Shelburne, Sept. 29, 1770.
If I were an American, as I am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was landed in my country I never would lay down my arms,—never! never! never!
Speech, Nov. 18, 1777.
The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the force of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storms may enter, the rain may enter,—but the King of England cannot enter; all his forces dare not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!
Speech on the Excise Bill.
We have a Calvinistic creed, a Popish liturgy, and an Arminian clergy.
Prior's Life of Burke (1790).
FOOTNOTES:
[364-4] Quoted by Lord Mahon, "greater than the throne itself."—History of England, vol. v. p. 258.
[364-5] "Indemnity for the past and security for the future."—RUSSELL: Memoir of Fox, vol. iii. p. 345, Letter to the Hon. T. Maitland.
SAMUEL JOHNSON. 1709-1784.
Let observation with extensive view Survey mankind, from China to Peru.[365-1]
Vanity of Human Wishes. Line 1.
There mark what ills the scholar's life assail,— Toil, envy, want, the patron, and the jail.
Vanity of Human Wishes. Line 159.
He left the name at which the world grew pale, To point a moral, or adorn a tale.
Vanity of Human Wishes. Line 221.
Hides from himself his state, and shuns to know That life protracted is protracted woe.
Vanity of Human Wishes. Line 257.
An age that melts in unperceiv'd decay, And glides in modest innocence away.
Vanity of Human Wishes. Line 293.
Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage.
Vanity of Human Wishes. Line 308.
Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise! From Marlb'rough's eyes the streams of dotage flow, And Swift expires, a driv'ler and a show.
Vanity of Human Wishes. Line 316.
Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate, Roll darkling down the torrent of his fate?
Vanity of Human Wishes. Line 345.
For patience, sov'reign o'er transmuted ill.
Vanity of Human Wishes. Line 362.
Of all the griefs that harass the distrest, Sure the most bitter is a scornful jest.[366-1]
London. Line 166.
This mournful truth is ev'rywhere confess'd,— Slow rises worth by poverty depress'd.[366-2]
London. Line 176.
Studious to please, yet not ashamed to fail.
Prologue to the Tragedy of Irene.
Each change of many-colour'd life he drew, Exhausted worlds, and then imagin'd new.
Prologue on the Opening of Drury Lane Theatre.
And panting Time toil'd after him in vain.
Prologue on the Opening of Drury Lane Theatre.
For we that live to please must please to live.
Prologue on the Opening of Drury Lane Theatre.
Catch, then, oh catch the transient hour; Improve each moment as it flies! Life 's a short summer, man a flower; He dies—alas! how soon he dies!
Winter. An Ode.
Officious, innocent, sincere, Of every friendless name the friend.
Verses on the Death of Mr. Robert Levet. Stanza 2.
In misery's darkest cavern known, His useful care was ever nigh[366-3] Where hopeless anguish pour'd his groan, And lonely want retir'd to die.
Verses on the Death of Mr. Robert Levet. Stanza 5.
And sure th' Eternal Master found His single talent well employ'd.
Verses on the Death of Mr. Robert Levet. Stanza 7.
Then with no throbs of fiery pain,[367-1] No cold gradations of decay, Death broke at once the vital chain, And freed his soul the nearest way.
Verses on the Death of Mr. Robert Levet. Stanza 9.
That saw the manners in the face.
Lines on the Death of Hogarth.
Philips, whose touch harmonious could remove The pangs of guilty power and hapless love! Rest here, distressed by poverty no more; Here find that calm thou gav'st so oft before; Sleep undisturb'd within this peaceful shrine, Till angels wake thee with a note like thine!
Epitaph on Claudius Philips, the Musician.
A Poet, Naturalist, and Historian, Who left scarcely any style of writing untouched, And touched nothing that he did not adorn.[367-2]
Epitaph on Goldsmith.
How small of all that human hearts endure, That part which laws or kings can cause or cure! Still to ourselves in every place consigned, Our own felicity we make or find. With secret course, which no loud storms annoy, Glides the smooth current of domestic joy.
Lines added to Goldsmith's Traveller.
Trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay.
Line added to Goldsmith's Deserted Village.
From thee, great God, we spring, to thee we tend,— Path, motive, guide, original, and end.[367-3]
Motto to the Rambler. No. 7.
Ye who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with eagerness the phantoms of hope; who expect that age will perform the promises of youth, and that the deficiencies of the present day will be supplied by the morrow,—attend to the history of Rasselas, Prince Of Abyssinia.
Rasselas. Chap. i.
"I fly from pleasure," said the prince, "because pleasure has ceased to please; I am lonely because I am miserable, and am unwilling to cloud with my presence the happiness of others."
Rasselas. Chap. iii.
A man used to vicissitudes is not easily dejected.
Rasselas. Chap. xii.
Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.
Rasselas. Chap. xii.
Knowledge is more than equivalent to force.[368-1]
Rasselas. Chap. xiii.
I live in the crowd of jollity, not so much to enjoy company as to shun myself.
Rasselas. Chap. xvi.
Many things difficult to design prove easy to performance.
Rasselas. Chap. xvi.
The first years of man must make provision for the last.
Rasselas. Chap. xvii.
Example is always more efficacious than precept.
Rasselas. Chap. xxx.
The endearing elegance of female friendship.
Rasselas. Chap. xlvi.
I am not so lost in lexicography as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven.[368-2]
Preface to his Dictionary.
Words are men's daughters, but God's sons are things.[368-3]
Boulter's Monument. (Supposed to have been inserted by Dr. Johnson, 1745.)
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.
Life of Addison.
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
Life of Milton.
The trappings of a monarchy would set up an ordinary commonwealth.
Life of Milton.
His death eclipsed the gayety of nations, and impoverished the public stock of harmless pleasure.
Life of Edmund Smith (alluding to the death of Garrick).
That man is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of Iona.
Journey to the Western Islands: Inch Kenneth.
He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.
The Idler. No. 57.
What is read twice is commonly better remembered than what is transcribed.
The Idler. No. 74.
Tom Birch is as brisk as a bee in conversation; but no sooner does he take a pen in his hand than it becomes a torpedo to him, and benumbs all his faculties.
Life of Johnson (Boswell).[369-1] Vol. i. Chap. vii. 1743.
Wretched un-idea'd girls.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. i. Chap. x. 1752.
This man [Chesterfield], I thought, had been a lord among wits; but I find he is only a wit among lords.[369-2]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. i. 1754.
Sir, he [Bolingbroke] was a scoundrel and a coward: a scoundrel for charging a blunderbuss against religion and morality; a coward, because he had not resolution to fire it off himself, but left half a crown to a beggarly Scotchman to draw the trigger at his death.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. i. 1754.
Is not a patron, my lord, one who looks with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and when he has reached ground encumbers him with help?
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. ii. 1755.
I am glad that he thanks God for anything.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. ii. 1755.
If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man, sir, should keep his friendship in a constant repair.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. ii. 1755.
Being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. iii. 1759.
Sir, I think all Christians, whether Papists or Protestants, agree in the essential articles, and that their differences are trivial, and rather political than religious.[370-1]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. v. 1763.
The noblest prospect which a Scotchman ever sees is the high-road that leads him to England.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. v. 1763.
If he does really think that there is no distinction between virtue and vice, why, sir, when he leaves our houses let us count our spoons.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. v. 1763.
Sir, your levellers wish to level down as far as themselves; but they cannot bear levelling up to themselves.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. v. 1763.
A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. vi. 1763.
Sherry is dull, naturally dull; but it must have taken him a great deal of pains to become what we now see him. Such an access of stupidity, sir, is not in Nature.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. ix.
Sir, a woman preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. ix.
I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly will hardly mind anything else.[371-1]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. ix.
This was a good dinner enough, to be sure, but it was not a dinner to ask a man to.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. ix.
A very unclubable man.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. ii. Chap. ix. 1764.
I do not know, sir, that the fellow is an infidel; but if he be an infidel, he is an infidel as a dog is an infidel; that is to say, he has never thought upon the subject.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. iii. Chap. iii. 1769.
It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. iii. Chap. iv.
That fellow seems to me to possess but one idea, and that is a wrong one.[371-2]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. iii. Chap. v. 1770.
I am a great friend to public amusements; for they keep people from vice.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. iii. Chap. viii. 1772.
A cow is a very good animal in the field; but we turn her out of a garden.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. iii. Chap. viii. 1772.
Much may be made of a Scotchman if he be caught young.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. iii. Chap. viii. 1772.
A man may write at any time if he will set himself doggedly to it.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. iv. Chap. ii. 1773.
Let him go abroad to a distant country; let him go to some place where he is not known. Don't let him go to the devil, where he is known.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. iv. Chap. ii. 1773.
Was ever poet so trusted before?
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. v. Chap. vi. 1774.
Attack is the reaction. I never think I have hit hard unless it rebounds.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. v. Chap. vi. 1775.
A man will turn over half a library to make one book.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. v. Chap. viii. 1775.
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. v. Chap. ix.
