Tale of a tub. Battle of the books. Polite conversation

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Archibald Constable and Company Edinburgh; White, Cochrane, and Company and Gale, Curtis, and Fenner, London; and John Cumming, Dublin., 1814

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Page 68 - ... the maggots are the best : it is a sack-posset, wherein the deeper you go you will find it the sweeter. Wisdom is a hen, whose cackling we must value and consider, because it is attended with an egg. But then, lastly, it is a nut, which, unless you choose with judgment, may cost you a tooth and pay you with nothing but a worm.
Page 17 - There is indeed an exception, when any great genius thinks it worth his while to expose a foolish piece ; so we still read Marvell's answer to Parker * with pleasure, though the book it answers be sunk long ago...
Page 160 - For the brain, in its natural position and state of serenity, disposeth its owner to pass his life in the common forms, without any thought of subduing multitudes to his own power, his reasons, or his visions; and the more he shapes his understanding by the pattern of human learning, the less he is inclined to form parties after his particular notions, because that instructs him in his private infirmities, as well as in the stubborn ignorance of the people.
Page 314 - But every single character in Shakespeare is as much an individual, as those in life itself; it is as impossible to find any two alike; and such as from their relation or affinity in any respect appear most to be twins, will upon comparison be found remarkably distinct.
Page 75 - On their first appearance, our three adventurers met with a very bad reception ; and soon, with great sagacity, guessing out the reason, they quickly began to improve in the good qualities of the town : they writ, and rallied, and rhymed, and sung, and said, and said nothing: they drank, and fought, and whored, and slept, and swore, and took snuff...
Page 314 - ... had all the speeches been printed without the very names of the persons, I believe one might have applied them with certainty to every speaker.
Page 250 - ... enemies, such honour of learned men, such esteem of good, such knowledge of life, such contempt of death, with such fierceness of nature and cruelty of revenge, could never be represented but by him that possessed them ; and I esteem Lucian to have been no more capable of writing than of acting what Phalaris did.
Page 229 - The avenues to his castle were guarded with turnpikes and palisadoes, all after the modern way of fortification. After you had passed several courts you came to the centre, wherein you might behold the constable himself in his own lodgings, which had windows fronting to each avenue, and ports to sally out upon all occasions of prey or defence.
Page 76 - For about this time it happened a sect arose whose tenets obtained and spread very far, especially in the grand monde and among everybody of good fashion. They worshipped a sort of idol who, as their doctrine delivered, did daily create men by a kind of manufactory operation.
Page 145 - At other times were to be seen several hundred linked together in a circular chain, with every man a pair of bellows applied to his neighbour's breech, by which they blew up each other to the shape and size of a tun ; and for that reason, jvith great propriety of speech, did. usually call their bodies, their vessels.

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