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Title: Through the Year With Famous Authors
Author: Mabel Patterson
Release Date: January 5, 2013 [EBook #40412]
Language: English
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THROUGH THE YEAR
WITH FAMOUS AUTHORS
BY
MABEL PATTERSON
WALTER NEALE
PUBLISHER OF GENERAL LITERATURE
118 EAST 28TH STREET
NEW YORK
Copyright, 1925
BY
MABEL PATTERSON
JANUARY
JANUARY
There is no moment like the present; not only so, but, moreover,
there is no moment at all, that is, no instant force and energy,
but in the present. The man who will not execute his resolutions
when they are fresh upon him can have no hope from them
afterwards: they will be dissipated, lost, and perish in the hurry
and skurry of the world, or sunk in the slough of indolence.
--_Maria Edgeworth_.
MARIA EDGEWORTH, a noted English novelist, was born in Black Bourton,
Oxfordshire, January 1, 1767, and died in Edgeworthstown, Ireland, May,
1849. She wrote: "Early Lessons," "Castle Rackrent," "Tales of
Fashionable Life," "Belinda," "Leonora," "Moral Tales," "The Modern
Griselda," "Helen," "Ormond," and "Patronage."
'Tis always morning somewhere in the world.
"Orion," Book iii, Canto ii (1843).--_Richard Henry Horne_.
RICHARD HENRY HORNE, a famous English miscellaneous writer, was born
January 1, 1803, and died March 13, 1884. His principal works are: "The
Dreamer and the Worker," "Cosmo de' Medici," "Orion," "A New Spirit of
the Age," "The Death of Marlowe," "Judas Iscariot, A Miracle Play,"
"Australian Facts and Prospects," and "Exposition of the False Medium,
and Barriers Excluding Men of Genius from the Public."
Ah, the key of your life, that passes all wards, opens all locks,
Is not I will, but I must, I must, I must,--and I do it.
--_A. H. Clough_.
ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH, an English poet of great renown, was born in
Liverpool, January 1, 1819; and died at Florence, Italy, November 13,
1861. Among his noted works may be mentioned: "Ambarvalia: Poems by
Thomas Burbidge and A. H. Clough," "Poems and Prose Remains,"
"Plutarch's Lives: the Translation called Dryden's Corrected," etc.
And what is sorrow? 'Tis a boundless sea.
And what is joy?
A little pearl in that deep ocean's bed;
I sought it--found it--held it o'er my head,
And to my soul's annoy,
It fell into the ocean's depth again,
And now I look and long for it in vain.
"Sorrow and Joy,"--_Alexander Petöfi_.
ALEXANDER PETÖFI, a celebrated Hungarian poet, was born at Kis-Koros,
near Pesth, January 1, 1823, and died July 31, 1849. His chief works
are: "The Wine-Bibbers," "Coriolanus" (a drama), and his famous song
"Talpra Magyar" (Up, Magyar), the Hungarian _Marseillaise_.
I think, ofttimes, that lives of men may be
Likened to wandering winds that come and go
Not knowing whence they rise, whither they blow
O'er the vast globe, voiceful of grief or glee.
"A Comparison,"--_Paul Hamilton Hayne_.
PAUL HAMILTON HAYNE, a distinguished American poet, was born in
Charleston, S. C., January 1, 1830, and died at Augusta, Ga., July 6,
1886. He has written: "Sonnets and Other Poems," "Avolio, a Legend of
the Island of Cos," "Legends and Lyrics," "The Mountain of the Lovers,"
etc.
Then rushed to meet the insulting foe;
They took the spear, but left the shield.
"To the Memory of the Americans who fell at Eutaw,"--_Philip
Freneau_.
PHILIP FRENEAU, a noted American poet, was born in New York City,
January 2, 1752, and died near Freehold, N. J., December 18, 1832. He
wrote: "Eutaw Springs," "The College Examination," "The Home of Night,"
"The Indian Student," and "Lines to a Wild Honeysuckle."
Men of letters and great artists are the lights of a nation; they
are what make it great; they are what give it a place in history.
"Advance of the English Novel,"--_William Lyon Phelps_.
WILLIAM LYON PHELPS, a celebrated university professor and literary
critic, was born at New Haven, Connecticut, January 2, 1865. He has
written "Selections from the Poetry and Prose of Thomas Gray," "Irving's
Sketch Book," "The Best Plays of Chapman," "The Novels of Samuel
Richardson," (20 vols.), "The Works of Jane Austen" (12 vols.),
"Stevenson's Essays," "The Pure Gold of Nineteenth Century Literature,"
"Essays on Modern Novelists," "Essays on Russian Novelists," "Essays on
Books," "The Advance of the English Novel," "The Advance of English
Poetry," "Reading the Bible," "Essays on Modern Dramatists."
He is one of those wise philanthropists who in a time of famine
would vote for nothing but a supply of toothpicks.
--_Douglas Jerrold_.
DOUGLAS WILLIAM JERROLD, a noted English humorist, was born in London,
England, January 3, 1803, and died there June 8, 1857. Some of his
well-known works are: "The Rent Day," "Retired from Business," "Story of
a Feather," "Nell Gwynne," "The Bubbles of the Day."
You can't expect anything from a pig but a grunt.
"Fairy Tales,"--_Grimm_.
JACOB GRIMM, a famous philologist, archæologist, and folklorist, was
born at Hanau, January 4, 1785, and died at Berlin, September 20, 1863.
He wrote: "The Poetry of the Meistersingers," "German Mythology,"
"History of the German Language," "German Grammar," etc. His fame
rests, however, upon his celebrated work, "Fables for Children," written
in collaboration with his brother Wilhelm, and best-known as, "Grimm's
Fairy Tales."
I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem
to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and
diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a
prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay
all undiscovered before me.
Brewster's "Memoirs of Newton," Vol. ii, Chap. xxvii.--_Isaac
Newton_.
SIR ISAAC NEWTON, the renowned English philosopher and mathematician,
was born at Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, January 5, 1643, and died at
Kensington, March 31, 1727. Among his works are: "Principia," "Theory of
Light and Colors," "Optical Readings," "On Motion," "Opticks," etc.
The phrase, "public office is a public trust," has of late become
common property.
--_Charles Sumner_ (May 31, 1872).
CHARLES SUMNER, a distinguished American statesman, was born in Boston,
January 6, 1811, and died in Washington, D. C., March 11, 1874. His
speeches, orations, etc., were collected and published (1870-83) in a
15-vol. edition.
There are many moments in friendship as in love, when silence is
beyond words. The faults of our friends may be clear to us, but it
is well to seem to shut our eyes to them.
--_Ouida_.
LOUISE DE LA RAMÉE (OUIDA), a famous English novelist of French
extraction, was born at Bury St. Edmunds, January 7, 1839, and died
January 25, 1908. Among her numerous works are: "Held in Bondage,"
"Strathmore," "Chandos," "Idalia," "Under Two Flags," "A Leaf in the
Storm," "Pascarel," "In a Winter City," "Friendship," "A Village
Commune," "Wanda," "A House Party," "Guilderoy," "Moths," "A Rainy
June," "Views and Opinions," etc.
The Darwinian theory, even when carried out to its extreme logical
conclusion, not only does not oppose, but lends a decided support
to, a belief in the spiritual nature of man. It shows us how man's
body may have been developed from that of a lower animal form
under the law of natural selection; but it also teaches us that we
possess intellectual and moral faculties which could not have been
so developed, but must have had another origin; and for this
origin we can only find an adequate cause in the unseen universe
of Spirit.
"Darwinism,"--_A. R. Wallace_.
ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE, a renowned English naturalist, was born at Usk in
Monmouthshire, January 8, 1822, and died November 7, 1913. He wrote:
"Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro," "The Malay Archipelago," "On the
Geographical Distribution of Animals," "Tropical Nature," "Darwinism: An
Exposition of the Theory of Natural Selection," "Man's Place in the
Universe," "My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions," "Is Mars
Habitable?" "The World of Life," "Social Environment and Moral
Progress," "The Revolt of Democracy," etc.
I have always held the old-fashioned opinion that the primary
object of a work of fiction should be to tell a story.
--_William Wilkie Collins_.
WILLIAM WILKIE COLLINS, a celebrated English novelist, was born in
London, January 8, 1824, and died there September 23, 1889. He wrote:
"The New Magdalen," "No Name," "Antonia," "Basil," "The Dead Secret,"
"Armadale," "Man and Wife," "Poor Miss Finch," "Miss or Mrs.?" "The Law
and the Lady," "The Two Destinies," "Heart and Science," "I Say No,"
"The Legacy of Cain," "The Moonstone," and "The Woman in White," his
greatest novel.
The all-pervading greatness of Shakespeare lies in his
comprehension of the ethical order of the world; [his dramas are]
the truest literary product of the time, because the most perfect
and concrete presentation of realized rationality.
--_D. J. Snider_.
DENTON JAQUES SNIDER, a distinguished American author, was born in Mt.
Gilead, Ohio, January 9, 1841. He is best known by his famous work, "A
Walk in Hellas." His other works include: "Homer in Chios," "Johnny
Appleseed's Rhymes," "Ancient European Philosophy," "Modern European
Philosophy," "Architecture," "World's Fair Studies," "Commentaries on
Froebel's Play Songs," "The Will and Its World," "The Life of Frederick
Froebel," "The Father of History," "Herodotus," "Social Institutions,"
"The State," "A Tour in Europe," "Cosmos and Diacosmos," etc.
Softly, O midnight hours,
Move softly o'er the bowers
Where lies in happy sleep a girl so fair:
For ye have power, men say,
Our hearts in sleep to sway
And cage cold fancies in a moonlight snare.
"Softly, O Midnight Hours,"--_Aubrey Thomas de Vere_.
AUBREY THOMAS DE VERE, a famous Irish poet and descriptive and political
essayist, son of Sir Aubrey De Vere, was born January 10, 1814, and died
in 1902. Among his works are: "Poems," "Irish Odes," "Alexander the
Great," "Picturesque Sketches of Greece and Turkey," "Constitutional and
Unconstitutional Political Action," "The Foray of Queen Meave and Other
Legends of Ireland's Heroic Age," "The Sisters," "Legends of the Saxon
Saints," "St. Peter's Chains," "Essays Chiefly on Poetry," "Essays
Chiefly Literary and Ethical," "Recollections," etc.
I know of no other English-speaking poet of the day who can turn a
song so gracefully and easily as Mr. Stoddard can. Certain of his
lyrics are, to my mind, unsurpassed for haunting charm of cadence.
He has also written several odes of admirable nobility and
stateliness.
"Poems of Wild Life,"--_Charles G. D. Roberts_.
CHARLES GEORGE DOUGLAS ROBERTS, a celebrated Canadian poet, was born in
Douglas, N. B., January 10, 1860. Among his publications are: "Orion and
Other Poems," "In Divers Tones," "Canterbury Poets," "History of
Canada," "A Sister to Evangeline," "The Heart of the Ancient Wood," "The
Kindred of the Wild," "Barbara Ladd," "The Watchers of the Trails," "The
Heart that Knows," "The House in the Water," "Neighbours Unknown," "The
Feet of the Furtive," "Babes of the Wild," "The Ledge on Bald Face," "In
the Morning of Time," etc.
A national debt, if it is not excessive, will be to us a national
blessing.
--_Alexander Hamilton_.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON, an illustrious American statesman, was born in the
Island of Nevis, West Indies, January 11, 1757, and died near New York,
July 12, 1804. His "Collected Works," appeared in 1851.
The effect of every burden laid down is to leave us relieved; and
when the soul has laid down that of its faults at the feet of God,
it feels as though it had wings.
--_Eugénie de Guérin_.
EUGÉNIE DE GUÉRIN, a famous French diarist and prose-writer, was born
January 11, 1805, and died May 31, 1848. Jointly with her brother
Maurice, she wrote the "Journals," and "Letters."
I feel the rush of waves that round me rise,
The tossing of my boat upon the sea;
Few sunbeams linger in the stormy skies,
And youth's bright shore is lessening on the lee!
--_Bayard Taylor_.
BAYARD TAYLOR, an eminent American poet, and novelist, was born at
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, January 11, 1825, and died at Berlin,
Germany, December 19, 1878. His noted works are: "Views Afoot," "The
American Legend," "Poems and Ballads," "Poems of the Orient," "Travels
in Greece and Russia," "Poems of Home and Travel," "At Home and Abroad,"
"Hannah Thurston," "The Story of Kennett," "By-Ways of Europe," "The
Masque of the Gods," "Egypt and Iceland," "Home Pastorals, Ballads, and
Lyrics," "Dramatic Works," "Critical Essays and Literary Notes," etc.
A liberty to that only which is good, just, and honest.
"Life and Letters," Vol. ii, p. 341,--_John Winthrop_.
GOVERNOR JOHN WINTHROP, first Colonial governor of Massachusetts, and a
distinguished writer, was born near Groton, Suffolk, England, January
12, 1587, and died at Boston, March 26, 1649. He wrote: "A Modell of
Christian Charity," "Arbitrary Government Described," and a "History of
New England from 1630 to 1649," which was left by him in MS., and found
in his "Life and Letters," by Robert C. Winthrop.
People will not look forward to posterity who never look backward
to their ancestors.
"Reflections on the Revolution in France," Vol. iii,
p. 274--_Edmund Burke_.
EDMUND BURKE, an eminent British statesman and orator, was born in
Dublin, January 12, 1729, and died in Beaconsfield, England, July 9,
1797. He wrote: "A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas
of the Sublime and Beautiful," "Reflections on the French Revolution,"
"Letters on a Regicide Peace," "Works and Correspondence."
La crainte fit les dieux; l'audace a fait les rois.[1]
--_Crébillon_.
PROSPER JOLYOT DE CRÉBILLON, a celebrated French dramatist, was born at
Dijon, January 13, 1674, and died at Paris, June 14, 1762. His plays
include; "The Death of Brutus's Children," "Idomeneus," "Atreus and
Thyestes," "Electra," "Rhadamistus and Zénobia," "Xerxes," "Semiramis,"
"Pyrrhus," and "Catalina."
How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood,
When fond recollection presents them to view.
"The Old Oaken Bucket,"--_Samuel Woodworth_.
SAMUEL WOODWORTH, a noted American poet and journalist, was born at
Scituate, Mass., January 13, 1785, and died in New York City, December
9, 1842. His poem, "The Old Oaken Bucket," won for him great fame.
All quiet along the Potomac to-night,
No sound save the rush of the river,
While soft falls the dew on the face of the dead--
The picket's off duty forever.
"All quiet along the Potomac,"--_Ethel L. Beers_.
ETHEL LYNN BEERS, a well-known American poet, was born in Goshen, N. Y.,
January 13, 1827, and died in Orange, N. J., October 10, 1879. She is
the author of "All Quiet Along the Potomac, and Other Poems."
Oh, meet is the reverence unto Bacchus paid!
We will praise him still in the songs of our fatherland,
We will pour the sacred wine, the chargers lade,
And the victim kid shall unresisting stand,
Led by his horns to the altar, where we turn
The hazel spits while the dripping entrails burn.
"Georgics," Bk. ii, St. 17, L. 31 (H. W. Preston's
Translation).--_Vergil_.
HARRIET WATERS PRESTON, a distinguished American scholar, translator,
and writer, was born in Danvers, Mass., January 14 (?), 1836, and died
in 1911. Besides her translations of Mistral's "Mireio," Virgil's
"Georgics," etc., she has published: "Aspendale," "Troubadours and
Trouvéres," "Love in the Nineteenth Century," "A Year in Eden," etc.
Although I am a pious man, I am not the less a man.
"Le Tartuffe," Act. iii, Scene 3,--_Molière_.
JEAN BAPTISTE POQUELIN (MOLIÈRE), the greatest of French dramatists, was
born in Paris, January 15 (?), 1622, and died there, February 17, 1673.
Among his famous works are: "The Misanthrope," "The Learned Ladies,"
"The School for Wives," "The Imaginary Invalid," "The Miser," "Don
Juan," "The School for Husbands," and "Tartuffe," which is considered by
many to be his masterpiece.
Die Thränen sind des Schmerzes heilig Recht![2]
"Sappho, III, 5,"--_Fr. Grillparzer_.
FRANZ GRILLPARZER, a renowned Austrian poet and dramatist, was born in
Vienna, January 15, 1791, and died there January 21, 1872. Among his
noted works are: "Blanche of Castile," "The Ancestress," "Sappho," "The
Jewess of Toledo," "The Poor Minstrel," etc., also two famous poems,
"Waves of Ocean; Thrills of Love," and "In Thy Camp is Austria."
The pure, the beautiful, the bright,
That stirred our hearts in youth,
The impulse to a wordless prayer,
The dreams of love and truth,
The longings after something lost,
The spirit's yearning cry,
The strivings after better hopes,
These things can never die.
"Things that Never Die,"--_Sarah Doudney_.
SARAH DOUDNEY, a noted English writer of fiction, was born near
Portsmouth, England, January 15, 1843. She has written: "Under Grey
Walls," "The Pilot's Daughters," "Nothing But Leaves," "Under False
Colours," "The Lesson of the Water Mill," "The Missing Rubies," "When We
Two Parted," "Through Pain to Peace," "Pilgrims of the Night," "A
Cluster of Roses," "Silent Strings," "One of the Few," "Shadow and
Shine," etc.
Tant la plume a eu sous le roi d'avantage sur l'epée.[3]
"Mémoires," Vol. iii, p. 517 (1702), Ed. 1856.--_Saint-Simon_.
LOUIS DE ROUVROY, DUC DE SAINT-SIMON, the great French annalist, was
born January 16, 1675, and died March 2, 1755. His notable works are:
His famous "Memoirs," published in twenty volumes.
Early to bed and early to rise,
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
--_Benjamin Franklin_.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, the renowned American philosopher and statesman, was
born in Boston, January 16, 1706, and died in Philadelphia, April 17,
1790. He wrote his own "Autobiography," and other important works.
Dicen, que el primer consejo
Ha de ser de la muger.[4]
"El Medico de su. Houra," I, 2.--_Calderon_.
PEDRO CALDERON DE LA BARCA, the great Spanish dramatist, was born at
Madrid, January 17, 1600, and died May 25, 1681. Among his dramas may be
mentioned: "The Wonder-Working Magician," "The Schism of England," "The
Alcalde of Zalamea," "No Magic Like Love," "The Divine Orpheus."
Ove son leggi,
Tremar non dee chi leggi non infranse.[5]
"Virginia," II., i.,--_Alfieri_.
COUNT VITTORIO ALFIERI, a celebrated Italian dramatist, was born at Asti
in Piedmont, January 17, 1749, and died at Florence, October 8, 1803.
Among his many works may be mentioned: "Cleopatra," "Polinice,"
"Antigone," "Agide," "Bruto," "Saul," "Filippo," etc. He also wrote:
"Tyranny," "Essays on Literature and Government," odes on "American
Independence," and "Memoirs of His Life."
A good writer does not write as people write, but as he writes.
--_Montesquieu_.
CHARLES DE SECONDANT, BARON DE MONTESQUIEU, a famous French historian
and political philosopher, was born near Bordeaux, January 18, 1689, and
died in Paris, February 10, 1755. He wrote: "Persian Letters," "The
Temple of Cnidus," "Causes of Roman Greatness and Decline," "Dialogue of
Sylla Eucrates and Lysimachus," "Works," etc. Also his renowned work,
"Spirit of Laws," his masterpiece.
Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.
"Speech at Plymouth," Dec. 22, 1820. Vol. i, p. 44.--_Daniel
Webster_.
DANIEL WEBSTER, the illustrious American statesman and orator, was born
in Salisbury, N. H., January 18, 1782, and died in Marshfield, Mass.,
October 24, 1852.
Truth is like a pearl: he alone possesses it who has plunged into
the depths of life and torn his hands on the rocks of Time.
--_Laboulaye_.
EDOUARD RENÉ LEFÈBVRE DE LABOULAYE, a distinguished French jurist,
historian, and writer of tales, was born at Paris, January 18, 1811, and
died there May 25, 1883. His greatest work is a "Political History of
the United States, 1620-1789," (3 vols.) 1856-66. His other works are:
"The United States and France," "Paris in America," and a novel "Prince
Caniche." His best known works of fiction are the three series of "Blue
Stories."
The despot's heel is on thy shore,
Maryland!
His torch is at thy temple-door,
Maryland!
Avenge the patriotic gore
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland, my Maryland!
"My Maryland."--_James Rider Randall_.
JAMES RYDER RANDALL, a celebrated American song-writer, was born in
Baltimore, Md., January 18, 1839, and died in 1908. His poems include:
"The Sole Entry," "Arlington," "The Cameo Bracelet," "The Battle Cry of
the South," and his famous poem, "My Maryland!"
"Why wait," he said, "why wait for May,
When love can warm a winter's day?"
"Vignettes in Rhyme, Love in Winter."--_Austin Dobson_.
HENRY AUSTIN DOBSON, a famous English poet and man of letters, was born
at Plymouth, January 18, 1840, and died April 1, 1921. He has written:
"Proverbs in Porcelain," "Old-World Idyls," "Eighteenth-Century
Vignettes," "Vignettes in Rhyme and Vers de Société," "Four French
Women," "The Paladin of Philanthropy," "Side-Walk Studies," "De Libris,"
"Old Kensington Palace," "At Prior Park," "Rosalba's Journal and Other
Papers"; also "Lives of Fielding, Steele, Goldsmith," "William Hogarth,"
"Horace Walpole," "Richardson," "Fanny Burney," etc.
Literature is the daughter of heaven, who has descended upon earth
to soften and charm all human ills.
--_Bernardin de Saint-Pierre_.
BERNARDIN DE SAINT-PIERRE, the renowned French author was born in Havre,
January 19, 1737, and died at Eragny-sur-Oise, January 21, 1814. His
works include: "Voyage to the Isle of France," "Studies of Nature," "The
Indian Cottage," "Vows of a Solitary," "Harmonies of Nature," "On Nature
and Morality," "Voyage to Silesia," "Stories of Travel," "The Death of
Socrates," and his most famous work, "Paul and Virginia."
Woman's mission is a striking illustration of the truth that
happiness consists in doing the work for which we are naturally
fitted. Their mission is always the same; it is summed up in one
word,--Love.
"Positive Polity"--_Auguste Comte_.
AUGUSTE COMTE, the great French philosopher, was born at Montpellier,
January 19, 1798, and died in Paris, September 5, 1857. His most
celebrated works are: "Positive Philosophy," and "Positive Polity."
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
"A Dream within a Dream,"--_Edgar Allan Poe_.
EDGAR ALLAN POE, a celebrated American poet and story-writer, was born
in Boston, January 19, 1809, and died in Baltimore, Maryland, October 7,
1849. His poems include: "The Raven, and Other Poems," "Tamerlane and
Other Poems," "Eureka, a Prose Poem," "Poems," etc.
It would hardly be safe to name Miss Austen, Miss Brontë, and
George Eliot as the three greatest women novelists the United
Kingdom can boast, and were one to go on and say that the
alphabetical order of their names is also their order of merit, it
would be necessary to seek police protection, and yet surely it is
so.
"Life of C. Brontë,"--_Augustine Birrell_.
RT. HON. AUGUSTINE BIRRELL, a distinguished English essayist, was born
in Wavertree, near Liverpool, January 19, 1850. He has written: "Obiter
Dicta," "Res Judicatæ," "Life of Charlotte Brontë," "Men, Women and
Books," "Collected Essays," "William Hazlitt," "Andrew Marvell,"
"Miscellanies," "In the Name of the Bodleian," "Frederick Locker
Lampson," etc.
For it stirs the blood in an old man's heart,
And makes his pulses fly,
To catch the thrill of a happy voice,
And the light of a pleasant eye.
"Saturday Afternoon,"--_Nathaniel P. Willis_.
NATHANIEL PARKER WILLIS, a celebrated American journalist and poet, was
born at Portland, Maine, January 20, 1806, and died at Idlewild on the
Hudson, New York, January 20, 1867. Some of his writings are: "People I
Have Met," "Inklings of Adventure," "Letters from Under a Bridge,"
"Famous Persons and Places," "Poems," etc.
Time's horses gallop down the lessening hill.
"Time Flies,"--_Richard Le Gallienne_.
RICHARD LE GALLIENNE, a noted English author, was born in Liverpool,
January 20, 1866. He has written: "The Religion of a Literary Man," "My
Lady's Sonnets," "Prose Fancies," "Sleeping Beauty and other Prose
Fancies," "The Quest of the Golden Girl," "The Life Romantic," "Pieces
of Eight," etc.
Gray found very little gratification at Cambridge in the society
and manners of the young university men who were his
contemporaries. They ridiculed his sensitive temper and retired
habits, and gave him the nickname of "Miss Gray," for his supposed
effeminacy. Nor does Gray seem to have lived on much better terms
with his academic superiors. He abhorred mathematics, with the
same cordiality of hatred which Pope professed towards them, and
at that time concurred with Pope in thinking that the best recipe
for dullness was to
"Full in the midst of Euclid plunge at once,
And petrify a genius to a dunce."
"Memoirs of Eminent Etonians,"--_Sir Edward Creasy_.
SIR EDWARD SHEPHERD CREASY, a famous English historian was born at
Bexley in Kent, January 21, 1812, and died January 27, 1878. He wrote:
"Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World," "The History of the Ottoman
Turks," "History of England," "Rise and Progress of the English
Constitution," "Historical and Critical Account of the Several Invasions
of England," etc.
The father's love is greater than the mother's, as his strength is
greater than hers. Christ, not Mary, is the embodiment of parental
love.
"The Betrayal,"--_Walter Neale_.
WALTER NEALE, a noted American author and man of letters, was born at
Eastville, Va., January 21, 1873. Among his works are: "The Betrayal" (a
novel), "The Sovereignty of the States," and numerous essays, poems,
addresses, etc.
Travel, in the younger sort, is a part of education; in the elder,
a part of experience. He that travelleth into a country before he
hath some entrance into the language, goeth to school, and not to
travel.
"Of Travel,"--_Francis Bacon_.
FRANCIS BACON, the great English philosopher, was born in London,
January 22, 1561, and died April 9, 1626. Some of his works are: "The
Advancement of Learning," "On the Colors of Good and Evil," "Novum
Organum," his immortal "Essays," and many histories, among them
"Elizabeth," "Henry VII" and "Henry VIII."
For the will and not the gift makes the giver.
--_Lessing_.
GOTTHOLD EPHRAIM VON LESSING, a famous German poet, was born at Kamenz,
in Upper Lusatia, January 22, 1729, and died at Brunswick, February 15,
1781. Among his writings are: "Letters on Literature," "Nathan the
Wise," "Philotas," "The Woman-Hater," "The Jews," "Trifles," (a
collection of poems), "The Free-Thinker," "Education of the Human Race,"
etc.
There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is a rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar;
I love not man the less, but Nature more.
"Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," Canto iv, Stanza 178.--_Byron_.
GEORGE NOEL GORDON, LORD BYRON, the renowned English poet, was born in
London, January 22, 1788, and died at Missolonghi, Greece, April 19,
1824. Some of his celebrated works are: "English Bards and Scotch
Reviewers," "Hours of Idleness," "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," "The
Corsair," "Hebrew Melodies," "Lara," "Manfred," "The Prisoner of
Chillon," "The Lament of Tasso," "Don Juan," etc.
Blandishments will not fascinate us, nor will threats of a
"halter" intimidate. For, under God, we are determined that
wheresoever, whensoever, or howsoever we shall be called to make
our exit, we will die free men.