Hell is paved with good intentions.[372-1]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. v. Chap. ix.
Knowledge is of two kinds: we know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.[372-2]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. v. Chap. ix.
I never take a nap after dinner but when I have had a bad night; and then the nap takes me.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. i. 1775.
In lapidary inscriptions a man is not upon oath.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. i. 1775.
There is now less flogging in our great schools than formerly,—but then less is learned there; so that what the boys get at one end they lose at the other.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. i. 1775.
There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.[372-3]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. iii. 1776.
No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. iii. 1776.
Questioning is not the mode of conversation among gentlemen.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. iv. 1776.
A man is very apt to complain of the ingratitude of those who have risen far above him.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. iv. 1776.
All this [wealth] excludes but one evil,—poverty.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. ix. 1777.
Employment, sir, and hardships prevent melancholy.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. ix. 1777.
When a man is tired of London he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. ix. 1777.
He was so generally civil that nobody thanked him for it.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vi. Chap. ix. 1777.
Goldsmith, however, was a man who whatever he wrote, did it better than any other man could do.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vii. Chap. iii. 1778.
Johnson had said that he could repeat a complete chapter of "The Natural History of Iceland," from the Danish of Horrebow, the whole of which was exactly (Ch. lxxii. Concerning snakes) thus: "There are no snakes to be met with throughout the whole island."[373-1]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vii. Chap. iv. 1778.
As the Spanish proverb says, "He who would bring home the wealth of the Indies must carry the wealth of the Indies with him," so it is in travelling,—a man must carry knowledge with him if he would bring home knowledge.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vii. Chap. v. 1778.
The true, strong, and sound mind is the mind that can embrace equally great things and small.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vii. Chap. vi. 1778.
I remember a passage in Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield," which he was afterwards fool enough to expunge: "I do not love a man who is zealous for nothing." . . . There was another fine passage too which he struck out: "When I was a young man, being anxious to distinguish myself, I was perpetually starting new propositions. But I soon gave this over; for I found that generally what was new was false."
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vii. Chap. viii. 1779.
Claret is the liquor for boys, port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vii. Chap. viii. 1779.
A Frenchman must be always talking, whether he knows anything of the matter or not; an Englishman is content to say nothing when he has nothing to say.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vii. Chap. x.
Of Dr. Goldsmith he said, "No man was more foolish when he had not a pen in his hand, or more wise when he had."
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vii. Chap. x.
The applause of a single human being is of great consequence.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. vii. Chap. x.
The potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice.[374-1]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. viii. Chap. ii.
Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. viii. Chap. iii. 1781.
My friend was of opinion that when a man of rank appeared in that character [as an author], he deserved to have his merits handsomely allowed.[374-2]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. viii. Chap. iii. 1781.
I never have sought the world; the world was not to seek me.[374-3]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. viii. Chap. v. 1783.
He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dullness in others.[374-4]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. viii. Chap. v. 1784.
You see they 'd have fitted him to a T.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. viii. Chap. ix. 1784.
I have found you an argument; I am not obliged to find you an understanding.
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. viii. Chap. ix. 1784.
Who drives fat oxen should himself be fat.[375-1]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. viii. Chap. ix. 1784.
Blown about with every wind of criticism.[375-2]
Life of Johnson (Boswell). Vol. viii. Chap. x. 1784.
If the man who turnips cries Cry not when his father dies, 'T is a proof that he had rather Have a turnip than his father.
Johnsoniana. Piozzi, 30.
He was a very good hater.
Johnsoniana. Piozzi, 39.
The law is the last result of human wisdom acting upon human experience for the benefit of the public.
Johnsoniana. Piozzi, 58.
The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.
Johnsoniana. Piozzi, 154.
Dictionaries are like watches; the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true.
Johnsoniana. Piozzi, 178.
Books that you may carry to the fire and hold readily in your hand, are the most useful after all.
Johnsoniana. Hawkins. 197.
Round numbers are always false.
Johnsoniana. Hawkins. 235.
As with my hat[375-3] upon my head I walk'd along the Strand, I there did meet another man With his hat in his hand.[375-4]
Johnsoniana. George Steevens. 310.
Abstinence is as easy to me as temperance would be difficult.
Johnsoniana. Hannah More. 467.
The limbs will quiver and move after the soul is gone.
Johnsoniana. Northcote. 487.
Hawkesworth said of Johnson, "You have a memory that would convict any author of plagiarism in any court of literature in the world."
Johnsoniana. Kearsley. 600.
His conversation does not show the minute-hand, but he strikes the hour very correctly.
Johnsoniana. Kearsley. 604.
Hunting was the labour of the savages of North America, but the amusement of the gentlemen of England.
Johnsoniana. Kearsley. 606.
I am very fond of the company of ladies. I like their beauty, I like their delicacy, I like their vivacity, and I like their silence.
Johnsoniana. Seward. 617.
This world, where much is to be done and little to be known.
Prayers and Meditations. Against inquisitive and perplexing Thoughts.
Gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation; you do not find it among gross people.
Tour to the Hebrides. Sept. 20, 1773.
A fellow that makes no figure in company, and has a mind as narrow as the neck of a vinegar-cruet.
Tour to the Hebrides. Sept. 30, 1773.
The atrocious crime of being a young man, which the honourable gentleman has with such spirit and decency charged upon me, I shall neither attempt to palliate nor deny; but content myself with wishing that I may be one of those whose follies may cease with their youth, and not of that number who are ignorant in spite of experience.[376-1]
Pitt's Reply to Walpole. Speech, March 6, 1741.
Towering in the confidence of twenty-one.
Letter to Bennet Langton. Jan. 9, 1758.
Gloomy calm of idle vacancy.
Letter to Boswell. Dec. 8, 1763.
Wharton quotes Johnson as saying of Dr. Campbell, "He is the richest author that ever grazed the common of literature."
FOOTNOTES:
[365-1] All human race, from China to Peru, Pleasure, howe'er disguised by art, pursue.
THOMAS WARTON: Universal Love of Pleasure.
De Quincey (Works, vol. x. p. 72) quotes the criticism of some writer, who contends with some reason that this high-sounding couplet of Dr. Johnson amounts in effect to this: Let observation with extensive observation observe mankind extensively.
[366-1] Nothing in poverty so ill is borne As its exposing men to grinning scorn.
OLDHAM (1653-1683): Third Satire of Juvenal.
[366-2] Three years later Johnson wrote, "Mere unassisted merit advances slowly, if—what is not very common—it advances at all."
[366-3] Var. His ready help was always nigh.
[367-1] Var. Then with no fiery throbbing pain.
[367-2] Qui nullum fere scribendi genus Non tetigit, Nullum quod tetigit non ornavit.
See Chesterfield, page 353.
[367-3] A translation of Boethius's "De Consolatione Philosophiae," iii. 9, 27.
[368-1] See Bacon, page 168.
[368-2] The italics and the word "forget" would seem to imply that the saying was not his own.
[368-3] Sir William Jones gives a similar saying in India: "Words are the daughters of earth, and deeds are the sons of heaven."
See Herbert, page 206. Sir THOMAS BODLEY: Letter to his Librarian, 1604.
[369-1] From the London edition, 10 volumes, 1835.
Dr. Johnson, it is said, when he first heard of Boswell's intention to write a life of him, announced, with decision enough, that if he thought Boswell really meant to write his life he would prevent it by taking Boswell's!—CARLYLE: Miscellanies, Jean Paul Frederic Richter.
[369-2] See Pope, page 331.
[370-1] I do not find that the age or country makes the least difference; no, nor the language the actor spoke, nor the religion which they professed,—whether Arab in the desert, or Frenchman in the Academy. I see that sensible men and conscientious men all over the world were of one religion of well-doing and daring.—EMERSON: The Preacher. Lectures and Biographical Sketches, p. 215.
[371-1] Every investigation which is guided by principles of nature fixes its ultimate aim entirely on gratifying the stomach.—ATHENAEUS: Book vii. chap. ii.
[371-2] Mr. Kremlin was distinguished for ignorance; for he had only one idea, and that was wrong.—DISRAELI: Sybil, book iv. chap. 5.
[372-1] See Herbert, page 205.
Do not be troubled by Saint Bernard's saying that hell is full of good intentions and wills.—FRANCIS DE SALES: Spiritual Letters. Letter xii. (Translated by the author of "A Dominican Artist.") 1605.
[372-2] Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis, ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est (To know where you can find anything, that in short is the largest part of learning).—ANONYMOUS.
[372-3] Whoe'er has travell'd life's dull round, Where'er his stages may have been, May sigh to think he still has found The warmest welcome at an inn.
SHENSTONE: Written on a Window of an Inn.
[373-1] Chapter xlii. is still shorter: "There are no owls of any kind in the whole island."
[374-1] I am rich beyond the dreams of avarice.—EDWARD MOORE: The Gamester, act ii. sc. 2. 1753.
[374-2] Usually quoted as "When a nobleman writes a book, he ought to be encouraged."
