Critical and Miscellaneous Essays, Volume 1Weeks, Jordan & Company, 1840 - English essays |
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Page 55
... correct each other . The scattered elements of truth cease to conflict , and begin to coalesce . And at length a system of justice and order is educed out of the chaos . Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying it down as ...
... correct each other . The scattered elements of truth cease to conflict , and begin to coalesce . And at length a system of justice and order is educed out of the chaos . Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying it down as ...
Page 103
... to excel in it . By the correct and vigorous delineation of human nature , it produces interest without a pleasing or skilful plot , and laughter without the least ambi- tion of wit . The lover , not a very MACHIAVELLI . 103.
... to excel in it . By the correct and vigorous delineation of human nature , it produces interest without a pleasing or skilful plot , and laughter without the least ambi- tion of wit . The lover , not a very MACHIAVELLI . 103.
Page 117
... correct his speculations , and to impart to them that vivid and practical character which so widely distinguishes them from the vague theories of most political philosophers . Every man who has seen the world knows that nothing is so ...
... correct his speculations , and to impart to them that vivid and practical character which so widely distinguishes them from the vague theories of most political philosophers . Every man who has seen the world knows that nothing is so ...
Page 124
... correct ac- counts . The truth is , that the book belongs rather to ancient than to modern literature . It is in the style , not of Davila and Clarendon , but of Herodotus and Tacitus ; and the classical histories may almost be called ...
... correct ac- counts . The truth is , that the book belongs rather to ancient than to modern literature . It is in the style , not of Davila and Clarendon , but of Herodotus and Tacitus ; and the classical histories may almost be called ...
Page 130
... correct . It seems that the creative faculty , and the critical faculty , cannot exist together in their highest perfection . The causes of this phenomenon it is not diffi- cult to assign . It is true , that the man who is best 130 ...
... correct . It seems that the creative faculty , and the critical faculty , cannot exist together in their highest perfection . The causes of this phenomenon it is not diffi- cult to assign . It is true , that the man who is best 130 ...
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Popular passages
Page 56 - Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition, that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use their freedom.
Page 137 - Partridge, with a contemptuous sneer; "why, I could act as well as he myself. I am sure if I had seen a ghost I should have looked in the very same manner, and done just as he did.
Page 73 - It is, to borrow his own majestic language, " a sevenfold chorus of hallelujahs and harping symphonies.
Page 31 - But now my task is smoothly done: I can fly, or I can run Quickly to the green earth's end, Where the bowed welkin slow doth bend, And from thence can soar as soon To the corners of the moon. Mortals, that would follow me, Love Virtue; she alone is free. She can teach...
Page 227 - The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Page 21 - ... human actions, it is by no means certain that it would have been a good one. It is extremely improbable that it would have contained half so much able reasoning on the subject as is to be found in the Fable of the Bees.
Page 21 - fine frenzy " which he ascribes to the poet, — a fine frenzy doubtless, but still a frenzy. Truth, indeed, is essential to poetry ; but it is the truth of madness. The reasonings are just; but the premises are false. After the first suppositions have been made...
Page 255 - In favour and pre-eminence, yet fraught With envy against the Son of God, that day...
Page 23 - And, as the magic lantern acts best in a dark room, poetry effects its purpose most completely in a dark age. As the light of knowledge breaks in upon its exhibitions, as the outlines of certainty become more and more definite, and the shades of probability...
Page 26 - Milton cannot be comprehended or enjoyed unless the mind of the reader co-operate with that of the writer. He does not paint a finished picture or play for a mere passive listener. He sketches, and leaves others to fill up the outline. He strikes the key-note, and expects his hearer to make out the melody.