"Observations on the Boston Port Bill," 1774--_Josiah Quincy_.
JOSIAH QUINCY, a distinguished American lawyer, was born in Boston,
January 23, 1744, and died April 26, 1775. His important works are:
"Observations on the Boston Port Bill," and "An Address of the
Merchants, Traders, and Freeholders of Boston."
We love because we get pleasure from loving. When the pleasure
palls, love dies a natural death; and the love that survives
should not hope for resurrection, but abide in patience a new
birth.
"Love,"--_Marie Henri Beyle_.
MARIE HENRI BEYLE, a famous French novelist and critic, was born in
Grenoble, January 23, 1783, and died in Paris, March 23, 1842. He has
written, "History of Painting in Italy," "Rome, Naples, and Florence in
1817," "About Love," and his celebrated work, "The Chartreuse
(Carthusian Nun) of Parma."
Tout finit par des chansons.[6]
"Mariage de Figaro."--_Beaumarchais_.
PIERRE AUGUSTIN CARON DE BEAUMARCHAIS, a renowned French dramatist, was
born in Paris, January 24, 1732, and died there, May 18, 1799. His
greatest plays are: "The Barber of Seville," and "The Marriage of
Figaro."
But pleasures are like poppies spread,
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed;
Or, like the snow-fall in the river,
A moment white, then melts forever.
"Tam O'Shanter,"--_Robert Burns_.
ROBERT BURNS, a Scotch poet of world-wide fame, was born in Alloway,
January 25, 1759, and died in Dumfries, July 21,1796. His most famous
poems are: "Hallowe'en," "The Cotter's Saturday Night," "To a Mountain
Daisy," "Twa Dogs," "Tam O'Shanter," and "Highland Mary."
'Tis a little thing
To give a cup of water; yet its draught
Of cool refreshment, drained by fevered lips,
May give a shock of pleasure to the frame
More exquisite than when nectarean juice
Renews the life of joy in happiest hours.
"Ion," Act. i, Sc. 2,--_Thomas Noon Talfourd_.
SIR THOMAS NOON TALFOURD, an eminent English author and statesman, was
born at Doxey, near Stafford, January 26, 1795, and died at Stafford,
March 13, 1854. His works include: "An Attempt to Estimate the Poetical
Talent of the Present Age," "Poems on Various Subjects," "History of the
Roman Republic," "History of Greece," "Final Memorials of Charles Lamb,"
"Critical and Miscellaneous Essays," etc.
"Whatever is, is not," is the maxim of the anarchist, as often as
anything comes across him in the shape of a law which he happens
not to like.
"Declaration of Rights,"--_Richard Bentley_.
RICHARD BENTLEY, a celebrated English critic and essayist, was born in
Oulton, Yorkshire, January 27, 1662, and died July, 1742. His important
works are: "Dissertation on the Epistles of Phalaris," and "Latin
Epistle to John Mill, Containing Critical Observations on the Chronicle
of Joannes Malala."
There is in every man a certain feeling that he has been what he
is from all eternity, and by no means become such in time.
--_Schelling_.
FRIEDRICH WILHELM JOSEPH VON SCHELLING, an eminent German thinker and
philosopher, was born at Leonberg, Wurtemberg, January 27, 1775, and
died at the Ragaz baths, Switzerland, August 28, 1854. Among his many
works are: "On the Possibility of a Form of philosophy," "Ideas for a
Philosophy of Nature," "On the Soul of the World," "Philosophy and
Religion," etc. Four posthumous volumes are: "Introduction to the
Philosophy of Mythology," "Philosophy of Mythology," and "Philosophy of
Revelation," in two separate volumes.
Take care of the sense and the sounds will take care of
themselves.
"Alice in Wonderland," Chap. ix.--_Lewis Carroll_.
LEWIS CARROLL, nom de plume of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a distinguished
English clergyman and writer on mathematical subjects was born January
27, 1832, and died in January, 1898. His principal works are: "A
Syllabus of Plane Algebraical Geometry," "Guide to the Mathematical
Student," etc. Also: "The Hunting of the Snark," "Rhyme and Reason,"
"Euclid and His Modern Rivals," "Game of Logic," "Mathematica Curiosa,"
and his two popular tales for children, entitled "Alice in Wonderland,"
and "Through the Looking-Glass."
Morgen, Morgen, nur nicht heute;
Sprechen immer trage Leute.[7]
"Der Aufschub,"--_Weisse_.
CHRISTIAN FELIX WEISSE, a noted German poet and writer, was born at
Annaberg, January 28, 1726, and died at Leipsic, December 16, 1804. He
wrote: "Sportive Lays," "Lays of the Amazons," "Songs for Children,"
etc.
Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before!
Christ the royal Master
Leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
See, His banners go.
Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus,
Going on before!
"Onward, Christian Soldiers."--_S. Baring-Gould_.
SABINE BARING-GOULD, a renowned English antiquary and novelist, was born
in Exeter, January 28, 1834; died January, 1924. Among his numerous
works may be mentioned: "Lives of the Saints," "Yorkshire Oddities," "In
the Roar of the Sea," "The Deserts of Southern France," "A Garland of
Country Song," "Old Fairy Tales Retold," "Napoleon Bonaparte," "A Study
of St. Paul," "A Book of the Riviera," "A Book of the Rhine," "A Book of
the Pyrenees," "Devonshire Characters," "Cornish Characters," "The Land
of Teck," "Cliff Castles and Cave Dwellings," "The Church Revival," and
his most famous work, "Curious Myths of the Middle Ages."
A man after death is not a natural but a spiritual man;
nevertheless he still appears in all respects like himself.
"Conjugal Love," Par. 31,--_Swedenborg_.
EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, the famous Swedish mystic philosopher and author,
was born in Stockholm, January 29, 1688, and died there March 29, 1772.
His notable works include: "Principles of Chemistry," "Conjugal Love and
its Chaste Delights," "Opera Philosophica et Mineralia," "Domini Jesu
Christi Servus," etc.
The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related, that
it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the
sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous
makes the sublime again.
"Age of Reason," Part ii, note,--_Thomas Paine_.
THOMAS PAINE, an eminent American publicist, was born at Thetford in
Norfolkshire, England, January 29, 1737, and died at New Rochelle, New
York, June 8, 1809. The most important of his Works are: "Decline and
Fall of the English System of Finance," "Common-Sense," "The Age of
Reason," "The Rights of Man."
A delicate thought is a flower of the mind.
--_Charles Rollin_.
CHARLES ROLLIN, a noted French historian and professor of
_belles-lettres_, was born at Paris, January 30, 1661, and died
September 14, 1741. His chief works are: "On the Study of
Belles-Lettres," "Ancient History" (12 vols. 1730-1738), and "History of
Rome."
Shakespeare is not our poet, but the world's--
Therefore on him no speech! And brief for thee,
Browning! Since Chaucer was alive and hale,
No man hath walk'd along our roads with steps
So active, so inquiring eye, or tongue
So varied in discourse.
"To Robert Browning,"--_Walter S. Landor_.
WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR, the celebrated English poet and prose writer, was
born at Ipsley Court, Warwickshire, January 30, 1775, and died at
Florence, September 17, 1864. His best known works are: "The
Pentameron," "The Hellenics," "Popery, British and Foreign," "Poems,"
"Antony and Octavius: Scenes for the Study," "Heroic Idylls, with
Additional Poems," and his most famous work, "Imaginary Conversations of
Literary Men and Statesmen."
Nur eine Mutter weiss allein, was lieben heisst und glücklich
sein.[8]
"Frauen Liebe und Leben," 7.--_A. von Chamisso_.
ADELBERT VON CHAMISSO, a famous German lyrist, was born at the castle of
Boncourt Champagne, January 30, 1781, and died at Berlin, August 21,
1838. His most celebrated work is "Peter Schlemihl," which has been
translated into all the principal languages of Europe.
When thou a fast would'st keep,
Make not thy homage cheap,
By publishing its signs to every eye;
But let it be between
Thyself and the Unseen,
So shall it gain acceptance from on high.
--_Bernard Barton_.
BERNARD BARTON, a noted English poet, was born in Carlisle, January 31,
1784, and died in Woodbridge, February 19, 1849. He published: "Metrical
Effusions," "Devotional Verses," "Household Verses," etc.
Gather leaves and grasses,
Love, to-day;
For the Autumn passes
Soon away.
Chilling winds are blowing
It will soon be snowing.
"Gather Leaves and Grasses,"--_John Henry Boner_.
JOHN HENRY BONER, a well-known American poet and literary worker, was
born at Salem, N. C., January 31, 1845, and died in 1903. He is best
remembered for his volume of verse, "Whispering Pines."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Fear made the gods; audacity has made kings.
[2] Tears are sorrow's sacred right.
[3] So far had the pen under the king the superiority over the sword.
[4] They say that the best counsel, is that of woman.
[5] Where there are laws, he who has not broken them need not tremble.
[6] Everything ends with songs.
[7]
To-morrow, to-morrow, not to-day,
Hear the lazy people say.
[8] "Only a mother knows what it is to love and be happy."
FEBRUARY
FEBRUARY
An instinct is a blind tendency to some mode of action,
independent of any consideration, on the part of the agent, of the
end to which the action leads.
--_Whately_.
RICHARD WHATELY, a distinguished English clergyman and educator,
archbishop of Dublin, was born in London, February 1, 1787, and died in
Dublin, October 8, 1863. His writings include: "Elements of Logic," "A
General View of the Rise, Progress, and Corruptions of Christianity,"
"The Use and Abuse of Party Feeling in Matters of Religion," "Bacon's
Essays, with Annotations," "Miscellaneous Lectures and Reviews," etc.
Small habits well pursued betimes
May reach the dignity of crimes.
"Florio," Part i--_Hannah More_.
HANNAH MORE, a celebrated English religious writer, was born at
Stapleton, Gloucestershire, February 2, 1745, and died at Clifton,
September 7, 1833. She wrote: "Practical Piety," "Religion of the
Fashionable World," "Sacred Dramas," "The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain,"
etc.
Look up! the wide extended plain
Is billowy with its ripened grain,
And on the summer winds are rolled
Its waves of emerald and gold.
"The Harvest," Call St. 5,--_Wm. Henry Burleigh_.
WILLIAM HENRY BURLEIGH, a noted American poet and journalist was born in
Woodstock, Conn., February 2, 1812, and died in Brooklyn, N. Y., March
18, 1871. A collection of his poems was published in 1840.
The illusion that times that were are better than those that are,
has probably pervaded all ages.
"The American Conflict,"--_Horace Greeley_.
HORACE GREELEY, a famous American editor and controversial writer, was
born in Amherst, N. H., February 3, 1811, and died in New York, November
29, 1872. He wrote: "Glances at Europe," "The American Conflict,"
"Recollections of a Busy Life," etc.
The strength of affection is a proof not of the worthiness of the
object, but of the largeness of the soul which loves.
--_F. W. Robertson_.
FREDERICK WILLIAM ROBERTSON, a distinguished English clergyman, was born
in London, February 3, 1816, and died at Brighton, August 15, 1853. His
works were collected and published after his death under the following
titles: "Expository Lectures on St. Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians,"
"Lectures and Addresses on Literary and Social Topics," "Notes on
Genesis," "Sermons Preached at Trinity Chapel, Brighton."
Shelley had many merits and many defects. This is not the place
for a complete or indeed for any estimate of him. But one
excellence is most evident. His words are as flexible as any
words; the rhythm of some modulating air seems to move them into
their place without a struggle by the poet, and almost his
knowledge. This is the perfection of true art.
"Literary Studies," Vol. II.--_Walter Bagehot_.
WALTER BAGEHOT, a famous English writer on political economy and
government, was born in Langport, Somersetshire, February 3, 1826, and
died there March 24, 1877. He wrote: "The English Constitution,"
"Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market," "Literary Studies,"
etc. His complete works were published in 1889.
The incalculable Up and Down of Time,
"Clover,"--_Sidney Lanier_.
SIDNEY LANIER, a celebrated American poet, was born at Macon, Ga.,
February 3, 1842, and died at Lynn, N. C., September 7, 1881. He wrote:
"The English Novel and the Principles of its Development," "The Science
of English Verse," etc. His poems were collected and published after his
death.
Man has wants deeper than can be supplied by wealth or nature or
domestic affections. His great relations are to his God and to
eternity.
--_Mark Hopkins_.
MARK HOPKINS, a distinguished American educator and religious and
ethical writer, was born at Stockbridge, Mass., February 4, 1802; and
died at Williamstown, Mass., June 17, 1887. Among his works are:
"Evidences of Christianity," "The Law of Love, and Love as a Law," "An
Outline Study of Man," etc.
In depth and variety of coloring, in richness of matter,
profundity of thought, and heedlessness of conventional canons,
"Cymbeline" has few rivals among Shakespeare's plays. Fascinating
as it is, however, this tragi-comedy has never been very popular
on the stage. The great public, indeed, has neither studied nor
understood it.
"William Shakespeare, A Critical Study," Vol. II,
p. 323.--_George Brandes_.
GEORGE MORRIS COHEN BRANDES, a distinguished Danish man of letters, was
born at Copenhagen, February 4, 1842. He wrote: "Critiques and
Portraits," "French Aesthetics in Our Day," "The Idea of Fate Among the
Ancients," and his masterpiece, "Main Currents of 19th Century
Literature." Also, "Men of the Modern Revival," "A Study of Ibsen,"
"Goethe," "Poems," "English: Main Currents," "Eminent Authors,"
"Poland," "Recollections of My Childhood and Youth," "Complete Works,"
(21 vols.), "Voltaire," "Caesar," (2 vols.), "The World War," etc.
No statesman e'er will find it worth his pains
To tax our labours and excise our brains.
"Night," Line 271,--_Charles Churchill_.
CHARLES CHURCHILL, a famous English satirical poet, was born in
Westminster, February 5, 1731, and died at Boulogne, November 4, 1764.
He wrote: "The Farewell," "The Ghost," "The Conference," "The Author,"
"The Prophecy of Famine," and "The Rosciad," the satire that won his
fame.
Up the River of Death
Sailed the Great Admiral!
"The River Fight,"--_Henry H. Brownell_.
HENRY HOWARD BROWNELL, a noted American poet and writer of historical
sketches, was born at Providence, R. I., February 6, 1820, and died at
East Hartford, Conn., October 31, 1872. He published his many verses in
"Lyrics of a Day, or Newspaper Poetry by a Volunteer in the U. S.
Service." In "The Bay Fight" he describes the battle of Mobile Bay.
Look when the clouds are blowing
And all the winds are free:
In fury of their going
They fall upon the sea.
But though the blast is frantic,
And though the tempest raves,
The deep immense Atlantic
Is still beneath the waves.
"Wind, Moon and Tides,"--_Frederic William Henry Myers_.
FREDERIC WILLIAM HENRY MYERS, a distinguished English poet and critic,
was born at Duffield, England, February 6, 1843, and died January 17,
1901. He has written: "Science and a Future Life," "Renewal of Youth and
Other Poems," "Essays, Modern and Classical," "St. Paul," "English Men
of Letters," etc. Also a posthumous work called "Human Personality and
Its Survival of Bodily Death," (2 vols.), 1903.
Sir Thomas More advised an author, who had sent him his manuscript
to read, "to put it in rhyme." Which being done, Sir Thomas said,
"Yea, marry, now it is somewhat, for now it is rhyme; before it
was neither rhyme nor reason."
--_Sir Thomas More_.
SIR THOMAS MORE, the great English statesman and miscellaneous writer,
was born in London, February 7, 1478, and was executed July 6, 1535. He
wrote: "History of Richard III," "Life of John Picus, Earl of
Mirandola," and "Utopia" (which was his most celebrated work), etc.
Oh, a dainty plant is the ivy green,
That creepeth o'er ruins old!
Of right choice food are his meals, I ween,
In his cell so lone and cold.
Creeping where no life is seen,
A rare old plant is the ivy green.
"Pickwick Papers," Chap. vi,--_Charles Dickens_.
CHARLES DICKENS, one of the most famous of English novelists, was born
at Landport, in Portsea, February 7, 1812, and died June 9, 1870. His
most famous works are: "Oliver Twist," "Pickwick Papers," "Sketches by
Boz," "Nicholas Nickleby," "Old Curiosity Shop," "A Christmas Carol,"
"American Notes," "The Cricket on the Hearth," "The Chimes," "Pictures
from Italy," "Dombey and Son," "The Battle of Life," "David
Copperfield," "The Haunted Man," "Bleak House," "Little Dorrit," "A
Child's History of England," "Great Expectations," "A Tale of Two
Cities," "Hard Times," "Our Mutual Friend," etc.
We can say nothing but what hath been said. Our poets steal from
Homer.... Our story-dressers do as much; he that comes last is
commonly best.
"Democritus to the Reader,"--_Robert Burton_.
ROBERT BURTON, a famous English writer, was born at Lindley,
Leicestershire, February 8, 1577, and died January 25, 1640. His
greatest work was: "Anatomy of Melancholy."
It is not written, blessed is he that feedeth the poor, but he
that considereth the poor. A little thought and a little kindness
are often worth more than a great deal of money.
--_John Ruskin_.
JOHN RUSKIN, the renowned English essayist and critic, was born in
London, February 8, 1819, and died January 20, 1900. His principal works
are: "The Seven Lamps of Architecture," "Modern Painters," "The Stones
of Venice," "Elements of Drawing," "The Two Paths," "Political Economy
of Art," "Lectures on Art," "The Art of England," "Verona and Other
Lectures," "Sesame and Lilies," "Munera Pulveris," "The Crown of Wild
Olive," "Love's Meinie," "The Eagle's Nest," "The Queen of the Air,"
"Arrows of the Chace," "Proserpina," "The King of the Golden River,"
etc.
Hold the fort! I am coming!
Signalled to General Corse in Allatoona from the top of Kenesaw,
Oct. 5, 1864,
--_William Tecumseh Sherman_.
WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN, one of the greatest of American generals, was
born in Lancaster, O., February 8, 1820, and died in New York City,
February 14, 1891. He published: "Memoirs of Gen. William T. Sherman by
Himself" (2 vols.).
O white and midnight sky, O starry bath,
Wash me in thy pure, heavenly crystal flood:
Cleanse me, ye stars, from earthly soil and scath--
Let not one taint remain in spirit or blood!
"The Celestial Passion,"--_Richard Watson Gilder_.
RICHARD WATSON GILDER, a distinguished American poet, was born in
Bordentown, N. J., February 8, 1844, and died in 1909. His works
include: "Two Worlds and Other Poems," "Five Books of Song," "Lyrics,"
"The New Day," "The Great Remembrance and Other Poems," and "The
Celestial Passion."
What man supremely admires in man is manhood. The valiant man
alone has power to awaken the enthusiastic love of us all.
"Life of Andrew Jackson,"--_James Parton_.
JAMES PARTON, a famous American writer, was born at Canterbury, England,
February 9, 1822, and died at Newburyport, Mass., October 17, 1891. A
few of his works are: "Life and Times of Aaron Burr," "General Butler in
New Orleans," "Life of Thomas Jefferson," "Famous Americans of Recent
Times," "Life of Horace Greeley," "Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin,"
"Life of Voltaire," "Humorous Poetry of the English Language," "Topics
of the Time," etc.
"Bourgeois," I observed, "is an epithet which the riff-raff apply
to what is respectable, and the aristocracy to what is decent."
"Dolly Dialogues,"--_Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins_.
SIR ANTHONY HOPE HAWKINS ("Anthony Hope") a celebrated English author
was born February 9, 1863. Among his works are: "The Prisoner of Zenda,"
"The Dolly Dialogues," "Rupert of Hentzau," "Double Harness," "The Great
Miss Driver," "A Young Man's Year," "Beaumaroy Home from the Wars,"
"Lucinda," etc. Plays: "The Adventure of Lady Ursula," "Pilkerton's
Peerage," etc.
I have had playmates, I have had companions,
In my days of childhood, in my joyful schooldays.
All, all are gone, the old familiar faces.
"Old Familiar Faces,"--_Charles Lamb_.
CHARLES LAMB, the great English essayist, was born in London, February
10, 1775, and died at Edmonton, December 27, 1834. Among his essays may
be mentioned: "Essays of Elia," "Last Essays of Elia," and his famous
work, "Tales from the Plays of Shakespeare" (Mary and Charles Lamb).
Too fair to worship, too divine to love.
"The Belvedere Apollo,"--_Henry Hart Milman_.
HENRY HART MILMAN, a celebrated English clergyman, historian, and poet,
was born in London, February 10, 1791, and died near Ascot, September
24, 1868. He wrote: "Fall of Jerusalem," "History of Christianity under
the Empire," "History of the Jews," and his most important work, "The
History of Latin Christianity down to the Death of Pope Nicholas V."
High in his chariot glow'd the lamp of day.
"The Shipwreck," Canto I, III; L. 3,--_Falconer_.
WILLIAM FALCONER, a noted Scotch poet, was born February 11, 1732, and
died in 1769. He wrote: "The Demagogue," a "Universal Dictionary of the
Marine," and numerous odes, satires and poems; the most famous of his
poems being "The Shipwreck."
Genius hath electric power
Which earth can never tame,
Bright suns may scorch and dark clouds lower,
Its flash is still the same.
"Marius Amid the Ruins of Carthage,"--_Lydia M. Child_.
LYDIA MARIA CHILD, a famous American prose-writer, was born in Medford,
Mass., February 11, 1802, and died in Wayland, Mass., October 20, 1880.
Among her numerous works may be mentioned, "Philothea," "Fact and
Fiction," "Looking Toward Sunset," "Miria: A Romance of the Republic,"
"Hobomok," "Aspirations of the World," etc.
Let us have faith that right makes might; and in that faith let us
to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.
"Address," Cooper Union, New York City, Feb. 27, 1860,--_Abraham
Lincoln_.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, the great "War President," was born in Hardin County,
Ky., February 12, 1809, and died at Washington, D. C., April 15, 1865.
His "Address," at the dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg,
Pa., and his "Second Inaugural Address," won for him everlasting fame.
We will now discuss in a little more detail the Struggle for
Existence.
"The Origin of Species," Chap. iii,--_Charles Robert Darwin_.
CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN, the famous English naturalist and philosopher,
was born at Shrewsbury, February 12, 1809, and died April 19, 1882. He
wrote: "The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex," "The
Expression of the Emotions in Men and Animals," "A Naturalist's Voyage,"
"On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection," etc.
God's rarest blessing is, after all, a good woman.
"The Ordeal of Richard Feverel,"--_George Meredith_.
GEORGE MEREDITH, a noted British novelist and poet, was born at
Portsmouth, Hampshire, February 12, 1828, and died May 18, 1909. Some of
his famous works are: "Evan Harrington," "Harry Richmond," "Ordeal of
Richard Feverel," "Rhoda Fleming," "Vittoria," "The Adventures of Harry
Richmond," "Beauchamp's Career," "The Egoist," "The Tragic Comedians,"
"Diana of the Crossways," "Poems and Lyrics of the Joy of Earth,"
"Ballads and Poems of Tragic Life," "A Reading of Earth," "One of Our
Conquerors," "The Amazing Marriage," etc.
Ils n'out rien appris, ni rien oublié.[1]
--_Talleyrand_.
CHARLES MAURICE DE TALLEYRAND-PÉRIGORD, a celebrated French diplomat,
was born at Paris, February 13, 1754, and died at Valencay, May 17,
1838. His "Memoirs" were first published in 1891-92 in (5 vols.); his
"Correspondence with Louis XVIII, during the Congress of Vienna," in
1881, his "Diplomatic Correspondence," in 1889-91 in (3 vols.) and
"Unpublished Letters of Talleyrand to Napoleon, 1800-1809," in 1889.
O golden Silence, bid our souls be still,
And on the foolish fretting of our care
Lay thy soft touch of healing unaware!
"Silence,"--_Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr_.
MRS. JULIA CAROLINE (RIPLEY) DORR, a noted American poet and novelist,
was born in Charleston, S. C., February 13, 1825, and died in 1913. Her
works include: "Afternoon Songs," "Daybreak, an Easter Poem," "Poems,"
"Lanmere," "Expiation," "Farmingdale," "Bermuda," "Sibyl Huntington,"
and "A Cathedral Pilgrimage."
Oh, for the simple life,
For tents and starry skies!
"Aspiration,"--_Israel Zangwill_.
ISRAEL ZANGWILL, a renowned English-Jewish novelist, was born in London,
February 14, 1864. He has published: "The Premier and the Painter," "The
Bachelors' Club," "The Big Bow Mystery," "The Old Maids' Club,"
"Children of the Ghetto," "Merely Mary Ann," "Ghetto Tragedies," "The
Master," "The King of Schnorrers," "Without Prejudice," "The Mantle of
Elijah," "The Next Religion," "Plaster Saints."
Nature has placed mankind under the government of two sovereign
masters--pain and pleasure.
--_Jeremy Bentham_.
JEREMY BENTHAM, a distinguished English writer on ethics and
jurisprudence, was born February 15, 1748, and died in 1832. His
collected works (11 volumes) were published in 1843, and include: "A
Fragment on Government," "View of the Hard Labor Bill," "Rationale of
Punishment and Rewards," "Introduction to the Principles of Morals and
Legislation," "The Panopticon, or the Inspection House," "Manual of
Political Economy," "Poor Laws and Pauper Management," "Constitutional
Code," etc.
A poet is the translator of the silent language of nature to the
world.
--_R. W. Griswold_.
RUFUS WILMOT GRISWOLD, a distinguished American journalist and
prose-writer, born in Benson, Vt., February 15, 1815, and died in New
York, August 27, 1857. His works include: "Poets and Poetry of America,"
"Poets and Poetry of England in the Nineteenth Century," "Prose Writers
of America," "Female Poets of America," etc.
Up anchor! Up anchor!
Set sail and away!
The ventures of dreamland
Are thine for a day.
"Dreamland,"--_Silas Weir Mitchell_.
SILAS WEIR MITCHELL, a distinguished American physician, poet and
novelist, was born in Philadelphia, February 15, 1829, and died January
4, 1914. He has written: "In War Time," "Poems," "Hephzibah Guinness,
and Other Stories," "Hugh Wynne," "The Adventures of François," "The Red
City," "Westways," "Complete Poems," etc.
Noth lehrt auch die Könige beten.[2]
"Der Trompeter von Säkkingen, Drittes Stuck,"--_Scheffel_.
JOSEPH VIKTOR VON SCHEFFEL, an eminent German poet and novelist, was
born at Karlsruhe, February 16, 1826, and died April 9, 1886. He wrote:
"Gaudeamus," "Ekkehard," "Mountain Psalms," and his famous epic poem,
"The Trumpeter of Säkkingen," which won for him great fame, and has
reached more than 250 editions.
It is probable that for many millions of years but one climate
prevailed over the whole earth, which very closely resembled, or
even surpassed the hottest tropical climate of the present day.
"Change of Climate and its Influence on Life," from "History of
Creation."--_Ernst Heinrich Haeckel_.
ERNST HAECKEL, a renowned German naturalist, was born at Potsdam,
February 16, 1834, and died in 1919. Among his most famous works are:
"On the Division of Labor in Nature and Human Life," "On the Origin and
Genealogy of the Human Race," "Life in the Great Marine Animals," "The
Arabian Corals," "The System of the Medusa," "A Visit to Ceylon,"
"Riddle of the Universe," "Natural History of Creation," "Souvenirs of
Algeria," "Monoism as Connected with Religion and Science," etc.
Darlings of the forest!
Blossoming alone
When Earth's grief is sorest
For her jewels gone--
Ere the last snow-drift melts, your tender buds are blown.