[374-3] I have not loved the world, nor the world me.—BYRON: Childe Harold, canto iii. stanza 113.
[374-4] See Shakespeare, page 88.
[375-1] A parody on "Who rules o'er freemen should himself be free," from Brooke's "Gustavus Vasa," first edition.
[375-2] Carried about with every wind of doctrine.—Ephesians iv. 14.
[375-3] Elsewhere found, "I put my hat."
[375-4] A parody on Percy's "Hermit of Warkworth."
[376-1] This is the composition of Johnson, founded on some note or statement of the actual speech. Johnson said, "That speech I wrote in a garret, in Exeter Street." BOSWELL: Life of Johnson, 1741.
LORD LYTTLETON. 1709-1773.
For his chaste Muse employ'd her heaven-taught lyre None but the noblest passions to inspire, Not one immoral, one corrupted thought, One line which, dying, he could wish to blot.
Prologue to Thomson's Coriolanus.
Women, like princes, find few real friends.
Advice to a Lady.
What is your sex's earliest, latest care, Your heart's supreme ambition? To be fair.
Advice to a Lady.
The lover in the husband may be lost.
Advice to a Lady.
How much the wife is dearer than the bride.
An Irregular Ode.
None without hope e'er lov'd the brightest fair, But love can hope where reason would despair.
Epigram.
Where none admire, 't is useless to excel; Where none are beaux, 't is vain to be a belle.
Soliloquy on a Beauty in the Country.
Alas! by some degree of woe We every bliss must gain; The heart can ne'er a transport know That never feels a pain.
Song.
EDWARD MOORE. 1712-1757.
Can't I another's face commend, And to her virtues be a friend, But instantly your forehead lowers, As if her merit lessen'd yours?
The Farmer, the Spaniel, and the Cat. Fable ix.
The maid who modestly conceals Her beauties, while she hides, reveals; Give but a glimpse, and fancy draws Whate'er the Grecian Venus was.
The Spider and the Bee. Fable x.
But from the hoop's bewitching round, Her very shoe has power to wound.
The Spider and the Bee. Fable x.
Time still, as he flies, brings increase to her truth, And gives to her mind what he steals from her youth.
The Happy Marriage.
I am rich beyond the dreams of avarice.[378-1]
The Gamester. Act ii. Sc. 2.
'T is now the summer of your youth. Time has not cropt the roses from your cheek, though sorrow long has washed them.
The Gamester. Act iii. Sc. 4.
Labour for his pains.[378-2]
The Boy and the Rainbow.
FOOTNOTES:
[378-1] See Johnson, page 374.
[378-2] See Shakespeare, page 101.
LAURENCE STERNE. 1713-1768.
Go, poor devil, get thee gone! Why should I hurt thee? This world surely is wide enough to hold both thee and me.
Tristram Shandy (orig. ed.). Vol. ii. chap. xii.
Great wits jump.[378-3]
Tristram Shandy (orig. ed.). Vol. iii. Chap. ix.
"Our armies swore terribly in Flanders," cried my Uncle Toby, "but nothing to this."
Tristram Shandy (orig. ed.). Vol. iii. Chap. xi.
Of all the cants which are canted in this canting world, though the cant of hypocrites may be the worst, the cant of criticism is the most tormenting!
Tristram Shandy (orig. ed.). Vol. iii. Chap. xii.
The accusing spirit, which flew up to heaven's chancery with the oath, blushed as he gave it in; and the recording angel as he wrote it down dropped a tear upon the word and blotted it out forever.[379-1]
Tristram Shandy (orig. ed.). Vol. vi. Chap. viii.
I am sick as a horse.
Tristram Shandy (orig. ed.). Vol. vii. Chap. xi.
"They order," said I, "this matter better in France."
Sentimental Journey. Page 1.
I pity the man who can travel from Dan to Beersheba and cry, "'T is all barren!"
In the Street. Calais.
God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb.[379-2]
Maria.
"Disguise thyself as thou wilt, still, Slavery," said I, "still thou art a bitter draught."
The Passport. The Hotel at Paris.
The sad vicissitude of things.[379-3]
Sermon xvi.
Trust that man in nothing who has not a conscience in everything.
Sermon xxvii.
FOOTNOTES:
[378-3] Great wits jump.—BYROM: The Nimmers. BUCKINGHAM: The Chances, act. iv. sc. 1.
Good wits jump.—CERVANTES: Don Quixote, part ii. Chap. xxxviii.
[379-1] But sad as angels for the good man's sin, Weep to record, and blush to give it in.
CAMPBELL: Pleasures of Hope, part ii. line 357.
[379-2] Dieu mesure le froid a la brebis tondue (God measures the cold to the shorn lamb).—HENRI ESTIENNE (1594): Premices, etc. p. 47.
See Herbert, page 206.
[379-3] Revolves the sad vicissitudes of things.—R. GIFFORD: Contemplation.
WILLIAM SHENSTONE. 1714-1763.
Whoe'er has travell'd life's dull round, Where'er his stages may have been, May sigh to think he still has found The warmest welcome at an inn.[379-4]
Written on a Window of an Inn.
So sweetly she bade me adieu, I thought that she bade me return.
A Pastoral. Part i.
I have found out a gift for my fair; I have found where the wood-pigeons breed.
A Pastoral. Part i.
My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.
A Pastoral. Part ii. Hope.
For seldom shall she hear a tale So sad, so tender, and so true.
Jemmy Dawson.
Her cap, far whiter than the driven snow, Emblems right meet of decency does yield.
The Schoolmistress. Stanza 6.
Pun-provoking thyme.
The Schoolmistress. Stanza 11.
A little bench of heedless bishops here, And there a chancellor in embryo.
The Schoolmistress. Stanza 28.
FOOTNOTES:
[379-4] See Johnson, page 372.
Archbishop Leighton often said that if he were to choose a place to die in, it should be an inn.—Works, vol. i. p. 76.
JOHN BROWN. 1715-1766.
Now let us thank the Eternal Power: convinced That Heaven but tries our virtue by affliction,— That oft the cloud which wraps the present hour Serves but to brighten all our future days.
Barbarossa. Act v. Sc. 3.
And coxcombs vanquish Berkeley by a grin.
An Essay on Satire, occasioned by the Death of Mr. Pope.[380-1]
FOOTNOTES:
[380-1] ANDERSON: British Poets, vol. x. p. 879. See note in "Contemporary Review," September, 1867, p. 4.
JAMES TOWNLEY. 1715-1778.
Kitty. Shikspur? Shikspur? Who wrote it? No, I never read Shikspur.
Lady Bab. Then you have an immense pleasure to come.
High Life below Stairs. Act ii. Sc. 1.
From humble Port to imperial Tokay.
High Life below Stairs. Act ii. Sc. 1.
THOMAS GRAY. 1716-1771.
What female heart can gold despise? What cat 's averse to fish?
On the death of a Favourite Cat.
A fav'rite has no friend!
On the death of a Favourite Cat.
Ye distant spires, ye antique towers.
On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 1.
Ah, happy hills! ah, pleasing shade! Ah, fields beloved in vain! Where once my careless childhood stray'd, A stranger yet to pain! I feel the gales that from ye blow A momentary bliss bestow.
On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 2.
They hear a voice in every wind, And snatch a fearful joy.
On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 4.
Gay hope is theirs by fancy fed, Less pleasing when possest; The tear forgot as soon as shed, The sunshine of the breast.
On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 5.
Alas! regardless of their doom, The little victims play; No sense have they of ills to come, Nor care beyond to-day.
On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 6.
Ah, tell them they are men!
On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 6.
And moody madness laughing wild Amid severest woe.
On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 8.
To each his suff'rings; all are men, Condemn'd alike to groan,— The tender for another's pain, Th' unfeeling for his own. Yet ah! why should they know their fate, Since sorrow never comes too late, And happiness too swiftly flies? Thought would destroy their paradise. No more; where ignorance is bliss, 'T is folly to be wise.[382-1]
On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 10.
Daughter of Jove, relentless power, Thou tamer of the human breast, Whose iron scourge and tort'ring hour The bad affright, afflict the best!
Hymn to Adversity.
From Helicon's harmonious springs A thousand rills their mazy progress take.
The Progress of Poesy. I. 1, Line 3.
Glance their many-twinkling feet.
The Progress of Poesy. I. 3, Line 11.
O'er her warm cheek and rising bosom move The bloom of young Desire and purple light of Love.[382-2]
The Progress of Poesy. I. 3, Line 16.
Her track, where'er the goddess roves, Glory pursue, and gen'rous shame, Th' unconquerable mind,[382-3] and freedom's holy flame.
The Progress of Poesy. II. 2, Line 10.
Or ope the sacred source of sympathetic tears.
The Progress of Poesy. III. 1, Line 12.
He pass'd the flaming bounds of place and time: The living throne, the sapphire blaze, Where angels tremble while they gaze, He saw; but blasted with excess of light, Closed his eyes in endless night.
The Progress of Poesy. III. 2, Line 4.
