Lectures on General Literature, Poetry, &c., Delivered at the Royal Institution in 1830 and 1831 |
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Page 1
... period of time into a collection of sixty - four volumes , comprising a great variety of subjects ; indeed , it may be said to contain almost the whole circle of the sciences , and very many of the depart- ments of literature ; and it ...
... period of time into a collection of sixty - four volumes , comprising a great variety of subjects ; indeed , it may be said to contain almost the whole circle of the sciences , and very many of the depart- ments of literature ; and it ...
Page 12
... periods far inferior to the present in wealth , luxury , general intelligence , and literary taste ; yet in their re- spective countries their great poems have not since been equalled , nor is it probable that they will here- after be ...
... periods far inferior to the present in wealth , luxury , general intelligence , and literary taste ; yet in their re- spective countries their great poems have not since been equalled , nor is it probable that they will here- after be ...
Page 30
... period , or a country , in which a poet could live by the fruits of his labours . This circumstance ( in no respect dishonourable to the art ) has been a snare by which multitudes of its professors have been tempted to dishonour both it ...
... period , or a country , in which a poet could live by the fruits of his labours . This circumstance ( in no respect dishonourable to the art ) has been a snare by which multitudes of its professors have been tempted to dishonour both it ...
Page 36
... periods , is as fabulous as the mythology of the gods , which usually precedes the traditions of the men that first made and then worshipped them . Poetry , in one sense , builds up the ruins of his- tory , fallen otherwise into ...
... periods , is as fabulous as the mythology of the gods , which usually precedes the traditions of the men that first made and then worshipped them . Poetry , in one sense , builds up the ruins of his- tory , fallen otherwise into ...
Page 37
... periods , before the fashions of those strange times were passed away . Poetry is thus the illuminator of history , the paths of which , D in early times , would have been dark indeed , THE PRE - EMINENCE OF POETRY . 37.
... periods , before the fashions of those strange times were passed away . Poetry is thus the illuminator of history , the paths of which , D in early times , would have been dark indeed , THE PRE - EMINENCE OF POETRY . 37.
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Popular passages
Page 260 - Judah is a lion's whelp : from the prey, my son, thou art gone up : he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion ; who shall rouse him up ? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until he come to Shiloh ; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Page 173 - Fair laughs the morn, and soft the zephyr blows, While proudly riding o'er the azure realm In gallant trim the gilded vessel goes; Youth on the prow, and Pleasure at the helm; Regardless of the sweeping whirlwind's sway, That, hush'd in grim repose, expects his evening prey.
Page 29 - And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow From the red gash, fall heavy, one by one, Like the first of a thunder-shower ; and now The arena swims around him— he is gone, Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hail'd the wretch who won. He heard it, but he heeded not— his eyes Were with his heart, and that was far away...
Page 28 - I see before me the Gladiator lie : He leans upon his hand ; his manly brow Consents to death, but conquers agony, And his drooped head sinks gradually low : And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow From the red gash, fall heavy, one by one, Like the first of a thunder-shower ; and now The arena swims around him ; he is gone, Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hailed the wretch who won.
Page 241 - Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain; who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh upon the wings of the wind; who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire.
Page 114 - Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes: Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a sea-change Into something rich and strange. Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell : Hark! now I hear them, — ding-dong, bell.
Page 173 - And unburied remain Inglorious on the plain : Give the vengeance due To the valiant crew ! Behold how they toss their torches on high, How they point to the Persian abodes And glittering temples of their hostile gods. — The princes applaud with a furious joy : And the king seized a flambeau with zeal to destroy ; Thais led the way To light him to his prey, And like another Helen, fired another Troy...
Page 169 - How sleep the Brave who sink to rest By all their country's wishes blest! When Spring, with dewy fingers cold, Returns to deck their hallowed mould, She there shall dress a sweeter sod Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. By fairy hands their knell is rung; By forms unseen their dirge is sung; There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, To bless the turf that wraps their clay; And Freedom shall awhile repair, To dwell a weeping hermit there!
Page 86 - As the cloud is consumed and vanisheth away: so he that goeth down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him any more.
Page 13 - Before all temples the upright heart and pure, Instruct me, for thou know'st; thou from the first Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread, Dove-like, sat'st brooding on the vast abyss, And mad'st it pregnant: what in me is dark Illumine; what is low, raise and support; That to the height of this great argument I may assert eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men.