"Trailing Arbutus,"--_Rose Terry Cooke_.
MRS. ROSE (TERRY) COOKE, a noted American poet and short-story writer,
was born at West Hartford, Conn., February 17, 1827, and died at
Pittsfield, Mass., July 18, 1892. Her complete poems were published in
1888, and her stories were published in book form under the titles:
"Somebody's Neighbors," "Root-Bound," "The Sphinx's Children," "Happy
Dodd," "Huckleberries," "Steadfast," a novel, appeared in 1889.
He [Hampden] had a head to contrive, a tongue to persuade, and a
hand to execute any mischief.
"History of the Rebellion," Vol. iii, Book vii,--_Edward Hyde
Clarendon_.
EDWARD HYDE, EARL OF CLARENDON, a celebrated English historian and
statesman, was born at Dinton, Wiltshire, February 18, 1609, and died at
Rouen, France, December 9, 1674. His famous works are: "History of the
Civil War in Ireland," "History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in
England," "Essay on an Active and Contemplative Life."
The earth is not the center of the universe.
--_Copernicus_.
NICOLAS COPERNICUS, a famous Polish astronomer, was born at Thorn,
Poland, February 19, 1473, and died at Frauenburg, Prussia, May 24,
1543. He wrote: "Revolutions of the Celestial Orbs (De Orbium
Coelestium Revolutionibus)."
I'm growing old, I'm sixty years;
I've labored all my life in vain.
In all that time of hopes and fears,
I've failed my dearest wish to gain.
I see full well that here below
Bliss unalloyed there is for none
My prayer would else fulfilment know--
Never have I seen Carcassonne!
"Carcassonne," Translated by John Reuben Thompson, Stanza
i,--_Gustave Nadaud_.
GUSTAVE NADAUD, a well-known French composer and song-writer, was born
in Roubaix, February 20, 1820, and died in Paris, April 28, 1893. He
wrote a novel, "An Idyll," and published "Songs," "More Songs,"
"Unpublished Songs," and "New Songs."
Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home:
Lead thou me on:
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene: one step enough for me.
"The Pillar of the Cloud,"--_John Henry Newman_.
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, a celebrated religious writer, first in the Church of
England, and later in the Roman Catholic Church, was born in London,
February 21, 1801, and died at Birmingham, August 11, 1890. His
principal works are: "Five Letters on Church Reform," "St. Bartholomew's
Eve," "Plain and Parochial Sermons," "Loss and Gain," "Verses on
Religious Subjects," "Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent," "Lectures on
Justification," "The Arians of the Fourth Century," "Tracts for the
Times," "Hymns for the Use of the Birmingham Oratory," and "Apologia pro
Vita Sua," his most celebrated work.
John Smith was the most picturesque figure in the early history of
America; and his writings are like him--bold, free, highly
colored.
"An Introduction to the Study of American Literature,"
(1896),--_Brander Matthews_.
(JAMES) BRANDER MATTHEWS, a famous American author, was born in New
Orleans, February 21, 1852. Among his works may be mentioned: "French
Dramatists of the Nineteenth Century," "With My Friends," "Studies of
the Stage," "Bookbindings, Old and New," "Introduction to the Study of
American Literature," "Aspects of Fiction," "A Confident To-morrow,"
"The Historical Novel," "Parts of Speech," "Essays in English,"
"Development of the Drama," "Recreations of an Anthologist," "Inquiries
and Opinions," "The American of the Future," "A Study of the Drama,"
"Molière," "Shakespeare as a Playwright," "These Many Years," etc.
To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of
preserving peace.
"Speech to both Houses of Congress," Jan. 8, 1790,--_George
Washington_.
GEORGE WASHINGTON, the illustrious American statesman and first
President of the United States, was born at Pope's Creek, Westmoreland
County, Va., February 22, 1732, and died at Mt. Vernon, Va., December
14, 1799.
Natural ability can almost compensate for the want of every kind
of cultivation; but no cultivation of the mind can make up for the
want of natural ability.
--_Schopenhauer_.
ARTHUR SCHOPENHAUER, a renowned German philosopher, was born at Dantzic,
February 22, 1788, and died at Frankfort-on-the-Main, September, 1860.
He wrote: "The Fourfold Root of the Principle of the Sufficient Cause,"
"The World as Will and Representation," "On Vision and Colors," "The Two
Fundamental Problems of Ethic," "Parerga and Paralipomena," etc.
And while the wicket falls behind
Her steps, I thought if I could find
A wife I need not blush to show
I've little further now to go.
--_William Barnes_.
WILLIAM BARNES, a celebrated English poet and philologist, was born in
Dorsetshire, February 22, 1800, and died in Winterbourne Came, in
October, 1886. He wrote many works on philology, and a series of "Poems
of Rural Life in Dorsetshire Dialect," "Poems of Rural Life," etc.
No man is born into the world whose work
Is not born with him. There is always work,
And tools to work withal, for those who will;
And blessed are the horny hands of toil.
"A Glance behind the Curtain,"--_James Russell Lowell_.
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL, the great American poet and critic, was born at
Cambridge, Mass., February 22, 1819, and died there August 12, 1891.
Some of his works are: "The Bigelow Papers," "A Year's Life," "Poems,"
"Under the Willows and Other Poems," "My Study Windows," "Among My
Books," "Latest Literary Essays and Addresses," "Heartsease and Rue,"
"Political Essays," "Democracy, and Other Addresses."
Nearer, my God, to Thee!
Nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross
That raiseth me.
Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God, to Thee!
Nearer to Thee!
"Nearer, my God, to Thee!"--_Sara Flower Adams_.
SARA FLOWER ADAMS, a noted English hymn-writer, was born at Great
Harlow, Essex, February 22, 1805, and died August, 1848. She wrote many
lyrics and hymns, the most popular of which is "Nearer, My God, to
Thee!"
Never yet was a springtime
Late though lingered the snow,
That the sap stirred not at the whisper
Of the southwind, sweet and low;
Never yet was a springtime,
When the buds forgot to blow.
"Awakening,"--_Margaret Elizabeth Sangster_.
MARGARET ELIZABETH (MUNSON) SANGSTER, a celebrated American poet and
prose-writer, was born in New Rochelle, N. Y., February 22, 1838, and
died in 1912. Among her writings are: "May Stanhope and her Friend,"
"Little Kingdom of Home," "Good Manners for all Occasions," "Radiant
Motherhood," "Easter Bells," "Little Knight and Ladies," "Lyrics of
Love," "Fairest Girlhood," "Eleanor Lee," "A Little Book of Homespun
Verse," "Women of the Bible," "The Story Bible," "From My Youth Up--an
Autobiography," "My Garden of Hearts," and her famous poems, "Our Own"
and "Are the Children at Home?"
To St. Paul's Church Yard to my book-sellers ... choose ...
"Hudibras," both parts, the book now in greatest fashion for
drollery, though I cannot, I confess, see enough where the wit
lies.
"_Diary_," Dec. 10, 1663,--_Samuel Pepys_.
SAMUEL PEPYS, a famous English diarist, was born in London, February 23,
1633, and died there May 26, 1703. His fame rests on the remarkable
"Diary" that bears his name.
Rocked in the cradle of the deep
I lay me down in peace to sleep;
Secure I rest upon the wave,
For Thou, O Lord! hast power to save.
I know Thou wilt not slight my call,
For Thou dost mark the sparrow's fall,
And calm and peaceful shall I sleep,
Rocked in the cradle of the deep.
"Rocked in the Cradle of the Deep," Stanza I,--_Emma (Hart)
Willard_.
EMMA (HART) WILLARD, a noted American educator, historian, and poet, was
born at New Berlin, Conn., February 23, 1787, and died at Troy, N. Y.,
April 15, 1870. She has written: "A History of the United States,"
"Universal History in Perspective," etc. She also wrote: "Rocked in the
Cradle of the Deep," and much other verse.
By one great Heart, the Universe is stirred:
By Its strong pulse, stars climb the darkening blue;
It throbs in each fresh sunset's changing hue,
And thrills through low sweet song of every bird.
"Life,"--_Margaret Deland_.
MARGARET WADE DELAND, a famous American author, was born at Allegheny,
Pa., February 23, 1857. She has written: "John Ward, Preacher," "The Old
Garden and Other Verses," "Old Chester Tales," "Dr. Lavendar's People,"
"The Common Way," "The Awakening of Helena Richie," "An Encore," "The
Iron Woman," "The Voice," "Partners," "The Hands of Esau," "Around Old
Chester," "The Rising Tide," etc.
While we read history we make history.
"The Call of Freedom,"--_George William Curtis_.
GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS, a distinguished American author, was born in
Providence, R. I., February 24, 1824, and died at Staten Island, August
31, 1892. His works include: "The Howadji in Syria," "Nile Notes of a
Howadji," "Manners upon the Road," "Lotus Eating," "Prue and I,"
"Potiphar Papers," "Trumps," etc.
If Goldsmith had to struggle socially against the disadvantages of
poverty, intellectually it cannot be doubted that poverty very
amply compensated him. His circumstances forced him to be an
unwilling spectator of scenes, and the companion of men of whom
affluence or his laziness would have kept him ignorant. His
"Citizen of the World," indeed, is an epitome of London life as it
was exhibited to the observer of that age.
"Goldsmith and La Bruyère," _The Argosy_, p. 265,--_William
Clark Russell_.
WILLIAM CLARK RUSSELL, a noted English-American novelist, was born in
New York City, February 24, 1844, and died in 1911. Among his numerous
sea stories and novels are: "The Wreck of the Grosvenor," "A Sailor's
Sweetheart," "My Watch Below," "A Sea Queen," "Jack's Courtship," "A
Strange Voyage," "The Frozen Pirate," "The Death Ship," "Marooned," "The
Romance of Jenny Harlowe," "The Good Ship Mohock," "Overdue," "The
Ship's Adventure," "Abandoned," "Voyage at Anchor," "Yarn of Old Harbor
Town," etc.
All flowers, it would seem, were in their earliest form yellow;
then some of them became white; after that a few of them grew to
be red or purple; and finally, a comparatively small number
acquired various shades of violet, mauve, lilac, or blue.
"The Colors of Flowers,"--_Grant Allen_.
GRANT ALLEN (CHARLES GRANT BLAIRFINDIE ALLEN), a celebrated English
naturalist, essayist, and novelist, was born in Kingstone, Canada,
February 24, 1848, and died October 24, 1899. His most noted works are
"The Devil's Die," "Under Sealed Orders," "Recalled to Life," "The
Woman Who Did," "Strange Stories," "The British Barbarians," "Science in
Arcady," "Vignettes from Nature," "Colin Clout's Calendar," "The Color
Sense," "Colors of Flowers," "Flowers and Their Pedigrees," "Force and
Nature," etc.
Bello è il rossore, ma è incommodo qualche volta.[3]
"Pamela," I, 3,--_Goldoni_.
CARLO GOLDONI, a noted Italian comedy-writer, was born in Venice,
February 25, 1707, and died at Paris, January 6, 1793. He wrote: "The
Good Father," "The Singer," "Pamela," "Belisarius," "The Venetian
Gondolier," "Rosamond," and "The Coffee House."
Let us reckon upon the future. A time will come when the science
of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the
genius which multiplies our powers--which creates new
products--which diffuses comfort and happiness among the great
mass of the people--shall occupy in the general estimation of
mankind that rank which reason and common sense now assign to it.
"Eloge on James Watt."--_Arago_.
DOMINIQUE FRANÇOIS ARAGO, an eminent French astronomer and physicist,
was born near Perpignan, February 26, 1786, and died in Paris, October
2, 1853. Among his publications are: "Popular Lectures on Astronomy,"
"Meteorological Essays," "Biographies of Scientific Men," and his own
"Autobiography."
A queen devoid of beauty is not queen;
She needs the royalty of beauty's mien.
"Eviradnus," V,--_Victor Hugo_.
VICTOR HUGO, the great French novelist, was born at Besançon, February
26, 1802, and died at Paris, May 22, 1885. His most famous works are:
"Odes and Ballads," "New Odes," "The Orientals," "Various Odes and
Poems," "Twilight Songs," "Inner Voices," "Sunbeams and Shadows,"
"Autumn Leaves," "Songs of the Streets and Woods," "The Four Winds of
the Spirit," "The Legend of the Ages," "Notre Dame de Paris," "The Last
Day of a Condemned Man," "Claude Gueux," "Napoleon the Little," "Les
Misérables," "The Man Who Laughs," "Acts and Words," "History of a
Crime," "The Toilers of the Sea," etc. Also numerous plays, among them,
"Amy Robsart," "Cromwell," "Hernani," "Lucretia Borgia," "Marie Tudor,"
and "Esmeralda."
These deeper questions cannot be treated in this short appendix to
Descartes' life. They are mentioned here merely to show how he was
to modern thought what Socrates was to Greek philosophy. Far
greater, too, was he than Socrates, in the range of his influence.
In every department of his thinking--in his first philosophy, his
theology, his physics, his psychology, his physiology--he sowed
the dragon's teeth from which sprang hosts of armed men, to join
in an intellectual conflict, internecine, let us trust, to their
many errors and prejudices, but fraught with new life and energy
to the intellectual progress of Europe.
"Descartes,"--_John Pentland Mahaffy_.
JOHN PENTLAND MAHAFFY, a distinguished Irish classical scholar and
historian, was born at Chapponnaire, Switzerland, February 26, 1839, and
died in 1919. Among his publications are: "Social Life in Greece,"
"Rambles and Studies in Greece," "Greek Life and Thought," "Greece Under
Roman Sway," "History of Classical Greek Literature," "The Silver Age of
the Greek World," "The Empire of the Ptolemies," etc.
Sail, on, O Ship of State!
Sail on, O Union, strong and great!
Humanity with all its fears,
With all the hopes of future years
Is hanging breathless on thy fate!
"_The Building of the Ship_,"--_Longfellow_.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, one of the greatest of American poets, was
born at Portland, Me., February 27, 1807, and died at Cambridge, Mass.,
March 24, 1882. His celebrated works include: "Voices of the Night,"
"Hyperion," "Poems on Slavery," "Ballads and Other Poems," "The Spanish
Student," "Poets and Poetry of Europe," "Evangeline, a Tale of Acadie,"
"The Seaside and the Fireside," "The Golden Legend," "A Volume of
Poems," "Song of Hiawatha," "Poems," "Courtship of Miles Standish,"
"Tales of a Wayside Inn," "A New England Tragedy," "Excelsior," "The
Skeleton in Armor," "The Building of a Ship," etc.
A grain of sand leads to the fall of a mountain when the moment
has come for the mountain to fall.
--_Ernest Renan_.
JOSEPH ERNEST RENAN, the renowned French Semitic-Orientalist; historian,
philologist, and essayist, was born at Treguier, Brittany, February 27,
1823, and died at Paris, October 2, 1892. Among his numerous works may
be mentioned: "General History of the Semitic Languages," "The Life of
Jesus," "Marcus Aurelius," "Studies in Religious History," "Questions of
the Day," "Recollections of My Youth," "New Studies in Religious
History," "Discourses and Conferences," "Dialogue of the Dead," "The
Song of Songs," and "Ecclesiastes."
Samuel Pepys stands at the head of the world's literature in his
own department.... Pepys' "_Diary_" has been frequently compared
with Boswell's "_Life of Johnson_," and with justice in so far as
the charm of each arises from the inimitable naïveté of the
author's self-revelations. Boswell had a much greater character
than his own to draw, but Pepys had to be his own Johnson. It is
giving him no excessive praise to say that he makes himself as
interesting as Johnson and Boswell together.... Another Milton is
more likely to appear than another Pepys.
"The Age of Dryden,"--_Richard Garnett_.
RICHARD GARNETT, a noted English librarian and author, was born at
Litchfield, February 27, 1835, and died April 13, 1906. He wrote:
"Primula," "Io in Egypt," "Idylls and Epigrams," "The Queen and Other
Poems," "Collected Poems," "The Twilight of the Gods," "A Short History
of Italian Literature," "Essays in Librarianship and Bibliophily," etc.
You hail from Dreamland, Dragon-fly?
A stranger hither? So am I
And (sooth to say) I wonder why
We either of us came!
"To a Dragon-fly,"--_Agnes M. F. R. Darmesteter_.
AGNES M. F. R. DARMESTETER, a distinguished English poet, was born in
Leamington, February 27, 1857. Her writings include: "A Handful of
Honeysuckle," "Lyrics," "Retrospect," "Arden," a novel, "Emily Brontë,"
"The New Arcadia and Other Poems," "An Italian Garden, a Book of Songs,"
"The End of the Middle Ages," "Essays and Questions in History," "Life
of Renan," "Collected Poems," "The Fields of France," "The Return to
Nature," "The French Ideal," "Twentieth Century French Writers," "Madame
de Sévigne," etc.
How many worthy men have we seen survive their own reputation!
"Of Glory," Chap. xvi.--_Montaigne_.
MICHEL EYQUEM DE MONTAIGNE, the illustrious French moral philosopher,
was born at Château Montaigne, Perigord, February 28, 1533, and died
September 13, 1592. His remarkable "Essays" won for him world-wide fame.
In Nature there is no dirt, everything is in the right condition;
the swamp and the worm, as well as the grass and the bird--all is
there for itself. Only because we think that all things have a
relation to us, do they appear justifiable or otherwise.
--_Auerbach_.
BERTHOLD AUERBACH, a renowned German novelist, was born at Nordstetten,
Wurtemberg, February 28, 1812, and died at Cannes, France, February 8,
1882. He wrote: "The Educated Citizen, a Book for the Thinking Human
Mind," "Poet and Merchant," "Spinoza," "The Professor's Lady," "Little
Barefoot," "Joseph in the Snow," "Edelweiss," "New Life," "The Head
Forester," "The Villa on the Rhine," "Waldfried, a Family History,"
"Black Forest Village Stories," "After Thirty Years," and his most noted
work, "On the Heights."
The first, and perhaps the final impression we receive from the
work of Robert Browning is that of a great nature, an immense
personality.
"Introduction to the Study of Browning,"--_Arthur Symons_.
ARTHUR SYMONS, a celebrated writer of prose and verse, was born in
Wales, February 28, 1865. His publications include: "An Introduction to
the Study of Browning," "Days and Nights," "Silhouettes," "London
Nights," "Amoris Victima," "Studies in Two Literatures," "The Symbolist
Movement in Literature," "Images of Good and Evil," "Collected Poems,"
"Plays, Acting, and Music," "Cities," "Studies in Prose and Verse,"
"Spiritual Adventures," "A Book of Twenty Songs," "The Fool of the
World," "Studies in Seven Arts," "Cities of Italy," "The Romantic
Movement in English Poetry," "Knave of Hearts," "Figures of Several
Centuries," "Tragedies," etc.
Take time enough: all other graces
Will soon fill up their proper places.
"Advice to Preach Slow,"--_John Byrom_.
JOHN BYROM, a noted English poet, and writer of hymns, was born at
Kersel Cell, near Manchester, February 29, 1692, and died in 1763. He
wrote a famous poem "Colin and Phoebe." A collection of his poems was
published in 1773.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] They have learned nothing, and they have forgotten nothing.
[2] Danger teaches even kings to pray.
[3] The blush is beautiful, but it is sometimes inconvenient.
MARCH
MARCH
That friendship only is, indeed, genuine when two friends, without
speaking a word to each other, can, nevertheless, find happiness
in being together.
--_George Ebers_.
GEORGE MORITZ EBERS, a famous German Egyptologist and novelist, was born
at Berlin, March 1, 1837, and died August 7, 1898. Among his noted works
are: "The Sisters," "The Emperor," "Serapis," "Joshua," "Cleopatra,"
"Homo Sum," "Uarda," "The Bride of the Nile," and "An Egyptian
Princess," his most celebrated work.
Until after the war we had no real novels in this country, except
"Uncle Tom's Cabin." This is one of the great novels of the world,
and of all time. Even the fact that slavery was done away with
does not matter; the interest in "Uncle Tom's Cabin," never will
pass, because the book is really as well as ideally true to human
nature, and nobly true. It is the only great novel of ours before
the war that I can think of.
"My Favorite Novelist,"--_Munsey's Magazine_, Vol. 17, p. 22,
1897.--_William Dean Howells_.
WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS, a celebrated American novelist and poet, was born
at Martinsville, O., March 1, 1837, and died in 1921. Among his numerous
works are: "Italian Journeys," "Poets and Poetry of the West," "Poems,"
"A Day's Pleasure," "A Little Girl Among the Old Masters," "Indian
Summer," "Modern Italian Poets," "The Shadow of a Dream," "A Little
Swiss Sojourn," "My Year in a Log Cabin," "My Literary Passions,"
"Impressions and Experiences," "A Previous Engagement," "Certain
Delightful English Towns," "Through the Eye of the Needle,"
"Fennel and Rue," "Imaginary Interviews," "The Seen and Unseen in
Stratford-on-Avon," "Years of My Youth," "A Modern Instance," "The Lady
of the Aristook," "The Rise of Silas Lapham."
Much like a subtle spider which doth sit
In middle of her web, which spreadeth wide;
If aught do touch the utmost thread of it,
She feels it instantly on every side.
"The Immortality of the Soul,"--_Sir John Davies_.
SIR JOHN DAVIES, a noted English poet and judge, was bom in Tisbury,
Wiltshire, March 2, 1570, and died December 7 or 8, 1626. He wrote:
"Know Thyself," "The Orchestra," and "Hymns to Astraea."
Of the generations of American statesmen that followed those of
the Revolutionary period, few will live as long in the memory of
the people, and none as long in the literature of the country, as
Daniel Webster.
"Library of the World's Best Literature," 1897, ed. Warner,
Vol. 38, p. 15725.--_Carl Schurz_.
CARL SCHURZ, a famous German-American journalist and statesman, was born
near Cologne, Prussia, March 2, 1829, and died in 1906. His most
celebrated speeches are: "The Irrepressible Conflict," "The Doom of
Slavery," "The Abolition of Slavery as a War Measure," "Life of Henry
Clay," "Eulogy on Charles Sumner," etc.
Go, lovely rose!
Tell her that wastes her time and me
That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.
"Go, Lovely Rose,"--_Edmund Waller_.
EDMUND WALLER, a renowned English poet and parliamentarian, was born at
Coleshill, March 3, 1605, and died at Beaconsfield, October 21, 1687. He
published a volume of poems in 1645, and another in 1664.
O woman! lovely woman! Nature made thee
To temper man: we had been brutes without you.
Angels are painted fair, to look like you:
There's in you all that we believe of heaven,--
Amazing brightness, purity, and truth,
Eternal joy, and everlasting love.
"Venice Preserved," Act i, Sc. 1,--_Thomas Otway_.
THOMAS OTWAY, a noted English dramatist, was born at Trotton, near
Midhurst, Sussex, March 3, 1652, and died in April, 1685. His famous
plays include "Don Carlos, Prince of Spain," "The Orphan, or the Unhappy
Marriage," "The History and Fall of Caius Marius," "Venice Preserved, or
a Plot Discover'd," etc.
When money represents many things, not to love it would be to love
nearly nothing. To forget true needs can be only a feeble
moderation; but to know the value of money and to sacrifice it
always, maybe to duty, maybe even to delicacy,--that is real
virtue.
--_De Sénancour_.
ETIENNE PIVERT DE SÉNANCOUR, a distinguished French writer, born at
Paris, March 4 (?), 1770, and died at St. Cloud, January 10, 1846. He
wrote: "Reveries on the Primitive State of Man," "Love According to
Primordial Laws, and According to the Conventions of Society," "Free
Meditations of an Unknown Solitary on Detachment from the World,"
"Isabella," and "Obermann," his most celebrated work.
I have always believed that success would be the inevitable result
if the two services, the army and the navy, had fair play, and if
we sent the right man to fill the right place.
"Speech in Parliament," January 15, 1855,--_Sir Austen Henry
Layard_.
SIR AUSTEN HENRY LAYARD, a celebrated English traveler, was born at
Paris, March 5, 1817, and died July 5, 1894. Among his publications are:
"Nineveh and Babylon," "Early Adventures in Persia, Susiana, and
Babylonia," "Nineveh and Its Remains."
Deep brown eyes running over with glee;
Blue eyes are pale, and gray eyes are sober;
Bonnie brown eyes are the eyes for me.
"October's Song,"--_Constance F. Woolson_.
CONSTANCE FENIMORE WOOLSON, a well-known American poet and novelist, was
born at Claremont, N. H., March 5, 1848, and died at Venice, January,
1894. Her principal works are: "Rodman the Keeper," "For the Major,"
"Anne," "East Angels," "Horace Chase," "Jupiter Lights," and "Castle
Nowhere."
As when, O lady mine!
With chiselled touch
The stone unhewn and cold
Becomes a living mould.
The more the marble wastes,
The more the statue grows.
"Sonnet," Translation by Mrs. Henry Roscoe,--_Michelangelo_.
MICHAELANGELO BUONAROTTI, one of the greatest of Italian sculptors and
poets, was born at Caprese, March 6, 1475, and died at Rome, February
18, 1564. His "Poems" were published in 1863, and a volume of "Letters"
in 1865.
God answers sharp and sudden on some prayers,
And thrusts the thing we have prayed for in our face,
A gauntlet with a gift in't.
"Aurora Leigh, Book II,"--_Elizabeth Browning_.
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, a famous English poetess, was born in
Durham, March 6, 1809, and died in Florence, June 30, 1861. Her
principal poems are: "The Drama of Exile," "A Vision of Poets," "The
Seraphim," "Romance of the Swan's Nest," "Aurora Leigh," "The Cry of the
Children," "Lady Geraldine's Courtship," and "Sonnets from the
Portuguese."
A little work, a little play
To keep us going--and so good day!
A little warmth, a little light
Of love's bestowing--and so, good night.
A little fun, to match the sorrow
Of each day's growing--and so, good morrow!
A little trust that when we die
We reap our sowing--and so, good bye!
"Trilby,"--_George Du Maurier_.
GEORGE DU MAURIER, a celebrated illustrator, cartoonist, and novelist,
was born in Paris, March 6, 1834, and died in London, October 8, 1896.
He wrote and illustrated three noted stories, "Peter Ibbetson,"
"Trilby," and "The Martian."
The people are gaining upon Nathaniel Hawthorne's works. A century
hence, when the most popular authors of to-day are forgotten, he
will probably be more widely read than ever.
--_Edward P. Roe_, 1888.
EDWARD PAYSON ROE, a noted American novelist, was born in Orange County,
N. Y., March 7, 1838, and died at Cornwall, N. Y., July 19, 1888. He
wrote: "Barriers Burned Away," "What Can She Do?" "The Opening of a
Chestnut Burr," "From Jest to Earnest," "Near to Nature's Heart," "A
Knight of the Nineteenth Century," "A Face Illumined," "A Day of Fate,"
"Without a Home," "A Young Girl's Wooing," "Nature's Serial Story,"
"Driven Back to Eden," "He Fell in Love with His Wife," "A Hornet's
Nest," "Miss Lou," "Taken Alive, and Other Stories," etc.
The Roman Epic abounds in moral and poetical defects; nevertheless
it remains the most complete picture of the national mind at its
highest elevation; the most precious document of national history,
if the history of an age is recorded in its ideas, no less than in
its events and incidents.
"History of the Romans under the Empire," Ch.
xli,--_C. Merivale_.
CHARLES MERIVALE, a famous English historian, was born March 8, 1808,
and died December 27, 1893. He wrote: "General History of Rome from the
Foundation of the City to the Fall of Augustulus," and in 1862 he very
successfully translated Keats' "Hyperion" into Latin verse.