Bright-eyed Fancy, hov'ring o'er, Scatters from her pictured urn Thoughts that breathe and words that burn.[382-4]
The Progress of Poesy. III. 3, Line 2.
Beyond the limits of a vulgar fate, Beneath the good how far,—but far above the great.
The Progress of Poesy. III. 3, Line 16.
Ruin seize thee, ruthless king! Confusion on thy banners wait! Though fann'd by Conquest's crimson wing, They mock the air with idle state.
The Bard. I. 1, Line 1.
Loose his beard, and hoary hair Stream'd like a meteor to the troubled air.[383-1]
The Bard. I. 2, Line 5.
To high-born Hoel's harp, or soft Llewellyn's lay.
The Bard. I. 2, Line 14.
Dear as the light that visits these sad eyes; Dear as the ruddy drops that warm my heart.[383-2]
The Bard. I. 3, Line 12.
Weave the warp, and weave the woof, The winding-sheet of Edward's race. Give ample room and verge enough[383-3] The characters of hell to trace.
The Bard. II. 1, Line 1.
Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows; While proudly riding o'er the azure realm In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes, Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm; Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway, That hush'd in grim repose expects his evening prey.
The Bard. II. 2, Line 9.
Ye towers of Julius, London's lasting shame, With many a foul and midnight murder fed.
The Bard. II. 3, Line 11.
Visions of glory, spare my aching sight! Ye unborn ages, crowd not on my soul!
The Bard. III. 1, Line 11.
And truth severe, by fairy fiction drest.
The Bard. III. 3, Line 3.
Comus and his midnight crew.
Ode for Music. Line 2.
While bright-eyed Science watches round.
Ode for Music. Chorus. Line 3.
The still small voice of gratitude.
Ode for Music. V. Line 8.
Iron sleet of arrowy shower Hurtles in the darken'd air.
The Fatal Sisters. Line 3.
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,[384-1] The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 1.
Each in his narrow cell forever laid, The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 4.
The breezy call of incense-breathing morn.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 5.
Nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile The short and simple annals of the poor.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 8.
The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow'r, And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave, Await alike the inevitable hour. The paths of glory lead but to the grave.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 9.
Where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault, The pealing anthem swells the note of praise.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 10.
Can storied urn, or animated bust, Back to its mansion call the fleeting breath? Can honour's voice provoke the silent dust, Or flatt'ry soothe the dull cold ear of death?
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 11.
Hands that the rod of empire might have sway'd, Or waked to ecstasy the living lyre.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 12.
But Knowledge to their eyes her ample page, Rich with the spoils of time, did ne'er unroll;[384-2] Chill penury repress'd their noble rage, And froze the genial current of the soul.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 13.
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.[385-1]
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 14.
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.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 15.
The applause of list'ning senates to command, The threats of pain and ruin to despise, To scatter plenty o'er a smiling land, And read their history in a nation's eyes.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 16.
Forbade to wade through slaughter to a throne, And shut the gates of mercy on mankind.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 17.
Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray; Along the cool sequester'd vale of life They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.[385-2]
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 19.
Implores the passing tribute of a sigh.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 20.
And many a holy text around she strews, That teach the rustic moralist to die.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 21.
For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, This pleasing anxious being e'er resign'd, Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, Nor cast one longing ling'ring look behind?
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 22.
E'en from the tomb the voice of nature cries, E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires.[385-3]
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 23.
Brushing with hasty steps the dews away, To meet the sun upon the upland lawn.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 25.
One morn I miss'd him on the custom'd hill, Along the heath, and near his fav'rite tree: Another came; nor yet beside the rill, Nor up the lawn, nor at the wood was he.
Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Stanza 28.
Here rests his head upon the lap of earth, A youth to fortune and to fame unknown: Fair Science frown'd not on his humble birth, And Melancholy mark'd him for her own.[386-1]
The Epitaph.
Large was his bounty, and his soul sincere, Heaven did a recompense as largely send: He gave to mis'ry (all he had) a tear, He gained from Heav'n ('t was all he wish'd) a friend.
The Epitaph.
No further seek his merits to disclose, Or draw his frailties from their dread abode (There they alike in trembling hope repose), The bosom of his Father and his God.
The Epitaph.
And weep the more, because I weep in vain.
Sonnet. On the Death of Mr. West.
Rich windows that exclude the light, And passages that lead to nothing.
A Long Story.
The hues of bliss more brightly glow, Chastised by sabler tints of woe.
Ode on the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude. Line 45.
The meanest floweret of the vale, The simplest note that swells the gale, The common sun, the air, the skies, To him are opening paradise.
Ode on the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude. Line 53.
And hie him home, at evening's close, To sweet repast and calm repose.
Ode on the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude. Line 87.
From toil he wins his spirits light, From busy day the peaceful night; Rich, from the very want of wealth, In heaven's best treasures, peace and health.
Ode on the Pleasure arising from Vicissitude. Line 93.
The social smile, the sympathetic tear.
Education and Government.
When love could teach a monarch to be wise, And gospel-light first dawn'd from Bullen's eyes.[387-1]
Too poor for a bribe, and too proud to importune; He had not the method of making a fortune.
On his own Character.
Now as the Paradisiacal pleasures of the Mahometans consist in playing upon the flute and lying with Houris, be mine to read eternal new romances of Marivaux and Crebillon.
To Mr. West. Letter iv. Third Series.
FOOTNOTES:
[382-1] See Davenant, page 217.
He that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.—Ecclesiastes i. 18.
[382-2] The light of love.—BYRON: Bride of Abydos, canto i. stanza 6.
[382-3] Unconquerable mind.—WORDSWORTH: To Toussaint L' Ouverture.
[382-4] See Cowley, page 262.
[383-1] See Cowley, page 261. Milton, page 224.
[383-2] See Shakespeare, page 112. Otway, page 280.
[383-3] See Dryden, page 277.
[384-1] The first edition reads,—
"The lowing herds wind slowly o'er the lea."
[384-2] See Sir Thomas Browne, page 217.
[385-1] See Young, page 311.
Nor waste their sweetness in the desert air.—CHURCHILL: Gotham, book ii. line 20.
[385-2] Usually quoted "even tenor of their way."
[385-3] See Chaucer, page 3.
[386-1] See Walton, page 208.
[387-1] This was intended to be introduced in the "Alliance of Education and Government."—Mason's edition of Gray, vol. iii. p. 114.
DAVID GARRICK. 1716-1779.
Corrupted freemen are the worst of slaves.
Prologue to the Gamesters.
Their cause I plead,—plead it in heart and mind; A fellow-feeling makes one wondrous kind.[387-2]
Prologue on Quitting the Stage in 1776.
Prologues like compliments are loss of time; 'T is penning bows and making legs in rhyme.
Prologue to Crisp's Tragedy of Virginia.
Let others hail the rising sun: I bow to that whose course is run.[387-3]
On the Death of Mr. Pelham.
This scholar, rake, Christian, dupe, gamester, and poet.
Jupiter and Mercury.
Hearts of oak are our ships, Hearts of oak are our men.[388-1]
Hearts of Oak.
Here lies James Quinn. Deign, reader, to be taught, Whate'er thy strength of body, force of thought, In Nature's happiest mould however cast, To this complexion thou must come at last.
Epitaph on Quinn. Murphy's Life of Garrick, Vol. ii. p. 38.
Are these the choice dishes the Doctor has sent us? Is this the great poet whose works so content us? This Goldsmith's fine feast, who has written fine books? Heaven sends us good meat, but the Devil sends cooks?[388-2]
Epigram on Goldsmith's Retaliation. Vol. ii. p. 157.
Here lies Nolly Goldsmith, for shortness called Noll, Who wrote like an angel, and talk'd like poor Poll.
Impromptu Epitaph on Goldsmith.
FOOTNOTES:
[387-2] See Burton, page 185.
[387-3] Pompey bade Sylla recollect that more worshipped the rising than the setting sun.—PLUTARCH: Life of Pompey.
[388-1] Our ships were British oak, And hearts of oak our men.
S. J. ARNOLD: Death of Nelson.
[388-2] See Tusser, page 20.
WILLIAM B. RHODES. Circa 1790.
Who dares this pair of boots displace, Must meet Bombastes face to face.[388-3]
Bombastes Furioso. Act i. Sc. 4.
Bom. So have I heard on Afric's burning shore A hungry lion give a grievous roar; The grievous roar echoed along the shore.
Artax. So have I heard on Afric's burning shore Another lion give a grievous roar; And the first lion thought the last a bore.
Bombastes Furioso. Act i. Sc. 4.
FOOTNOTES:
[388-3] Let none but he these arms displace, Who dares Orlando's fury face.
CERVANTES: Don Quixote, part ii. chap. lxvi.
RAY: Proverbs. THOMAS: English Prose Romance, page 85.
MRS. GREVILLE.[389-1] Circa 1793.
Nor peace nor ease the heart can know Which, like the needle true, Turns at the touch of joy or woe, But turning, trembles too.
