The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.: With An Essay on His Life and Genius, Volume 4Luke Hansard & Sons, 1810 |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 77
Page vii
... by philosophy 59. An account of Suspirius , the human screech - owl 60. The dignity and usefulness of biography - 344- - 351 357 364 370 376 - 381 61. A Londoner's NUMB . 61. A Londoner's visit to the country 62. CONTENTS . vii.
... by philosophy 59. An account of Suspirius , the human screech - owl 60. The dignity and usefulness of biography - 344- - 351 357 364 370 376 - 381 61. A Londoner's NUMB . 61. A Londoner's visit to the country 62. CONTENTS . vii.
Page 4
... human mind , the desire of good , and the fear of evil . For who can wonder that , allured on one side , and frightened on the other , some should endeavour to gain favour by bribing the judge with an appearance of respect which they do ...
... human mind , the desire of good , and the fear of evil . For who can wonder that , allured on one side , and frightened on the other , some should endeavour to gain favour by bribing the judge with an appearance of respect which they do ...
Page 8
... human state , to rouse mortals from their dream , and inform them of the . silent celerity of time , that we may believe authors willing rather to transmit than examine so advantageous a principle , and more inclined to pursue a track ...
... human state , to rouse mortals from their dream , and inform them of the . silent celerity of time , that we may believe authors willing rather to transmit than examine so advantageous a principle , and more inclined to pursue a track ...
Page 9
... human mind are not from plea- sure to pleasure , but from hope to hope . He that directs his steps to a certain point , must frequently turn his eyes to that place which he strives to reach ; he that undergoes the fatigue of labour ...
... human mind are not from plea- sure to pleasure , but from hope to hope . He that directs his steps to a certain point , must frequently turn his eyes to that place which he strives to reach ; he that undergoes the fatigue of labour ...
Page 11
... human species requires more to be cautioned against this anticipation of hap- piness , than those that aspire to the name of authors . A man of lively fancy no sooner finds a hint mov- ing in his mind , than he makes momentaneous ex ...
... human species requires more to be cautioned against this anticipation of hap- piness , than those that aspire to the name of authors . A man of lively fancy no sooner finds a hint mov- ing in his mind , than he makes momentaneous ex ...
Contents
66 | |
67 | |
175 | |
181 | |
188 | |
197 | |
199 | |
207 | |
30 | |
33 | |
40 | |
46 | |
53 | |
61 | |
62 | |
63 | |
64 | |
65 | |
213 | |
251 | |
263 | |
282 | |
296 | |
301 | |
325 | |
332 | |
344 | |
441 | |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
acquaintance amusements appearance beauty calamity caution censure challenge of honours common consider contempt danger delight desire discover easily effects ELPHINSTON endeavour enjoy envy Epictetus equally errour evils excellence eyes fame faults favour fear flatter folly force fortune frequently friends future gain gayety genius give happen happiness heart hinder honour hope hopes and fears hour human imagination incited inclined indulge Jovianus Pontanus Jupiter kind knowledge labour lady learning lenitives less lest lives mankind March 20 marriage means ment mind miscarriage misery nature neglect nerally ness never NUMB objects observed once opinion ourselves OVID pain passions perhaps Periander pleasing pleasure praise precepts produce Prudentius publick RAMBLER reason reflection regard reproach reputation SATURDAY seldom sentiments soon sophism stone of Sisyphus suffer thing thought tion told topicks TUESDAY vanity virtue wish write young
Popular passages
Page 385 - But biography has often been allotted to writers, who seem very little acquainted with the nature of their task, or very negligent about the performance.
Page 416 - We then relax our vigour, and resolve no longer to be terrified with crimes at a distance, but rely upon our own constancy, and venture to approach what we resolve never to touch. We thus enter the bowers of ease, and repose in the shades of security.
Page 382 - ... no species of -writing seems more worthy of cultivation than biography, since none can be more delightful or more useful, none can more certainly enchain the heart by irresistible interest, or more widely diffuse instruction to every diversity of condition.
Page 415 - Thus, forlorn and distressed, he wandered . through the wild without knowing whither he was going, or whether he was every moment drawing nearer to safety or to destruction. At length, not fear but labour began to overcome him ; his breath grew short, and his knees trembled, and he was on the point of lying down, in resignation to his fate, when he beheld, through the brambles, the glimmer of a taper.
Page 24 - ... to teach the means of avoiding the snares which are laid by TREACHERY for INNOCENCE, without infusing any wish for that superiority...
Page 22 - They are the entertainment of minds unfurnished with ideas, and therefore easily susceptible of impressions; not fixed by principles, and therefore easily following the current of fancy; not informed by experience, and consequently open to every false suggestion and partial account.
Page 26 - In narratives, where historical veracity has no place, I cannot discover why there should not be exhibited the most perfect idea of virtue; of virtue not angelical, nor above probability, for what we cannot credit we shall never imitate, but the highest and purest that humanity can reach...
Page 20 - E works of fiction, with which the present generation seems more particularly delighted, are such as exhibit life in its true state, diversified only by accidents that daily happen in the world, and influenced by passions and qualities which are really to be found in conversing with mankind.
Page 22 - In the romances formerly written, every transaction and sentiment was so remote from all that passes among men, that the reader was in very little danger of making any applications to himself; the virtues and crimes were equally beyond his sphere of activity; and he amused himself with heroes and with traitors, deliverers and persecutors, as with beings of another species, whose actions were regulated upon motives of their own, and who had neither faults nor excellences in common with himself.
Page 412 - As he passed along, his ears were delighted with the morning song of the bird of paradise; he was fanned by the last flutters of the sinking breeze, and sprinkled with dew by groves of spices; he sometimes contemplated the towering height of the oak, monarch of the hills; and sometimes caught...