Essays on Various Subjects: To which is Prefixed a Life of the Author, Volume 2J. Johnson, 1809 |
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Page 94
... reader ; but I can see no unity of moral pervading the whole poem , and giving law to the whole conduct of it . The case may be different with respect to Virgil . He followed Aristotle , ' longo qui- dem intervallo , ' as Homer much ...
... reader ; but I can see no unity of moral pervading the whole poem , and giving law to the whole conduct of it . The case may be different with respect to Virgil . He followed Aristotle , ' longo qui- dem intervallo , ' as Homer much ...
Page 145
... charm , that interests the reader of their story . Nor will the manly spirit of England , with all its laudable indignation of his in- VOL . II . L sults şults and his crimes , refuse this tribute to Bonaparte OF HISTORY . 145.
... charm , that interests the reader of their story . Nor will the manly spirit of England , with all its laudable indignation of his in- VOL . II . L sults şults and his crimes , refuse this tribute to Bonaparte OF HISTORY . 145.
Page 146
... readers ; and the historian , actuated by the same motives and spirit as his reader , obtrudes not the latent moral npon him . It is to gratify the thirst of knowledge , the knowledge of what man has acted on the great theatre of this ...
... readers ; and the historian , actuated by the same motives and spirit as his reader , obtrudes not the latent moral npon him . It is to gratify the thirst of knowledge , the knowledge of what man has acted on the great theatre of this ...
Page 154
... readers of this description , history may not only be an unprofitable , but in its conse- quences an injurious occupation . Some may deem it only a pleasing illusion of the ima- gination , but I hold it as a truth , that the virtue ...
... readers of this description , history may not only be an unprofitable , but in its conse- quences an injurious occupation . Some may deem it only a pleasing illusion of the ima- gination , but I hold it as a truth , that the virtue ...
Page 155
... of genius and virtue.- Such are the scenes which history chiefly exhibits to our view . To the reader , there- fore , who looks perhaps solely for amuse- ment , ment , and with no view to any specific in- OF HISTORY . 155.
... of genius and virtue.- Such are the scenes which history chiefly exhibits to our view . To the reader , there- fore , who looks perhaps solely for amuse- ment , ment , and with no view to any specific in- OF HISTORY . 155.
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Common terms and phrases
admitted Agamemnon allegorical ancient epic animal appear argument Aristotle atheism beautiful body Britons cause celestial machinery character Christian church of England civil common conduct constitution contemplated crime dæmon debased deities derived dignity Earth effect epic poem equal ESSAY ESSAY exhibited existence faith fashion favour genius gods grandeur Greece heart heathen hero Homer honour human nature hypocrisy hypocrite idea Iliad imitative faculty impression impulse inference interest judgment Jupiter justice kind libertine ligion means ment minister moral motion nation natural philosophy object observe pandæmonium passions Patroclus phænomena phænomenon philosopher piety present principle profligacy profligate properties Protestant Dissenters racter reason religion render repel respect Richlieu Roman selfish sense senters solar system soul species spirit sublime supposed talents taste test act Test Laws theory thing tion triumph truth tural ture vice Virgil virtue whole worldly
Popular passages
Page 103 - Who take the ruffian billows by the top, Curling their monstrous heads, and hanging them With deaf'ning clamours in the slippery clouds, That, with the hurly, death itself awakes ? Canst thou, O partial sleep! give thy repose To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude; And, in the calmest and most stillest night, With all appliances and means to boot, Deny it to a king ? Then, happy low, lie down ! Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
Page 103 - How many thousand of my poorest subjects Are at this hour asleep ! O Sleep, O gentle Sleep, Nature's soft nurse, how have I frighted thee, That thou no more wilt weigh my eyelids down. And steep my senses in forgetfulness...
Page 126 - Supine, and wildly gazing on the skies, With faint, expiring breath, the chief replies : "Vain boaster ! cease, and know the Powers...
Page 363 - my beloved brethren, let us be steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord : forasmuch as we know that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord,
Page 167 - From the heroes of antiquity," says a modern -writer, " have sprung the race of the wasteful conquerors of nations, the disturbers of the peace of man ! Achilles begat Alexander and his turbulent successors ; Alexander begat Julius Caesar, with the long and horrid series of Roman emperors : and the bewitchery of...
Page 361 - Write, blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them.
Page 362 - O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Page 188 - ... equal to 215 times the radius of the earth, which explains the difference in the statements of the distance. This distance having been ascertained with tolerable accuracy, we possess the measure of our whole planetary system, as, according to the second law of Kepler (qv), the cubes of the mean distances of the planets from the sun are as the squares of the periods of their revolutions (which have long been known). Therefore the determining of 'this distance is of the highest importance. Respecting...
Page 134 - Homer's gods, though wicked enough, are as foolish and freakish as they are wick-? ed ; they are not superior to what we may conceive of the lowest rabble in'' Milton's Hell. I enter not into the Heaven of Milton, and, perhaps, it would have been as we'll; if he had not so familiarly unveiled that sacred region. But there Homer presents no parallel, and the comparison fails. The picture of man also in the two poems is greatly...
Page 132 - Milton, with respect to their display of preternatural agency : "They are not unlike in several respects. As Homer's has been observed to be the history of gods, Milton's may be said to be that of devils. The gods of the one and the devils of the other are nearly of equal credit ; the former altogether, and the latter for the greater part, being the creatures of a popular and fabulous superstition. Homer had his Pantheon, and Milton his Pandaemonium ; each their courts and counsels, and each a supreme...