A General Biographical Dictionary, 2. köide

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Whittaker and Company, 1833

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Page 30 - ... to dive into the depths of dungeons; to plunge into the infection of hospitals ; to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain ; to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt ; to remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, to visit the forsaken, and to compare and collate the distresses of all men in all countries.
Page 18 - Hampden, that he had a head to contrive, a tongue to persuade, and a hand to execute, any mischief.
Page 30 - I cannot name this gentleman without remarking that his labours and writings have done much to open the eyes and hearts of mankind. He has visited all Europe ; — not to survey the sumptuousness of palaces, or the stateliness of temples ; not to make accurate measurements of the remains of ancient grandeur, nor to form a scale of the curiosity of modern art ; not to collect medals, or collate manuscripts, but to dive into the depths of dungeons; to plunge into the...
Page 30 - I had no sooner spoken these words but a loud though yet gentle noise came from the heavens, for it was like nothing on earth, which did so comfort and cheer me that I took my petition as granted, and that I had the sign I demanded, whereupon also I resolved to print my book.
Page 17 - It was at Rome, on the 15th of October 1764, as I sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, while the bare-footed friars were singing vespers in the Temple of Jupiter, that the idea of writing the decline and fall of the city first started to my mind.
Page 30 - Veritate; if it be for Thy glory, I beseech Thee give me some sign from heaven ; if not, I shall suppress it.
Page 18 - A soul supreme, in each hard instance tried, Above all pain, all passion, and all pride, The rage of power, the blast of public breath The lust of lucre, and the dread of death.
Page 34 - Milton vindicated from the Charge of Plagiarism brought against him by Mr. Lauder, and Lauder himself convicted of several forgeries, and gross impositions on the public, by John Douglas, MA.
Page 11 - Fables," written professedly for the instruction of the duke of Cumberland, and published with a dedication to that prince in 1726 ¡ but though they were popular, they failed to servo him at court. He thereupon wrote
Page 30 - Although enthusiastically fond of music, he had for some time devoted his leisure hours to the study of mathematics and astronomy; and, being dissatisfied with the only telescopes within his reach, he set about constructing one for himself, in which arduous undertaking he succeeded, having, in 1774, finished an excellent reflecting instrument of five feet with his own 'hands. Encouraged by his success, he proceeded to complete larger telescopes, and soon constructed a...

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