The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.L. Hansard, 1806 - English literature |
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Page 3
... perhaps would not have looked upon better performances . To exact of every man who writes that he should say something new , would be to reduce authors to a small number ; to oblige the most fertile genius to say only what is new would ...
... perhaps would not have looked upon better performances . To exact of every man who writes that he should say something new , would be to reduce authors to a small number ; to oblige the most fertile genius to say only what is new would ...
Page 12
... perhaps with too much arrogance , the know- ledge of antiquity . And it appears from some of their earliest apologies , that the philosophers felt with great sensibility the unwelcome importunities of those who were daily asking ...
... perhaps with too much arrogance , the know- ledge of antiquity . And it appears from some of their earliest apologies , that the philosophers felt with great sensibility the unwelcome importunities of those who were daily asking ...
Page 21
... perhaps the character of the English to de- spise trifles ; and that art may surely be accounted a trifle which is at once useless and ostentatious , which can seldom be practised with propriety , and which , as the mind is more ...
... perhaps the character of the English to de- spise trifles ; and that art may surely be accounted a trifle which is at once useless and ostentatious , which can seldom be practised with propriety , and which , as the mind is more ...
Page 23
... perhaps the only authors to whom their country has done justice . We consider the whole succes- sion from Spenser to Pope , as superior to any names which the continent can boast ; and therefore the poets of other nations , however ...
... perhaps the only authors to whom their country has done justice . We consider the whole succes- sion from Spenser to Pope , as superior to any names which the continent can boast ; and therefore the poets of other nations , however ...
Page 24
... perhaps equal in abilities and diligence to ours ; but if we unite number with excellence , there is cer- tainly no nation which must not allow us to be su- perior . Of morality little is necessary to be said , because it is ...
... perhaps equal in abilities and diligence to ours ; but if we unite number with excellence , there is cer- tainly no nation which must not allow us to be su- perior . Of morality little is necessary to be said , because it is ...
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Common terms and phrases
afford ancient appearance Arthur Johnston better Boethius Boswell castle cattle chief church CITATION clan commonly considered curiosity danger delight diligence domestick Dunvegan Earse easily elegant English equal Essay evil expected Fort Augustus Francis Peck gentleman give ground happiness Hebrides Highlands honour hope human Idler imperfection Inch Kenneth infinite inhabitants inquire Interpolation Inverness islands JOHN MILTON knowledge labour ladies laird land lately learned less live lower Holloway Macdonald Maclean Macleod magnificence means mihi miles Milton mind misery mountains Mull nation nature necessary neral never once pain PARADISE LOST passage passed perhaps piness pleasure poverty publick Raasay reason rich rock Scotland seems seldom shew Sir Allan Slanes Castle sometimes standing stone subordination suffered supposed sure tacksman Taisch tenants thing thought tion told travelled truth Ulva universal vultures whole
Popular passages
Page 317 - Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses ; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings. Far from me and from my friends be such frigid philosophy, as may conduct us indifferent and unmoved over any ground which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery, or virtue. That man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the...
Page 317 - ... dignity of thinking beings. Far from me and from my friends, be such frigid philosophy as may conduct us indifferent and unmoved over any ground which has been dignified by wisdom, bravery, or virtue. That man is little to be envied, whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of lona ! We came too late to visit monuments : some care was necessary for ourselves.
Page 118 - The only end of writing is to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it...
Page 72 - ... in the centre, and its turrets sparkle in the skies ; to trace back the structure through all its varieties to the simplicity of...
Page 177 - I sat down on a bank, such as a writer of Romance might have delighted to feign. I had indeed no trees to whisper over my head, but a clear rivulet streamed at my feet. The day was calm, the air soft, and all was rudeness, silence, and solitude. Before me, and on either side, were high hills, which by hindering the eye from ranging, forced the mind to find entertainment for itself. Whether I spent the hour well I know not; for here I first conceived the thought of this narration.
Page 69 - Acorns, so Men are by some unaccountable power driven one against another, till they lose their motion, that Vultures may be fed. Others think they have observed something of contrivance and policy among these...
Page 59 - ... pleasures. But at fifty no man easily finds a woman beautiful as the Houries, and wise as Zobeide. I inquired and rejected, consulted and deliberated, till the sixtysecond year made me ashamed of gazing upon girls. I had now nothing left but retirement ; and for retirement I never found a time, till disease forced me from public employment.
Page 43 - He that instructs must offer to the mind something to be imitated, or something to be avoided ; he that pleases must offor new images to his reader, and enable him to form a tacit comparison of his own state with that of others. • The greater part of travellers tell nothing, because their method of travelling supplies them with nothing to be told.
Page 197 - A man of the Hebrides, for of the women's diet I can give no account, as soon as he appears in the morning, swallows a glass of whisky; yet they are not a drunken race...
Page 59 - Such was my scheme, and such has been its consequence. With an insatiable thirst for knowledge, I trifled away the years of improvement ; with a restless desire of seeing different countries, I have always resided in the same city ; with the highest expectation of connubial felicity, I have lived unmarried ; and with unalterable resolutions of contemplative retirement, I am going to die within the walls of Bagdat.