A Prayer for Indifference.
FOOTNOTES:
[389-1] The pretty Fanny Macartney.—WALPOLE: Memoirs.
HORACE WALPOLE. 1717-1797.
Harry Vane, Pulteney's toad-eater,
Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1742.
The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those who feel.
Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1770.
A careless song, with a little nonsense in it now and then, does not misbecome a monarch.[389-2]
Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1774.
The whole [Scotch] nation hitherto has been void of wit and humour, and even incapable of relishing it.[389-3]
Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1778.
FOOTNOTES:
[389-2] A little nonsense now and then Is relished by the wisest men.
ANONYMOUS.
[389-3] It requires a surgical operation to get a joke well into a Scotch understanding.—SYDNEY SMITH: Lady Holland's Memoir, vol i. p. 15.
WILLIAM COLLINS. 1720-1756.
In numbers warmly pure and sweetly strong.
Ode to Simplicity.
Well may your hearts believe the truths I tell: 'T is virtue makes the bliss, where'er we dwell.[389-4]
Oriental Eclogues. 1, Line 5.
How sleep the brave who sink to rest By all their country's wishes bless'd!
Ode written in the year 1746.
By fairy hands their knell is rung;[389-5] By forms unseen their dirge is sung; There Honour comes, a pilgrim gray, To bless the turf that wraps their clay; And Freedom shall awhile repair, To dwell a weeping hermit there!
Ode written in the year 1746.
When Music, heavenly maid, was young, While yet in early Greece she sung.
The Passions. Line 1.
Fill'd with fury, rapt, inspired.
The Passions. Line 10.
'T was sad by fits, by starts 't was wild.
The Passions. Line 28.
In notes by distance made more sweet.[390-1]
The Passions. Line 60.
In hollow murmurs died away.
The Passions. Line 68.
O Music! sphere-descended maid, Friend of Pleasure, Wisdom's aid!
The Passions. Line 95.
In yonder grave a Druid lies.
Death of Thomson.
Too nicely Jonson knew the critic's part; Nature in him was almost lost in Art.
To Sir Thomas Hammer on his Edition of Shakespeare.
Each lonely scene shall thee restore; For thee the tear be duly shed, Belov'd till life can charm no more, And mourn'd till Pity's self be dead.
Dirge in Cymbeline.
FOOTNOTES:
[389-4] See Pope, page 320.
[389-5] Var. By hands unseen the knell is rung; By fairy forms their dirge is sung.
[390-1] Sweetest melodies Are those that are by distance made more sweet.
WORDSWORTH: Personal Talk, stanza 2.
JAMES MERRICK. 1720-1769.
Not what we wish, but what we want, Oh, let thy grace supply![390-2]
Hymn.
Oft has it been my lot to mark A proud, conceited, talking spark.
The Chameleon.
FOOTNOTES:
[390-2] Me moi genoith' a boulom' all' a sympherei (Let not that happen which I wish, but that which is right).—MENANDER: Fragment.
SAMUEL FOOTE. 1720-1777.
He made him a hut, wherein he did put The carcass of Robinson Crusoe. O poor Robinson Crusoe!
The Mayor of Garratt. Act i. Sc. 1.
Born in a cellar, and living in a garret.[391-1]
The Author. Act ii.
FOOTNOTES:
[391-1] See Congreve, page 294.
Born in the garret, in the kitchen bred.—BYRON: A Sketch.
JAMES FORDYCE. 1720-1796.
Henceforth the majesty of God revere; Fear Him, and you have nothing else to fear.[391-2]
Answer to a Gentleman who apologized to the Author for Swearing.
FOOTNOTES:
[391-2] Je crains Dieu, cher Abner, et n'ai point d'autre crainte (I fear God, dear Abner, and I have no other fear).—RACINE: Athalie, act i. sc. 1 (1639-1699).
From Piety, whose soul sincere Fears God, and knows no other fear.
W. SMYTH: Ode for the Installation of the Duke of Gloucester as Chancellor of Cambridge.
MARK AKENSIDE. 1721-1770.
Such and so various are the tastes of men.
Pleasures of the Imagination. Book iii. Line 567.
Than Timoleon's arms require, And Tully's curule chair, and Milton's golden lyre.
Ode. On a Sermon against Glory. Stanza ii.
The man forget not, though in rags he lies, And know the mortal through a crown's disguise.
Epistle to Curio.
Seeks painted trifles and fantastic toys, And eagerly pursues imaginary joys.
The Virtuoso. Stanza x.
TOBIAS SMOLLETT. 1721-1771.
Thy spirit, Independence, let me share; Lord of the lion heart and eagle eye, Thy steps I follow with my bosom bare, Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky.
Ode to Independence.
Thy fatal shafts unerring move, I bow before thine altar, Love!
Roderick Random. Chap. xl.
Facts are stubborn things.[392-1]
Translation of Gil Blas. Book x. Chap. 1.
FOOTNOTES:
[392-1] Facts are stubborn things.—ELLIOT: Essay on Field Husbandry, p. 35 (1747).
SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE. 1723-1780.
The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defence and ornament; it is its ancient and natural strength,—the floating bulwark of our island.
Commentaries. Vol. i. Book i. Chap. xiii. Sec. 418.
Time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary.
Commentaries. Vol. i. Book i. Chap. xviii. Sec. 472.
JOHN HOME. 1724-1808.
In the first days Of my distracting grief, I found myself As women wish to be who love their lords.
Douglas. Act i. Sc. 1.
I 'll woo her as the lion wooes his brides.
Douglas. Act i. Sc. 1.
My name is Norval; on the Grampian hills My father feeds his flocks; a frugal swain, Whose constant cares were to increase his store, And keep his only son, myself, at home.
Douglas. Act ii. Sc. 1.
A rude and boisterous captain of the sea.
Douglas. Act iv. Sc. 1.
Like Douglas conquer, or like Douglas die.
Douglas. Act v. Sc. 1.
WILLIAM MASON. 1725-1797.
The fattest hog in Epicurus' sty.[393-1]
Heroic Epistle.
FOOTNOTES:
[393-1] Me pinguem et nitidum bene curata cute vises, . . . Epicuri de grege porcum
(You may see me, fat and shining, with well-cared for hide,— . . . a hog from Epicurus' herd).—HORACE: Epistolae, lib. i. iv. 15, 16.
RICHARD GIFFORD. 1725-1807.
Verse sweetens toil, however rude the sound; She feels no biting pang the while she sings; Nor, as she turns the giddy wheel around,[393-2] Revolves the sad vicissitudes of things.[393-3]
Contemplation.
FOOTNOTES:
[393-2] Thus altered by Johnson,—
All at her work the village maiden sings, Nor, while she turns the giddy wheel around.
[393-3] See Sterne, page 379.
ARTHUR MURPHY. 1727-1805.
Thus far we run before the wind.
The Apprentice. Act v. Sc. 1.
Above the vulgar flight of common souls.
Zenobia. Act v.
Picked up his crumbs.
The Upholsterer. Act i.
JANE ELLIOTT. 1727-1805.
The flowers of the forest are a' wide awae.[393-4]
The Flowers of the Forest.
FOOTNOTES:
[393-4] This line appears in the "Flowers of the Forest," part second, a later poem by Mrs. Cockburn. See Dyce's "Specimens of British Poetesses," p. 374.
OLIVER GOLDSMITH. 1728-1774.
Remote, unfriended, melancholy, slow, Or by the lazy Scheld or wandering Po.
The Traveller. Line 1.
Where'er I roam, whatever realms to see, My heart untravell'd fondly turns to thee; Still to my brother turns with ceaseless pain, And drags at each remove a lengthening chain.
The Traveller. Line 7.
And learn the luxury of doing good.[394-1]
The Traveller. Line 22.
Some fleeting good, that mocks me with the view.
The Traveller. Line 26.
These little things are great to little man.
The Traveller. Line 42.
Creation's heir, the world, the world is mine!
The Traveller. Line 50.
Such is the patriot's boast, where'er we roam,— His first, best country ever is at home.
The Traveller. Line 73.
Where wealth and freedom reign contentment fails, And honour sinks where commerce long prevails.
The Traveller. Line 91.
Man seems the only growth that dwindles here.
The Traveller. Line 126.
The canvas glow'd beyond ev'n Nature warm, The pregnant quarry teem'd with human form.[394-2]
The Traveller. Line 137.
By sports like these are all their cares beguil'd; The sports of children satisfy the child.
The Traveller. Line 153.
But winter lingering chills the lap of May.
The Traveller. Line 172.
Cheerful at morn, he wakes from short repose, Breasts the keen air, and carols as he goes.
The Traveller. Line 185.
So the loud torrent and the whirlwind's roar But bind him to his native mountains more.
The Traveller. Line 217.
Alike all ages. Dames of ancient days Have led their children through the mirthful maze, And the gay grandsire, skill'd in gestic lore, Has frisk'd beneath the burden of threescore.
The Traveller. Line 251.
