The Life and Writings of Samuel Johnson...Harper & Brothers, 1840 |
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Page 14
... observation of the younger Pliny , in his Epis- tle to his friend Tacitus , that history ought never to magnify matters of fact , because worthy actions re- quire nothing but the truth . This rule the present biographer promises shall ...
... observation of the younger Pliny , in his Epis- tle to his friend Tacitus , that history ought never to magnify matters of fact , because worthy actions re- quire nothing but the truth . This rule the present biographer promises shall ...
Page 31
... observed , " That Mr. Pitt's speech on that occasion was the best he had ever read . " He added , " That he had employed eight years of his life in the study of De- mosthenes , and finished a translation of that cele- brated orator ...
... observed , " That Mr. Pitt's speech on that occasion was the best he had ever read . " He added , " That he had employed eight years of his life in the study of De- mosthenes , and finished a translation of that cele- brated orator ...
Page 33
... observation , and was never more apparent than in the present narra- tive . Every era of Johnson's life is fixed by ... Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth , with remarks on Sir Thomas Hanmer's edition ; " to which were prefixed ...
... observation , and was never more apparent than in the present narra- tive . Every era of Johnson's life is fixed by ... Observations on the Tragedy of Macbeth , with remarks on Sir Thomas Hanmer's edition ; " to which were prefixed ...
Page 61
... observation was , " That a man of sense could not meet Mr. Burke by accident , under a gateway , to avoid a shower , without being convinced that he was the first man in England . " Johnson felt not only kindness , but zeal and ardour ...
... observation was , " That a man of sense could not meet Mr. Burke by accident , under a gateway , to avoid a shower , without being convinced that he was the first man in England . " Johnson felt not only kindness , but zeal and ardour ...
Page 65
... observed that there are different methods of composition . Virgil was used to pour out a great number of verses in the morning , and pass the day in retrench- ing the exuberances and correcting inaccuracies ; and it was Pope's custom to ...
... observed that there are different methods of composition . Virgil was used to pour out a great number of verses in the morning , and pass the day in retrench- ing the exuberances and correcting inaccuracies ; and it was Pope's custom to ...
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Common terms and phrases
admired appears ardour Brocklesby calamities cause censure character Colley Cibber consider contempt conversation crimes danger death delight desire dread duty Earse effects elegance eminent endeavour equally essays evil excellence eyes fame favour fear folly fortune frequently friendship Garrick genius Gentleman's Magazine give happiness heart honour hope hour human imagination incited inclined indulge Johnson kind knowledge known labour Learning lence less lives long con Lord Lord Bute Lord Chesterfield Lucy Porter mankind melancholy ment mind misery moral nature ness never objects observed opinion ourselves pain passions perhaps pleased pleasure praise Rambler reason regard rest riches SAMUEL JOHNSON Satire of Juvenal says seems seldom Sir John Hawkins soon sophism sorrow Streatham suffer things thought tion Topham Beauclerk Trans truth vanity vice vigour virtue wish writer younger Pliny
Popular passages
Page 35 - ... devout prayer to that eternal Spirit who can enrich with all utterance and knowledge, and sends out his seraphim, with the hallowed fire of his altar, to touch and purify the lips of whom he pleases...
Page 242 - I have often thought that there has rarely passed a life of which a judicious and faithful narrative would not be useful.
Page 28 - Johnson: one, in particular, praised his impartiality ; observing, that he dealt out reason and eloquence, with an equal hand to both parties. " That is not quite true," said Johnson ; " I saved appearances tolerably well; but I took care that the WHIG DOGS should not have the best of it.
Page 69 - Ay, but to die, and go we know not where ; To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot; This sensible warm motion to become A kneaded clod ; and the delighted spirit To bathe in fiery floods...
Page 242 - All joy or sorrow for the happiness or calamities of others is produced by an act of the imagination, that realizes the event however fictitious, or approximates it however remote, by placing us, for a time, in the condition of him whose fortune we contemplate; so that we feel, while the deception lasts, whatever motions would be excited by the same good or evil happening to ourselves.
Page 259 - We then relax our vigour, and resolve no longer to be terrified with crimes at a distance, but rely upon our own constancy, and venture to approach what we resolve never to touch.
Page 245 - ... more knowledge may be gained of a man's real character by a short conversation with one of his servants, than from a formal and studied narrative, begun with his pedigree and ended with his funeral.
Page 183 - ... to our happiness. There is certainly no greater felicity, than to be able to look back on a life usefully and virtuously employed ; to trace our own progress in existence, by such tokens as excite neither shame nor sorrow.
Page 272 - To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition, the end to which every enterprise and labour tends, and of which every desire prompts the prosecution.
Page 100 - ... to obviate ; for such are the vicissitudes of the world, through all its parts, that day and night, labour and rest, hurry and retirement, endear each other ; such are the changes that keep the mind in action ; we desire, we pursue, we obtain, we are satiated ; we desire something else, and begin a new pursuit.