Dangerous Fools
Sydney Smith writes:--If men are to be fools, it were better that they
were fools in little matters than in great; dulness, turned up with
temerity, is a livery all the worse for the facings; and the most
tremendous of all things is a magnanimous dunce.
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Clever Statesmen
However great talents may command the admiration of the world, they do not generally best fit a man for the discharge of social duties. Swift remarks that "Men of great parts are often unfortunate in the management of public business, because they a... Cobbett's Boyhood
Perhaps, in Cobbett's voluminous writings, there is nothing so complete as the following picture of his boyish scenes and recollections: it has been well compared to the most simple and touching passages in Richardson's Pamela:-- "After livin... Coleridge A Soldier
After Coleridge left Cambridge, he came to London, where soon feeling himself forlorn and destitute, he enlisted as a soldier in the 15th Elliot's Light Dragoons. "On his arrival at the quarters of the regiment," says his friend and biographer, Mr. ... Coleridge An Unitarian Preacher
During his residence at Nether Stoney, Coleridge officiated as Unitarian preacher at Taunton, and afterwards at Shrewsbury. Mr. Hazlitt has described his walking ten miles on a winter day to hear Coleridge preach. "When I got there," he says, "the o... Coleridge's Watchman
Coleridge, among his many speculations, started a periodical, in prose and verse, entitled The Watchman, with the motto, "that all might know the truth, and that the truth might make us free." He watched in vain! Coleridge's incurable want of order ... Collins' Insanity
Much has been said of the state of insanity to which the author of the Ode to the Passions was ultimately reduced; or rather, as Dr. Johnson happily describes it, "a depression of mind which enchains the faculties without destroying them, and leaves... Collins's Poems
Mr. John Ragsdale, of Richmond, in Surrey, who was the intimate friend of Collins, states that some of his Odes were written while on a visit at his, Mr. Ragsdale's house. The poet, however, had such a poor opinion of his own productions, that after... Colton's Lacon
This remarkable book was written upon covers of letters and scraps of paper of such description as was nearest at hand; the greater part at a house in Princes-street, Soho. Colton's lodging was a penuriously-furnished second-floor, and upon a rough ... Conceited Alarms Of Dennis
John Dennis, the dramatist, had a most extravagant and enthusiastic opinion of his tragedy of Liberty Asserted. He imagined that there were in it some strokes on the French nation so severe, that they would never be forgiven; and that, in consequenc... Contemporary Copyrights
The late Mr. Tegg, the publisher in Cheapside, gave the following list of remunerative payments to distinguished authors in his time; and he is believed to have taken considerable pains to verify the items: Fragments of History, by Charles Fox, so... Cowley At Chertsey
The poet Cowley died at the Porch House, Chertsey, on the 21st of July, 1667. There is a curious letter preserved of his condition when he removed here from Barn Elms. It is addressed to Dr. Sprat, dated Chertsey, 21 May, 1665, and is as follows:-- ... Cowper's Poems
Johnson, the publisher in St. Paul's Churchyard, obtained the copyright of Cowper's Poems, which proved a great source of profit to him, in the following manner:--One evening, a relation of Cowper's called upon Johnson with a portion of the MS. poem... Creed Of Lord Bolingbroke
Lord Brougham says:--"The dreadful malady under which Bolingbroke long lingered, and at length sunk--a cancer in the face--he bore with exemplary fortitude, a fortitude drawn from the natural resources of his vigorous mind, and unhappily not aided b... Curran's Imagination
"Curran!" (says Lord Byron) "Curran's the man who struck me most. Such imagination!--there never was anything like it that I ever heard of. His published life--his published speeches, give you no idea of the man--none at all. He was a machine of ima... Dangerous Fools
Sydney Smith writes:--If men are to be fools, it were better that they were fools in little matters than in great; dulness, turned up with temerity, is a livery all the worse for the facings; and the most tremendous of all things is a magnanimous du... Death Bed Revelations
Men before they die see and comprehend enigmas hidden from them before. The greatest poet, and one of the noblest thinkers of the last age, said on his death-bed:--"Many things obscure to me before, now clear up and become visible." * ... Death Of Sir Charles Bell
This distinguished surgeon died suddenly on April 29, 1842, at Hallow Park, near Worcester, while on his way to Malvern. He was out sketching on the 28th, being particularly pleased with the village church, and some fine trees which are beside it; o... Devotion To Science
M. Agassiz, the celebrated palaeontologist, is known to have relinquished pursuits from which he might have been in the receipt of a considerable income, and all for the sake of science. Dr. Buckland knew him, when engaged in this arduous career, wi... Disadvantageous Correction
Lord North had little reason to congratulate himself when he ventured on an interruption with Burke. In a debate on some economical question, Burke was guilty of a false quantity--"Magnum vect[)i]gal est parsimonia." "Vect[=i]gal," said the minister... Dr Chalmers In London
When Dr. Chalmers first visited London, the hold that he took on the minds of men was unprecedented. It was a time of strong political feeling; but even that was unheeded, and all parties thronged to hear the Scottish preacher. The very best judges ... Dr Chalmers's Industry
In October, 1841, Dr. Chalmers commenced two series of biblical compositions, which he continued with unbroken regularity till the day of his decease, May 31, 1847. Go where he might, however he might be engaged, each week-day had its few verses rea... Dr Johnson And Hannah More
When Hannah More came to London in 1773, or 1774, she was domesticated with Garrick, and was received with favour by Johnson, Reynolds, and Burke. Her sister has thus described her first interview with Johnson:-- "We have paid another visit to Mis... Dr Johnson In London
The following were Dr. Johnson's several places of residence in and near London:-- 1. Exeter-street, off Catherine-street, Strand. (1737.) 2. Greenwich. (1737.) 3. Woodstock-street, near Hanover-square. (1737.) 4. Castle-court, Cavendish... Dr Johnson's Criticisms
Johnson decided literary questions like a lawyer, not like a legislator. He never examined foundations where a point was already ruled. His whole code of criticism rested on pure assumption, for which he sometimes gave a precedent or authority, but ... Dr Johnson's Pride
Sir Joshua Reynolds used to relate the following characteristic anecdote of Johnson:--About the time of their early acquaintance, they met one evening at the Misses Cotterell's, when the Duchess of Argyll and another lady of rank came in. Johnson, t... Dr Johnson's Wigs
Dr. Johnson's wigs were in general very shabby, and their fore-parts were burned away by the near approach of the candle, which his short-sightedness rendered necessary in reading. At Streatham, Mr. Thrale's butler always had a wig ready; and as Joh... Drollery Spontaneous
More drolleries are uttered unintentionally than by premeditation. There is no such thing as being "droll to order." One evening a lady said to a small wit, "Come, Mr. ----, tell us a lively anecdote;" and the poor fellow was mute the rest of the ev... Dryden Drubbed
"Dryden," says Leigh Hunt, "is identified with the neighbourhood of Covent Garden. He presided in the chair at Russell Street (Will's Coffee-house); his plays came out in the theatre at the other end of it; he lived in Gerrard Street, which is not f...