Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Edward Gibbon, Esq, Volume 1Whittaker, Treacher, and Arnot, 1825 |
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Page 6
... pleasures of a rural life ; nor is it in my power to follow the advice of the poet , in an inquiry after a name— " Go ! search it there , where to be born , and die , Of rich and poor makes all the history , ' so recent is the ...
... pleasures of a rural life ; nor is it in my power to follow the advice of the poet , in an inquiry after a name— " Go ! search it there , where to be born , and die , Of rich and poor makes all the history , ' so recent is the ...
Page 12
... pleasure , though not perhaps at a cheaper rate , for the service of king James . During his residence abroad , his concerns at home were managed by his mother Hester , an active and notable woman . Her second husband was a widower of ...
... pleasure , though not perhaps at a cheaper rate , for the service of king James . During his residence abroad , his concerns at home were managed by his mother Hester , an active and notable woman . Her second husband was a widower of ...
Page 18
... pleasures for which the strictness of his former education had given him a keener relish . He afterwards visited several provinces of France ; but his excursions were neither long nor remote ; and the slender knowledge which he had ...
... pleasures for which the strictness of his former education had given him a keener relish . He afterwards visited several provinces of France ; but his excursions were neither long nor remote ; and the slender knowledge which he had ...
Page 26
... pleasures were to him irksome or insipid . After some unsuccessful trials , he renounced the tumult of London and the hospitality of Putney , and buried himself in the rural , or rather rustic , solitude of Buriton ; from which , during ...
... pleasures were to him irksome or insipid . After some unsuccessful trials , he renounced the tumult of London and the hospitality of Putney , and buried himself in the rural , or rather rustic , solitude of Buriton ; from which , during ...
Page 27
... pleasure in re- peating my obligations to that excellent woman , Mrs Catherine Porten , the true mother of my mind as well as of my health . Her natural good sense was improved by the perusal of the best books in the English lan- guage ...
... pleasure in re- peating my obligations to that excellent woman , Mrs Catherine Porten , the true mother of my mind as well as of my health . Her natural good sense was improved by the perusal of the best books in the English lan- guage ...
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Common terms and phrases
acquaintance agreeable amusement assez avoit Beriton bien bust C'est Celesia character church Cicero conversation curious d'une deux Deyverdun EDWARD GIBBON England English enjoyed Essay esteem été étoit fait father Florence fortune France French French language genius Genoa grand Greek habits happiness homme honour hope Iliad j'ai JOURNAL labour lady language Latin Lausanne learning letters literary London lord lord North Lysippe madame Magdalen college manière Memoirs ment merit Mésery militia mind months nature never opinion Oxford Paris Pavilliard perhaps persons Petersfield peut philosopher pleasure political Porten possessed praise present prince provinces of France Putney qu'il qu'on qu'un racter raison rien Roman Rome Severy society soon spirit style Switzerland Tacitus taste tems tion tout university of Oxford Vaud Veleia Velleius Paterculus Voltaire volumes wish write youth
Popular passages
Page 241 - I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom, and, perhaps, the establishment of my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, and a sober melancholy was spread over my mind, by the idea that I had taken an everlasting leave of an old and agreeable companion, and that whatsoever might be the future date of my history, the life of the historian must be short and precarious.
Page 92 - I sighed as a lover, I obeyed as a son; my wound was insensibly healed by time, absence, and the habits of a new life. My cure was accelerated by a faithful report of the tranquillity and cheerfulness of the lady herself, and my love subsided in friendship and esteem.
Page 191 - I can neither forget nor express the strong emotions which agitated my mind as I first approached and entered the eternal city. After a sleepless night, I trod, with a lofty step, the ruins of the Forum ; each memorable spot where Romulus stood, or Tully spoke, or Caesar fell, was at once present to my eye ; and several days of intoxication were lost or enjoyed before I could descend to a cool and minute investigation.
Page 37 - To the university of Oxford I acknowledge no obligation ; and she will as cheerfully renounce me for a son, as I am willing to disclaim her for a mother. I spent fourteen months at Magdalen college ; they proved the fourteen months the most idle and unprofitable of my whole life...
Page 2 - A \A lively desire of knowing and of recording our ancestors so generally prevails, that it must depend on the influence of some common principle in the minds of men.
Page 195 - It was at Rome, on the 15th of October 1764, as I sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, while the barefooted friars were singing vespers in the temple of Jupiter,* that the idea of writing the decline and fall of the city first started to my mind.
Page 67 - The various articles of the Romish creed disappeared like a dream; and after a full conviction, on Christmas-day 1754, I received the sacrament in the church of Lausanne. It was here that I suspended my religious inquiries, acquiescing with implicit belief in the tenets and mysteries, which are adopted by the general consent of catholics and protestants.
Page 241 - I wrote the last lines of the last page, in a summer house in my garden. After laying down my pen, I took several turns in a berceau, or covered walk of acacias, which commands a prospect of the country, the lake, and the mountains.
Page 259 - His choice is approved by the eloquent historian of nature, who fixes our moral happiness to the mature season in which our passions are supposed to be calmed, our duties fulfilled, our ambition satisfied, our fame and fortune established on a solid basis.
Page 49 - To take up half on trust, and half to try, Name it not faith, but bungling bigotry. Both knave and fool the merchant we may call, To pay great sums, and to compound the small: For who would break with Heaven, and would not break for all ? Rest then, my soul, from endless anguish freed,' Nor sciences thy guide, nor sense thy creed.