The Memoirs of the Life of Edward Gibbon with Various Observations and Excursions |
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Page vii
... historian had in common with troops of famous men . 99 We may regret that Gibbon , when he had written his life , did not think it right " to amuse the reader with a gallery of portraits and a collection of anecdotes " . To do so , as ...
... historian had in common with troops of famous men . 99 We may regret that Gibbon , when he had written his life , did not think it right " to amuse the reader with a gallery of portraits and a collection of anecdotes " . To do so , as ...
Page viii
... historian of the Roman Empire " . The seat he held for some years in the House of Commons was worthy of notice , for there he found a " school of civil prudence , the first and most essential virtue of an historian " . With the ...
... historian of the Roman Empire " . The seat he held for some years in the House of Commons was worthy of notice , for there he found a " school of civil prudence , the first and most essential virtue of an historian " . With the ...
Page ix
... historian , “ and not himself , which he magnifies . " He who had written the Decline and Fall had a right to tell the world how he had been prepared for his great task . He was , it is true , a vain man , foolishly vain in the opinion ...
... historian , “ and not himself , which he magnifies . " He who had written the Decline and Fall had a right to tell the world how he had been prepared for his great task . He was , it is true , a vain man , foolishly vain in the opinion ...
Page xii
... historian's method of work . To Mr. John Murray - who by the purchase of the copyright , first made them public - every student of our literature is deeply indebted . To his enterprise , moreover , they owe the two volumes of ...
... historian's method of work . To Mr. John Murray - who by the purchase of the copyright , first made them public - every student of our literature is deeply indebted . To his enterprise , moreover , they owe the two volumes of ...
Page xiv
... historian first met . " The boarders , " wrote Gibbon , 66 were numer- ous . " " Numerous " offended his lordship's dignity . In his revised version we read that " the boarders were select " .1 Some changes he made for propriety's sake ...
... historian first met . " The boarders , " wrote Gibbon , 66 were numer- ous . " " Numerous " offended his lordship's dignity . In his revised version we read that " the boarders were select " .1 Some changes he made for propriety's sake ...
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Common terms and phrases
Adam Smith Æneid amusement ancient Appendix Auto Bishop Boswell's Johnson Buriton Burke character Christian Church College conversation Corres criticism death Decline and Fall described Deyverdun edition Edward Gibbon England English Essay Euvres de Voltaire father fortune France French genius Gent Gibbon wrote Greek historian History Holroyd homme honour Horace Walpole Horace Walpole wrote Hume John King labour Lady language Latin Lausanne learned lively London Lord North Lord Sheffield Madame Necker Magdalen Magdalen College Memoirs militia mind Misc never Oxford Paris Parl parliament passage Pavilliard perhaps Petersfield philosopher Pitt pleasure praise published qu'il Read's Hist religion Roman Sainte-Beuve says Sheffield Place society spirit Strahan style Tacitus taste Thomas Hearne tion translation tutor University University of Oxford Vaud viii volume Walpole's Letters writing
Popular passages
Page 239 - If a man were called to fix the period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus.
Page 225 - 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 fate of my History, the life of the historian must be short and precarious.
Page 26 - My lot might have been that of a slave, a savage, or a peasant ; nor can I reflect without pleasure on the bounty of Nature, which cast my birth in a free and civilized country, in an age of science and philosophy, in a family of honourable rank, and decently endowed with the gifts of fortune.
Page vi - ... study, which I take to be my portion in- this life, joined with the strong propensity of nature, I might perhaps leave something so written to after-times, as they should not willingly let it die.
Page 167 - He, who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him.
Page 58 - I was admitted to the society of the fellows, and fondly expected that some questions of literature would be the amusing and instructive topics of their discourse. Their conversation stagnated in a round of college business, Tory politics, personal anecdotes, and private scandal : their dull and deep potations excused the brisk intemperance of youth; and their constitutional toasts were not expressive of the most lively loyalty for the house of Hanover.
Page 107 - After a painful struggle I yielded to my fate; 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 23 - Call, is still read as a popular and powerful book of devotion. His precepts are rigid, but they are founded on the gospel l ; his satire is sharp, but it is drawn from the knowledge of human life ; and many of his portraits are not unworthy of the pen of La Bruyere. If he finds a spark of piety in his reader's mind, he will soon kindle it to a flame...
Page 225 - 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 202 - Had I believed that the majority of English readers were so fondly attached even to the name and shadow of Christianity ; had I foreseen that the pious, the timid, and the prudent, would feel, or affect to feel, with such exquisite sensibility ; I might, perhaps, have softened the two invidious chapters, which Would create many enemies, and conciliate few friends.