Lives of English poetsNichols and Son, 1801 |
From inside the book
Page 50
... kind of destiny , to the light and the familiar , or to conceits which require ftill more ignoble epithets . A flaughter in the Red Sea new dies the waters name ; and England , during the Civil War , was Albion no more , nor to be named ...
... kind of destiny , to the light and the familiar , or to conceits which require ftill more ignoble epithets . A flaughter in the Red Sea new dies the waters name ; and England , during the Civil War , was Albion no more , nor to be named ...
Page 52
... kind of poefy fit for all manner of fubjects . But he fhould have remembered , that what is fit for every thing can ... kind of writing in verfe , it can be adapted only to high and noble fubjects ; and it will not be easy to reconcile ...
... kind of poefy fit for all manner of fubjects . But he fhould have remembered , that what is fit for every thing can ... kind of writing in verfe , it can be adapted only to high and noble fubjects ; and it will not be easy to reconcile ...
Page 55
... kind , that lived and acted with manners uncommu- nicable ; fo that it is difficult even for imagination to place us in the flate of them whofe ftory is re- lated , 4 lated , and by confequence their joys and griefs are COWLEY . 55.
... kind , that lived and acted with manners uncommu- nicable ; fo that it is difficult even for imagination to place us in the flate of them whofe ftory is re- lated , 4 lated , and by confequence their joys and griefs are COWLEY . 55.
Page 66
... kind is merely fortuitous : he finks willingly down to his general careleffnefs , and avoids with very little care either meanness or afperity . His contractions are often rugged and harsh : One flings a mountain , and its rivers too ...
... kind is merely fortuitous : he finks willingly down to his general careleffnefs , and avoids with very little care either meanness or afperity . His contractions are often rugged and harsh : One flings a mountain , and its rivers too ...
Page 67
... kind releafing knell . His heroic lines are often formed of monofyllables but yet they are fometimes fweet and fonorous . He fays of the Meffiah , Round the whole earth his dreaded name shall sound , And reach to worlds that must not ...
... kind releafing knell . His heroic lines are often formed of monofyllables but yet they are fometimes fweet and fonorous . He fays of the Meffiah , Round the whole earth his dreaded name shall sound , And reach to worlds that must not ...
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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.