O Light divine! we need no fuller test
That all is ordered well;
We know enough to trust that all is best
Where Love and Wisdom dwell.
"Oh, Love Supreme,"--_Christopher P. Cranch_.
CHRISTOPHER P. CRANCH, a noted American poet and artist, was born in
Alexandria, Va., March 8, 1813, and died in Cambridge, Mass., January
20, 1892. His publications include: "Poems," "The Last of the
Huggermuggers," and "Ariel and Caliban, with Other Poems."
Man, being essentially active, must find in activity his joy, as
well as his beauty and glory; and labor, like everything else that
is good, is its own reward.
--_Whipple_.
EDWIN PERCY WHIPPLE, a distinguished American literary critic, was born
at Gloucester, Mass., March 8, 1819, and died in Boston, June 16, 1886.
He published: "Essays and Reviews" (2 vols. 1848-49), "Lectures on
Subjects Connected with Literature and Life," "Character and
Characteristic Men," "The Literature of the Age of Elizabeth," "Success
and Its Conditions." He also wrote: "Recollections of Eminent Men,"
"American Literature and Other Papers," and "Outlooks on Society,
Literature, and Politics." The latter works were published after his
death.
Public credit means the contracting of debts which nations never
can pay.
"Advice to Young Men,"--_William Cobbett_.
WILLIAM COBBETT, a distinguished English essayist and political writer,
was born in Farnham, March 9, 1762, and died at Normandy Farm, near
Farnham, June, 1835. He wrote: "The Political Proteus," "Legacy to
Laborers," "Advice to Young Men," etc.
The historian is a prophet looking backward.
--_Schlegel_.
FRIEDRICH VON SCHLEGEL, a celebrated German critic and philologist, was
born at Hanover, March 10, 1772, and died at Dresden, January 12, 1829.
Among his publications are: "History of Greek and Roman Poetry," "The
Greeks and Romans," "Fragments," "Poems," "Alarcos," "Language and
Wisdom of the Indians," "On the Schools of Grecian Poetry," "Modern
History," "History of Ancient and Modern Literature," "Philosophy of
Life," etc.
Wem Gott will rechte Gunst erweisen,
Den schickt er in die weite Welt.[1]
"Der Frohe Wandersmann,"--_J. V. Eichendorff_.
BARON JOSEPH VON EICHENDORFF, a distinguished German poet, was born at
the castle of Lubowitz in Silesia, March 10, 1788, and died at Neisse,
November 26, 1857. His famous works include: "Presage and Presence,"
"War to the Philistines," "The Last Hero of Marienburg," etc.
I do not deem that Castiglione wrote for the men of his own day
only ... the beauty of his writings deserves that in all ages they
should be read and praised; and as long as courts shall endure, as
long as princes, ladies, and noble gentlemen shall meet together,
as long as valor and courtesy shall abide in our hearts, the name
of Castiglione will be valued.
--_Tasso_.
TORQUATO TASSO, a renowned Italian poet, was born at Sorrento, Italy,
March 11, 1544, and died at Rome, April 25, 1595. He published:
"Rinaldo," "Aminta," "Torismondo," and his masterpiece, "Jerusalem
Delivered."
Wealth is not acquired, as many persons suppose, by fortunate
speculations and splendid enterprises, but by the daily practice
of industry, frugality, and economy. He who relies upon these
means will rarely be found destitute, and he who relies upon any
other will generally become bankrupt.
--_Wayland_.
FRANCIS WAYLAND, a distinguished American clergyman, author, and
educator, was born in New York City, March 11, 1796, and died in
Providence, Rhode Island, September 30, 1865. Among his notable works
are: "Elements of Moral Science," "Elements of Political Economy," "The
Limitations of Human Responsibility," "Elements of Intellectual
Philosophy," "Sermons to Churches," etc., etc.
Our youth we can have but to-day,
We may always find time to grow old.
"Can Love be controlled by Advice?"--_Bishop Berkeley_.
BISHOP GEORGE BERKELEY, the eminent Irish clergyman and author, was born
near Kilkenny, March 12, 1685, and died at Oxford, England, January 14,
1753. His writings include: "Essay Towards a New Theory of Vision," "The
Analyst," "The Principles of Human Knowledge," his famous "Commonplace
Book, 1703-6," etc.
The terrible rumble, grumble and roar
Telling the battle was on once more--
And Sheridan twenty miles away!
"Sheridan's Ride,"--_Thomas Buchanan Read_.
THOMAS BUCHANAN READ, a celebrated American portrait-painter and poet,
was born in Pennsylvania, March 12, 1822, and died in 1872. His most
famous works are: "The House by the Sea," "Poems," "Lays and Ballads,"
"Poetical Works," "A Summer Story," "The New Pastoral," "The Pilgrims of
the Great St. Bernard," "The Good Samaritans," "A Voyage to Iceland,"
"Sylvia; or The Lost Shepherd," "Drifting."
"I have heard frequent use," said the late Lord Sandwich, in a
debate on the Test Laws, "of the words 'orthodoxy' and
'heterodoxy'; but I confess myself at a loss to know precisely
what they mean." "Orthodoxy, my Lord," said Bishop Warburton, in a
whisper,--"orthodoxy is my doxy, heterodoxy is another man's
doxy."
"Memoirs," Vol. i, p. 572,--_Priestley_.
JOSEPH PRIESTLEY, an English theologian, physicist, and philosopher of
great fame, was born at Fieldhead, near Leeds, March 13, 1733, and died
near Philadelphia, February 6, 1804. His principal writings are:
"Observations on Different Kinds of Air," "History of Electricity," "The
Doctrine of Phlogiston Established," "History of the Corruptions of
Christianity," "Disquisitions on Matter and Spirit," and "Institutes of
Natural and Revealed Religion."
Nature is mighty. Art is mighty. Artifice is weak. For nature is
the work of a mightier power than man. Art is the work of man
under the guidance and inspiration of a mightier power. Artifice
is the work of mere man, in the imbecility of his mimic
understanding.
--_Hare_.
AUGUSTUS JOHN CUTHBERT HARE, a noted English descriptive writer, was
born in Rome, March 13, 1834, and died in 1903. He wrote: "A Winter at
Mentone," "Walks in Rome," "Wanderings in Spain," "Walks in London,"
"Days near Paris," "Cities of Southern Italy and Sicily," "Memorials of
a Quiet Life," "Story of My Life," etc.
This new page opened in the book of our public expenditures, and
this new departure taken, which leads into the bottomless gulf of
civil pensions and family gratuities.
"Speech in the U. S. Senate against a Grant to President
Harrison's Widow," April, 1841,--_Thomas Hart Benton_.
THOMAS HART BENTON, a distinguished American statesman and author, was
born near Hillsborough, Orange County, N. C., March 14, 1782, and died
in Washington, D. C., April 10, 1858. His chief publications are his
"Abridgment of the Debates of Congress" and his "Thirty Years' View."
His form was of the manliest beauty,
His heart was kind and soft;
Faithful below he did his duty,
But now he's gone aloft.
"Tom Bowling,"--_Charles Dibdin_.
CHARLES DIBDIN, a noted English lyric and dramatic poet, and actor, was
born at Southampton, March 15, 1745, and died July 25, 1814. He wrote:
"History of the Stage," "Sea Songs," and many plays and operettas.
Dulde, gedulde dich fein!
Uber ein Stundlein
Ist deine Kammer voll Sonne![2]
"Gedichte," "Uber ein Stundlein,"--_P. Heyse_.
PAUL LUDWIG HEYSE, a famous German poet and novelist, was born in
Berlin, March 15, 1830, and died in 1914. He has written: "The Sabines,"
"The Brothers," "Ourika," "Rafael," "Children of the World," etc.; also
his celebrated tragedy "Francesca da Rimini."
The advice nearest to my heart and deepest in my convictions is
that the union of the states be cherished and perpetuated. Let the
open enemy to it be regarded as a Pandora with her box opened, and
the disguised one as the serpent creeping with his deadly wiles
into paradise.
--_James Madison_.
JAMES MADISON, the fourth President of the United States, was born at
Port Conway, Va., March 16, 1751, and died at Montpelier, Vt., June 28,
1836. His "Complete Works" have been published in six volumes.
O Liberty! Liberty! how many crimes are committed in thy name.
--_Madame Roland_.
MADAME ROLAND, a noted French author and Republican politician, was born
in Paris, March 17, 1754, and died November 8, 1793. Her "Letters" and
"Memoirs," published after her death, have made her famous.
Even in the fiercest uproar of our stormy passions, conscience,
though in her softest whispers, gives to the supremacy of
rectitude the voice of an undying testimony.
--_Chalmers_.
THOMAS CHALMERS, a famous Scottish theologian, was born in Anstruther,
Fifeshire, March 17, 1780, and died in Edinburgh, May 30, 1847. His
works were collected (23 vols., 1836-42), "Posthumous Works" (9 vols.,
1847-49), "Select Works" (12 vols., 1854-79).
Man dwells apart, though not alone,
He walks among his peers unread;
The best of thoughts which he hath known
For lack of listeners are not said.
"Afterthought,"--_Jean Ingelow_.
JEAN INGELOW, a celebrated English poet and novelist was born in Boston,
Lincolnshire, March 17, 1830, and died in London, July 19, 1897. Among
her writings are: "A Rhyming Chronicle of Incidents and Feelings," "Home
Thoughts and Home Scenes," "Round of Days," "A Story of Doom and Other
Poems," "Mopsa the Fairy," "Little Wonder Horn," "Studies for Stories,"
"A Sister's Bye Hours," "Quite Another Story," "A Motto Changed," "Songs
of Seven," etc.
We pardon infidelities, but we do not forget them.
--_Madame de Lafayette_.
MADAME DE LAFAYETTE, a noted French novelist, was baptized at Paris,
March 18, 1634, and died there, May 25, 1693. She wrote: "The Princess
de Montpensier," "Zaide," "History of Henrietta of England," "Memoirs of
the Court of France for the Years 1688 and 1689," and "The Princess of
Cleves," her most celebrated work.
The very essence of a free government consists in considering
offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country,
and not for the benefit of an individual or a party.
"Speech," February 13, 1835.--_John C. Calhoun_.
JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, an illustrious American statesman, was born in
Abbeville Dist., S. C., March 18, 1782, and died in Washington, March
31, 1850. His works include his famous treatise: "On the Constitution
and Government of the United States," and a "Discourse on Government."
Though the people support the government the government should not
support the people.
"Veto of Texas Seed Bill," February 16, 1887.--_Grover
Cleveland_.
GROVER STEPHEN CLEVELAND, a distinguished American diplomat and
President of the United States from 1885 to 1889, and again from 1893 to
1897, was born at Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey, March 18, 1837,
and died in 1908. He published: "Presidential Problems," "Fishing and
Hunting Sketches."
Oh, bring again my heart's content,
Thou Spirit of the Summer-time!
"Song,"--_William Allingham_.
WILLIAM ALLINGHAM, a noted Irish poet, was born at Ballyshannon, March
19, 1828, and died at Hampstead, near London, November 18, 1889. His
most celebrated work is: "Lawrence Bloomfield in Ireland."
It is the mind that makes the man, and our vigor is in our
immortal soul.
"Metamorphoses," xiii,--_Ovid_.
OVID (PUBLIUS OVIDIUS NASO), the great Roman poet, was born at Sulmo,
March 20, 43 B.C., and died at Tomi, A.D. 17. He wrote: "Heroids,"
"Metamorphoses," "Fasti," "Art of Love," "Epistles," "Amours," etc.
Only the spirit of rebellion craves for happiness in this life.
What right have we human beings to happiness?
"Ghosts,"--_Henrik Ibsen_.
HENRIK IBSEN, a famous Norwegian dramatist, was born in Skien, March 20,
1828, and died in 1906. His most noted plays are: "The Pillars of
Society," "The Warriors at Helgeland," "Love's Comedy," "The Wild Duck,"
"An Enemy of the People," "Ghosts," "Hedda Gabler," and "A Doll's
House."
Try it for a day, I beseech you, to preserve yourself in an easy
and cheerful frame of mind. Compare the day in which you have
rooted out the weed of dissatisfaction with that on which you have
allowed it to grow up, and you will find your heart open to every
good motive, your life strengthened and your breast armed with a
panoply against every trick of fate, truly you will wonder at your
own improvement.
--_Richter_.
JEAN PAUL FRIEDRICH RICHTER, the celebrated German philosopher and
humorist, was born at Wunsiedel, Bavaria, March 21, 1763, and died at
Bayreuth, November 14, 1825. His noted works were: "The Country Valley,"
"Titan," "Flower, Fruit, and Thorn Pieces," "The Invisible Lodge," "The
Life of Quintus Fixlein," "The Jubilating Senior," "Introduction to
Aesthetics," "Hesperus," "Wild Oats," etc.
This is the charm, by sages often told,
Converting all it touches into gold:
Content can soothe, where 'er by fortune placed,
Can rear a garden in the desert waste.
"Clifton Grove," L. 130,--_Henry Kirke White_.
HENRY KIRKE WHITE, a noted English poet, was born at Nottingham, March
21, 1785, and died October 19, 1806. He published: "Clifton Grove, a
Sketch in Verse with Other Poems," which was dedicated to Georgiana,
Duchess of Devonshire. He also wrote numerous religious verses.
In George Sand's finest work there is a sweet spontaneity, almost
as if she were an oracle of Nature uttering automatically the
divine message. But, on the other hand, when the inspiration
forsakes her, she drifts along on a windy current of words, the
facility of her pen often beguiling the writer into vague
diffuseness and unsubstantial declamation.
"Life of George Eliot,"--_Mathilde Blind_.
MATHILDE BLIND, a celebrated German-English poet, was born in Mannheim,
March 21, 1847, and died in London, November 26, 1896. Among her
writings are: "Life of George Eliot," "Madame Roland," "The Heather on
Fire," "Ascent of Man," "Dramas in Miniature," "The Prophecy of St.
Oran, and Other Poems," "Songs and Sonnets," and "Birds of Passage."
Time still, as he flies, brings increase to her truth,
And gives to her mind what he steals from her youth.
"The Happy Marriage,"--_Edward Moore_.
EDWARD MOORE, a famous English dramatist and fabulist, was born at
Abingdon, March 22, 1712, and died in London, March 1, 1757. He wrote:
"Fables for the Female Sex," "Gil Blas," "Poems, Fables, and Plays,"
"Dramatic Works," etc.
The Night has a thousand eyes,
And the Day but one;
Yet the light of the bright world dies
With the dying sun.
The Mind has a thousand eyes,
And the Heart but one;
Yet the light of a whole life dies
When Love is done.
"Light,"--_Francis W. Bourdillon_.
FRANCIS W. BOURDILLON, a noted English poet, was born March 22, 1852. He
has published: "Among the Flowers and Other Poems," "Ailes d'Alouette,"
"A Lost God," "Bedside Readings," "Sursom Corda," "Nephele," "Through
the Gateway," "Aucassin and Nicolette," "Prelude and Romances," etc.
Some shall reap that never sow
And some shall toil and not attain.
"Success,"--_Madison Julius Cawein_.
MADISON JULIUS CAWEIN, a distinguished American poet, was born in
Louisville, Ky., March 23, 1865, and died December 7, 1914. Among his
works are: "Blooms of the Berry," "The Triumph of Music," "Lyrics and
Idyls," "Days and Dreams," "Moods and Memories," "Accolon of Gaul,"
"Intimations of the Beautiful," "Red Leaves and Roses," "Undertones,"
and "Poems of Nature and Love."
I sing the sweets I know, the charms I feel,
My morning incense, and my evening meal,
The sweets of Hasty Pudding.
"Hasty Pudding," Canto I,--_Joel Barlow_.
JOEL BARLOW, a famous American poet and statesman, was born in Redding,
Conn., March 24, 1754, and died near Cracow, Poland, December 24, 1812.
He wrote: "The Vision of Columbus," "The Columbiad," "The Conspiracy of
Kings," and his celebrated poem, "Hasty Pudding."
O thrush, your song is passing sweet
But never a song that you have sung,
Is half so sweet as thrushes sang
When my dear Love and I were young.
"Other Days,"--_William Morris_.
WILLIAM MORRIS, a celebrated English poet and writer on socialism, was
born near London, March 24, 1834, and died at Hammersmith, October 3,
1896. His poetical writings include: "Defence of Guenevere and Other
Poems," "Life and Death of Jason," "The Earthly Paradise," "Love Is
Enough," "Poems by the Way," "The Story of Sigurd," etc. He also wrote:
"The House of the Wolfings," "The Roots of the Mountains," "Hopes and
Fears for Art," etc., and translated the "Æneid" in 1876, and the
"Odyssey" in 1887.
Oh, dinna ask me gin I lo'e ye:
Troth, I daurna tell!
Dinna ask me gin I lo'e ye,--
Ask it o' yoursel'.
"Dinna Ask Me,"--_John Dunlop_.
JOHN DUNLOP, a noted Scottish song-writer, was born March 25 (?), 1755,
and died at Port Glasgow, September 4, 1820. His Most famous song is,
"Oh, Dinna Ask Me Gin I Lo'e Ye," which won for him great fame.
The stately ship is seen no more,
The fragile skiff attains the shore;
And while the great and wise decay,
And all their trophies pass away,
Some sudden thought, some careless rhyme,
Still floats above the wrecks of Time.
"On an Old Song,"--_William Edward Hartpole Lecky_.
WILLIAM EDWARD HARTPOLE LECKY, a distinguished English historian, was
born in Dublin, Ireland, March 26, 1838, and died in 1903. Among his
works may be mentioned: "History of the Rise and Influence of the
Spirit of Rationalism in Europe," "The Leaders of Public Opinion in
Ireland," "A History of England in the 18th Century," "A History of
Ireland in the 18th Century," "Democracy and Liberty," "A History of
European Morals from Augustus to Charlemagne."
When I was one and twenty
I heard a wise man say:
"Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away."
"A Shropshire Lad,"--_Alfred Edward Housman_.
ALFRED EDWARD HOUSMAN, a noted English poet, was born March 26, 1859.
Among his poetical pieces are: "A Shropshire Lad," "The Recruit," "The
Street Sounds to the Soldiers' Tread," "The Day of Battle," "On the Idle
Hill of Summer," "Loveliest of Trees," etc.
The army is a good book to open to study human life. One learns
there to put his hand to everything, to the lowest and highest
things. The most delicate and rich are forced to see living nearly
everywhere poverty, and to live with it, and to measure his morsel
of bread and draught of water.
--_Alfred de Vigny_.
ALFRED VICTOR, COMTE DE VIGNY, a celebrated French writer, was born in
Loches, March 27, 1799, and died in Paris, September 17, 1863. His works
include: "Cinq-Mars," "Consultations of Dr. Noir," etc. He also wrote
several plays, "Chatterton" being the most famous.
But the sunshine aye shall light the sky,
As round and round we run;
And the truth shall ever come uppermost,
And justice shall be done.
"Eternal Justice," Stanza 4,--_Charles Mackay_.
CHARLES MACKAY, a noted Scottish poet, journalist, and miscellaneous
writer, was born at Perth, March 27, 1814, and died in London, December
24, 1889. He wrote: "Voices from the Mountains," "Voices from the
Crowd," "The Salamandrine, or Love and Immortality," etc.
The school is the manufactory of humanity.
--_Comenius_.
JOHANN AMOS COMENIUS, an illustrious theologian and educator, was born
at Nivnitz (?), Moravia, March 28, 1592, and died at Amsterdam, November
15, 1670. He has written: "Gate of Languages Unlocked," "World of Sense
Depicted," "Great Didactics, or the Whole Art of Teaching Everything,"
etc.
We shall be judged, not by what we might have been, but what we
have been.
--_Sewall_.
SAMUEL SEWALL, a distinguished American jurist, was born in Bishopstoke,
England, March 28, 1652, and died in Boston, January 1, 1730. He wrote:
"The Selling of Joseph," "The Accomplishment of Prophecies," "A Memorial
Relating to the Kennebec Indians," "A Description of the New Heaven,"
His "Diary" was published in the "Collections of the Massachusetts
Historical Society."
I have lived long enough to know what I did not at one time
believe--that no society can be upheld in happiness and honor
without the sentiment of religion.
--_La Place_.
PIERRE SIMON, MARQUIS DE LAPLACE, a renowned French mathematician and
physical astronomer, was born at Beaumont-en-Auge, March 28, 1749, and
died at Paris, March 5, 1827. His works include: "Exposition of the
System of the Universe," "Mechanism of the Heavens," "Analytic Theory of
Probabilities," "Philosophical Essay on Probabilities," etc.
The love of truth is the stimulus to all noble conversation. This
is the root of all the charities. The tree which springs from it
may have a thousand branches, but they will all bear a golden and
generous fruitage.
--_Orville Dewey_.
ORVILLE DEWEY, a noted American clergyman and man of letters, was born
in Sheffield, Mass., March 28, 1794, and died there, March 21, 1882.
Among his works are: "Discourses on Human Nature," "Discourses on the
Nature of Religion," "The Problem of Human Destiny," etc.
One thing only in this world is certain--duty.
"Selected Essays,"--_James Darmesteter_.
JAMES DARMESTETER, a distinguished French Orientalist, was born at
Château-Salins, March 28, 1849, and died October 19, 1894. Among his
writings may be mentioned: "Ormazd and Ahriman," "Iranian Studies,"
"Origins of Persian Poetry," and "Selected Essays."
You'd scarce expect one of my age
To speak in public on the stage;
And if I chance to fall below
Demosthenes or Cicero,
Don't view me with a critic's eye,
But pass my imperfections by.
Large streams from little fountains flow,
Tall oaks from little acorns grow.
"Lines written for a School Declamation,"--_David Everett_.
DAVID EVERETT, a noted American journalist and miscellaneous writer, was
born at Princeton, Mass., March 29, 1770, and died at Marietta, Ohio,
December 21, 1813. He wrote: "Common Sense in Deshabille or the Farmer's
Monitor," "The Rights and Duties of Nations," and "Darenzel, or the
Persian Patriot."
I am but a gatherer and disposer of other men's stuff.
"Preface to the Elements of Architecture,"--_Sir Henry Wotton_.
SIR HENRY WOTTON, a famous English diplomatist, poet, and miscellaneous
writer, was born at Boughton, Malherbe, Kent, March 30, 1568, and died
at Eton, December, 1639. He wrote: "State of Christendom," "Poems,"
"Elements of Architecture," etc.
From the very beginning Freeman's historical studies were
characterized on the one hand by philosophical breadth of view,
and on the other hand by extreme accuracy of statement, and such
loving minuteness of detail as is apt to mark the local antiquary
whose life has been spent in studying only one thing. It was to
the combination of these two characteristics that the pre-eminent
greatness of his historical work was due.
"A Century of Science and other Essays,"--_John Fiske_.
JOHN FISKE, a renowned American historian, was born at Hartford, Conn.,
March 30, 1842, and died at Gloucester, Mass., July 4, 1901. He has
written: "Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy," "The Unseen World,"
"Darwinism," "American Political Ideas," "The Critical Period of
American History," "The Idea of God," "The American Revolution," "The
Beginnings of New England," "The Discovery of America," "Dutch and
Quaker Colonies in America" (1899), "Civil Government of the United
States," "The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War," "Old Virginia and
her Neighbors," 2 vols., etc.
(Et) le malheur est bien un trésor qu'on déterre.[3]
"Amour,"--_Paul Verlaine_.
PAUL VERLAINE, a celebrated French poet and story writer was born at
Metz, March 30, 1844, and died at Paris, January 8, 1896. He wrote:
"Saturnine Poems," "Gay Festivals," "Memoirs of a Widower," "Stories
Without Words," "Love," "Dedications," "Good Luck," "My Hospitals," etc.
When anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that
the offence cannot reach it.
--_Descartes_.
RENÉ DESCARTES, the illustrious French philosopher, was born at La Haye,
Touraine, March 31, 1596, and died at Stockholm, February 11, 1650. His
works include: "Discourse on Method," "Meditations in Elementary
Philosophy," "Philosophical Beginnings," "Dioptrique," "Meteors,"
"Geometry," "Treatise on the Passions," and "Letters to the Princess
Elizabeth."
The world in all doth but two nations bear--
The good, the bad, and these mixed everywhere.
"The Loyal Scot,"--_Andrew Marvell_.
ANDREW MARVELL, a famous English poet and satirist, was born at
Winstead, Yorkshire, March 31, 1621, and died in London, August 18,
1678. He wrote: "The Nymph Complaining," "The Rehearsal Transposed,"
"Horatian Ode on Cromwell's Return from Ireland," and his well-known
"Poems on Affairs of State."
Whether we wake or we sleep,
Whether we carol or weep,
The Sun with his Planets in chime,
Marketh the going of Time.
"Chronomoros,"--_Edward Fitzgerald_.
EDWARD FITZGERALD, a renowned English poet, was born at Bredfield House,
near Suffolk, March 31, 1809, and died June 14, 1883. Among his writings
are: "The Mighty Magician," "Six Dramas from Calderon," and "The
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám." These are all translations of foreign poems.
There's a joy without canker or cark,
There's a pleasure eternally new,
'Tis to gloat on the glaze and the mark
Of China that's ancient and blue.
"Ballades in Blue China,"--_Andrew Lang_.
ANDREW LANG, a noted English poet, story-teller and literary critic, was
born at Selkirk, Scotland, March 31, 1844, and died in 1912. Among his
works are: "Letters to Dead Authors," "Helen of Troy," "Ballads and
Lyrics of Old France," "Custom and Myth," "Myth, Ritual, and Religion,"
"Ballades in Blue China," etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]
God sends His highly favored ones
Into the wide, wide world to roam.
[2]
Bear ye! Bravely endure;
Just one short hour--
And thy dark room with sunshine glows.
[3] Misfortune is in truth a treasure we unearth.
APRIL
APRIL
Dis moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es.[1]
"Physiologie du Goût,"--_Brillat-Savarin_.
ANTHÈLME BRILLAT-SAVARIN, a distinguished French author, was born April
1, 1755, and died in 1826. His fame rests on the noted work: "Physiology
of Taste."
Wir Deutschen furchten Gott, sonst aber nichts in der Welt.[2]
"Speech in the Reichstag," 1887,--_Prince Bismarck_.
OTTO EDWARD LEOPOLD VON BISMARCK, the renowned German statesman, was
born at Schonhausen, April 1, 1815, and died in 1898. "Bismarck's
Letters" won for him a place in literature.
Without doubt
I can teach crowing: for I gobble.
"Chantecler," Act. i, Sc. 2,--_Edmond Rostand_.
EDMOND ROSTAND, a noted French dramatist, was born in Marseilles, April
1, 1868, and died in 1918. His notable plays include: "Les Romanesques,"
"La Princesse Lointaine," "La Samaritaine," "Cyrano de Bergerac,"
"L'Aiglon," "Poems," "Les Musardises," "Pour la Grèce," "Un Soir à
Hernani," "Les Mots," "Chantecler," "Le Cantique de l'Aile," "Le
Printemps de l'Aile," etc.
The God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.
"Summary View of the Rights of British America,"--_Thomas
Jefferson_.
THOMAS JEFFERSON, a distinguished American statesman, was born at
Shadwell, Va., April 2, 1743, and died at Monticello, Va., July 4, 1826.
He wrote: "Notes on Virginia," "Autobiography," "Correspondence," etc.
The Declaration of Independence was also written by him.
Michael Angelo has expressed in colors what Dante saw and has sung
to the generations of the earth.
