Anecdotes of Polite Literature ...G. Burnet, 1764 - Literature |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 19
Page 2
... whole series of the com- pofition ; nor will a man after the per- ufal of thousands of thefe performances , find his knowledge enlarged with a fingle view of nature not produced be- fore , or his imagination amused with any new ...
... whole series of the com- pofition ; nor will a man after the per- ufal of thousands of thefe performances , find his knowledge enlarged with a fingle view of nature not produced be- fore , or his imagination amused with any new ...
Page 11
... whole , the principal merit of the paftorals of Pope , confifts in their correct and mu- fical verfification ; mufical , to a degree of which rhyme could hardly be thought capable ; and in giving the first fpecimen of that harmony in ...
... whole , the principal merit of the paftorals of Pope , confifts in their correct and mu- fical verfification ; mufical , to a degree of which rhyme could hardly be thought capable ; and in giving the first fpecimen of that harmony in ...
Page 27
tire were as furprising as they were swift ; the taste of the whole kingdom was re- formed immediately , and the abfurdity of their former notions was confi- dered in its true light . No modern fa- tire was ever so generally read as ...
tire were as furprising as they were swift ; the taste of the whole kingdom was re- formed immediately , and the abfurdity of their former notions was confi- dered in its true light . No modern fa- tire was ever so generally read as ...
Page 28
... whole work bears many figns of a fertile imagination . This author would have been in higher efteem , had he not wrote in too licentious a ftrain . Boileau's fatires and his Lutrin , dif- cover throughout an infinite deal of poignant ...
... whole work bears many figns of a fertile imagination . This author would have been in higher efteem , had he not wrote in too licentious a ftrain . Boileau's fatires and his Lutrin , dif- cover throughout an infinite deal of poignant ...
Page 29
... whole fpecies alike , and endeavours to fhow by fome fuper- ficial ftrokes of wit , that brutes are the most excellent creatures of the two ? A fatire fhould expofe nothing but what is corrigible , and make a due difcrimi 1 nation ...
... whole fpecies alike , and endeavours to fhow by fome fuper- ficial ftrokes of wit , that brutes are the most excellent creatures of the two ? A fatire fhould expofe nothing but what is corrigible , and make a due difcrimi 1 nation ...
Common terms and phrases
abfurd abuſe Addiſon admirable againſt Alcman alfo almoſt anſwer beautiful beſt Boileau celebrated character Charles Dryden compofed compofitions confiderable contain converfation deferves defire difplay Dryden Dunciad Eclogues effays excellent expreffion expreffive faid fame fatire fays feems fenfe ferve feveral fhall fhepherds fhould filk filly fince fineſt firft fome foon foul fpeaks fpirit ftrokes fubject fublime fuch fuperior fure genius Giorgione greateſt himſelf honour houſe Houyhnhnms Hudibras humour imitation inftances juft laft language laſt Lord Halifax Lord Harvey merit moft moſt mufic muft muſt never numbers obferved paffage paffed paffions paftoral painting perfon pieces pleafing pleaſe pleaſure poem poet poetic poetry Pope Pope's praiſe prefent publiſhed purpoſe racter Rambler refpect ribaldry ridicule rife ſeveral Shakeſpear ſome ſpeak taſte thefe themſelves Theſe lines thing thofe thoſe thouſand tion tranflation underſtanding univerfally uſed Verfe verfification Verſe whofe whoſe writings wrote Zimri
Popular passages
Page 86 - Me, let the tender office long engage To rock the cradle of reposing age, With lenient arts extend a mother's breath, Make languor smile, and smooth the bed of death; Explore the thought, explain the asking eye, And keep a while one parent from the sky ! On cares like these, if length of days attend, May Heaven, to bless those days, preserve my friend!
Page 175 - In the worst inn's worst room, with mat half-hung, The floors of plaster, and the walls of dung, On once a flock-bed, but repair'd with straw, With tape-tied curtains, never meant to draw, The George and Garter dangling from that bed Where tawdry yellow strove with dirty red, Great Villiers lies — alas!
Page 55 - And born to write, converse, and live with ease: Should such a man, too fond to rule alone, Bear, like the Turk, no brother near the throne...
Page 56 - Who but must laugh if such a man there be ? Who would not weep if Atticus were he?
Page 167 - Lo! at the Wheels of her Triumphal Car, Old England's Genius, rough with many a Scar, Dragg'd in the Dust! his Arms hang idly round, His Flag inverted trails along the ground! Our Youth, all liv'ry'd o'er with foreign Gold, Before her dance; behind her crawl the Old!
Page 36 - A man so various that he seemed to be Not one, but all mankind's epitome : Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong, Was everything by starts and nothing long; But in the course of one revolving moon Was chymist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon ; Then all for women, painting, rhyming, drinking, Besides ten thousand freaks that died in thinking.
Page 169 - Thus with each gift of nature and of art, And wanting nothing but an honest heart ; Grown all to all, from no one vice exempt; And most contemptible to shun contempt...
Page 36 - Besides ten thousand freaks that died in thinking. Blest madman, who could every hour employ With something new to wish or to enjoy ! Railing and praising were his usual themes, And both, to show his judgment, in extremes : So over violent or over civil That every man with him was God or Devil.
Page 13 - This piece was received with greater applause than was ever known. Besides being acted in London sixtythree days without interruption, and renewed the next season with equal applause, it spread into all the great towns of England; was played in many places to the thirtieth and fortieth time ; at Bath and Bristol fifty, &c.
Page 34 - If his grace and his wit improve both proportionably, he will hardly find that he has gained much by the change he has made, from having no religion, to choose one of the worst.