They please, are pleas'd; they give to get esteem, Till seeming blest, they grow to what they seem.[395-1]
The Traveller. Line 266.
Embosom'd in the deep where Holland lies. Methinks her patient sons before me stand, Where the broad ocean leans against the land.
The Traveller. Line 282.
Pride in their port, defiance in their eye, I see the lords of humankind pass by.[395-2]
The Traveller. Line 327.
The land of scholars and the nurse of arms.
The Traveller. Line 356.
For just experience tells, in every soil, That those that think must govern those that toil.
The Traveller. Line 372.
Laws grind the poor, and rich men rule the law.
The Traveller. Line 386.
Forc'd from their homes, a melancholy train, To traverse climes beyond the western main; Where wild Oswego spreads her swamps around, And Niagara stuns with thundering sound.
The Traveller. Line 409.
Vain, very vain, my weary search to find That bliss which only centres in the mind.
The Traveller. Line 423.
Luke's iron crown, and Damien's bed of steel.[395-3]
The Traveller. Line 436.
Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain.
The Deserted Village. Line 1.
The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade, For talking age and whispering lovers made.
The Deserted Village. Line 13.
The bashful virgin's sidelong looks of love.
The Deserted Village. Line 29.
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates, and men decay. Princes and lords may flourish or may fade,— A breath can make them, as a breath has made;[396-1] But a bold peasantry, their country's pride, When once destroy'd, can never be supplied.
The Deserted Village. Line 51.
His best companions, innocence and health; And his best riches, ignorance of wealth.
The Deserted Village. Line 61.
How blest is he who crowns in shades like these A youth of labour with an age of ease!
The Deserted Village. Line 99.
While Resignation gently slopes away, And all his prospects brightening to the last, His heaven commences ere the world be past.
The Deserted Village. Line 110.
The watch-dog's voice that bay'd the whispering wind, And the loud laugh that spoke the vacant mind.
The Deserted Village. Line 121.
A man he was to all the country dear, And passing rich with forty pounds a year.
The Deserted Village. Line 141.
Wept o'er his wounds, or tales of sorrow done, Shoulder'd his crutch, and shew'd how fields were won.
The Deserted Village. Line 157.
Careless their merits or their faults to scan, His pity gave ere charity began. Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, And even his failings lean'd to Virtue's side.
The Deserted Village. Line 161.
And as a bird each fond endearment tries To tempt its new-fledg'd offspring to the skies, He tried each art, reprov'd each dull delay, Allur'd to brighter worlds, and led the way.
The Deserted Village. Line 167.
Truth from his lips prevail'd with double sway, And fools who came to scoff, remain'd to pray.[397-1]
The Deserted Village. Line 179.
Even children follow'd with endearing wile, And pluck'd his gown, to share the good man's smile.
The Deserted Village. Line 183.
As some tall cliff that lifts its awful form, Swells from the vale, and midway leaves the storm,— Though round its breast the rolling clouds are spread, Eternal sunshine settles on its head.
The Deserted Village. Line 189.
Well had the boding tremblers learn'd to trace The day's disasters in his morning face; Full well they laugh'd with counterfeited glee At all his jokes, for many a joke had he; Full well the busy whisper circling round Convey'd the dismal tidings when he frown'd. Yet was he kind, or if severe in aught, The love he bore to learning was in fault; The village all declar'd how much he knew, 'T was certain he could write and cipher too.
The Deserted Village. Line 199.
In arguing too, the parson own'd his skill, For e'en though vanquish'd he could argue still; While words of learned length and thundering sound Amaz'd the gazing rustics rang'd around; And still they gaz'd, and still the wonder grew That one small head could carry all he knew.
The Deserted Village. Line 209.
Where village statesmen talk'd with looks profound, And news much older than their ale went round.
The Deserted Village. Line 223.
The whitewash'd wall, the nicely sanded floor, The varnish'd clock that click'd behind the door; The chest, contriv'd a double debt to pay,— A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day.[397-2]
The Deserted Village. Line 227.
The twelve good rules, the royal game of goose.[398-1]
The Deserted Village. Line 232.
To me more dear, congenial to my heart, One native charm, than all the gloss of art.
The Deserted Village. Line 253.
And e'en while fashion's brightest arts decoy, The heart distrusting asks if this be joy.
The Deserted Village. Line 263.
Her modest looks the cottage might adorn, Sweet as the primrose peeps beneath the thorn.
The Deserted Village. Line 329.
Through torrid tracts with fainting steps they go, Where wild Altama murmurs to their woe.
The Deserted Village. Line 344.
In all the silent manliness of grief.
The Deserted Village. Line 384.
O Luxury! thou curst by Heaven's decree!
The Deserted Village. Line 385.
Thou source of all my bliss and all my woe, That found'st me poor at first, and keep'st me so.
The Deserted Village. Line 413.
Such dainties to them, their health it might hurt; It 's like sending them ruffles when wanting a shirt.[398-2]
The Haunch of Venison.
As aromatic plants bestow No spicy fragrance while they grow; But crush'd or trodden to the ground, Diffuse their balmy sweets around.[398-3]
The Captivity. Act i.
To the last moment of his breath, On hope the wretch relies; And even the pang preceding death Bids expectation rise.[398-4]
The Captivity. Act ii.
Hope, like the gleaming taper's light, Adorns and cheers our way;[399-1] And still, as darker grows the night, Emits a brighter ray.
The Captivity. Act ii.
Our Garrick 's a salad; for in him we see Oil, vinegar, sugar, and saltness agree!
Retaliation. Line 11.
Who mix'd reason with pleasure, and wisdom with mirth: If he had any faults, he has left us in doubt.
Retaliation. Line 24.
Who, born for the universe, narrow'd his mind, And to party gave up what was meant for mankind; Though fraught with all learning, yet straining his throat To persuade Tommy Townshend to lend him a vote. Who too deep for his hearers still went on refining, And thought of convincing while they thought of dining: Though equal to all things, for all things unfit; Too nice for a statesman, too proud for a wit.
Retaliation. Line 31.
His conduct still right, with his argument wrong.
Retaliation. Line 46.
A flattering painter, who made it his care To draw men as they ought to be, not as they are.
Retaliation. Line 63.
Here lies David Garrick, describe me who can, An abridgment of all that was pleasant in man.
Retaliation. Line 93.
As a wit, if not first, in the very first line.
Retaliation. Line 96.
On the stage he was natural, simple, affecting; 'T was only that when he was off he was acting.
Retaliation. Line 101.
He cast off his friends as a huntsman his pack, For he knew when he pleas'd he could whistle them back.
Retaliation. Line 107.
Who pepper'd the highest was surest to please.
Retaliation. Line 112.
When they talk'd of their Raphaels, Correggios, and stuff, He shifted his trumpet and only took snuff.
Retaliation. Line 145.
The best-humour'd man, with the worst-humour'd Muse.[400-1]
Postscript.
Good people all, with one accord, Lament for Madam Blaize, Who never wanted a good word From those who spoke her praise.
Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize.[400-2]
The king himself has followed her When she has walk'd before.
Elegy on Mrs. Mary Blaize.
A kind and gentle heart he had, To comfort friends and foes; The naked every day he clad When he put on his clothes.
Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog.
And in that town a dog was found, As many dogs there be, Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound, And curs of low degree.
Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog.
The dog, to gain his private ends, Went mad, and bit the man.
Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog.
The man recovered of the bite, The dog it was that died.[400-3]
Elegy on the Death of a Mad Dog.
A night-cap deck'd his brows instead of bay,— A cap by night, a stocking all the day.[401-1]
Description of an Author's Bed-chamber.
This same philosophy is a good horse in the stable, but an arrant jade on a journey.[401-2]
The Good-Natured Man. Act i.
All his faults are such that one loves him still the better for them.
The Good-Natured Man. Act i.
Silence gives consent.[401-3]
The Good-Natured Man. Act ii.
Measures, not men, have always been my mark.[401-4]
The Good-Natured Man. Act ii.
I love everything that 's old: old friends, old times, old manners, old books, old wine.[401-5]
She Stoops to Conquer. Act i.
The very pink of perfection.
She Stoops to Conquer. Act i.
The genteel thing is the genteel thing any time, if as be that a gentleman bees in a concatenation accordingly.
She Stoops to Conquer. Act i.
I 'll be with you in the squeezing of a lemon.
She Stoops to Conquer. Act i.
Ask me no questions, and I 'll tell you no fibs.
She Stoops to Conquer. Act iii.
We sometimes had those little rubs which Providence sends to enhance the value of its favours.
Vicar of Wakefield. Chap. i.
Handsome is that handsome does.[401-6]
Vicar of Wakefield. Chap. i.
The premises being thus settled, I proceed to observe that the concatenation of self-existence, proceeding in a reciprocal duplicate ratio, naturally produces a problematical dialogism, which in some measure proves that the essence of spirituality may be referred to the second predicable.
Vicar of Wakefield. Chap. vii.
I find you want me to furnish you with argument and intellect too.