(Miserere) "In the Sistine Chapel," from "The Improvisatore"
(Translation by Mary Howitt),--_Hans Christian Andersen_.
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN, a renowned Danish poet and story writer, was
born at Odense, April 2, 1805, and died August 4, 1875. He wrote: "The
Poet's Bazar," "Only a Fiddler," "The Picture Book Without Pictures,"
"The Improvisatore," and his celebrated "Wonder Tales" for children.
Among his dramatic compositions are: "Raphaella," "The Two Baronesses,"
"The Flowers of Happiness," etc.
Genius and its rewards are briefly told:
A liberal nature and a niggard doom,
A difficult journey to a splendid tomb.
"Dedication of the Life and Adventures of Oliver
Goldsmith,"--_John Forster_.
JOHN FORSTER, a noted English biographer and historical writer, was born
in Newcastle-on-Tyne, April 2, 1812, and died in London, February 2,
1876. He wrote: "Life of Charles Dickens," "Statesmen of the
Commonwealth of England," "Life of Oliver Goldsmith," "Biographical and
Historical Essays," etc.
Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright,
The bridal of the earth and sky.
"Virtue,"--_George Herbert_.
GEORGE HERBERT, a celebrated English poet, was born in Montgomery
Castle, Montgomeryshire, April 3, 1593, and died at Bemerton,
Wiltshire, in 1633. His most noted poems are: "Sweet Day, So Cool, So
Calm, So Bright," "Virtue," "Life," "Love," "Discipline," "Holy
Baptism," etc.
The almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion
throughout our land, seems to have no genuine devotees in these
peculiar villages.
"The Creole Village,"--_Washington Irving_.
WASHINGTON IRVING, the renowned American historian, biographer, and man
of letters, was born in New York, April 3, 1783, and died at
"Sunnyside," near Tarrytown, N. Y., November 28, 1859. His principal
works are: "The Alhambra," "Mahomet and His Successors," "Conquest of
Granada," "The Sketch Book," "Bracebridge Hall," "Life and Times of
Christopher Columbus," "Companions of Columbus," "Life of Washington,"
"A Voyage to the Eastern Part of Terra Firma," a translation; "Life of
Oliver Goldsmith," "Astoria," "History of New York, by Diedrich
Knickerbocker," "The Poetical Works of Thomas Campbell," "The Rocky
Mountains: Journal of Captain B. L. E. Bonneville," etc.
To look up and not down,
To look forward and not back,
To look out and not in, and
To lend a hand.
Rule of the "Harry Wadsworth Club," from "Ten Times One
Is Ten," 1870,--_Edward Everett Hale_.
EDWARD EVERETT HALE, a distinguished American divine and prose-writer,
was born in Boston, Mass., April 3, 1822, and died June 10, 1909. Among
his writings are: "The Man Without a Country," "My Double and How He
Undid Me," "Ten Times One is Ten," "The Skeleton in the Closet," "In His
Name," "Ups and Downs," "Philip Nolan's Friends," "The Kingdom of God,"
"East and West," "Ralph Waldo Emerson," "Memories of a Hundred Years,"
"We, the People," "Prayers in the Senate," "Foundations of the
Republic," etc.
Ah, happy world, where all things live
Creatures of one great law, indeed;
Bound by strong roots, the splendid flower,--
Swept by great seas, the drifting seed!
"The Story of the Flower,"--_Harriet P. Spofford_.
HARRIET ELIZABETH (PRESCOTT) SPOFFORD, a noted American poet and
novelist, was born in Calais, Me., April 3, 1835, and died August 15,
1921. Among her noted works are: "New England Legends," "Poems,"
"Ballads about Authors," "The Marquis of Carabas," "A Master Spirit,"
"In Titian's Garden," "The Thief in the Night," "The Amber Gods, and
Other Stories," "In a Cellar," etc.
No surer does the Auldgarth bridge, that his father helped to
build, carry the traveller over the turbulent water beneath it,
than Carlyle's books convey the reader over chasms and confusions,
where before there was no way, or only an inadequate one.
--_John Burroughs_.
JOHN BURROUGHS, a famous American essayist, was born in Roxbury, N. Y.,
April 3, 1837, and died in 1921. He has written: "Winter Sunshine,"
"Fresh Fields," "Wake-Robin," "Birds and Poets," "Locusts and Wild
Honey," "Sharp Eyes," "Signs and Seasons," "Riverely," "The Light of
Day," "Ways of Nature," "Camping and Tramping with Roosevelt," "Under
the Apple Trees," etc.
There must always be, we presume, however age and experience may
modify nature, a certain inability on the part of a woman to
appreciate the more riotous forms of mirth, and that robust
freedom in morals which bolder minds admire. It is a disability
which nothing can abolish.
--_Mrs. Oliphant_.
MARGARET WILSON OLIPHANT, a well-known Scotch novelist, was born April
4, 1828, and died in 1897. Among her numerous works may be mentioned:
"Zaidee," "The Story of Valentine and His Brother," "In Trust," "A House
Divided Against Itself," "Sir Tom," "The Cuckoo in the Nest," "English
Literature at the End of the Eighteenth and Beginning of the Nineteenth
Century," "Victorian Age of English Literature," "Makers of Florence,
Venice, and Rome," "The Reign of Queen Anne," "The Makers of Modern
Rome," "William Blackwood and His Sons," etc.
For words are wise men's counters,--they do but reckon by them;
but they are the money of fools.
"The Leviathan," Part i, Chap. iv,--_Thomas Hobbes_.
THOMAS HOBBES, a renowned English philosopher, was born in Malmesbury,
April 5, 1588, and died at Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire, December 4, 1679.
A few of his many works are: "De Cive," "Human Nature," "De Corpore
Politico," and "Leviathan, or the Matter, Form, and Power of a
Commonwealth," considered his masterpiece.
For blessings ever wait on virtuous deeds,
And though a late, a sure reward succeeds.
"The Mourning Bride," Act V, Sc. xii.--_Congreve_.
WILLIAM CONGREVE, an eminent English dramatist, was born in Bardsley,
near Leeds, April 5, 1670, and died at London, January 19, 1729. Among
his comedies are: "The Double Dealer," "The Mourning Bride," "The Old
Bachelor," and "Love for Love."
It is a zealot's faith that blasts the shrines of the false god,
but builds no temple to the true.
--_Sydney Dobell_.
SYDNEY THOMPSON DOBELL, a famous English poet, was born at Cranbrook, in
Kent, April 5, 1824, and died in 1874. He wrote: "England in Time of
War," and two noted poems, "The Roman" and "Balder." "Thoughts on Art,
Philosophy and Religion," appeared after his death.
I think it will be generally conceded that, at the time of his
death, Mr. Lowell occupied the position of the foremost American
citizen. In public regard, at home and abroad, his name naturally
headed the list of prominent Americans. Looked upon as a man of
letters, as a representative of our country in foreign lands, or
in any of the various positions in which he appeared before the
public, there was no one to whom it was the custom to name James
Russell Lowell as second. Without occupying the highest rank in
any of his vocations, he stood in front of his fellow-citizens,
because he held so high a rank in so many of them.
"Personal Tributes to Lowell, the Writer," Vol. 5,
p. 187,--_Frank R. Stockton_.
FRANK RICHARD STOCKTON, a celebrated American author, was born in
Philadelphia, April 5, 1834, and died April 20, 1902. Among his popular
works may be mentioned: "Rudder Grange," "The Lady or the Tiger," "The
Casting Away of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine," "The Dusantes," "Tales
Out of School," "Adventures of Captain Horn," "The Great Stone of
Sardis," "The Watchmaker's Wife and Other Stories," "Pomona's Travels,"
"Mrs. Cliff's Yacht," "Kate Bonnett," etc.
Pleasure with pain for leaven,
Summer with flowers that fell,
Remembrance fallen from heaven,
And Madness risen from hell,
Strength without hands to smite,
Love that endures for a breath;
Night, the shadow of light,
And Life, the shadow of death.
"Atalanta in Calydon," Chorus,--_Swinburne_.
ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE, an eminent English poet, was born in London,
April 5, 1837; and died April 10, 1909. His publications include: "Poems
and Ballads," "The Queen Mother and Rosamond," "Bothwell," "Songs of the
Springtides," "A Century of Roundels," "The Sisters," "Studies in Song,"
"Songs of Two Nations," "Chastelard," "Ode on the Proclamation of the
French Republic," "Songs Before Sunrise," "Atalanta in Calydon," "Under
the Microscope," "Tristram of Lyonesse and Other Poems," "Marino
Faliero," "A Midsummer Holiday and Other Poems," "Locrine," a tragedy, a
third series of "Poems and Ballads," "Astrophel and Other Poems," "The
Tale of Balen," "Rosamund, Queen of the Lombards," a tragedy, etc.
From every place below the skies
The grateful song, the fervent prayer,--
The incense of the heart,--may rise
To heaven, and find acceptance there.
"Every Place a Temple,"--_John Pierpont_.
JOHN PIERPONT, a well-known American clergyman and poet, was born in
Litchfield, Conn., April 6, 1785, and died in Medford, Mass., August 27,
1866. He wrote: "Airs of Palestine, and Other Poems," also, his famous
poem "Warren's Address at the Battle of Bunker Hill."
It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold:
"Peace on the earth, good-will to men,
From Heaven's all-gracious King!"
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.
"The Angels' Song,"--_Edmund Hamilton Sears_.
EDMUND HAMILTON SEARS, a noted American clergyman, religious writer and
poet was born in Sandisfield, Mass., April 6, 1810, and died at Weston,
Mass., January 14, 1876. He wrote: "Regeneration," "Pictures of the
Olden Time," "Athanasia," "Christian Lyrics," "The Fourth Gospel: the
Heart of Christ," "Sermons and Songs of the Christian Life," "Christ in
the Life," etc.
Dreams, books, are each a world; and books, we know,
Are a substantial world, both pure and good.
Bound these, with tendrils strong as flesh and blood,
Our pastime and our happiness will grow.
"Personal Talk," Stanza 3,--_William Wordsworth_.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, the great English poet, was born at Cockermouth,
Cumberland, April 7, 1770, and died at Rydal Mount, April 23, 1850.
Among his noted works are: "The Excursion," "Lyrical Ballads," "The
Prelude," "Peter Bell," "The Waggoner," "Sonnets," "Yarrow Revisited and
Other Poems," "Poems," "An Evening Walk," etc.
I sing New England, as she lights her fire
In every Prairie's midst; and where the bright
Enchanting stars shine pure through Southern night,
She still is there, the guardian on the tower,
To open for the world a purer hour.
"New England,"--_William E. Channing_.
WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING, a distinguished American theologian, was born
at Newport, R. I.; April 7, 1780, and died at Bennington, Vt.; April,
1842. His works were published in 1848, and comprise the following:
"Youth of the Poet and Painter," "Thoreau the Poet-Naturalist,"
"Conversation in Rome Between an Artist and Catholic, and a Critic,"
etc.
There came a new poet who, to the science of rhythm, the resources
of expression, the gift of epic narration, the deep feeling for
nature, to all the caprices of a delightful fancy, to all the
favorite ideas, noble or morbid, of modern thought, knew how to
join the language of manly passion. Thus, as it were summing up in
himself all his forerunners, he touched all hearts; he linked
together all admirations; he has remained the true representative,
the last expression and final, of the poetic period to which he
belongs. Tennyson reigns to-day almost alone in increasing and
uncontested glory.
"Taine's History of English Literature," _Essays on English
Literature_, tr. Saintsbury, p. 87,--_Edmond Scherer_.
EDMOND SCHERER, a celebrated French essayist and critic, was born in
Paris, April 8, 1815, and died at Versailles, March 16, 1889. Among his
writings are: "Miscellanies of Religious Criticism," "Letters to my
Pastor," "Criticism and Belief," "Miscellanies of Religious History,"
etc.
I consider biennial elections as a security that the sober second
thought of the people shall be law.
"On Biennial Elections," 1788,--_Fisher Ames_.
FISHER AMES, a famous American statesman and orator, was born at Dedham,
Mass., April 9, 1758, and died there, July 4, 1808. He wrote many essays
and orations.
Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears
from the eyes of woman.
--_Beethoven_.
LUDWIG VON BEETHOVEN, a renowned German composer, was born at Bonn,
April 9, 1770, and died at Vienna, in 1827. Besides his numerous musical
productions, he won literary fame by his "Correspondence" and "Brentano
Letters."
Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing
something to be happy. Action is no less necessary than thought to
the instinctive tendencies of the human frame.
--_Hazlitt_.
WILLIAM HAZLITT, a celebrated English prose-writer and critic, was born
in Maidstone, Kent, April 10, 1778, and died in London, September 18,
1830. He wrote: "The Spirit of the Age," "Characters of Shakespeare's
Plays," "Lectures on English Poets," etc.
Riches take wings, comforts vanish, hope withers away, but love
stays with us. Love is God.
--_Lew Wallace_.
LEWIS WALLACE ("LEW WALLACE"), a famous American general, lawyer, and
novelist, was born at Brookville, Ind., April 10, 1827, and died in
1905. Among his notable works are: "The Fair God," "Ben Hur," "The Life
of Gen. Benjamin Harrison," "Commodus: a Tragedy," "The Boyhood of
Christ," "The Prince of India," etc.
Bend low, O dusky Night,
And give my spirit rest,
Hold me to your deep breast,
And put old cares to flight.
Give back the lost delight
That once my soul possest,
When Love was loveliest.
"To-night,"--_Louise Chandler Moulton_.
LOUISE (CHANDLER) MOULTON, a noted American poet, story-writer, and
critic, was born in Pomfret, Conn., April 10, 1835, and died August 10,
1908. She wrote: "The True Flag," "This, That and the Other," "Juno
Clifford," "Bed-Time Stories," "Firelight Stories," "Stories Told at
Twilight," "In the Garden of Dreams," "Poems," etc.; also, "Miss Eyre
from Boston and Other Stories," "Lazy Tours in Spain," etc.
Thus, when a barber and a collier fight, the barber beats the
luckless collier-white; the dusty collier heaves his ponderous
sack, and big with vengeance, beats the barber-black. In comes the
brick dust man, with grime o'er spread, and beats the collier and
the barber-red; black, red, and white, in various clouds are tost,
and in the dust they raise the combatants are lost.
"The Trip to Cambridge" in "Campbell's Specimens of the British
Poets," Vol. vi, p. 185,--_Christopher Smart_.
CHRISTOPHER SMART, a famous English poet, was born at Shipbourne, Kent,
April 11, 1722, and died May 21, 1771. His works include: "Translation
of the Psalms of David," "The Hilliad: An Epic Poem," "Song to David,"
"Power of the Supreme Being," "Poems," "Poems on Several Occasions,"
etc.
Give me the avowed, the erect, the manly foe,
Bold I can meet,--perhaps may turn his blow!
But of all plagues, good Heaven, thy wrath can send,
Save, save, oh save me from the _candid friend_!
"New Morality,"--_George Canning_.
GEORGE CANNING, an English statesman, orator, and writer of great
distinction, was born in London, April 11, 1770, and died at Chiswick,
August 8, 1827. He wrote: "The Needy Knife-Grinder," "The Rovers," etc.
When I am dead, no pageant train
Shall waste their sorrows at my bier,
Nor worthless pomp of homage vain.
Stain it with hypocritic tear.
"Alaric the Visigoth,"--_Edward Everett_.
EDWARD EVERETT, a famous American statesman, was born at Dorchester,
Mass., April 11, 1794, and died January 15, 1865. Among his writings
were: "Mount Vernon Papers," "Defense of Christianity," "Orations and
Speeches," etc.
The gentleman [Josiah Quincy] cannot have forgotten his own
sentiment, uttered even on the floor of this House, "Peaceably if
we can, forcibly if we must."
"Speech," Jan. 8, 1813.--_Henry Clay_.
HENRY CLAY, an eminent American orator and statesman, was born in
Hanover, Va., April 12, 1777, and died at Washington, D. C., June 29,
1852. His "Complete Works," were edited in 1857.
Coquetry whets the appetite; flirtation depraves it. Coquetry is
the thorn that guards the rose,--easily trimmed off when once
plucked. Flirtation is like the slime on water-plants, making them
hard to handle, and when caught, only to be cherished in slimy
waters.
"Reveries of a Bachelor,"--_Ik Marvel_.
DONALD GRANT MITCHELL ("IK MARVEL"), a famous American novelist and
essayist, was born at Norwich, Conn., April 12, 1822, and died in 1908.
He wrote: "Dream Life," "My Farm of Edgewood," "Doctor Johns," "Bound
Together," "Wet Days at Edgewood," "English Lands, Letters and Kings,"
and his most noted work, "Reveries of a Bachelor."
Every white will have its blacke,
And every sweet its soure.
"Sir Cauline," from "Reliques of Ancient Poetry,"--_Thomas
Percy_.
THOMAS PERCY, a noted English poet, was born at Bridgenorth in
Shropshire, April 13, 1728 or 1729, and died at Dromore, Ireland,
September 30, 1811. He wrote: "The Hermit of Warkworth," the song, "O
Nanny, Wilt Thou Gang Wi' Me?" and published a collection of old ballads
and songs under the title "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry."
No creature lives that must not work and may not play.
"Work and Play,"--_Horace Bushnell_.
HORACE BUSHNELL, an eminent American clergyman, was born near
Litchfield, Connecticut, April 14, 1802, and died at Hartford, Conn., in
1876. Among his numerous works may be mentioned: "Christian Nurture,"
"God in Christ," "Christ in Theology," "The Vicarious Sacrifice,"
"Nature and the Supernatural," "Moral Uses of Dark Things," "The Age of
Homespun," "Forgiveness and Law," "Work and Play," "The Character of
Jesus," "Christ and His Salvation," etc.
Monuments! What are they? The very pyramids have forgotten their
builders, or to whom they were dedicated. Deeds, not stones, are
the true monuments of the great.
--_Motley_.
JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, a famous American historian and diplomatist, was
born at Dorchester, Mass., April 15, 1814, and died in Dorsetshire,
England, May 29, 1877. Among his works are: "Rise of the Dutch
Republic," "History of the United Netherlands," "Causes of the Civil War
in America," "Life of John of Barneveld," etc.
Not much talk--a great, sweet silence.
"A Bundle of Letters," Letter IV,--_Henry James_.
HENRY JAMES, a distinguished American novelist and miscellaneous
prose-writer, was born in New York, April 15, 1843, and died in
February, 1916. Among his numerous works may be mentioned: "Roderick
Hudson," "A Passionate Pilgrim and Other Tales," "The American," "French
Poets and Novelists," "Daisy Miller: a Study," "A Bundle of Letters,"
"The Diary of a Man of Fifty," "Washington Square," "A Little Tour in
France," "The Portrait of a Lady," "The Bostonians," "The Tragic Muse,"
"Partial Portraits," "The Real Thing and Other Tales," "The Private
Life," "The Wheel of Time," "The Princess Casamassima," "Essays in
London and Elsewhere," etc.
There paused to shut the door,
A fellow called the Wind,
With mystery before,
And reticence behind.
"At the Granite Gate,"--_Bliss Carman_.
BLISS CARMAN, a celebrated Canadian poet, was born at Fredericton, N.
B., April 15, 1861. He has written: "Low Tide on Grand Pré: A Book of
Lyrics," "Songs from Vagabondia," "Behind the Arras: A Book of the
Unseen," "A Winter Holiday," "Christmas Eve at St. Kavin's," "Ode for
the Coronation," "Pipes of Pan No. I," "Pipes of Pan No. II," "The
Kinship of Nature," "The Friendship of Art," "The Poetry of Life," "The
Making of Personality," "Sappho," "Daughters of Dawn," "Oxford Book of
American Verse," "Earth Deities," "April Airs," etc.
Le roi règne et ne gouverne pas.[3]
"In the National Newspaper," July 1st, 1830.
LOUIS ADOLPHE THIERS, a renowned French statesman and author, was born
at Marseilles, April 16, 1797, and died at St. Germain, September 3,
1877. He wrote: "History of John Law," "Man and Matter," "On Property,"
"History of the Consulate and the Empire," and his most famous work,
"History of the French Revolution."
To be frank, the critics should say: "Gentlemen, I intend to speak
of myself apropos of Shakespeare, Racine, Pascal, or Goethe."
--_Anatole France_.
ANATOLE FRANCE (JACQUES ANATOLE THIBAULT), a celebrated French critic,
poet and novelist, was born at Paris, April 16, 1844. He has written:
"The Yule Log," "Our Children: Scenes in Town and in the Fields," "The
Garden of Epicurus," "Abeille," "Poems," "The Crime of Sylvester
Bonnard," "The Wishes of Jean Servien," "Balthazar," "Thais," "My
Friend's Book," "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame," "Histoire de Jeanne d'Arc,"
"La Revolte des Anges," etc.
When that my mood is sad, and in the noise
And bustle of the crowd I feel rebuke,
I turn my footsteps from its hollow joys,
And sit me down beside the little brook;
The waters have a music to mine ear
It glads me much to hear.
"The Shaded Water,"--_William Gilmore Simms_.
WILLIAM GILMORE SIMMS, a distinguished American poet and novelist, was
born in Charleston, S. C., April 17, 1806, and died there June 11, 1870.
His publications include: "The Wigwam and the Cabin; or, Tales of the
South," "Atalantis: A Tale of the Sea," "Castle Dismal," "The Maroon,
and Other Tales," "The Yemassee," and "War Poetry of the South."
Many a genius has been slow of growth,
Oaks that flourish for a thousand years
Do not spring up into beauty like a reed.
"The Spanish Drama: Life of Lope De Vega." Ch. II,--_Geo.
Henry Lewes_.
GEORGE HENRY LEWES, a celebrated English historical and miscellaneous
writer, was born at London, April 18, 1817, and died there November 28,
1878. Among his writings are: "The Life and Works of Goethe," "History
of Philosophy from Thales to Comte," "The Physiology of Common Life,"
"Seaside Studies," "Studies in Animal Life," "Aristotle: A Chapter from
the History of Science," "Problems of Life and Mind," "The Physical
Basis of Mind," "Ranthorpe," "The Noble Heart," etc.
Friendship! mysterious cement of the soul!
Sweetener of life, and solder of society.
"The Grave,"--_Robert Blair_.
ROBERT BLAIR, a noted Scottish poet, was born at Edinburgh, April 19
(?), 1699, and died February 4, 1746. His reputation as a poet rests
solely on his famous poem, "The Grave," written in blank verse.
If any man can convince me and bring home to me that I do not
think or act aright, gladly will I change; for I search after
truth, by which man never yet was harmed. But he is harmed who
abideth on still in his deception and ignorance.
"Meditations," VI, 21,--_Marcus Aurelius_.
MARCUS AURELIUS, the great Roman emperor, was born in Rome, April 20,
A.D., 121, and died in Pannonia, March 17, 180. His "Meditations" have
been handed down to posterity.
Immortality alone could teach this mortal how to die.
"Looking Death in the Face,"--_Dinah Maria Mulock Craik_.
DINAH MARIA MULOCK CRAIK, a famous English novelist, was born in
Stoke-upon-Trent, April 20, 1826, and died at London, October, 1887. The
best known of her works are: "The Ogilvies," "John Halifax, Gentleman,"
"Two Marriages," "A Brave Lady," and "A Noble Life."
No maid is near,
I have no wife;
But here's my pipe
And, on my life;
With it to smoke,
And woo the Muse,
To be a king,
I would not choose.
--_William H. Davies_.
WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES, a noted Welsh poet, was born in Monmouthshire,
April 20, 1870. He has written: "The Soul's Destroyer," "New Poems,"
"Nature Poems," "Farewell to Poesy," "Songs of Joy," "Foliage," "The
Bird of Paradise," "Child Lovers," "Collected Poems," "The Autobiography
of a Super-Tramp," "A Pilgrim in Wales," "A Poet's Pilgrimage."
The first groundwork of religious life is love--love to God and
man--in the bosom of the family.
"Aphorisms,"--_Friedrich Froebel_.
FRIEDRICH FROEBEL, an eminent German educator, was born at
Oberweissbach, April 21, 1782, and died at Marienthal, June 21, 1852. He
won fame by his celebrated work, "The Education of Man."
From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand,
Where Afric's sunny fountains,
Roll down their golden sand.
"Missionary Hymn."--_Reginald Heber_.
REGINALD HEBER, a famous English hymn-writer and clergyman, was born in
Cheshire, April 21, 1783, and died at Trichinopoly, India, April 2,
1826. His prose writings include the Bampton lectures on "The
Personality and Office of the Christian Comforter," "Life of Jeremy
Taylor," "Journey Through India," etc. His fame rests, however, on his
hymns, "From Greenland's Icy Mountains," and "Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God
Almighty!"
Life, believe, is not a dream,
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day!
"Life,"--_Charlotte Brontë_.
CHARLOTTE BRONTË, a famous English novelist, was born in Thornton, April
21, 1816, and died in Haworth, March 31, 1855. She wrote: "Shirley,"
"Villette," "The Professor," and "Jane Eyre," her most famous work.
There are four varieties in society,--the lovers, the ambitious,
observers, and fools. The fools are the happiest.
--_Taine_.
ADOLPHE HIPPOLYTE TAINE, an illustrious French historian and critic, was
born at Vouziers (Ardennes), April 21, 1828, and died at Paris, March 5,
1893. Among his publications are: "Essay on La Fontaine's Fables,"
"Essay on Livy," "Journey to the Pyrenees," "French Philosophers in the
Nineteenth Century," "Essays in Criticism and History," "Notes on
England," "Contemporary English Writers," "History of English
Literature," "English Idealism," "New Essays in Criticism and History,"
"Philosophy of Art," "Philosophy of Art in Italy," "Tour in Italy,
Naples, Rome, Florence, and Venice," "Notes on Paris," "The Ideal in
Art," "Philosophy of Art in Greece," "On the Understanding," "The Old
Régime," "The Revolutionary Governments," etc.
When I'm not thank'd at all, I'm thank'd enough;
I've done my duty, and I've done no more.
"Tom Thumb the Great," Act. i, Sc. 3,--_Henry Fielding_.
HENRY FIELDING, a celebrated English novelist, was born at Sharpham
Park, Somersetshire, April 22, 1707, and died at Lisbon, October 8,
1754. His most famous works are: "Tom Jones, or the History of a
Foundling," "The Adventures of Joseph Andrews," "Amelia," and "The
History of Jonathan Wild."
Sincerity is the indispensable ground of all conscientiousness,
and by consequence of all heartfelt religion.
--_Emmanuel Kant_.
EMMANUEL KANT, an eminent German philosopher, was born at Königsberg,
April 22, 1724, and died there, February 12, 1804. His three famous
works are: "Critique of the Practical Reason," "Critique of Pure
Reason," and "Critique of the Power of Judgment."
And all the bustle of departure--sometimes sad, sometimes
intoxicating--just as fear or hope may be inspired by the new
chances of coming destiny.
"Corinne," Book X, Chap. VI,--_Madame De Staël_.
ANNE LOUISE GERMAINE (NECKER), BARONESS DE STAËL-HOLSTEIN, a celebrated
French writer, was born in Paris, April 22, 1766, and died there July
14, 1817. She wrote: "Letters on the Character and Writings of J. J.
Rousseau," "Corinne," "Delphine," "Literature in Relation to Social
Institutions," etc.
We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not breaths;
In feelings, not in figures on a dial.
We should count time by heart-throbs. He most lives
Who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.
Life's but a means unto an end; that end
Beginning, mean, and end to all things,--God.
