Selected Readings II - 1672-1800

1672-1800

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Sir Richard Steele—(Born in 1672, died in 1729.)
I		Of Companions and Flatterers	3
II		The Story-Teller and His Art.	7
		(From The Guardian)
III		Sir Roger and the Widow.	10
		(From The Spectator)
IV		The Coverley Family Portraits.	16
		(From The Spectator)
V		On Certain Symptoms of Greatness.	21
		(From The Tatler)
VI		How to Be Happy tho Married.	26
		(From The Tatler)
Lord Bolingbroke—(Born in 1678, died in 1751.)
I		Of the Shortness of Human Life	32
II		Rules for the Study of History.	36
		(One of the "Letters on the Study of History")
Alexander Pope—(Born in 1688, died in 1744.)
I		An Ancient English Country Seat.	41
		(A Letter to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu)
II		His Compliments to Lady Mary.	47
		(A Letter to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu)
III		How to Make an Epic Poem.	52
		(From The Guardian)
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu—(Born in 1689, died in 1762.)
I		On Happiness in the Matrimonial State.	58
		(A Letter to Edward Wortley Montagu before she married him)
II		Inoculation for the Smallpox.	63
		(A Letter to Sarah Criswell, written from Adrianople, Turkey)
Lord Chesterfield—(Born in 1694, died in 1773.)
I		Of Good Manners, Dress and the World.	66
		(From the "Letters to His Son")
II		Of Attentions to Ladies.	71
		(From the "Letters to His Son")
Henry Fielding—(Born in 1707, died in 1754.)
I		Tom the Hero Enters the Stage.	75
		(From "Tom Jones")
II		Partridge Sees Garrick at the Play.	83
		(From "Tom Jones")
III		Mr. Adams in a Political Light.	89
		(From "Joseph Andrews")
Samuel Johnson—(Born in 1709, died in 1784.)
I		On Publishing His "Dictionary."	94
		(From the Preface to the "Dictionary")
II		Pope and Dryden Compared.	97
		(From the "Lives of the Poets")
III		Letter to Chesterfield on the Completion of the "Dictionary."	101
		(From Boswell's "Life")
IV		On the Advantages of Living in a Garret.	104
		(From The Rambler)
David Hume—(Born in 1711, died in 1776.)
I		The Character of Queen Elizabeth.	110
		(From the "History of England")
II		The Defeat of the Armada.	113
		(From the "History of England")
III		The First Principles of Government	118
Laurence Sterne—(Born in 1713, died in 1768.)
I		The Starling in Captivity.	123
		(From "The Sentimental Journey")
II		To Moulines with Maria.	127
		(From "The Sentimental Journey")
III		The Death of LeFevre.	129
		(From "Tristram Shandy")
IV		Passages from the Romance of My Uncle Toby and the Widow.	131
		(From "Tristram Shandy")
Thomas Gray—(Born in 1716, died in 1771.)
I		Warwick Castle.	141
		(A Letter to Thomas Wharton)
II		To His Friend Mason on the Death of Mason's Mother	143
III		On His Own Writings.	144
		(A Letter to Horace Walpole)
IV		His Friendship for Bonstetten.	146
		(From a Letter to Bonstetten)
Horace Walpole—(Born in 1717, died in 1797.)
I		Hogarth.	149
		(From the "Anecdotes of Painting in England")
II		The War in America.	154
		(From a Letter written at Strawberry Hill)
III		The Death of George II.	155
		(A Letter to Sir Horace Mann)
Gilbert White—(Born in 1720, died in 1793.)
		The Chimney Swallow.	158
		(From "The Natural History of Selborne")
Adam Smith—(Born in 1723, died in 1790.)
I		Of Ambition Misdirected.	163
		(From the "Theory of Moral Sentiments")
II		The Advantages of a Division of Labor.	166
		(From "The Wealth of Nations")
Sir William Blackstone—(Born in 1723, died in 1780.)
		Professional Soldiers in Free Countries.	169
		(From the "Commentaries")
Oliver Goldsmith—(Born in 1728, died in 1774.)
I		The Ambitions of the Vicar's Family.	177
		(From "The Vicar of Wakefield")
II		Sagacity in Insects.	182
		(From "The Bee")
III		A Chinaman's View of London.	188
		(From the "Citizen of the World")
Edmund Burke—(Born in 1729, died in 1797.)
I		The Principles of Good Taste.	194
		(From "The Sublime and Beautiful")
II		A Letter to a Noble Lord	207
III		On the Death of His Son	212
IV		Marie Antoinette.	214
		(From the "Reflections on the Revolution in France")
William Cowper—(Born in 1731, died in 1800.)
I		Of Keeping One's Self Employed.	217
		(A Letter to John Newton)
II		Of Johnson's Treatment of Milton.	219
		(Letter to the Rev. William Unwin)
III		On the Publication of His Books.	221
		(Letter to the Rev. William Unwin)
Edward Gibbon—(Born in 1737, died in 1794.)
I		The Romance of His Youth.	226
		(From the "Memoirs")
II		The Inception and Completion of the "Decline and Fall."	229
		(From the "Memoirs")
III		The Fall of Zenobia.	230
		(From "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire")
IV		Alaric's Entry into Rome.	237
		(From "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire")
V		The Death of Hosein.	242
		(From "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire")
VI		The Causes of the Destruction of the City of Rome.	246
		(From "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire")