The Auto-biography of Edward Gibbon, Esq: Illustrated from His Letters, with Occasional Notes and NarrativesTurner & Hayden, 1846 - 381 pages |
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Page 10
... manner as justly to in- crease the number of his admirers . I have not been solicitous to garble or expunge pas- sages which , to some , may appear trifling . Such pas- sages will often , in the opinion of the deserving reader , mark ...
... manner as justly to in- crease the number of his admirers . I have not been solicitous to garble or expunge pas- sages which , to some , may appear trifling . Such pas- sages will often , in the opinion of the deserving reader , mark ...
Page 5
... men and manners . That I am equal or superior to some of these , the effects of mo- desty or affectation cannot force me to dissemble . CHAP . L ACCOUNT AND ANECDOTES OF HIS FAMILY . MEMOIRS OF MY LIFE AND WRITINGS . 5.
... men and manners . That I am equal or superior to some of these , the effects of mo- desty or affectation cannot force me to dissemble . CHAP . L ACCOUNT AND ANECDOTES OF HIS FAMILY . MEMOIRS OF MY LIFE AND WRITINGS . 5.
Page 12
... manner is quaint and affected ; his order is confused : but he displays some wit , more reading , and still more enthusiasm ; and if an enthusiast be often absurd , he is never languid . An English text is perpetually interspersed with ...
... manner is quaint and affected ; his order is confused : but he displays some wit , more reading , and still more enthusiasm ; and if an enthusiast be often absurd , he is never languid . An English text is perpetually interspersed with ...
Page 21
... manner is lively , his style forcible and clear ; and , had not his vigorous mind been clouded by enthusiasm , he might be ranked with the most agreeable and ingenious writers of the times . While the Bangorian controversy was a ...
... manner is lively , his style forcible and clear ; and , had not his vigorous mind been clouded by enthusiasm , he might be ranked with the most agreeable and ingenious writers of the times . While the Bangorian controversy was a ...
Page 26
... manners ; and with such illustrations , as every pedant is not indeed qualified to give , this classic biographer ... manner is concise , terse , and sen- tentious : the Thracian slave discreetly breathes the spirit of a freeman ; and ...
... manners ; and with such illustrations , as every pedant is not indeed qualified to give , this classic biographer ... manner is concise , terse , and sen- tentious : the Thracian slave discreetly breathes the spirit of a freeman ; and ...
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Common terms and phrases
acquaintance Adieu agreeable amusement Archbishop of Arles aunt Beriton Berne CHAP character church Cicero College Comte de Caylus connexion conversation Cornelius Nepos curiosity death Deyverdun EDWARD GIBBON England English enjoyed epistle equal essay esteem excuse eyes father favour feel fortune France French friendship Geneva genius Greek habits happiness honour hope indulged JOURNAL journey labour lady language Latin Lausanne learning letter London Lord Sheffield Madame Magdalen College ment merit militia mind months native Necker never opinion Oxford Paris passed Pavilliard perhaps persons perusal philosopher pleasure political Porten praise present provinces of France prudence Putney racter residence scene sentiments Severy Sheffield-place society soon spirit style summer Swiss Switzerland Tacitus taste tion Vaud volume weeks Westminster School winter wish write youth
Popular passages
Page 171 - that the influence of the Crown had increased, was increasing, and ought to be diminished', and Mr Burke's Bill of Reform was framed with skill, 162 introduced with eloquence, and supported by numbers.
Page 7 - Thou hast most traitorously corrupted the youth of the realm in erecting a grammar school; and whereas, before, our forefathers had no other books but the score and the tally, thou hast caused printing to be used, and, contrary to the king, his crown and dignity, thou hast built a paper-mill.
Page 5 - Who builds a church to God, and not to Fame, Will never mark the marble with his name : Go, search it there, where to be born and die, Of rich and poor makes all the history ; Enough, that Virtue fill'd the space between ; Prov'd by the ends of being, to have been.
Page 66 - After a painful struggle I yielded to my fate : I sighed as a lover, I obeyed as a son 9 ; (8) my wound was insensibly healed by time, absence, and the habits of a new life.
Page 139 - Our solid and increasing establishments in America, where we need less dread the inundation of Barbarians, promise a superior stability and duration to the English language.
Page 186 - 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 133 - It was at Rome, on the 15th of October, 1764, as I sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, while the bare-footed 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 158 - I am at a loss how to describe the success of the work, without betraying the vanity of the writer. The first impression was exhausted in a few days; a second and third edition were scarcely adequate to the demand ; and the bookseller's property was twice invaded by the pirates of Dublin. My book was on every table, and almost on every toilette ; the historian was crowned by the taste or fashion of the day j nor was the general voice disturbed by the barking of any profane critic.
Page 26 - My own introduction to the university of Oxford forms a new sera in my life ; and at the distance of forty years I still remember my first emotions of surprise and satisfaction. In my fifteenth year I felt myself suddenly raised from a boy to a man ; the persons whom I respected as my superiors in age and academical rank, entertained me with every mark of attention and civility ; and my vanity was flattered by the velvet cap and silk gown, which distinguish a gentleman commoner from a plebeian student.
Page 54 - As soon as I understood the principles, I relinquished for ever the pursuit of the mathematics ; nor can I lament that I desisted, before my mind was hardened by the habit of rigid demonstration, so destructive of the finer feelings of moral evidence, which must, however, determine the actions and opinions of our lives.