"Festus," Scene V, A Country Town,--_Philip James Bailey_.
PHILIP JAMES BAILEY, a noted English poet, was born in Basford,
Nottinghamshire, April 22, 1816, and died in 1902. He wrote: "The
Universal Hymn," "The Age," "The Mystic," "The Angel World," and his
great poem, "Festus."
Friendship is constant in all other things
Save in the office and affairs of love:
Therefore all hearts in love use their own tongues;
Let every eye negotiate for itself
And trust no agent.
"Much Ado about Nothing," Act ii, Sc. i.--_William Shakespeare_.
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, the great English poet, was born at
Stratford-on-Avon, April 23, 1564, and he died there April 23, 1616.
Among his famous works may be mentioned: "Henry VI," "Richard III,"
"Taming of the Shrew," "Love's Labour's Lost," "Comedy of Errors," "Two
Gentlemen of Verona," "Romeo and Juliet," "The Merchant of Venice," "A
Midsummer Night's Dream," "Henry V," "All's Well That Ends Well," "The
Merry Wives of Windsor," "As You Like It," "Julius Cæsar," "Much Ado
About Nothing," "Twelfth Night," "Hamlet," "Othello," "King Lear,"
"Macbeth," "Measure for Measure," "Antony and Cleopatra," "Cymbeline,"
"A Winter's Tale," "The Tempest," etc., etc.
Our thoughts and our conduct are our own.
"Short Studies on Great Subjects: Education,"--_James A.
Froude_.
JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE, a celebrated English historian, was born at
Dartington in Devonshire, April 23, 1818, and died in London, October
20, 1894. Among his works are: "Luther: A Short Biography," "Shadows of
a Cloud," "Nemesis of Faith," "History of England from the Fall of
Wolsey to the Death of Elizabeth," "The English in Ireland in the
Eighteenth Century," "Influence of the Reformation on the Scottish
Character," "Thomas Carlyle," "Short Studies on Great Subjects,"
"Spanish Story of the Armada," etc.
Bowed by the weight of centuries, he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages in his face,
And on his back the burden of the world.
"The Man with the Hoe,"--_Edwin Markham_.
EDWIN MARKHAM, a noted American poet, was born at Oregon City, Oregon,
April 23, 1852. He is best known by his famous poem, "The Man with the
Hoe."
But as some muskets so contrive it
As oft to miss the mark they drive at,
And though well aimed at duck or plover,
Bear wide, and kick their owners over.
"McFingal," Canto i, Line 93,--_John Trumbull_.
JOHN TRUMBULL, a famous American lawyer, poet, and wit, was born in
Westbury, Conn., April 24, 1750, and died at Detroit, Mich., May 10,
1831. He wrote: "The Progress of Dullness," "McFingal," which won for
him his greatest fame, and several other works. His "Poetical Works"
were published in 1820.
Whatever Thackeray says, the reader cannot fail to understand; and
whatever Thackeray attempts to communicate, he succeeds in
conveying.
"Life of Thackeray,"--_Anthony Trollope_.
ANTHONY TROLLOPE, an illustrious English novelist, was born in London,
April 24, 1815, and died there, December 6, 1882. Among his numerous
publications may be mentioned: "The Kellys and the O'Kellys," "La
Vendée," "The Warden," "Barchester Towers," "Doctor Thorne," "The
Bertrams," "Castle Richmond," "Orley Farm," "Tales of All Countries,"
"The Struggles of Brown, Jones and Robinson," "North America," "Rachel
Ray," "Hunting Sketches," "Traveling Sketches," "The Claverings,"
"British Sports and Pastimes," "He Knew He Was Right," "Mary Gresley,"
"Ralph the Heir," "The Golden Lion of Granpère," "Phineas Redux," "South
Australia and Western Australia," "Lady Anna," "The Prime Minister,"
"The American Senator," "South Africa," "John Caldigate," "Cousin
Henry," "The Duke's Children," "Life of Cicero," "Ayala's Angel,"
"Marion Fay," "The Fixed Period," "Kept in the Dark," etc. His
"Autobiography" appeared in 1883.
Come and see her as she stands.
Crimson roses in her hands;
And her eyes
Are as dark as Southern night,
Yet than Southern dawn more bright.
And a soft, alluring light,
In them lies.
"Fanny, A Southern Blossom," St. I,--_Anne Reeve Aldrich_.
ANNE REEVE ALDRICH, a noted American poet and novelist, was born in New
York, April 25, 1866, and died there June 22, 1892. She wrote: "The Rose
of Flame," "The Feet of Love," "Songs About Life, Love and Death," etc.
Take, O boatman, thrice thy fee,--
Take, I give it willingly;
For, invisible to thee,
Spirits twain have, crossed with me.
"The Passage," _Edinburgh Review_, Oct., 1832,--_Johann L.
Uhland_.
JOHANN L. UHLAND, an eminent German poet, was born at Tubingen, April
26, 1787, and died November 13, 1862. He wrote: "Walther von der
Vogelweide," "The Old French Epos," "The Myth of Thor, according to
Norse Tradition," etc. Also two dramas: "Ludwig the Bavarian," and
"Ernest, Duke of Suabia." His ballads and songs also won for him great
renown.
Even bear-baiting was esteemed heathenish and unchristian: the
sport of it, not the inhumanity, gave offence.
"History of England," Vol. i, Chap. lxii,--_David Hume_.
DAVID HUME, a famous British philosopher and historian, was born in
Edinburgh, April 26, 1711, and died there August 25, 1776. Among his
works may be mentioned: "Political Discourses," "An Inquiry Concerning
the Principles of Morals," "Four Dissertations," "A Treatise on Human
Nature," "History of England," "Two Essays," "Natural History of
Religion," "Essays, Moral and Political," etc.
Let us all be happy and live within our means, even if we have to
borrow the money to do it with.
"Natural History,"--_Charles Farrar Browne_.
CHARLES FARRAR BROWNE ("ARTEMUS WARD"), a noted American humorist, was
born at Waterford, Me., April 26, 1834, and died at Southampton,
England, March 6, 1867. He wrote: "Artemus Ward, His Book," and "Artemus
Ward, His Travels."
On the approach of spring, I withdraw without reluctance from the
noisy and extensive scene of crowds without company, and
dissipation without pleasure.
"Memoirs," Vol. i, p. 116,--_Edward Gibbon_.
EDWARD GIBBON, a renowned English historian, was born at Putney, Surrey,
April 27, 1737, and died at London, January 15, 1794. His notable works
are: "History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," "Critical
Observations," "Essay on the Study of Literature," and "Miscellaneous
Works, with Memoir Composed by Himself."
Volumes might be written upon the impiety of the pious.
"First Principles,"--_Herbert Spencer_.
HERBERT SPENCER, the celebrated English philosopher, was born at Derby,
April 27, 1820, and died December 8, 1903. Among his noted works are:
"Principles of Psychology," "Classification of the Sciences,"
"Education," "Essays," "The Study of Sociology," "Data of Ethics,"
"Principles of Sociology," "Political Institutions," etc.
Let us have peace.
Accepting a Nomination for the Presidency, May 29,
1868.--_Ulysses Simpson Grant_.
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT, the greatest of American generals, and eighteenth
President of the United States, was born at Point Pleasant, Ohio, April
27, 1822, and died at Mt. McGregor near Saratoga Springs, N. Y., July
23, 1885. His "Personal Memoirs," won for him everlasting literary fame.
Have you sent to the apothecary for a sufficient quantity of cream
of tartar to make lemonade? You know I die if I have not
everything in the highest style.
"Man and Wife," iii,--_Colman_.
GEORGE COLMAN, the Elder, a celebrated English dramatist, was born in
Florence, Italy, April 28, 1733, and died in London, August 14, 1794.
Among his comedies are: "The Deuce Is in Him," "New Brooms," "Man and
Wife," "The Separate Maintenance."
Injuries from friends fret and gall more, and the memory of them
is not so easily obliterated.
--_John Arbuthnot_.
JOHN ARBUTHNOT, a famous Scottish humorist, was born near Arbuthnot
Castle, Kincardineshire, Scotland, April 29, 1667, and died in London,
February 27, 1735. His most celebrated work was, "The History of John
Bull."
Life is a game the soul can play
With fewer pieces than men say.
"Field-Notes,"--_Edward Rowland Sill_.
EDWARD ROWLAND SILL, a distinguished American poet, was born in Windsor,
Conn., April 29, 1841, and died in Cleveland, O., February 27, 1887. His
poetical works include: "The Venus of Milo, and Other Poems," "The
Hermitage, and Other Poems," and "Poems," published after his death.
To be bright and cheerful often requires an effort; there is a
certain art in keeping ourselves happy; in this respect, as in
others, we require to watch over and manage ourselves almost as if
we were somebody else.
--_Sir John Lubbock_.
SIR JOHN LUBBOCK, a renowned English naturalist and paleontologist, was
born in London, April 30, 1834, and died in 1913. Among his many works
are: "Prehistoric Times as Illustrated by Ancient Remains," "The Origin
of Civilization and the Primitive Condition of Man," "Origin and
Metamorphoses of Insects," "Ants, Bees, and Wasps," "On the Senses,
Instincts and Intelligence of Animals," "The Beauties of Nature and the
Wonders of the World," "Flowers, Fruits and Leaves," "The Pleasures of
Life," "The Use of Life," "The Scenery of Switzerland and the Causes to
Which It Is Due," "The Scenery of England," "Essays and Addresses,"
"Free Trade," "Notes on the Life History of the British Flowering
Plants," "Marriage, Totemism, and Religion," "Peace and Happiness," etc.
From our Dominion never
Take thy protecting hand!
United, Lord, forever,
Keep thou our father's land!
--_John Campbell, Duke of Argyll_.
GEORGE JOHN DOUGLAS CAMPBELL, eighth Duke of Argyll, a noted English
philosophical, scientific, and political writer, and statesman, was born
in Ardencaple, Castle Dumbartonshire, April 30, 1823, and died in 1900.
Among his notable works are: "The Reign of Law," "Primeval Man," "Iona,"
"The Eastern Question," "The Unity of Nature," "The Unseen Foundations
of Society."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.
[2] We Germans fear God, but nothing else in the world.
[3] The king reigns but does not govern.
MAY
MAY
It must be so,--Plato, thou reasonest well!
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,
This longing after immortality?
Or whence this secret dread and inward horror
Of falling into naught? Why shrinks the soul
Back on herself, and startles at destruction?
'Tis the divinity that stirs within us;
'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter,
And intimates eternity to man.
Eternity! thou pleasing, dreadful thought.
"Cato," Act V. Sc. I.--_Joseph Addison_.
JOSEPH ADDISON, a famous English essayist and poet, was born at Milston,
Wiltshire, May 1, 1672, and died in London, June 17, 1719. He wrote 41
original papers in the "Tattler," and 34 with Steele; 274 in the
"Spectator," 24 to a revived "Spectator," and 2 to Steele's "Lover." His
other works include: "Letters from Italy" (a poem), "The Campaign" (a
poem), "Fair Rosamond" (an opera), "Remarks on Several Parts of Italy,"
and "Cato" (a tragedy).
As an orator, Webster has been compared in simplicity to
Demosthenes and in profundity to Burke.
"Daniel Webster; History of the United States,"--_James Ford
Rhodes_.
JAMES FORD RHODES, a distinguished American historian, was born in
Cleveland, Ohio, May 1, 1848. He is best known by his noted work in two
volumes, "History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850." His
other works include, "Historical Essays," "Lectures on the American
Civil War Delivered at Oxford," "History of the Civil War," "History of
the United States from Hayes to McKinley," etc.
All power appears only in transition. Permanent power is stuff.
--_Novalis_.
NOVALIS, the _nom de plume_ of FRIEDRICH VON HARDENBURG, a noted German
philosopher and mystic, was born in Saxony, May 2, 1772, and died, 1801.
Among his writings are: "Hymns to the Night," "Disciples at Sais," and
"Heinrich von Ofterdingen."
The people of Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, like all
other Christian people at that time and later,--at least, with
extremely rare individual exceptions,--believed in the reality of
a hideous crime called witchcraft. They thought they had Scripture
for that belief, and they knew they had law for it, explicit and
abundant; and with them law and Scripture were absolute
authorities for the regulation of opinion and of conduct.
"History of New England."--_J. G. Palfrey_.
JOHN GORHAM PALFREY, a distinguished American clergyman and author, was
born in Boston, May 2, 1796, and died in Cambridge, Mass., April 26,
1881. He published numerous sermons, lectures, addresses, etc., but "The
History of New England," won for him world-wide fame.
I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.
I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly
breaks my heart.
"Three Men in a Boat," Chap. 15,--_J. K. Jerome_.
JEROME K. JEROME, a famous English writer, was born at Walsall, May 2,
1861. Among his works are: "Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow," "Three Men
in a Boat," "Novel Notes," "John Ingerfield," "Fennel," "Ruth," "Passing
of the Third Floor Back," "Esther Castways," "Malvina of Brittany," "All
Roads Lead to Calvary," etc.
Bisogna che i giudici siano assai perché pochi sempre fanno a modo
de'pochi.[1]
"Dei Discorsi," I, 7,--_Machiavelli_.
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, a renowned Italian statesman and political and
historical writer was born at Florence, May 3, 1469, and died there,
June 22, 1527. He wrote: "Mandragola," "The Prince," "Florentine
History," "Discourses," "Art of War," etc.
There is another and a better world.
"The Stranger," Act. i, Sc. 1,--_A. F. Kotzebue_.
AUGUST FRIEDRICH FERDINAND VON KOTZEBUE, a famous German dramatist, was
born at Weimar, May 3, 1761, and died at Mannheim, March 23, 1819. His
best known works are: "The Spaniards in Peru," "The Stranger,"
"Misanthropy and Repentance," "German Provincials," "The Indians in
England," and his noted novel, "Sorrows of the Ortenberg Family."
The Doctrine of Stoicism modified by a doctrine of culture is
nobly preached in Matthew Arnold's verse.
"New Studios in Literature," p. 37,--_Edward Dowden_.
EDWARD DOWDEN, a distinguished Irish poet and historian of literature,
was born at Cork, May 3, 1843, and died in 1913. He has written: "Life
of Percy Bysshe Shelley," "Primer of French Literature," "Studies in
Literature," "Poems," "Southey," "Shakespeare, His Mind and Art,"
"Introduction to Shakespeare," "Wordsworth," "New Studies in
Literature," "The French Revolution and English Literature," "A History
of French Literature," "Robert Browning," "Michel de Montaigne,"
"Essays: Modern and Elizabethan," "Poetical Works" (2 vols.). His
"Letters" appeared in 1914.
The triumphs of the warrior are bounded by the narrow theatre of
his own age, but those of a Scott or a Shakespeare will be renewed
with greater luster in ages yet unborn, when the victorious
chieftain shall be forgotten, or shall live only in the song of
the minstrel and the page of the chronicler.
--_Prescott_.
WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT, a famous American historian, was born at
Salem, Mass., May 4, 1796, and died in New York, January 28, 1859. He
wrote: "History of Ferdinand and Isabella," "History of the Conquest of
Mexico," "History of the Conquest of Peru," "Critical Essays," "History
of the Reign of Philip II of Spain," etc.
It is well to think well: it is divine to act well.
--_Horace Mann_.
HORACE MANN, a noted American educator and educational writer was born
in Franklin, Mass., May 4, 1796, and died in Yellow Springs, Ohio,
August 2, 1859. He published: "A Few Thoughts for a Young Man,"
"Slavery: Letters and Speeches," "Powers and Duties of Woman," etc.
The great end of life is not knowledge but action.
"Technical Education,"--_Thomas Henry Huxley_.
THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY, a renowned English scientist, was born in Ealing,
May 4, 1825, and died June 29, 1895. Among his famous works are:
"Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature," "On the Educational Value of the
Natural-History Sciences," "Lectures on the Elements of Comparative
Anatomy," "Lessons in Elementary Physiology," "On the Physical Basis of
Life," "Half Hours with Modern Scientists," "American Addresses," "An
Introduction to the Classification of Animals," "Science and Culture,
and Other Essays," etc., etc.
Time, to the nation as to the individual, is nothing absolute; its
duration depends on the rate of thought and feeling.
--_John W. Draper_.
JOHN WILLIAM DRAPER, a famous physiologist, historical and miscellaneous
prose-writer, was born near Liverpool, England, May 5, 1811, and died at
Hastings-on-the-Hudson, N. Y., January 4, 1882. He has written: "Human
Physiology," "History of the Intellectual Development of Europe,"
"History of the American Civil War," and his most celebrated work,
"History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science."
In La Fontaine there is an affluence of poetry which is found in
no other French author.
"Literary Judgments,"--_Joseph Joubert_.
JOSEPH JOUBERT, an eminent French moralist and writer of aphorisms, was
born in Montignac, Périgord, May 6, 1754, and died at Paris in 1824.
Most of his epigrammatic work was published after his death, the titles
of the volumes being, "Thoughts," and "Thoughts, Essays, Maxims, and
Correspondence."
I feel the breath of the summer night,
Aromatic fire;
The trees, the vines the flowers are astir
With tender desire.
"A Summer Night,"--_Elizabeth Barstow Stoddard_.
ELIZABETH DREW (BARSTOW) STODDARD, a noted American novelist and poet,
was born in Mattapoisett, Mass., May 6, 1823, and died in 1902. Among
her works are: "Temple House," "Two Men," "The Morgesons," and "Poems,"
collected and published in 1895, etc.
I trust in Nature for the stable laws
Of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant
And Autumn garner to the end of time.
I trust in God,--the right shall be the right
And other than the wrong, while he endures.
I trust in my own soul, that can perceive
The outward and the inward,--Nature's good
And God's.
"A Soul's Tragedy," Act i,--_Robert Browning_.
ROBERT BROWNING, the renowned English poet, was born in Camberwell, May
7, 1812, and died in Venice, December 12, 1889. Among his poetical works
are: "A Soul's Tragedy," "The Return of the Druses," "Colombe's
Birthday," "Strafford," "Pauline," "Christmas Eve and Easter Day,"
"Fifine at the Fair," "Men and Women," "King Victor and King Charles,"
"Jocoseria," "Red-Cotton Nightcap Country," "Dramatic Idylls," "Pippa
Passes," etc.
Facts are stubborn things.
"Gil Blas," Book x, Chap. i,--_Le Sage_.
ALAIN RENÉ LE SAGE, a famous French novelist and dramatist, was born at
Sarzeau, near Cannes, May 8, 1668, and died at Boulogne-sur-Mer,
November 17, 1747. His greatest works were: "The Bachelor of Salamanca,"
"Gil Blas," "The Life and Adventures of M. de Beauchène," "The Devil on
Two Sticks," and two well-known comedies, "Crispin His Master's Rival,"
and "Turcaret."
Suffering is the surest means of making us truthful to ourselves.
--_Sismondi_.
JEAN CHARLES LÉONARD SIMON DE SISMONDI, an illustrious Swiss historian,
was born at Geneva, May 9, 1773, and died there, June 25, 1842. His most
noted works are: "History of the Italian Republics in the Middle Ages,"
"History of the New Birth of Liberty in Italy," "History of the Fall of
the Roman Empire," "History of the French," "Julia Severa: or, the Year
492," and "Literature of the South of Europe."
Life is a long lesson in humility.
"The Little Minister," Chap. 3,--_J. M. Barrie_.
JAMES MATTHEW BARRIE, a noted Scottish author, was born in Kirriemuir,
Forfarshire, May 9, 1860. He has written: "When a Man's Single," "Better
Dead," "Auld Licht Idylls," "A Window in Thrums," "My Lady Nicotine,"
"Sentimental Tommy," "Margaret Ogilvy," "The Little Minister," "Tommy
and Grizel," "The Little White Bird," "Peter Pan in Kensington
Gardens," "Peter and Wendy," Dramatic works are: "The Professor's Love
Story," "The Wedding Guest," "Little Mary," "Peter Pan,"
"Alice-Sit-by-the-Fire," "What Every Woman Knows," "The Legend of
Leonora," "The Will," "The Adored One," "Half an Hour," "Der Tag," "Rosy
Rapture," "A Kiss for Cinderella," "Seven Women," "Dear Brutus," "Echoes
of the War," etc.
No country seems to owe more to its women than America does, nor
to owe to them so much of what is best in social institutions and
in the beliefs that govern conduct.
"The American Commonwealth,"--_James Bryce_.
JAMES BRYCE, a noted British statesman, diplomat, and historian, was
born in Belfast, May 10, 1838, and died Jan. 22, 1922. His most
important works are: "The Holy Roman Empire" and "The American
Commonwealth."
By the waters of Life we sat together,
Hand in hand, in the golden days
Of the beautiful early summer weather,
When skies were purple and breath was praise.
"An Old Man's Idyll,"--_Thomas Noel_.
THOMAS NOEL, a noted English poet, was born May 11, 1799, and died in
1861. Among his volumes of verse are: "Rhymes and Roundelayes," etc.
The congress of Vienna does not walk, but it dances.
--_Prince de Ligne_.
CHARLES JOSEPH, PRINCE DE LIGNE, a distinguished Belgian soldier and
miscellaneous writer, was born at Brussels, May 12, 1735, and died
December 13, 1814. He wrote: "Military, Literary and Sentimental
Miscellanies," "Life of Prince Eugene of Savoy," etc.
Molto sa chi non sa, se tacer sa.[2]
"Gingillino," Part II,--_Giusti_.
GIUSEPPI GIUSTI, a notable Italian poet and political satirist, was born
in Monsummano, May 12, 1809, and died in Florence, March 31, 1850. His
first masterpiece was the poem "Dies Iræ," other pieces are: "The Boot,"
"The Crowned," "The Investiture of a Knight," and the satires written
from 1847 to 1849.
Each hour until we meet is as a bird
That wings from far his gradual way along
The rustling covert of my soul--his song
Still loudlier trilled through leaves more deeply stirr'd:
But at the hour of meeting, a clear word
Is every note he sings, in Love's own tongue.
"Winged Hours," Sonnet xv,--_Dante Gabriel Rossetti_.
DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI, the renowned English painter and poet, was born
in London, May 12, 1828, and died at Birchington, Kent, April 9, 1882.
Among his poetical works are: "Blessed Damozel," "Sister Helen," "The
White Ship," "The House of Life," "The King's Tragedy," "Hand and Soul,"
and "Rose Mary." Also: translations of "Early Italian Poets."
To tremble, when I touch her hands,
With awe that no man understands;
To feel soft reverence arise
When, lover-sweet, I meet her eyes;
To see her beauty grow and shine
When most I feel this awe divine,--
Whate'er befall me, this is mine;
And whereabout the room she moves,
My spirit follows her, and loves.
"Divine Awe,"--_George Edward Woodberry_.
GEORGE EDWARD WOODBERRY, a famous American poet and miscellaneous
writer, was born at Beverly, Mass., May 12, 1855. He has written: "The
North Shore Watch, and Other Poems," "History of Wood Engraving," "Life
of Edgar Allan Poe," "The Flight and Other Poems," "North Africa and
the Desert," "Shakespeare: An Address," "Great Writers," "Poems," "The
Inspiration of Poetry," "Wendell Phillips," "Two Phases of Criticism,"
"Ideal Passion" (sonnets).
Work, and thou wilt bless the day
Ere the toil be done;
They that work not, can not pray,
Can not feel the sun.
God is living, working still,
All things work and move;
Work, or lose the power to will,
Lose the power to love.
"Working,"--_John Sullivan Dwight_.
JOHN SULLIVAN DWIGHT, a noted American musical critic, was born at
Boston, May 13, 1813, and died September 5, 1893. His noted poem is,
"God Save the State."
Children are like grown people; the experience of others is never
of any use to them.
--_Alphonse Daudet_.
ALPHONSE DAUDET, a distinguished French novelist, was born at Nîmes, May
13, 1840, and died December 16, 1897. He wrote: "The Little Thing: Story
of a Child," "Letters from My Mill," "Monday Tales," "Fromont, Jr. and
Risler, Sr.," "The Nabob," "Kings in Exile," "Numa Roumestan," "The
Gospeller," "Sappho," "Tartarin," "Prodigious Adventures of Tartarin,"
"Tartarin in the Alps," "Port Tarascon," "Thirty Years of Paris,"
"Recollections of a Man of Letters," etc.
Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise,
The queen of the world and the child of the skies!
Thy genius commands thee; with rapture behold,
While ages on ages thy splendors unfold.
"Columbia,"--_Timothy Dwight_.
TIMOTHY DWIGHT, a celebrated American Congregational clergyman, was born
in Northampton, Mass., May 14, 1752, and died in New Haven, Conn.,
January 11, 1817. He wrote: "Observations on Language," "Essay on
Light," "Greenfield Hill" "Travels in New England and New York,"
"Theology Explained and Defended," etc.
"You can never say too much about Coleridge to me," Rossetti would
write, "for I worship him on the right side of idolatry, and I
perceive you know him well." Upon this one of my first remarks was
that there was much in Coleridge's higher descriptive verse
equivalent to the landscape art of Turner. The critical parallel
Rossetti warmly approved of, adding however, that Coleridge, at
his best as a pictorial artist, was a spiritualised Turner.
"Recollections of Dante Gabriel Rossetti,"--_Hall Caine_.
SIR THOMAS HENRY HALL CAINE, an eminent English novelist, was born at
Runcorn, Cheshire, May 14, 1853. His most noted works are: "The
Deemster," "A Son of Hagar," "Recollections of Rossetti," "The
Scapegoat," "The Shadow of a Crime," "The Manxman," "The Christian,"
"The White Prophet," "The Prodigal Son," "The Woman Thou Gavest Me,"
etc. Also: "The Drama of 365 Days," "Scenes in the Great War,"
"Britain's Daughters," etc.
Sooth 'twere a pleasant life to lead,
With nothing in the world to do
But just to blow a shepherd's reed,
The silent season thro'
And just to drive a flock to feed,--
Sheep, quiet, fond and few!
"Dolce far Niente," Stanza I,--_Laman Blanchard_.
SAMUEL LAMAN BLANCHARD, a noted British author and journalist, was born
May 15, 1804, and died February 15, 1845. He published "Lyric
Offerings," etc.; and edited numerous magazine journals.
The deeper the feeling the less demonstrative will be the
expression of it.
--_Balzac_.
HONORÉ DE BALZAC, the greatest of French novelists, was born in Tours,
May 16, 1799, and died in Paris, August 18, 1850. He wrote in all about
97 celebrated novels. Among them: "Le Vieille Fille," "Contrat De
Marriage," "Le Colonel Chabert," "Les Chouans," "Pierrette,"
"Seraphita," "Les Employés," "Modeste Mignon," "Histoire Des Treize,"
"Début Dans La Vie," "Ursule Mirouet," "Eugène Grandet," "Cousin Pons,"
"Le Père Goriot," "Les Paysans," "Cousine Bette," etc., etc.
Les grandes ne sont grands que parceque nous sommes à genoux;
Relevons nous.[3]
"Revolutions de Paris," Motto.--_Prudhomme_.
RENÉ FRANÇOIS ARMAND SULLY-PRUDHOMME, a famous French poet, was born at
Paris, May 16, 1839, and died in 1907. He has written: "The Broken
Vase," "Stanzas and Poems," "The Stables of Augeas," "The Wildernesses,"
"Revolt of the Flowers," "Reflections on the Art of Versification," etc.
To think, and to feel, constitute the two grand divisions of men
of genius--the men of reasoning and the men of imagination.
"Literary Character of Men of Genius," Ch. II,--_Isaac
Disraeli_.
