The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.G. Walker, 1820 - English literature |
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Page 4
... writing , to turn to his share in the work , as by far the most relishing part of the entertainment . As his parts were extraordinary , so he well knew how to improve them ; and not only to polish the diamond , but enchase it in the ...
... writing , to turn to his share in the work , as by far the most relishing part of the entertainment . As his parts were extraordinary , so he well knew how to improve them ; and not only to polish the diamond , but enchase it in the ...
Page 5
... writer as he was in his most elaborate pieces , he read the works of others with candour , and reserved his greatest severity for his own compo- sitions ; being readier to cherish and advance , than damp or repress a rising genius , and ...
... writer as he was in his most elaborate pieces , he read the works of others with candour , and reserved his greatest severity for his own compo- sitions ; being readier to cherish and advance , than damp or repress a rising genius , and ...
Page 9
... write a history , which it was for their interest to have done with the utmost art and dexterity . I shall not mention for what rea- sons this design was dropped , though they are very much to Mr Smith's honour . The truth is , and I ...
... write a history , which it was for their interest to have done with the utmost art and dexterity . I shall not mention for what rea- sons this design was dropped , though they are very much to Mr Smith's honour . The truth is , and I ...
Page 20
... writing the dedication till Lintot , after fruit- less importunity , gave notice that he would publish the play without it . Now , therefore , it was written ; and Halifax expected the author with his book , and had prepared to reward ...
... writing the dedication till Lintot , after fruit- less importunity , gave notice that he would publish the play without it . Now , therefore , it was written ; and Halifax expected the author with his book , and had prepared to reward ...
Page 36
... writing free of our nation , " and being so little equal and proportioned to the re- " nown of a prince on whom they were written ; " such great actions and lives deserving to be the 66 66 subject of the noblest pens and most divine ...
... writing free of our nation , " and being so little equal and proportioned to the re- " nown of a prince on whom they were written ; " such great actions and lives deserving to be the 66 66 subject of the noblest pens and most divine ...
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Common terms and phrases
acquaintance Addison afterwards appeared battle of Ramillies Beggar's Opera Cato censure character Congreve considered contempt court criticism death declared delight Dryden Duke Earl easily elegance endeavoured esteem excellence favour fortune friends genius honour Iliad imagination imitation Juba justly kind King William Kit-cat Club Lady likewise lines lived lord chamberlain Lord Halifax Lord Tyrconnel Matthew Prior ment mentioned merit mind nature neglect ness never observed obtained occasion once opinion panegyric passion performance perhaps Pindaric play pleased pleasure poem poet poetical poetry Pope pounds praise Prior published Queen Queen Anne reason received remarkable reputation resentment Savage Savage's says seems seldom Sempronius sent sentiments shew shewn Sir Richard Sir Robert Walpole solicited sometimes Steele suffered supposed Syphax Tatler thought Tickell tion told tragedy verses virtue Whig write written wrote
Popular passages
Page 112 - To bridle a goddess is no very delicate idea ; but why must she be bridled'? because she longs to launch ; an act which was never hindered by a bridle : and whither will she launch ? into a nobler strain.
Page 47 - THE Life of Dr. PARNELL is a task which I should very willingly decline, since it has been lately written by Goldsmith, a man of such variety of powers, and such felicity of performance, that he always seemed to do best that which he was doing ; a man who had the art of being minute without tediousness, and general without confusion ; whose language was copious without exuberance, exact without constraint, and easy without weakness.
Page 296 - Performance, he was without Lodging, and often without Meat ; nor had he any other Conveniences for Study than the Fields or the Streets allowed him, there he used to walk and form his Speeches, and afterwards step into a Shop, beg for a few Moments the Use of the Pen and Ink, and write down what he had composed upon Paper which he had picked up by Accident.
Page 268 - ... the matter; and that he had never heard a single word of it till on this occasion. This surprise of dr. Young, together with what Steele has said against Tickell in relation to this affair, make it highly probable that there was some underhand dealing in that business; and indeed Tickell himself, who is a very fair worthy man, has since, in a manner, as good as owned it to me.
Page 101 - History may be formed from permanent monuments and records ; but Lives can only be written from personal knowledge, which is growing every day less, and in a short time is lost for ever. What is known can seldom be immediately told; and when it might be told, it is no longer known. The delicate features of the mind, the nice discriminations of character, and the minute peculiarities of conduct, are soon obliterated...
Page 24 - Of Gilbert Walmsley, thus presented to my mind, let me indulge myself in the remembrance. I knew him very early; he was one of the first friends that literature procured me, and I hope that at least my gratitude made me worthy of his notice. He was of an advanced age, and I was only not a boy ; yet he never received my notions with contempt. He was a Whig, with all the virulence and malevojence of his party; yet difference of opinion did not keep us apart.
Page 138 - What he attempted, he performed ; he is never feeble, and he did not wish to be energetic ; he is never rapid, and he never stagnates. His sentences have neither studied amplitude, nor affected brevity : his periods, though not diligently rounded, are voluble and easy. Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison.
Page 138 - It was apparently his principal endeavour to avoid all harshness and severity of diction ; he is therefore sometimes verbose in his transitions and connections, and sometimes descends too much to the language of conversation ; yet if his language had been less idiomatical, it might have lost somewhat of its genuine Anglicism.
Page 97 - The marriage, if uncontradicted report can be credited, made no addition to his happiness : it neither found them nor made them equal. She always remembered her own rank, and thought herself entitled to treat with very little ceremony the tutor of her son. Rowe's ballad of The Despairing Shepherd is said to have been written, either before or after marriage, upon this memorable pair; and it is certain that Addison has left behind him no encouragement for ambitious love.
Page 136 - o'ersteps the modesty of nature," nor raises merriment or wonder by the violation of truth. His figures neither divert by distortion nor amaze by aggravation. He copies life with so much fidelity that he can...