Memoirs of the Latter Years of the Right Honourable Charles James Fox

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Richard Phillips, 1811 - Great Britain - 552 pages

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Page 97 - Industrious habits in each bosom reign, And industry begets a love of gain. Hence all the good from opulence that springs, With all those ills superfluous treasure brings, Are here display'd.
Page 409 - Italiam non sponte sequor." talia dicentem iamdudum aversa tuetur, hue illuc volvens oculos, totumque pererrat luminibus tacitis, et sic accensa profatur : ' nee tibi diva parens, generis nee Dardanus auctor, perfide ; sed duris genuit te cautibus horrens Caucasus, Hyrcanaeque admorunt ubera tigrcs.
Page 523 - My chief objection (I mean that to the character of jffineas) is, of course, not so much felt in the three first books ; but, afterwards, he is always either insipid or odious, sometimes excites interest against him, and never for him.
Page 410 - Amidst the swains to show my book-learned skill, Around my fire an evening group to draw, And tell of all I felt and all I saw; And, as a hare, whom hounds and horns pursue, Pants to the place from whence at first she flew, I still had hopes, my long vexations past, Here to return - and die at home at last.
Page 530 - Il est impossible que vous, Général, le premier dans cet ordre d'hommes qui, pour se comparer et se placer, embrassent tous les siècles, vouliez qu'une telle révolution, tant de victoires et de sang, de douleurs et de prodiges, n'aient pour le monde et pour vous, d'autre résultat qu'un régime arbitraire.
Page 491 - A<rv,;, is the one that has most poetry in it. It is very good, and to say that it is inferior to Homer's and Virgil's shields, is not saying much against it. Pindar is too often obscure, and sometimes much more spun out and wordy than suits my taste ; but there are passages in him quite divine. I have not read above half his works.
Page 442 - We continued our reading of Johnson's Lives of the Poets. How often at midnight, as he listened with avidity, and made the remarks that occurred, he apologized to me for keeping me from my rest, but, still delighted with our reading, would say, " Well, you may go on a little more," as I assured him that I liked the reading aloud. At these times he would defend Johnson, when I blamed his severity and unwillingness to allow, and incapacity to appreciate, poetical merit, — would refer me to his life...
Page 490 - The tenth book has always been a particular favourite with me, not so much on account of Diomede's and Ulysses's exploits (though that part is excellent too), as on account of the beginning, which describes so forcibly the anxious state of the generals, with an enemy so near, and having had rather the worst of the former day. I do not know any description any where that sets the thing so clearly before one ; and then the brotherly feelings of Agamemnon towards Menelaus, and the modesty and amiableness...
Page 283 - At this time an invitation was sent to Mr. Fox from Miss Helen Maria Williams. She requested the pleasure of his company to an evening party, and to express how much this honour would gratify her, wrote that it would be a ' white day
Page 497 - Or fino agli occhi ben nuota nel golfo Delle delizie e delle cose belle," may seem to some an expression rather too familiar, and nearly foolish ; but it is much better for describing the sort of situation in which the two heroes are supposed to be, than the Romito Amante of Tasso ; not to mention the garden of Armida being all on the inside of the palace, and walled round by it, instead of the beautiful country described by Ariosto. Do you not think, too, that Spenser has much improved upon Tasso,...

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