ISAAC DISRAELI, a distinguished English literary essayist, compiler and
historian, was born at Enfield in Middlesex, May 17, 1766, and died
January 9, 1848. Among his writings are: "Curiosities of Literature,"
"Calamities of Authors," "Quarrels of Authors," "Miscellanies, or
Literary Recollections," etc. Also: "Commentaries on the Life and Reign
of Charles I."
A monument to Newton! a monument to Shakespeare! Look up to
Heaven--look into the Human Heart. Till the planets and the
passions--the affections and the fixed stars are
extinguished--their names cannot die.
"Noctes Ambrosianæ," Vol. iii,--_John Wilson_.
JOHN WILSON (CHRISTOPHER NORTH), a noted Scottish writer, was born May
18, 1785, at Paisley, and died April 3, 1854. Among his works are: "The
Isle of Palms," "The City of the Plague," "Lights and Shadows of
Scottish Life," "The Trials of Margaret Lindsay," "The Foresters," etc.
Not alone to know, but to act according to thy knowledge, is thy
destination,--proclaims the voice of my inmost soul. Not for
indolent contemplation and study of thyself, nor for brooding over
emotions of piety--no, for action was existence given thee; thy
actions, and thy actions alone, determine thy worth.
--_Fichte_.
JOHANN GOTTLIEB FICHTE, a renowned German philosopher, was born at
Rammenau in Upper Lusatia, May 19, 1762, and died at Berlin, January 27,
1814. Among his works are: "Foundations of the Whole Doctrine of
Science," "Introduction to the Doctrine of Science," "The Doctrine of
Science," "System of Moral Doctrine," "Man's Destiny," and his
celebrated treatise, "Essay Toward a Critique of All Revelation."
The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the
individuals composing it.
--_John Stuart Mill_.
JOHN STUART MILL, a famous English philosophical writer, logician, and
political economist, was born in London, May 20, 1806, and died at
Avignon, France, May 8, 1873. Among the most important of his works are:
"Essay on Liberty," "Logic," "Political Economy," "On the Subjection of
Women," "Examination of Sir William Hamilton's Philosophy," "Auguste
Comte and Positivism," and "Utilitarianism." His "Autobiography"
appeared in 1873.
It was the calm and silent night!
Seven hundred years and fifty-three
Had Rome been growing up to might,
And now was queen of land and sea.
No sound was heard of clashing wars,
Peace brooded o'er the hushed domain;
Apollo, Pallas, Jove, and Mars
Held undisturbed their ancient reign,
In the solemn midnight
Centuries ago.
"Christmas Hymn,"--_Alfred Domett_.
ALFRED DOMETT, a noted British statesman and poet, was born at
Camberwell Grove, Surrey, May 20, 1811, and died in 1887. The best
known of his works are: "Ranolf and Amohia, a South Sea Day Dream," and
"Flotsam and Jetsam: Rhymes Old and New."
Awake, my St. John! leave all meaner things
To low ambition and the pride of kings.
Let us (since life can little more supply
Than just to look about us, and to die)
Expatiate free o'er all this scene of man;
A mighty maze! but not without a plan.
"Essay on Man," Epistle i, Line 1,--_Alexander Pope_.
ALEXANDER POPE, the renowned English poet, was born at London, May 21,
1688, and died at Twickenham on the Thames, May 30, 1744. His most
famous works are: "Homer's Odyssey," "The Iliad of Homer," translated,
"Epistles from Eloisa to Abelard," "The Rape of the Lock," "The Temple
of Fame," "Essay on Criticism," "The Dunciad," "Imitations of Horace,"
"Essay on Man," etc.
"It is more than a crime; it is a political fault,"--words which I
record, because they have been repeated and attributed to others.
"Memoirs,"--_Fouché_.
JOSEPH FOUCHÉ (DUKE OF OTRANTO), a celebrated French statesman, was born
May 21, 1759, and died in 1820. A few of his famous political pamphlets
and reports are: "Réflexions sur le jugement de Louis Cofret,"
"Réflexions sur l'éducation publique," "Rapport et project de loi
relatif aux Collèges," etc.
A sudden thought strikes me,--let us swear an eternal friendship.
"The Rovers,"--_J. H. Frere_.
JOHN HOOKHAM FRERE, a noted English poet, translator, and diplomatist,
was born in London, May 21, 1769, and died in Malta, January 7, 1846. He
produced: the "Prospectus and Specimen of an Intended National Work...
Relating to King Arthur and his Round Table," known as "The Monks and
the Giants"; a literary burlesque, and numerous translations.
A sound so fine, there's nothing lives
'Twixt it and silence.
"Virginius," Act v, Sc. 2 (1784-1862),--_James Sheridan
Knowles_.
JAMES SHERIDAN KNOWLES, a famous Irish actor, lecturer and dramatist,
was born at Cork, May 21, 1784, and died at Torquay, England, November
30, 1862. Among his dramas are: "Caius Gracchus," "William Tell,"
"Alfred the Great," "The Wife: a Tale of Mantua," "The Rose of Aragon,"
and his three masterpieces, "Virginius," "The Hunchback," and "The Love
Chase."
Unconsciousness is one of the most important conditions of a good
style in speaking or in writing.
--_Richard Grant White_.
RICHARD GRANT WHITE, an eminent American journalist, critic, and
Shakespearean scholar, was born in New York City, May 22, 1822, and died
there, April 8, 1885. Among his books are: "National Hymns: A Lyrical
and National Study for the Times," "Memoirs of the Life of William
Shakespeare, with an Essay Towards the Expression of His Genius,"
"Poetry of the Civil War," "Words and Their Uses," "England Without and
Within," etc.
The bow was made in England:
Of true wood, of yew-wood,
The wood of English bows;
So men who are free
Love the old yew-tree
And the land where the yew-tree grows.
"Songs of Action: Song of the Bow," etc. I,--_Sir A. Conan
Doyle_.
SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE, a renowned Scotch story and romance writer, was
born in Edinburgh, May 22, 1859. His works include: "A Study in
Scarlet," "The Sign of the Four," "The White Company," "The Great
Shadow," "Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," "The Hound of the
Baskervilles," "Adventures of Gerard," "Return of Sherlock Holmes," "Sir
Nigel," "Through the Magic Door," "The Fires of Fate," "The Crime of the
Congo," "The Lost World," "The Case of Oscar Slater," "The Valley of
Fear," "A Visit to Three Fronts," "His Last Bow," etc.
I remember, I remember
The fir-trees dark and high;
I used to think their slender-tops
Were close against the sky;
It was a childish ignorance,
But now 'tis little joy
To know I'm farther off from heaven
Than when I was a boy.
"I remember, I remember,"--_Thomas Hood_.
THOMAS HOOD, the great English poet, was born in London, May 23, 1799,
and died there May 3, 1845. Among his poetical works are: "The Haunted
House," "Whims and Oddities," "The Plea of the Midsummer Fairies," and
"The Hostler's Lament," "The Bridge of Sighs," and "The Song of the
Shirt."
Chance cannot touch me! Time cannot hush me!
Fear, hope, and longing, at strife,
Sink as I rise, on, on, upward forever,
Gathering strength, gaining breath,--naught can sever
Me from the Spirit of Life!
"Dryad Song," Stanza 4,--_Margaret Fuller_.
SARAH MARGARET FULLER, Marchioness d'Ossoli, best known as "Margaret
Fuller," was born at Cambridgeport, Mass., May 23, 1810, and died in
1850. She wrote: "Art, Literature, and Drama," "At Home and Abroad,"
"Life Without and Life Within," and a collection of essays on "Women in
the Nineteenth Century."
The object of science is knowledge; the objects of art are works.
In art, truth is the means to an end; in science, it is the only
end. Hence the practical arts are not to be classed among the
sciences.
--_William Whewell_.
WILLIAM WHEWELL, a noted English philosopher and scientist, was born at
Lancaster, May 24, 1794, and died at Cambridge, March 6, 1866. Among his
works are: "History of the Inductive Sciences," "Philosophy of the
Inductive Sciences," "Lectures on Political Economy," "Elements of
Morality," etc.
If ever any poet stood in the white light of the beauty which we
call poetry, it was Mrs. Browning. Her thoughts were as fire and
her words were as fire.
"Lectures on English Literature," 1889, p. 135.--_Maurice
Francis Egan_.
MAURICE FRANCIS EGAN, a distinguished man of letters, was born in
Philadelphia, May 24, 1852 and died in 1923. His works include: "That
Girl of Mine," "That Lover of Mine," "A Garden of Roses," "Stories of
Duty," "The Life Around Us," "Lectures on English Literature," "A Primer
of English Literature," "A Gentleman," "The Flower of the Flock,"
"Preludes" (poetry), "Songs and Sonnets," "Everybody's St. Francis."
Beneath the rule of men entirely great,
The pen is mightier than the sword.
"Richelieu," Act ii, Sc. 2,--_Edward Bulwer-Lytton_.
EDWARD BULWER-LYTTON, LORD LYTTON, the renowned English novelist, poet
and dramatist, was born in London, May 25, 1803, and died in Torquay,
January 18, 1873. Among his famous novels are: "Eugene Aram," "Pelham,"
"Last Days of Pompeii," "Pilgrims of the Rhine," "Last of the Barons,"
"Ernest Maltravers," "A Strange Story," "Rienzi," "Devereux,"
"Falkland," "Harold," "The Coming Race," "The Caxtons," and three noted
dramas, "Money," "Richelieu," and "The Lady of Lyons."
I rarely read any Latin, Greek, German, Italian, sometimes not a
French book, in the original, which I can procure in a good
version. I like to be beholden to the great metropolitan English
speech, the sea which receives tributaries from every region under
heaven. I should as soon think of swimming across Charles River
when I wish to go to Boston, as of reading all my books in
originals when I have them rendered for me in my mother tongue.
"Books,"--_Ralph Waldo Emerson_.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON, the famous American philosopher, essayist and poet,
was born in Boston, May 25, 1803, and died at Concord, Mass., April 27,
1882. He wrote: "The American Scholar," "Man the Reformer," "Nature,"
"The Young American," "The Conduct of Life," "Letters and Social Aims,"
"Tribute to Walter Scott," "Society and Solitude," "Representative Men,"
"Miscellanies," "Essays," "Poems," "May Day and Other Pieces," etc.
Satire should, like a polished razor keen,
Wound with a touch that's scarcely felt or seen.
"To the Imitator of the First Satire of Horace," Book ii,--_Mary
Wortley Montagu_.
MARY WORTLEY, LADY MONTAGU, a celebrated English letter-writer, was born
at Thoresby, Notts, May 26, 1689, and died in England, August 21, 1762.
Her "Letters" won for her great literary fame.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a
glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me; As He died to
make men holy, let us die to make men free.
"Battle Hymn of the Republic,"--_Julia Ward Howe_.
JULIA WARD HOWE, a famous American poet, essayist, lecturer, biographer,
and writer of travels, was born in New York, May 27, 1819, and died in
1910. Among her works are: "Life of Margaret Fuller," "Trip to Cuba,"
"Sex and Education," "The World's Own," "Later Lyrics," "From the Oak to
the Olive," and her celebrated "Battle Hymn of the Republic."
A cause is like champagne and high heels,--one must be prepared to
suffer for it.
"The Title,"--_Arnold Bennett_.
ENOCH ARNOLD BENNETT, a famous English author and journalist, was born
at North Staffordshire, May 27, 1867. Among his many works are: "The
Truth About an Author," "A Great Man," "The Old Wives' Tale," "The
Regent," "The Price of Love," "Over There," "War Scenes on the Western
Front," "Books and Persons," "The Pretty Lady," "The Roll Call," "Things
That Have Interested Me." Among his plays are: "Milestones" (with Edward
Knoblauch), "The Great Adventure," "The Title," "Judith," "Sacred and
Profane Love."
Whate'er there be of Sorrow
I'll put off till To-morrow
And when To-morrow comes, why then
'Twill be To-day and Joy again.
"The Word,"--_John K. Bangs_.
JOHN KENDRICK BANGS, a noted American humorist and novelist, was born
May 27, 1862, and died January 21, 1922. Among his publications are
"Coffee and Repartee," "Mr. Bonaparte of Corsica," "Water Ghost and
Other Stories," "A Houseboat on the Styx," "A Rebellious Heroine," "The
Pursuit of the Houseboat," "Olympian Nights," "Over the Plum Pudding,"
"Mollie and the Unwise Man," "The Inventions of the Idiot," "Songs of
Cheer," "Little Book of Christmas," "Line o' Cheer for Each Day of the
Year," "The Foothills of Parnassas," "From Pillar to Post," "Half-Hours
with the Idiot."
The harp that once through Tara's halls
The soul of music shed,
Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls
As if that soul were fled.
So sleeps the pride of former days,
So glory's thrill is o'er;
And hearts that once beat high for praise
Now feel that pulse no more.
"The Harp that Once Through Tara's Halls,"--_Thomas Moore_.
THOMAS MOORE, one of the greatest of Irish poets, was born at Dublin,
May 28, 1779, and died near Devizes, February 25, 1852. His most famous
works were: "Irish Melodies," "Loves of the Angels," "Odes and
Epistles," "The Twopenny Post Bag," "History of Ireland," "The
Epicurean," and "Lalla Rookh," his most famous work.
Asa Gray and Dr. Tarrey are known wherever the study of botany is
pursued. Gray, with his indefatigable zeal, will gain upon his
competitors.
"Life and Correspondence," ed. Agassiz, Vol. ii, p. 437,
Letter to Milne Edwards,--_L. Agassiz_.
JEAN LOUIS RODOLPHE AGASSIZ, a renowned Swiss naturalist, was born at
Motier, Switzerland, May 28, 1807, and died at Cambridge, Mass.,
December 14, 1873. He published: "Studies of Glaciers," "Principles of
Zoölogy," "The Structure of Animal Life," "Scientific Results of a
Journey in Brazil," etc.
Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price
of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what
course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me
death!
"Speech in the Virginia Convention," March, 1775,--_Patrick
Henry_.
PATRICK HENRY, an illustrious American orator, was born at Studley, Va.,
May 29, 1736, and died at Red Hill, Va., June 6, 1799. His numerous
speeches may be found in a (3 vols.) book, entitled "Life," by William
Wirt Henry.
"Vanitas Vanitatum" has rung in the ears
Of gentle and simple for thousands of years;
The wail still is heard, yet its notes never scare
Either simple or gentle from Vanity Fair.
"Vanity Fair,"--_Frederick Locker-Lampson_.
FREDERICK LOCKER-LAMPSON, a noted English poet, was born at Greenwich,
May 29, 1821, and died in 1895. His fame rests principally upon his
"Society Verses."
In this dim world of clouding cares,
We rarely know, till wildered eyes
See white wings lessening up the skies
The angels with us unawares.
"Babe Cristabel,"--_Thomas Gerald Massey_.
(THOMAS) GERALD MASSEY, a celebrated English poet, was born near Tring,
Hertfordshire, May 29, 1828, and died October 29, 1907. He published
"Voices of Freedom and Lyrics of Love," "The Ballad of Babe Cristabel,"
"War Waits," and "A Tale of Eternity." He collected the best of these
volumes into a two-volume edition of poems called "My Lyrical Life." He
also wrote: "The Book of the Beginnings," "The Natural Genesis," and his
most important work, "Ancient Egypt: The Light of the World."
"Truths turn into dogmas the moment they are disputed."
"Heretics,"--_G. K. Chesterton_.
GILBERT KEITH CHESTERTON, a famous English author was born in London,
May 29, 1874. He has published: "Robert Browning," "Charles Dickens,"
"George Bernard Shaw," "What's Wrong with the World?" "The Victorian Age
in Literature," "The Wisdom of Father Brown," "Poems," "A Shilling for
My Thoughts," "A Short History of England," "Irish Impressions," "The
Superstition of Divorce," etc.
So long as faith with freedom reigns
And loyal hope survives,
And gracious charity remains
To leaven lowly lives;
While there is one untrodden tract
For intellect or will,
And men are free to think and act,
Life is worth living still.
"Is Life Worth Living?"--_Alfred Austin_.
ALFRED AUSTIN, a noted English poet, critic and journalist, was born at
Headingly, near Leeds, May 30, 1835, and died in 1913. He was appointed
poet laureate of England in 1896. Among his writings are: "The Golden
Age: A Satire," "The Tower of Babel," "The Human Tragedy," "Veronica's
Garden," etc.
Die Liebe wintert nicht
Nein, nein! Ist und bleibt Frühlings-Schein.[4]
"Herbstlied,"--_Ludwig Tieck_.
JOHANN LUDWIG TIECK, a celebrated German poet and miscellaneous writer,
was born in Berlin, May 31, 1773, and died there, April 28, 1853. Among
his works may be mentioned: "William Lovell," "Ostrich Plumes,"
"Abdallah," "Peter Lebrecht: A Story Without Adventures," "Prince
Zerbino," "Romantic Fancies," "Life and Death of St. Genevieve," "Love
Songs of the Suabian Past," "Old English Dramatists," "The Tourists,"
"The Old Man of the Mountain," "Society in the Country," "Dramatic
Pages," "The Betrothal," "Musical Joys and Sorrows," etc.
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle.
"Miracles,"--_Walt Whitman_.
WALT WHITMAN, a renowned American poet, was born at West Hills, L. I.,
May 31, 1819, and died at Camden, N. J., March 26, 1892. He wrote:
"Leaves of Grass," "As a Strong Bird on Pinions Free, and Other Poems,"
"Two Rivulets" "November Boughs," "Memoranda During the War," "Drum
Taps," "Passage to India," etc.
A brave endeavor
To do thy duty, whate'er its worth,
Is better than life with love forever,
And love is the sweetest thing on earth.
"Sir Hugo's Choice,"--_James Jeffrey Roche_.
JAMES JEFFREY ROCHE, a noted American author, was born in Queen's
County, Ireland, May 31, 1847, and died in 1908. He has written: "Songs
and Satires," "Ballads of Blue Water," "Life of John Boyle O'Reilly,"
"His Majesty the King; A Romance of the Harem," etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] There should be many judges, for few will always do the will of few.
[2] Much knows he who knows naught, if he can hold his tongue.
[3] The great are only great because we are on our knees. Let us rise
up.
[4] Love knows no winter; no, no! It is, and remains the sign of spring.
JUNE
JUNE
Abide with me! fast falls the even-tide!
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
"Abide With Me!"--_Henry Francis Lyte_.
HENRY FRANCIS LYTE, a distinguished British clergyman and poet, was born
at Kelso, Scotland, June 1, 1793, and died at Nice, France, November 20,
1847. He has written: "The Spirit of the Psalms," and some well-known
hymns, among them, "Abide with Me," "Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken,"
"Praise, My Soul," "The King of Heaven," etc.
While we would have our young sisters imitate, as they cannot fail
to love, the conduct of Ruth, will not their elders do well to
ponder on, and imitate the tenderness of Naomi? Would we have our
daughters Ruths, we must be Naomis.
--_Grace Aguilar_.
GRACE AGUILAR, a celebrated English novelist, was born at Hackney, June
2, 1816, and died at Frankfort-on-the-Main, September 16, 1847. She
wrote: "The Spirit of Judaism," "Women of Israel," "Home Influence,"
"The Days of Bruce," "The Vale of Cedars," etc.
'Tis wise to learn; 'tis God-like to create.
"The Library,"--_John G. Saxe_.
JOHN G. SAXE, a noted American humorous poet, was born in Highgate, Vt.,
June 2, 1816, and died in Albany, N. Y., March 31, 1887. His most
popular poems include: "Rhyme of the Rail," and "The Proud Miss
McBride."
When false things are brought low,
And swift things have grown slow,
Feigning like froth shall go,
Faith be for aye.
"Between Us Now,"--_Thomas Hardy_.
THOMAS HARDY, the renowned English novelist, was born in Dorsetshire,
June 2, 1840. Among his noted works are: "Desperate Remedies," "Under
the Greenwood Tree," "A Pair of Blue Eyes," "Far from the Madding Crowd"
(Cornhill), "The Hand of Ethelberta," "The Return of the Native," "The
Trumpet Major," "A Laodicean," "Two on a Tower," "The Mayor of
Casterbridge," "The Woodlanders," "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," "Jude the
Obscure," "The Well Beloved," "Wessex Tales," "A Group of Noble Dames,"
"Life's Little Ironies," "A Changed Man, The Waiting Supper and Other
Tales," "Wessex Poems," "Poems of the Past and the Present," "The
Dynasts" Pt. 1, 2, 3 (1903, 1906, 1908), "Time's Laughing Stocks,"
"Satires of Circumstance," "Moments of Vision and Miscellaneous Verses,"
"Complete Poetical Works."
Let every man be occupied, and occupied in the highest employment
of which his nature is capable, and die with the consciousness
that he has done his best.
"Memoirs," Vol. i, p. 130,--_Sydney Smith_.
SYDNEY SMITH, the famous English wit, essayist and clergyman, was born
at Woodford, Essex, June 3, 1771, and died in London, February 22, 1845.
Among his publications are: "Three Letters to Archdeacon Singleton on
the Ecclesiastical Commission," "Letters," "Papers," "Peter Plymley's
Letters," etc.
Courage, Brother! do not stumble,
Though thy path be dark as night;
There's a star to guide the humble,
Trust in God and do the Right.
"Trust in God,"--_Norman Macleod_.
NORMAN MACLEOD, a distinguished Scottish divine and miscellaneous
writer, was born at Campbeltown, June 3, 1812, and died at Glasgow,
June 16, 1872. Among his writings are: "Peeps at the Far East," "Wee
Davie," "The Earnest Student," "Character Sketches," "Parish Papers,"
and "The Starling."
Qui fuit peut revenir aussi;
Qui meurt, il n'en est pas ainsi.[1]
--_Scarron_.
PAUL SCARRON, a noted French poet, novelist, and dramatist, was born at
Paris, June 4, 1610, and died there October 14, 1660. His works include:
"The Ridiculous Heir," "Jodelet," "Don Japhet of Armenia," "The Scholar
of Salamanca," and his best known work the "Comic Romance." His travesty
of the Æneid (1648-53) was considered a masterpiece of its kind.
To found a great empire for the sole purpose of raising up a
people of customers may at first sight appear a project fit only
for a nation of shopkeepers.
"Wealth of Nations," Vol. ii, Book iv, Chap. vii, part 3
(1775),--_Adam Smith_.
ADAM SMITH, a celebrated Scotch political economist, was born at
Kirkcaldy, June 5, 1723, and died at Edinburgh, July 17, 1790. Among his
works may be mentioned: "Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the
Wealth of Nations," "Theory of Moral Sentiments," and "Origin of
Languages."
Les hommes valeureux le sont au premier coup.[2]
"Le Cid," II, 3,--_Corneille_.
PIERRE CORNEILLE, the illustrious French dramatist, was born at Rouen,
June 6, 1606, and died in Paris, September 30, 1684. He wrote: "The
Gallery of the Palace," "The Lady's Maid," "Mélite," "The Widow," "The
Palais Royal," "Medea," "The Dramatic Illusion," "Pompey," "The Liar,"
"The Sequel to the Liar," "Cinna," "Horace," "Théodore," "Polyeucte,"
"Don Sancho," "The Golden Fleece," "The Cid," etc., etc.
There is no such thing as abstract liberty; it is not even
thinkable. If you ask me, "Do you favor liberty?" I reply,
"Liberty for whom to do what?"
"The Shadow on the Dial,"--_Ambrose Bierce_.
AMBROSE BIERCE, a noted American author and journalist, was born in
Ohio, June 6, 1842, disappeared in 1913. His best known works are: "In
the Midst of Life," "Shapes of Clay," and "Can Such Things Be?" His
"Collected Works," in 12 volumes, were published 1909-1912.
Beddoes was, so to say, saturated with the spirit of the
Elizabethan Dramatists, and cast his poetry for the most part into
Elizabethan forms.
A Poetry Book, Second Series, "The Modern Poets," p. 322,
_note_,--_Amelia B. Edwards_.
AMELIA BLANDFORD EDWARDS, a celebrated English novelist and
Egyptologist, was born in London, June 7, 1831, and died April 15, 1892.
She has published: "My Brother's Wife," "Hand and Glove," "In the Days
of My Youth," "A Thousand Miles up the Nile," etc.
I studied the great art of fiction closely for fifteen years
before I presumed to write a word of it.
--_Charles Reade_.
CHARLES READE, a renowned English novelist, was born at Ipsden, June 8,
1814, and died April 11, 1884. Among his numerous productions are: "Peg
Woffington," "It's Never Too Late to Mend," "The Course of True Love
Never Did Run Smooth," "The Double Marriage; or White Lies," "Hard
Cash," "The Cloister and the Hearth," "Foul Play," "Put Yourself in His
Place," "A Terrible Temptation," "A Simpleton," "A Woman Hater," etc.
His plays include: "Gold," "Masks and Faces," "The Courier of Lyons,"
"Two Loves and a Life," "The King's Rivals," etc.
'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,
Which sought through the world is ne'er met with elsewhere.
An exile from home splendour dazzles in vain,
Oh, give me my lowly thatched cottage again;
The birds singing gayly, that came at my call,
Give me them, and that peace of mind dearer than all.
"Home Sweet Home," from the opera "Clari, the Maid of
Milan,"--_J. Howard Payne_.
JOHN HOWARD PAYNE, an American dramatist and author, was born in New
York City, June 9, 1792, and died in Tunis, Africa, April 10, 1852. His
fame rests upon the celebrated lyric "Home, Sweet Home," introduced in
his drama, the "Maid of Milan." His other plays are "Brutus,"
"Virginius," and "Charles II."
While black with storms the ruffled ocean rolls, and from the
fisher's art defends her finny shoals.
--_Sir Richard Blackmore_.
SIR RICHARD DODDRIDGE BLACKMORE, a renowned English novelist, was born
in Longworth, Berkshire, June 9, 1825, and died January 22, 1900. Some
of his well-known novels are: "The Maid of Sker," "Cripps the Carrier,"
"Clara Vaughan," "Sir Thomas Upmore," "Alice Lorraine," "Christowell,"
"Spring-haven," "Erema," "Mary Anerley," and his most celebrated novel,
"Lorna Doone."
By the flow of the inland river,
Whence the fleets of the iron have fled,
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver,
Asleep are the ranks of the dead;--
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the Judgment Day:
Under the one, the Blue;
Under the other, the Gray.
"The Blue and the Gray,"--_Francis Miles Finch_.
FRANCIS MILES FINCH, a noted American poet and judge, was born in
Ithaca, N. Y., June 9, 1827, and died in 1907. He is the author of the
well-known lyrics, "Nathan Hale," and "The Blue and the Gray."
Some very dull and sad people have genius though the world may not
count it as such; a genius for love, or for patience, or for
prayer, maybe. We know the divine spark is here and there in the
world; who shall say under what manifestations, or humble
disguise!
--_Anne Isabelle Thackeray_.
LADY ANNE ISABELLE (THACKERAY) RITCHIE, a distinguished English
miscellaneous writer, was born in London, June 9, 1838, and died in
1919. She has written: "Old Kensington," "Toilers and Spinsters," "Miss
Angel," "Bluebeard's Keys," "Mme. de Sévigné," "Lord Tennyson and his
Friends," "Records of Tennyson, Ruskin, and Browning," etc.
Also, I think that good must come of good,
And ill of evil--surely--unto all--
In every place and time--seeing sweet fruit
Growth from wholesome roots, and bitter things
From poison stocks; yea, seeing, too, how spite
Breeds hate, and kindness, friends, and patience, peace.
