The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets;: With Critical Observations on Their Works, Volume 2C. Bathurst, J. Buckland, W. Strahan, J. Rivington and Sons, T. Davies, T. Payne, L. Davis, W. Owen, B. White, S. Crowder, T. Caslon, T. Longman, B. Law, C. Dilly, J. Dodsley, J. Wilkie, J. Robson, J. Johnson, T. Lowndes, G. Robinson, T. Cadell, J. Nichols, E. Newbery, T. Evans, P. Elmsly, R. Baldwin, G. Nicol, Leigh and Sotheby, J. Bew, N. Conant, W. Nicoll, J. Murray, S. Hayes, W. Fox, and J. Bowen., 1783 - English poetry |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 5
Page 212
have written to you two or three letters concerning it , which I have fent by fafe “
hands , as I told you , and doubt not but you have them before this can arrive to
you . Being out of town , I have forgotten “ the ship's name , which your mother
will ...
have written to you two or three letters concerning it , which I have fent by fafe “
hands , as I told you , and doubt not but you have them before this can arrive to
you . Being out of town , I have forgotten “ the ship's name , which your mother
will ...
Page 235
But he could not well have bequeathed that work to better hands than where , I
hear , it is at present lodged ; and the bare mention of two such names may justify
the largest expectations , and is sufficient to make the town an agreeable ...
But he could not well have bequeathed that work to better hands than where , I
hear , it is at present lodged ; and the bare mention of two such names may justify
the largest expectations , and is sufficient to make the town an agreeable ...
Page 236
... and to note their several beauties and defects , RC What rernains of his works
is left , as I am informed , in the hands of men of worth and judgement , who loved
him , It cannot be fupposed they would suppress any thing that was his , but out ...
... and to note their several beauties and defects , RC What rernains of his works
is left , as I am informed , in the hands of men of worth and judgement , who loved
him , It cannot be fupposed they would suppress any thing that was his , but out ...
Page 297
In 1710 , when the government fell into other hands , he writ to lord Godolphin ,
on his dismission , a short poem , which was criticised in the Examiner , and so
successfully either defended or excused by Mr. Addison , that , for the sake of the
...
In 1710 , when the government fell into other hands , he writ to lord Godolphin ,
on his dismission , a short poem , which was criticised in the Examiner , and so
successfully either defended or excused by Mr. Addison , that , for the sake of the
...
Page 353
The papers of Addison are marked in the Spectator by one of the Letters in the
name of Clio , and in the Guardian by a hands whether it was , as Tickell
pretends to think , that he was unwilling to usurp the praise of others , or as
Steele , with far ...
The papers of Addison are marked in the Spectator by one of the Letters in the
name of Clio , and in the Guardian by a hands whether it was , as Tickell
pretends to think , that he was unwilling to usurp the praise of others , or as
Steele , with far ...
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Addiſon afterwards againſt appears becauſe better called cenſure character compoſitions conſidered converſation criticiſm death deſign deſired Dryden duke earl eaſily effect elegant Engliſh excellence fame favour firſt force formed friends genius give given hands himſelf hundred Italy kind king knowledge known language laſt learning leaſt leſs lines lived lord manner means ment mentioned mind moſt muſt nature never obſerved occaſion once opinion original paſſions performance perhaps play pleaſe poem poet poetical poetry Pope praiſe preface preſent probably produced publick publiſhed raiſed reader reaſon received remarks rhyme ſaid ſame ſays ſeems ſhall ſhew ſhould ſome ſometimes ſtage Steele ſtudy ſubject ſuch ſuffer ſuppoſed theſe thing thoſe thought tion told tragedy tranſlated true uſe verſes whole whoſe write written wrote
Popular passages
Page 428 - I never heard of the man in my life, yet I find your name as a subscriber. He is too grave a poet for me; and I think among the Mediocrists, in prose as well as verse.
Page 169 - Works of imagination excel by their allurement and delight ; by their power of attracting and detaining the attention. That book is good in vain, which the reader throws away. He only is the master, who keeps the mind in pleasing captivity; whose pages are perused with eagerness, and in hope of new pleasure are perused again ; and whose conclusion is perceived with an eye of sorrow, such as the traveller casts upon departing day.
Page 420 - 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 364 - Tories in the last reign ; an act of authority violent enough, yet certainly legal, and by no means to be compared with that contempt of national right with which, some time afterwards, by the instigation of Whiggism, the Commons, chosen by the people for three years, chose themselves for seven.
Page 348 - This, says Pope *, had been tried for the first time in favour of the Distrest Mother; and was now, with more efficacy, practised for Cato. The danger was soon over. The whole nation was at that time on fire with faction. The Whigs applauded every line in which liberty was mentioned, as a satire on the Tories ; and the Tories echoed every clap, to show that the satire was unfelt.
Page 148 - FROM harmony, from heavenly harmony, This universal frame began : When nature underneath a heap Of jarring atoms lay, And could not heave her head, The tuneful voice was heard from high, Arise, ye more than dead. Then cold, and hot, and moist, and dry, In order to their stations leap, And Music's power obey. From harmony, from heavenly harmony This universal frame began : From harmony to harmony, Through all the compass of the notes it ran, The diapason closing full in Man.
Page 188 - Perhaps no nation ever produced a writer that enriched his language with such variety of models. To him we owe the improvement, perhaps the completion, of our metre, the refinement of our language, and much of the correctness of our sentiments.
Page 112 - Of him that knows much, it is natural to suppose that he has read with diligence; yet I rather believe that the knowledge of Dryden was gleaned from accidental intelligence and various conversation, by a quick apprehension, a judicious selection, and a happy memory, a keen appetite of knowledge, and a powerful digestion...
Page 114 - They have not the formality of a settled style, in which the first half of the sentence betrays the other. The clauses are never balanced, nor the periods modelled: every word seems to drop by chance, though it falls into its proper place. Nothing is cold or languid; the whole is airy, animated, and vigorous; what is little, is gay; what is great, is splendid.
Page 208 - Whether our English audience have been pleased hitherto with, acorns, as he calls it, or with bread, is the next question ; that is, whether the means which Shakspeare and Fletcher have used in their plays to raise those passions before named, be better applied to the ends by the Greek poets than by them.
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets;: With Critical Observations on Their Works, Volume 2 The Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets;: With Critical Observations on Their Works, J., F., and C. Rivington (Firm) |
| Author | Samuel Johnson |
| Illustrated by | Sir Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Trotter |
| Contributors | Charles Bathurst, James Buckland, William Strahan, J., F., and C. Rivington (Firm) |
| Publisher | C. Bathurst, J. Buckland, W. Strahan, J. Rivington and Sons, T. Davies, T. Payne, L. Davis, W. Owen, B. White, S. Crowder, T. Caslon, T. Longman, B. Law, C. Dilly, J. Dodsley, J. Wilkie, J. Robson, J. Johnson, T. Lowndes, G. Robinson, T. Cadell, J. Nichols, E. Newbery, T. Evans, P. Elmsly, R. Baldwin, G. Nicol, Leigh and Sotheby, J. Bew, N. Conant, W. Nicoll, J. Murray, S. Hayes, W. Fox, and J. Bowen., 1783 |
| Original from | Oxford University |
| Digitized | 11 Jul 2007 |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |