English Essays from Sir Philip Sidney to Macaulay: With Introductions, Notes and IllustrationsCharles William Eliot "A collection of essays written by English authors" --provided by cataloger. |
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abuse Addison admiration ancient Aristotle beauty BEN JONSON Cæsar called Cato character Church Church of England comedy common conversation Crantor delight divine doth effect enemy England essay ESTHER JOHNSON evil excellent expression eyes faculty friends genius give Greek hath HC VOL honor human imagination imitation Italian Italy Juba Julius Cæsar kind King ladies language learning less Levana live Livy Lord Machiavelli manners matter ment mind moral nation nature never object observed opinion Othello passion person Petrarch philosopher Pindar Plato play pleasure Plutarch poem poesy poetical poetry poets political Pope praise Prince principles reader reason religion seems Sempronius sense sentiment Shakespeare Shakspere shew Sir Philip Sidney speak Spectator spirit Steele supposed Syphax taste Tatler things thought tion tragedy true truth Ulubrae verse Virgil virtue Whig words writings
Popular passages
Page 197 - Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant reformed religion established by law...
Page 62 - ... hundred. As I was counting the arches, the genius told me that this bridge consisted at first of a thousand arches ; but that a great flood swept away the rest, and left the bridge in the ruinous condition I now beheld it ; but tell me farther, said he, what thou discoverest on it. I see multitudes of people passing over it, said I, and a black cloud hanging on each end of it.
Page 291 - There is this difference between a story and a poem, that a story is a catalogue of detached facts, which have no other connection than time, place, circumstance, cause and effect ; the other is the creation of actions according to the unchangeable forms of human nature, as existing in the mind of the Creator, which is itself the image of all other minds.
Page 62 - Bridge thou seest, said he, is human Life, consider it attentively. Upon a more leisurely Survey of it, I found that it consisted of threescore and ten entire Arches, with several broken Arches, which added to those that were entire, made up the Number about an hundred.
Page 66 - ... that I met with in those several regions of the dead. Most of them recorded nothing else of the buried person, but that he was born upon one day, and died upon another; the whole history of his life being comprehended in those two circumstances that are common to all mankind.
Page 41 - Sufflaminandus erat," as Augustus said of Haterius. His wit was in his own power; would the rule of it had been so, too! Many times he fell into those things, could not escape laughter, as when he said in the person of Caesar, one speaking to him, "Ca:sar, thou dost me wrong.
Page 285 - Man is an instrument over which a series of external and internal impressions are driven, like the alternations of an everchanging wind over an Aeolian lyre, which move it by their motion to ever-changing melody. But there is a principle within the human being, and perhaps within all sentient beings, which acts otherwise than in the lyre, and produces not melody, alone, but harmony, by an internal adjustment of the sounds or motions thus excited to the impressions which excite them.
Page 16 - ... the highest end of the mistress-knowledge, by the Greeks called dtp-firexrovix1j, which stands, as I think, in the knowledge of a man's self, in the ethic and politic consideration, with the end of well-doing, and not of well-knowing only...
Page 31 - I never heard the old song of Percy and Douglas, that I found not my heart moved more than with a trumpet ; and yet it is sung but by some blind crowder, with no rougher voice than rude style ; which being so evil apparelled in the dust and cobweb of that uncivil age, what would it work, trimmed in the gorgeous eloquence of Pindar?
Page 81 - He is very ready at that sort of discourse with which men usually entertain women. He has all his life dressed very well, and remembers habits as others do men. He can smile when one speaks to him, and laughs easily. He knows the history of every mode...