Vicar of Wakefield. Chap. vii.
Turn, gentle Hermit of the Dale, And guide my lonely way To where yon taper cheers the vale With hospitable ray.
The Hermit. Chap. viii. Stanza 1.
Taught by that Power that pities me, I learn to pity them.[402-1]
The Hermit. Chap. viii. Stanza 6.
Man wants but little here below, Nor wants that little long.[402-2]
The Hermit. Chap. viii. Stanza 8.
And what is friendship but a name, A charm that lulls to sleep, A shade that follows wealth or fame, And leaves the wretch to weep?
The Hermit. Chap. viii. Stanza 19.
The sigh that rends thy constant heart Shall break thy Edwin's too.
The Hermit. Chap. viii. Stanza 33.
By the living jingo, she was all of a muck of sweat.
The Hermit. Chap. ix.
They would talk of nothing but high life, and high-lived company, with other fashionable topics, such as pictures, taste, Shakespeare, and the musical glasses.
The Hermit. Chap. ix.
It has been a thousand times observed, and I must observe it once more, that the hours we pass with happy prospects in view are more pleasing than those crowned with fruition.[402-3]
The Hermit. Chap. x.
To what happy accident[402-4] is it that we owe so unexpected a visit?
The Hermit. Chap. xix.
When lovely woman stoops to folly, And finds too late that men betray, What charm can soothe her melancholy? What art can wash her guilt away?
The Hermit. On Woman. Chap. xxiv.
The only art her guilt to cover, To hide her shame from every eye, To give repentance to her lover, And wring his bosom, is—to die.
The Hermit. On Woman. Chap. xxiv.
To what fortuitous occurrence do we not owe every pleasure and convenience of our lives.
The Hermit. On Woman. Chap. xxi.
For he who fights and runs away May live to fight another day; But he who is in battle slain Can never rise and fight again.[403-1]
The Art of Poetry on a New Plan (1761). Vol. ii. p. 147.
One writer, for instance, excels at a plan or a title-page, another works away the body of the book, and a third is a dab at an index.[403-2]
The Bee. No. 1, Oct. 6, 1759.
The true use of speech is not so much to express our wants as to conceal them.[403-3]
The Bee. No. iii. Oct. 20, 1759.
FOOTNOTES:
[394-1] See Garth, page 295.
CRABBE: Tales of the Hall, book iii. GRAVES: The Epicure.
[394-2] See Pope, page 329.
[395-1] The character of the French.
[395-2] See Dryden, page 277.
[395-3] When Davies asked for an explanation of "Luke's iron crown," Goldsmith referred him to a book called "Geographie Curieuse," and added that by "Damien's bed of steel" he meant the rack.—GRANGER: Letters, (1805), p. 52.
[396-1] See Pope, page 329.
C'est un verre qui luit, Qu'un souffle peut detruire, et qu'un souffle a produit
(It is a shining glass, which a breath may destroy, and which a breath has produced).—DE CAUX (comparing the world to his hour-glass).
[397-1] See Dryden, page 269.
[397-2] A cap by night, a stocking all the day—GOLDSMITH: A Description of an Author's Bed-Chamber.
[398-1] The twelve good rules were ascribed to King Charles I.: 1. Urge no healths. 2. Profane no divine ordinances. 3. Touch no state matters. 4. Reveal no secrets. 5. Pick no quarrels. 6. Make no comparisons. 7. Maintain no ill opinions. 8. Keep no bad company. 9. Encourage no vice. 10. Make no long meals. 11. Repeat no grievances. 12. Lay no wagers.
[398-2] See Tom Brown, page 286.
[398-3] See Bacon, page 165.
[398-4] The wretch condemn'd with life to part Still, still on hope relies; And every pang that rends the heart Bid expectation rise.
Original MS.
[399-1] Hope, like the taper's gleamy light, Adorns the wretch's way.
Original MS.
[400-1] See Rochester, page 279.
[400-2] Written in imitation of "Chanson sur le fameux La Palisse," which is attributed to Bernard de la Monnoye:—
On dit que dans ses amours Il fut caresse des belles, Qui le suivirent toujours, Tant qu'il marcha devant elles
(They say that in his love affairs he was petted by beauties, who always followed him as long as he walked before them).
[400-3] While Fell was reposing himself in the hay, A reptile concealed bit his leg as he lay; But, all venom himself, of the wound he made light, And got well, while the scorpion died of the bite.
LESSING: Paraphrase of a Greek Epigram by Demodocus.
[401-1] See page 397.
[401-2] Philosophy triumphs easily over past evils and future evils, but present evils triumph over it.—ROCHEFOUCAULD: Maxim 22.
[401-3] RAY: Proverbs. FULLER: Wise Sentences. Auto de to sigan omologountos esti sou.—EURIPIDES: Iph. Aul., 1142.
[401-4] Measures, not men.—CHESTERFIELD: Letter, Mar. 6, 1742. Not men, but measures.—BURKE: Present Discontents.
[401-5] See Bacon, page 171.
[401-6] See Chaucer, page 4.
[402-1] See Burton, page 185.
[402-2] See Young, page 308.
[402-3] An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit.—PLINY THE YOUNGER: Letters, book ii. letter xv. 1.
[402-4] See Middleton, page 174.
[403-1] See Butler, pages 215, 216.
[403-2] There are two things which I am confident I can do very well: one is an introduction to any literary work, stating what it is to contain, and how it should be executed in the most perfect manner.
BOSWELL: Life of Johnson, An. 1775.
[403-3] See Young, page 310.
THOMAS WARTON. 1728-1790.
All human race, from China to Peru,[403-4] Pleasure, howe'er disguis'd by art, pursue.
Universal Love of Pleasure.
Nor rough, nor barren, are the winding ways Of hoar antiquity, but strewn with flowers.
Written on a Blank Leaf of Dugdale's Monasticon.
FOOTNOTES:
[403-4] See Johnson, page 365.
THOMAS PERCY. 1728-1811.
Every white will have its blacke, And every sweet its soure.
Reliques of Ancient Poetry. Sir Cauline.
Late, late yestreen I saw the new moone, Wi' the auld moon in hir arme.[404-1]
Sir Patrick Spens.
He that had neyther been kith nor kin Might have seen a full fayre sight.
Guy of Gisborne.
Have you not heard these many years ago Jeptha was judge of Israel? He had one only daughter and no mo, The which he loved passing well; And as by lott, God wot, It so came to pass, As God's will was.[404-2]
Jepthah, Judge of Israel.
A Robyn, Jolly Robyn, Tell me how thy leman does.[404-3]
A Robyn, Jolly Robyn.
Where gripinge grefes the hart wounde, And dolefulle dumps the mynde oppresse, There music with her silver sound[404-4] With spede is wont to send redresse.
A Song to the Lute in Musicke.
The blinded boy that shootes so trim, From heaven downe did hie.[405-1]
King Cophetua and the Beggar-maid.
"What is thy name, faire maid?" quoth he. "Penelophon, O King!" quoth she.[405-2]
King Cophetua and the Beggar-maid.
And how should I know your true love From many another one? Oh, by his cockle hat and staff, And by his sandal shoone.
The Friar of Orders Gray.
O Lady, he is dead and gone! Lady, he 's dead and gone! And at his head a green grass turfe, And at his heels a stone.[405-3]
The Friar of Orders Gray.
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more! Men were deceivers ever; One foot in sea and one on shore, To one thing constant never.[405-4]
The Friar of Orders Gray.
Weep no more, lady, weep no more, Thy sorrowe is in vaine; For violets pluckt, the sweetest showers Will ne'er make grow againe.[405-5]
The Friar of Orders Gray.
He that would not when he might, He shall not when he wolda.[405-6]
The Friar of Orders Gray.
We 'll shine in more substantial honours, And to be noble we 'll be good.[406-1]
Winifreda (1720).
And when with envy Time, transported, Shall think to rob us of our joys, You 'll in your girls again be courted, And I 'll go wooing in my boys.
Winifreda (1720).
King Stephen was a worthy peere, His breeches cost him but a croune; He held them sixpence all too deere, Therefore he call'd the taylor loune.
He was a wight of high renowne, And those but of a low degree; Itt 's pride that putts the countrye doune, Then take thine old cloake about thee.[406-2]
Take thy old Cloak about Thee.
A poore soule sat sighing under a sycamore tree; Oh willow, willow, willow! With his hand on his bosom, his head on his knee, Oh willow, willow, willow![406-3]
Willow, willow, willow.
When Arthur first in court began, And was approved king.[406-4]
Sir Launcelot du Lake.
Shall I bid her goe? What if I doe? Shall I bid her goe and spare not? Oh no, no, no! I dare not.[406-5]
Corydon's Farewell to Phillis.
But in vayne shee did conjure him To depart her presence soe; Having a thousand tongues to allure him, And but one to bid him goe.
Dulcina.
FOOTNOTES:
[404-1] I saw the new moon late yestreen, Wi' the auld moon in her arm.
From Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.
