Lives of English poetsNichols and Son, 1801 |
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Page 43
... readers , and perhaps , if they would honestly declare their own perceptions , to far the greater part of thofe whom courtefy and ignorance are content to ftyle the Learned . These little pieces will be found more finished in their kind ...
... readers , and perhaps , if they would honestly declare their own perceptions , to far the greater part of thofe whom courtefy and ignorance are content to ftyle the Learned . These little pieces will be found more finished in their kind ...
Page 44
... reader is commonly furprized into fome improvement . But , confidered as the verfes of a lover , no man that has ever loved will much commend them . They are neither courtly nor pathetick , have neither gallantry nor fondness . His ...
... reader is commonly furprized into fome improvement . But , confidered as the verfes of a lover , no man that has ever loved will much commend them . They are neither courtly nor pathetick , have neither gallantry nor fondness . His ...
Page 46
... great perfpicuity ; and the thoughts , which to a reader of lefs fkill feem thrown together by chance , are concatenated without any abruption . Though the the English ode cannot be called a translation , it 46 COWLEY .
... great perfpicuity ; and the thoughts , which to a reader of lefs fkill feem thrown together by chance , are concatenated without any abruption . Though the the English ode cannot be called a translation , it 46 COWLEY .
Page 47
... reader muft , in mere juf- tice to Pindar , obferve , that whatever is faid of the original new moon , her tender fore - head and her borns , is fuperadded by his paraphraft , who has many other plays of words and fancy unsuitable to ...
... reader muft , in mere juf- tice to Pindar , obferve , that whatever is faid of the original new moon , her tender fore - head and her borns , is fuperadded by his paraphraft , who has many other plays of words and fancy unsuitable to ...
Page 49
Samuel Johnson. ' Twill no unfkilful touch endure , But flings writer and reader too that fits not fure . The fault of Cowley , and perhaps of all the writers of the metaphyfical race , is that of pursuing his thoughts to the laft ...
Samuel Johnson. ' Twill no unfkilful touch endure , But flings writer and reader too that fits not fure . The fault of Cowley , and perhaps of all the writers of the metaphyfical race , is that of pursuing his thoughts to the laft ...
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Common terms and phrases
Æneid againſt anſwer appears becauſe cenfure character Charles Dryden compofition confidered converfation Cowley criticifm critick deferve defign defire delight difcover dramatick Dryden eafily Earl elegance English excellence fafe faid fame fatire fays fecond feems feldom fenfe fent fentiments fhall fhew fhould fince firft firſt fome fomething fometimes foon ftill ftudy ftyle fubject fuch fufficient fupply fuppofed fure genius heroick himſelf houfe houſe Hudibras inftruction itſelf John Dryden King labour laft learning leaſt lefs Lord meaſure Milton mind moft moſt muft muſt nature neceffary never NIHIL numbers obferved occafion paffages paffed paffions Paradife Loft perfon perhaps pleafing pleaſe pleaſure poem poet poetical poetry praife praiſe prefent preferved profe publick publiſhed purpoſe raiſed reafon reft reprefented rhyme ſeems thefe themſelves theſe thing thofe thoſe thou thought tion tragedy tranflation Tyrannick Love univerfally uſed verfes verfification verſe Virgil Waller whofe write written
Popular passages
Page 100 - ... 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 268 - While in the park I sing, the listening deer Attend my passion, and forget to fear : When to the beeches I report my flame, They bow their heads, as if they felt the same. To gods appealing, when I reach their bowers, With loud complaints they answer me in showers. To thee a wild and cruel soul is given, More deaf than trees, and prouder than the Heaven ! On the head of a stag...
Page 146 - To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant and which is animated only by Faith and Hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
Page 380 - I have pleaded guilty to all thoughts and expressions of mine, which can be truly argued of obscenity, profaneness, or immorality, and retract them. If he be my enemy, let him triumph ; if he be my friend, as I have given him no personal occasion to be otherwise, he will be glad of my repentance. It becomes me not to draw my pen in the defence of a bad cause, when I have so often drawn it for a good one.
Page 96 - Let not our veneration for Milton forbid us to look with some degree of merriment on great promises and small performance, on the man who hastens home, because his countrymen are contending for their liberty, and, when he reaches the scene of action, vapours away his patriotism in a private boarding-school.
Page 275 - Whatever is great, desirable, or tremendous, is comprised in the name of the Supreme Being. Omnipotence cannot be exalted ; infinity cannot be amplified ; perfection cannot be improved.
Page 154 - We know that they never drove a field, and that they had no flocks to batten; and though it be allowed that the representation may be allegorical, the true meaning is so uncertain and remote, that it is never sought because it cannot be known when it is found.
Page 275 - The topics of devotion are few, and being few are universally known ; but, few as they are, they can be made no more ; they can receive no grace from novelty of sentiment, and very little from novelty of expression.
Page 416 - 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 386 - Learning once made popular is no longer learning ; it has the appearance of something which we have bestowed upon ourselves, as the dew appears to rise from the field which it refreshes.