[404-2] "As by lot, God wot;" and then you know, "It came to pass, as most like it was."—SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet, act ii. sc. 2.
[404-3] Hey, Robin, Jolly Robin, Tell me how thy lady does.
SHAKESPEARE: Twelfth Night, act iv. sc. 2.
[404-4] When griping grief heart doth wound, And doleful dumps the mind oppress, Then music with her silver sound.
SHAKESPEARE: Romeo and Juliet, act iv. sc. 5.
[405-1] Young Adam Cupid, he that shot so trim, When King Cophetua loved the beggar-maid!
SHAKESPEARE: Romeo and Juliet, act ii. sc. 1.
[405-2] Shakespeare, who alludes to this ballad in "Love's Labour's Lost," act iv. sc. 1, gives the beggar's name Zenelophon. The story of the king and the beggar is also alluded to in "King Richard II.," act v. sc. 3.
[405-3] Quoted in "Hamlet," act iv. sc. 3.
[405-4] See Shakespeare, page 51.
[405-5] See John Fletcher, page 183.
[405-6] See Heywood, page 9.
He that will not when he may, When he would, he should have nay.
CERVANTES: Don Quixote, part i. book iii. chap. iv.
[406-1] See Chapman, page 37.
Nobilitas sola est atque unica virtus (Nobility is the one only virtue).—JUVENAL: Satire viii. line 20.
[406-2] The first stanza is quoted in full, and the last line of the second, by Shakespeare in "Othello," act ii. sc. 3.
[406-3] The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree, Sing all a green willow; Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, Sing willow, willow, willow.
Othello, act iv. sc. 3.
[406-4] Quoted by Shakespeare in Second Part of "Henry IV.," act ii. sc. 4.
[406-5] Quoted by Shakespeare in "Twelfth Night," act ii. sc. 3.
EDMUND BURKE. 1729-1797.
The writers against religion, whilst they oppose every system, are wisely careful never to set up any of their own.
A Vindication of Natural Society.[407-1] Preface, vol. i. p. 7.
"War," says Machiavel, "ought to be the only study of a prince;" and by a prince he means every sort of state, however constituted. "He ought," says this great political doctor, "to consider peace only as a breathing-time, which gives him leisure to contrive, and furnishes ability to execute military plans." A meditation on the conduct of political societies made old Hobbes imagine that war was the state of nature.
A Vindication of Natural Society. Vol. i. p. 15.
I am convinced that we have a degree of delight, and that no small one, in the real misfortunes and pains of others.[407-2]
On the Sublime and Beautiful. Sect. xiv. vol. 1. p. 118.
Custom reconciles us to everything.
On the Sublime and Beautiful. Sect. xviii. vol. i. p. 231.
There is, however, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.
Observations on a Late Publication on the Present State of the Nation. Vol. i. p. 273.
The wisdom of our ancestors.[407-3]
Observations on a Late Publication on the Present State of the Nation. Vol. i. p. 516. Also in the Discussion on the Traitorous Correspondence Bill, 1793.
Illustrious predecessor.[408-1]
Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents. Vol. i. p. 456.
In such a strait the wisest may well be perplexed and the boldest staggered.
Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents. Vol. i. p. 516.
When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.
Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents. Vol. i. p. 526.
Of this stamp is the cant of, Not men, but measures.[408-2]
Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents. Vol. i. p. 531.
The concessions of the weak are the concessions of fear.
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 108.
There is America, which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners, yet shall, before you taste of death, show itself equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the world.
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 115.
Fiction lags after truth, invention is unfruitful, and imagination cold and barren.
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 116.
A people who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone of manhood.
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 117.
A wise and salutary neglect.
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 117.
My vigour relents,—I pardon something to the spirit of liberty.
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 118.
The religion most prevalent in our northern colonies is a refinement on the principles of resistance: it is the dissidence of dissent, and the protestantism of the Protestant religion.
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 123.
I do not know the method of drawing up an indictment against a whole people.
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 136.
The march of the human mind is slow.[408-3]
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 149.
All government,—indeed, every human benefit and enjoyment, every virtue and every prudent act,—is founded on compromise and barter.
Speech on the Conciliation of America. Vol. ii. p. 169.
The worthy gentleman who has been snatched from us at the moment of the election, and in the middle of the contest, whilst his desires were as warm and his hopes as eager as ours, has feelingly told us what shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue.
Speech at Bristol on Declining the Poll. Vol. ii. p. 420.
They made and recorded a sort of institute and digest of anarchy, called the Rights of Man.
On the Army Estimates. Vol iii. p. 221.
People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 274.
You had that action and counteraction which, in the natural and in the political world, from the reciprocal struggle of discordant powers draws out the harmony of the universe.[409-1]
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 277.
It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the Queen of France, then the Dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she just began to move in,—glittering like the morning star full of life and splendour and joy. . . . Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of gallant men,—in a nation of men of honour and of cavaliers. I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 331.
The unbought grace of life, the cheap defence of nations, the nurse of manly sentiment and heroic enterprise is gone.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 331.
That chastity of honour which felt a stain like a wound.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 332.
Vice itself lost half its evil by losing all its grossness.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 332.
Kings will be tyrants from policy, when subjects are rebels from principle.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 334.
Learning will be cast into the mire and trodden down under the hoofs of a swinish multitude.[410-1]
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 335.
Because half-a-dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray do not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field; that of course they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little shrivelled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome insects of the hour.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 344.
In their nomination to office they will not appoint to the exercise of authority as to a pitiful job, but as to a holy function.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 356.
The men of England,—the men, I mean, of light and leading in England.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 365.
He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 453.
To execute laws is a royal office; to execute orders is not to be a king. However, a political executive magistracy, though merely such, is a great trust.[411-1]
Reflections on the Revolution in France. Vol. iii. p. 497.
You can never plan the future by the past.[411-2]
Letter to a Member of the National Assembly. Vol. iv. p. 55.
The cold neutrality of an impartial judge.
Preface to Brissot's Address. Vol. v. p. 67.
And having looked to Government for bread, on the very first scarcity they will turn and bite the hand that fed them.[411-3]
Thoughts and Details on Scarcity. Vol. v. p. 156.
All men that are ruined, are ruined on the side of their natural propensities.
Letter i. On a Regicide Peace. Vol. v. p. 286.
All those instances to be found in history, whether real or fabulous, of a doubtful public spirit, at which morality is perplexed, reason is staggered, and from which affrighted Nature recoils, are their chosen and almost sole examples for the instruction of their youth.
Letter i. On a Regicide Peace. Vol. v. p. 311.
Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other.
Letter i. On a Regicide Peace. Vol. v. p. 331.
Early and provident fear is the mother of safety.
Speech on the Petition of the Unitarians. Vol. vii. p. 50.
There never was a bad man that had ability for good service.
Speech in opening the Impeachment of Warren Hastings. Third Day. Vol. x. p. 54.
The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.
Speech at County Meeting of Bucks, 1784.
I would rather sleep in the southern corner of a little country churchyard than in the tomb of the Capulets.[412-1]
Letter to Matthew Smith.
It has all the contortions of the sibyl without the inspiration.[412-2]
Prior's Life of Burke.[412-3]
He was not merely a chip of the old block, but the old block itself.[412-4]
On Pitt's First Speech, Feb. 26, 1781. From Wraxall's Memoirs, First Series, vol. i. p. 342.
FOOTNOTES:
[407-1] Boston edition. 1865-1867.
[407-2] In the adversity of our best friends we always find something which is not wholly displeasing to us.—ROCHEFOUCAULD: Reflections, xv.
[407-3] Lord Brougham says of Bacon, "He it was who first employed the well-known phrase of 'the wisdom of our ancestors.'"
SYDNEY SMITH: Plymley's Letters, letter v. LORD ELDON: On Sir Samuel Romilly's Bill, 1815. CICERO: De Legibus, ii. 2, 3.
[408-1] See Fielding, page 364.
[408-2] See Goldsmith, page 401.
[408-3] The march of intellect.—SOUTHEY: Progress and Prospects of Society, vol. ii. p. 360.
[409-1] Quid velit et possit rerum concordia discors (What the discordant harmony of circumstances would and could effect).—HORACE: Epistle i. 12, 19.
Mr. Breen, in his "Modern English Literature," says: "This remarkable thought Alison the historian has turned to good account; it occurs so often in his disquisitions that he seems to have made it the staple of all wisdom and the basis of every truth."
[410-1] This expression was tortured to mean that he actually thought the people no better than swine; and the phrase "the swinish multitude" was bruited about in every form of speech and writing, in order to excite popular indignation.
[411-1] See Appendix, page 859.
[411-2] I know no way of judging of the future but by the past.—PATRICK HENRY: Speech in the Virginia Convention, March, 1775.
[411-3] We set ourselves to bite the hand that feeds us.—Cause of the Present Discontents, vol. i. p. 439.
[412-1] Family vault of "all the Capulets."—Reflections on the Revolution in France, vol. iii. p. 349. |
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