--_Edwin Arnold_.
SIR EDWIN ARNOLD, the famous English poet and journalist, was born in
Rochester, June 10, 1832, and died in 1904. His greatest works are:
"Indian Idylls," "Pearls of the Faith," "The Light of the World,"
"Japonica," "The Tenth Muse and Other Poems," "Sa'di in the Garden,"
and his most famous work: "The Light of Asia, a Poetic Presentation of
the Life and Teaching of Gautama."
Shall I, wasting in despair,
Die because a woman's fair?
Or make pale my cheeks with care,
'Cause another's rosy are?
Be she fairer than the day,
Or the flowery meads in May,
If she be not so to me,
What care I how fair she be?
"The Shepherd's Resolution,"--_George Wither_.
GEORGE WITHER, a celebrated English poet and soldier, was born at
Brentworth, June 11, 1588, and died in London, May 2, 1667. Among his
writings are: "Fidelia," "The Shepherd's Hunting," "Hymns and Songs of
the Church," "The Motto," "Abuses Stript and Whipt," and his best-known
song, "Shall I, Wasting in Despair."
In lang, lang day o' simmer,
When the clear and cloudless sky
Refuses ae wee drap o' rain
To Nature parched and dry,
The genial night, wi' balmy breath,
Gars verdure spring anew,
An' ilka blade o' grass
Keps its ain drap o' dew.
"Its Ain Drap o' Dew,"--_Ballantine_.
JAMES BALLANTINE, a noted Scotch poet, was born in Edinburgh, on June
11, 1808, and died December 18, 1877. His poetical works include: "The
Gaberlunzie's Wallet," "One Hundred Songs," etc.
All things change, creeds and philosophies and outward
systems--but God remains.
"Robert Elsmere," Book IV, Chap, xxvi,--_Mary Augusta (Arnold)
Ward_.
MRS. HUMPHRY WARD (MARY AUGUSTA ARNOLD), a famous English novelist, was
born at Hobart Town, Tasmania, June 11, 1851, and died in 1920. She has
written: "Milly and Ollie," "Miss Bretherton," "Robert Elsmere," "The
History of David Grieve," "Marcella," "The Story of Bessie Costrell,"
"Sir George Tressady," "Eleanor," "Lady Rose's Daughter," "The Marriage
of William Ashe," "Fenwick's Career," "Diana Mallory," "Daphne,"
"Canadian Born," "England's Effort," "Towards the Goal," "Missing," etc.
The poems of Alfred Tennyson have certainly much of the beauty of
a long-past time; but they have also a life so vivid, a truth so
lucid, and a melody so inexhaustible, as to mark him the poet that
cannot die.
"A History of the Thirty Years' Peace," A.D. 1815-1846,
Vol. IV. p. 436--_Harriet Martineau_.
HARRIET MARTINEAU, a notable English reformer and miscellaneous writer,
was born at Norwich, June 12, 1802, and died at Ambleside, June 27,
1876. Among her most noted works are: "Society in America," "Deerbrook,"
"History of England During the Thirty Years' Peace," "Philosophy of
Comte," "British Rule in India," "Biographical Sketches," etc.
I am reading again, the "History of England," that of Smollett....
I have to the reign of George the Second, and, in spite of the
dislike I have of Smollett's language and style of writing, I am
much entertained.--Burney, Frances, 1770.
"Early Diary," ed. Ellis, Vol. I, p. 94,--_Frances Burney_.
FRANCES BURNEY--MADAME D'ARBLAY, a celebrated English novelist, was born
in King's Lynn, Norfolk, June 13, 1752, and died in Bath, January 6,
1840. Among her noted works are: "Evelina, or a Young Lady's Entrance
into the World," "Cecilia," "Camilla," and "The Wanderer, or Female
Difficulties."
Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever;
Do noble things, not dream them, all day long:
And so make life, death, and that vast forever
One grand sweet song.
"A Farewell,"--_Charles Kingsley_.
CHARLES KINGSLEY, the distinguished English novelist, poet, and
philanthropist, was born at Holne, near Dartmoor, Devonshire, June 13,
1819, and died at Eversley, Hampshire, January 23, 1875. He wrote many
novels, among them: "Hypatia," "The Saint's Tragedy," (a drama in
verse), "Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet," "Westward, Ho!" "Yeast," "The
Water Babies," (a fairy tale). Also "Lectures Delivered in America,"
"Poems," "Andromeda and Other Poems," etc.
Land of Heart's Desire,
Where beauty has no ebb, decay no flood,
But joy is wisdom, Time and endless song.
"Land of Heart's Desire,"--_William Butler Yeats_.
WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS, a famous Irish poet and writer of romance, was
born in Dublin, June 13, 1865. He has written: "The Wanderings of
Oisin," "Celtic Twilight," "Poems," "The Secret Rose," "Irish Folk
Lore," "Fairy Tales," "Irish Stories," "The Wind Among the Reeds," "The
Countess Kathleen," "The Shadowy Waters," "Ideas of Good and Evil," "In
the Seven Woods," "Hour Glass and Other Plays," "The King's Threshold,"
"Deirdre," "The Green Helmet and Other Poems," "Plays for an Irish
Theatre," etc.
It lies around us like a cloud--
A world we do not see;
Yet the sweet closing of an eye
May bring us there to be.
"The Other World,"--_Harriet Beecher Stowe_.
HARRIET BEECHER STOWE, a renowned American novelist, was born at
Litchfield, Conn., June 14, 1811, and died at Hartford, Conn., July 1,
1896. Among her numerous works are: "Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands,"
"First Geography for Children," "The Minister's Wooing," "Religious
Poems," "Agnes of Sorrento," "Men of Our Times," "Earthly Care a
Heavenly Discipline," "House and Home Papers," "Palmetto Leaves," "The
Ravages of a Carpet," "The Chimney Corner," "Little Foxes," "Lives and
Deeds of Our Self-Made Men," etc., etc. Also her famous works: "Uncle
Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly," "Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin," and
"Uncle Tom's Emancipation."
Justice, like lightning, ever should appear;
To few men ruin, but to all men fear.
--_Thomas Randolph_.
THOMAS RANDOLPH, a noted English poet and dramatist, was born near
Daventry in Northamptonshire, and was baptized June 15, 1605, and died
in 1635. Among his plays are: "The Jealous Lovers," "The Muses'
Looking-Glasse," etc.
Smiling always with a never fading serenity of countenance, and
flourishing in an immortal youth.
"Duty of Thanksgiving," "Works," Vol. I, p. 66,--_Isaac Barrow_.
ISAAC BARROW, a distinguished English theologian, classical scholar and
mathematician, was born at London, June 16, 1630, and died at London,
April, 1677. The best edition of his theological works is that of Rev.
A. Napier (1859).
Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.
--_John Wesley_.
JOHN WESLEY, a celebrated English divine and writer, was born at
Epworth, June 17, 1703, and died March 2, 1791. He wrote: "Doctrine of
Original Sin," "Explanatory Notes on the New Testament," "Preservative
Against Unsettled Notions in Religion," "A Calm Address to Our American
Colonies," "Survey of the Wisdom of God in Creation," "Notes on the Old
and New Testaments," etc.
The violet thinks, with her timid blue eye,
To pass for a blossom enchantingly shy.
"Garden Gossip,"--_Mrs. Osgood_.
MRS. FRANCES SARGENT (LOCKE) OSGOOD, a well-known American poet, was
born in Boston, June 18, 1811, and died in Hingham, Mass., May 12, 1850.
She published: "Wreath of Wild Flowers," "Poetry of Flowers," "Poems,"
etc.
Whilst twilight's curtain spreading far,
Was pinned with a single star.
"Death in Disguise," Line 227 (Boston edition, 1833).--_McDonald
Clarke_.
MCDONALD CLARKE, a noted American poet, was born in Bath, Maine, June
18, 1778, and died in New York, March 5, 1842. His works include:
"Poetic Sketches," "The Belles of Broadway," etc.
Learning hath gained most by those books by which the printers
have lost.
"Of Books,"--_Thomas Fuller_.
THOMAS FULLER, a famous English divine and historian, was baptized on
June 19, 1608, and died in 1661. Among his famous works are: "David's
Heinous Sin," "History of the Holy War," "Church History of Britain,"
etc. "The Worthies of England," is the work for which he is now
esteemed.
Montaigne is wrong in declaring that custom ought to be followed
simply because it is custom, and not because it is reasonable or
just.
"Thoughts," Chap. IV, 6,--_Blaise Pascal_.
BLAISE PASCAL, a renowned French philosopher and mathematician, was born
at Clermont Ferrand, in Auvergne, June 19, 1623, and died at Paris,
August 19, 1662. His writings include: "Letters Written by Louis
Montalte to a Friend in the Provinces," more widely known as the
"Provincial Letters," and his "Thoughts on Religion" (Pensées), which
was published after his death.
Child of mortality, whence comest thou? Why is thy countenance
sad, and why are thine eyes red with weeping?
"Hymns in Prose," xiii,--_Mrs. Barbauld_. 1743-1825.
ANNA LÆTITIA BARBAULD, a celebrated English poet and essayist, was born
in Kibworth-Harcourt, Leicestershire, June 20, 1743, and died in Stoke
Newington, March 9, 1825. She wrote: "Early Lessons for Children,"
"Devotional Pieces," "Hymns in Prose for Children," "Eighteen Hundred
and Eleven," etc.
The summer day was spoiled with fitful storm;
At night the wind died and the soft rain dropped;
With lulling murmur, and the air was warm,
And all the tumult and the trouble stopped.
"The Nestling Swallows,"--_Celia Thaxter_.
MRS. CELIA (LEIGHTON) THAXTER, a famous American poet, was born at
Portsmouth, N. H., June 20, 1836, and died in 1894. She has written:
"Poems for Children," "Idyls and Pastorals," "Poems," "Drift-Weed," "The
Yule Log," "Letters," "An Island Garden," "Among the Isles of Shoals,"
"Stories and Poems for Children," etc.
Woman's love is writ in water!
Woman's faith is traced on sand!
"Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers"; "Charles Edward at
Versailles,"--_W. E. Aytoun_.
WILLIAM EDMONSTOUNE AYTOUN, a noted Scottish humorist, was born in
Edinburgh, June 21, 1813, and died at Blackhills, near Elgin, August 4,
1865. He wrote: "Ballads of Scotland," and his most famous work, "Lays
of the Scottish Cavaliers." With Theodore Martin he wrote the
celebrated "Bon Gaultier Ballads."
With the multiplication of books comes the rapid extension and
awakening of mental activity.
"Constitutional History of England,"--_William Stubbs_.
WILLIAM STUBBS, a noted English historical writer, was born at
Knaresborough, June 21, 1825, and died April 22, 1901. His most famous
work is: "The Constitutional History of England." He also published:
"Lectures on Mediæval and Modern History."
Hopkins sought to add to the five points of Calvinism the rather
heterogeneous ingredient that holiness consists in pure,
disinterested benevolence, and that all regard for self is
necessarily sinful.
"History of the United States of America," Vol. II, p.
597,--_Richard Hildreth_.
RICHARD HILDRETH, a renowned American historian, was born in Deerfield,
Mass., June 22, 1807, and died in Florence, Italy, July 11, 1865. Among
his works are: "History of Banks," "Theory of Morals," "Theory of
Politics," and his most noted work, "History of the United States."
My two favourite novels are Dickens' "Tale of Two Cities" and
Lytton's "Coming Race." Both these books I can read again and
again, and with an added pleasure. Only my delight in the last is
always marred afresh by disgust at the behaviour of the hero, who,
in order to return to this dull earth, put away the queenly Zoe's
love.
"Books which Have Influenced Me," p. 67,--_Haggard, H. Rider_.
SIR HENRY RIDER HAGGARD, a celebrated English novelist was born in
Norfolk, June 22, 1856. Among his numerous works are: "Cetewayo and His
White Neighbors," "Dawn," "The Witch's Head," "King Solomon's Mines,"
"She," "Jess," "Allan Quatermain," "Cleopatra," "Allan's Wife,"
"Beatrice," "Nada, the Lily," "The People of the Mist," "Heart of the
World," "Joan Haste," "Rural England," "Pearl Maiden," "The Way of the
Spirit," "Benita," "Fair Margaret," "The Yellow God," "Regeneration,"
"Red Eve," "Marie," "Child of Storm," "The Holy Flower," "The Ivory
Child," "Love Eternal," "Moon of Israel," "When the World Shook," etc.
At some disputed barricade,
When Spring comes back with rustling shade
And apple-blossoms fill the air,--
I have a rendezvous with Death
When Spring brings back blue days and fair.
"I have a Rendezvous With Death,"--_Alan Seeger_.
ALAN SEEGER, a noted American poet, was born in New York City, June 22,
1888, and was killed on the field of Belloy en Santene, France, July 4,
1916. He will always be remembered for his famous poem, "I Have a
Rendezvous with Death."
If but one friend have crossed thy way,
Once only, in thy mortal day;
If only once life's best surprise
Has opened on thy human eyes;
Ingrate thou wert, indeed, if thou
Didst not in that rare presence bow,
And on earth's holy ground, unshod,
Speak softlier the dear name of God.
--_Lucy Larcom_.
LUCY LARCOM, a noted American poet, was born at Beverly, Mass., June 23
(?), 1826, and died in Boston in 1893. Her works include: "Poems," "An
Idyl of Work, a Story in Verse," "As It Is in Heaven," and "The Unseen
Friend."
The world still needs
Its champion as of old, and finds him still.
"The Epic of Hades: Herakles,"--_Sir Lewis Morris_.
SIR LEWIS MORRIS, a distinguished British poet, was born at Penbryn,
June 23, 1833, and died November 13, 1907. His poetical works include:
"Songs of Two Worlds," "The Epic of Hades" (his best-known work) "Songs
Unsung," "A Vision of Saints," "The Ode of Life," "Idylls and Lyrics,"
"The New Rambler," and "Gwen."
Time is short, your obligations are infinite. Are your houses
regulated, your children instructed, the afflicted relieved, the
poor visited, the work of piety accomplished?
--_Massillon_.
JEAN BAPTISTE MASSILLON, a renowned French preacher, was born at Hyères,
June 24, 1663, and died at Clermont, September 18, 1742. His sermons
have been translated into English, also the funeral oration on Louis
XIV. (London, 1872.)
A glass is good, and a lass is good,
And a pipe to smoke in cold weather;
The world is good, and the people are good,
And we're all good fellows together.
"Sprigs of Laurel," Act. II. Sc. I,--_John B. O'Keefe_.
JOHN B. O'KEEFE, a famous Irish dramatist, was born in Dublin, June 24,
1747, and died at Southampton, February 4, 1833. Among his plays are:
"The Young Quaker," "The Poor Soldier," "Peeping Tom," "Wild Oats," "The
Castle of Andalusia," "Sprigs of Laurel," etc.
Of all the duties, the love of truth, with faith and constancy in
it, ranks first and highest. Truth is God. To love God and to love
Truth are one and the same.
--_Silvio Pellico_.
SILVIO PELLICO, an illustrious Italian poet, was born at Saluzzo, in
Piedmont, June 24, 1788, and died at Turin, January 31, 1854. Among his
tragedies are: "Iginia of Asti," "Ester of Engaddi," "Leonerio of
Dertonia," "Laodicea," "Eufemio of Messina," "Gismonda da Mendrisio,"
"Thomas More," "Herodias," and "Francesca da Rimini," his most
celebrated tragedy.
Put away all sarcasm from your speech. Never complain. Do not
prophesy evil. Have a good word for every one or else keep silent.
--_Henry Ward Beecher_.
HENRY WARD BEECHER, a distinguished American clergyman, was born in
Litchfield, Conn., June 24, 1813, and died in Brooklyn, New York, March
8, 1887. He wrote: "Freedom and War," "Norwood, or Village Life in New
England," "Eyes and Ears," "Star Papers: or Experiences of Art and
Nature," etc. His "Sermons" were edited by Dr. Lyman Abbott in 1868.
Who can refute a sneer?
"Moral Philosophy." Vol. II, Book V, Chap. 9.--_William Paley_.
WILLIAM PALEY, a noted English divine and philosopher, was born at
Peterborough, June 25 (?), 1743, and died May 25, 1805. He published his
lectures, revised and enlarged under the title of "The Principles of
Moral and Political Philosophy"; also "Deity Collected from the
Appearances of Nature."
Dryden's practical knowledge of English was beyond all others
exquisite and wonderful.
"The Diversions of Purley,"--_John Horne Tooke_.
JOHN HORNE TOOKE, a celebrated English political writer and grammarian,
was born at Westminster, June 25, 1736, and died at Wimbledon, March 18,
1812. His principal work was: "Epea Pteroenta (Winged Words); or The
Diversions of Purley."
Live while you live, the epicure would say,
And seize the pleasures of the present day;
Live while you live, the sacred preacher cries,
And give to God each moment as it flies.
Lord, in my views, let both united be:
I live in pleasure when I live to thee.
"Epigram on his Family Arms,"--_Philip Doddridge_.
PHILIP DODDRIDGE, a distinguished English non-conformist divine, was
born in London, June 26, 1702, and died in Lisbon, Portugal, October 26,
1751. Among his works are: "The Rise and Progress of Religion in the
Soul," "The Family Expositor," and "Evidences of Christianity."
Lafcadio Hearn is a painter with the pen.
LAFCADIO HEARN, a noted American journalist and miscellaneous writer,
was born at Santa Maura, Ionian Islands, June 27, 1850, and died
September 26, 1904. He has written: "Two Years in the French West
Indies," "Youma," "Some Chinese Ghosts," "Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan,"
"Gleanings in Buddha-fields," "Out of the East," "Kokoro," "Exotics and
Retrospectives," "Shadowings," "A Japanese Miscellany," "Kotto,"
"Japanese Fairy Tales," "Kwaidan," etc.
Days of absence, sad and dreary,
Clothed in sorrow's dark array,--
Days of absence, I am weary:
She I love is far away.
"Days of Absence,"--_Jean Jacques Rousseau_.
JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU, the renowned French writer, was born in Geneva,
June 28, 1712, and died at Ermenonville near Paris, July 2, 1778. Among
his numerous works may be mentioned: "A Project of Perpetual Peace," "To
the Archbishop of Paris," "Letters from the Mountain," "Consolations of
My Life," "Memoir on the Shape of the Earth," "The Village Soothsayer,"
"Letter on French Music," "On Political Economy," "Letters to
Voltaire," "Narcissus," "The Social Contract," "Letters on His Exile,"
and his famous, "Confessions."
So long as a ray of sunlight illumines her fields, Italy will
reverence Alfieri as the first to give to tragedy a noble mission,
to raise it from the dust in which it lay, and make of it the
instructor of the people.
"Life and Writings," Vol. II,--_Mazzini_.
JOSEPH MAZZINI, a famous Italian patriot, was born at Genoa, June 28
(?), 1805, and died at Pisa, March 10, 1872. "Complete Works" (18
vols.), 1861-91. His "Memoirs" were published in 1875.
For right is right, since God is God,
And right the day must win;
To doubt would be disloyalty,
To falter would be sin.
"The Right Must Win,"--_Frederick W. Faber_.
FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER, a distinguished English hymn-writer, was born
in Calverley, Yorkshire, June 28, 1814, and died at the Oratory,
Brompton, September 26, 1863. His collection of "Hymns" appeared in
1848.
Be silent and safe,--silence never betrays you.
"Rules of the Road,"--_John B. O'Reilly_.
JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY, a celebrated Irish-American poet and prose-writer,
was born near Drogheda, Ireland, June 28, 1844, and died at Hull, Mass.,
August 10, 1890. He wrote: "Songs of the Southern Seas," "Moondyne,"
etc.
Don't you remember, sweet Alice, Ben Bolt?
Sweet Alice, whose hair was so brown;
Who wept with delight when you gave her a smile,
And trembled with fear at your frown!
"Ben Bolt,"--_Thomas Dunn English_.
THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH, a noted American writer, was born in Philadelphia,
June 29, 1819, and died in 1902. He is best remembered by his famous
song, "Ben Bolt."
Just take a trifling handful, O philosopher!
Of magic matter: give it a slight toss over
The ambient ether--and I don't see why
You shouldn't make a sky.
"Sky-Making." To Professor Tyndall,--_Mortimer Collins_.
MORTIMER COLLINS, a famous English novelist and poet, was born in
Plymouth, June 29, 1827, and died at Knowl Hill, Berkshire, July 28,
1876. His novels include: "Who Is the Heir," "Sweet Anne Page," "The
Ivory Gate," "The Vivian Romance," "The Marquis and Merchant," "Two
Plunges for a Pearl," "Blacksmith and Scholar," etc. Also: "Idyls and
Rhymes," "Summer Songs," and "The British Birds."
No historian who has yet written has shown such familiarity with
the facts of English history, no matter what the subject in hand
may be: the extinction of villeinage, the Bloody Assizes, the
appearance of the newspaper, the origin of the national debt, or
the state of England in 1685. Macaulay is absolutely unrivaled in
the art of arranging and combining his facts, and of presenting in
a clear and vigorous narrative the spirit of the epoch he treats.
Nor should we fail to mention that both Essays and History abound
in remarks, general observations, and comment always clear,
vigorous, and shrewd, and in the main very just.
"Library of the World's Best Literature," ed., Warner,
p. 9386.--_John Bach McMaster_.
JOHN BACH MCMASTER, a renowned American historian, was born at Brooklyn,
N. Y., June 29, 1852. He has written: "Brief History of the United
States," "Cambridge Modern History," "A Primary School History of the
United States," "Daniel Webster," "The Struggle for the Social,
Political and Industrial Rights of Man," "Life and Times of Stephen
Girard," and his most famous work, "History of the People of the United
States."
Is she not more than painting can express,
Or youthful poets fancy when they love?
"The Fair Penitent," Act III, Sc. I,--_Nicholas Rowe_.
NICHOLAS ROWE, a distinguished English dramatist and poet-laureate, was
born at Little Barford, Bedfordshire, June 30 (?), 1674, and died
December 6, 1718. He is best known as the translator of Lucan's
"Pharsalia." He was the author of many successful plays, the most
popular being: "Tamerlane," "The Fair Penitent," "Jane Shore," and "Lady
Jane Grey."
Why thus longing, thus forever sighing
For the far-off, unattained, and dim,
While the beautiful all round thee lying
Offers up its low, perpetual hymn?
"Why thus Longing?"--_Harriet Winslow Sewall_.
HARRIET (WINSLOW) SEWALL, a noted American poet, was born at Portland,
Me., June 30, 1819, and died at Wellesley, Mass., February, 1889.
"Poems, with a Memoir," was published in 1889.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] He who flies can also return; but it is not so with him who dies.
[2] Brave men are brave from the very first.
JULY
JULY
Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of
all virtues.
"Christian Moderation," Introduction,--_Bishop Hall_.
JOSEPH HALL (BISHOP HALL), a famous English bishop and satirist, was
born at Bristow Park near Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, July 1,
1574, and died in 1656. He wrote "Episcopacy by Divine Right," "An
Humble Remonstrance to the High Court of Parliament," "Of Toothless
Satyrs," "Christian Moderation," "Contemplations," etc.
Solitude holds a cup sparkling with bliss in her right hand, a
raging dagger in her left. To the blest she offers her goblet, but
stretches towards the wretched the ruthless steel.
--_Klopstock_.
FRIEDRICH GOTTLIEB KLOPSTOCK, a renowned German poet, was born at
Quedlinburg, July 2, 1724, and died at Hamburg, 1803. He is best known
by his great epic, "The Messiah," and his "Odes."
Discouragement seizes us only when we can no longer count on
chance.
"Handsome Lawrence," Ch. II,--_George Sand_.
GEORGE SAND (BARONNE DUDEVANT), the great French novelist, was born in
Paris, July 2, 1804, and died at Nohant, June 7, 1876. Among her
numerous works may be mentioned: "Indiana," "Aldo the Poet," "The
Private Secretary," "Andrè," "A Winter at Majorca," "Gabriel,"
"Pauline," "Horace," "The Seven Strings of the Lyre," "Consuelo," "The
Companion of a French Tour," "Isidora," "The Countess of Rudolstadt,"
"The Miller of Angibault," "The Castle of Solitude," "The Master
Ringers," "Story of My Life," "The Snow Man," "Flavia," "Tamaris," "The
Last Love," "Cadio," "A Rolling Stone," "The Little Daughter,"
"Narcissus," "Village Walks," "Loves of the Golden Age," "Journal of a
Tourist During the War," etc., etc.
Silence is the speech of love,
The music of the spheres above.
"Speech of Love,"--_Richard Henry Stoddard_.
RICHARD HENRY STODDARD, a distinguished American lyric poet, was born at
Hingham, Mass., July 2, 1825, and died in 1903. His works include:
"Abraham Lincoln: A Horatian Ode," "Poems," "The Lion's Cub," "Songs of
Summer," etc.
Life is a voyage. The winds of life come strong
From every point; yet each will speed thy course along,
If thou with steady hand when tempests blow
Canst keep thy course aright and never once let go.
"The Voyage of Life,"--_Theodore Chickering Williams_.
THEODORE CHICKERING WILLIAMS, a noted American clergyman, educator and
author, was born at Brookline, Mass., July 2, 1855, and died in 1915. He
has written: "Character Building," "Elegies of Tibullus," "Virgil's
Æneid," "Poems of Belief," "Virgil's Georgics and Eclogues," etc.
At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty, the wit; and
at forty, the judgment.
--_Grattan_.
HENRY GRATTAN, a noted Irish orator and statesman, was born in Dublin,
July 3, 1746, and died in London, June 4, 1820. He wrote: "Letters on
the Irish Union," "Correspondence," and numerous speeches.
We do ourselves wrong, and too meanly estimate the holiness above
us, when we deem that any act or enjoyment good in itself, is not
good to do religiously.
"Marble Faun," Bk. II, Ch. VII,--_Nathaniel Hawthorne_.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, a famous American novelist and short-story writer,
was born in Salem, Mass., July 4, 1804, and died at Plymouth, N. H., May
19, 1864. He wrote: "The House of the Seven Gables," "Tanglewood Tales,"
"The Wonder Book," "Tales of the White Hills," "Twice-Told Tales,"
"Mosses from an Old Manse," "Fanshawe," "Our Old Home," "The Marble
Faun," "The Scarlet Letter," etc.
Let travellers devote one entire morning to inspecting the Arcos
and the Mai das agoas, after which they may repair to the English
Church and cemetery, Pere-la-chaise in miniature, where, if they
be of England, they may well be excused if they kiss the cold
tomb, as I did, of the author of "Amelia," the most singular
genius which their island ever produced, whose works it has long
been the fashion to abuse in public and then read in secret.
"The Bible in Spain,"--_George Borrow_.
GEORGE BORROW, a distinguished English philologist, and traveler, was
born in East Dereham, Norfolk, July 5, 1803, and died in Oulton,
Suffolk, July 30, 1881. Among his writings are: "Romano Lavo Lil, or
Word-Book of the Romany," "The Zincali, or Gipsies of Spain," "The Bible
in Spain," "Lavengro," "The Romany Rye," and "Wild Wales."
The knowledge which we have acquired ought not to resemble a great
shop without order, and without an inventory; we ought to know
what we possess, and be able to make it serve us in need.
--_Leibnitz_.
GOTTFRIED WILHELM VON LEIBNITZ, a renowned German philosopher and
scholar, was born at Leipsic, July 6, 1646, and died at Hanover,
November 14, 1716. Among his writings are: "Essays on God's Goodness,
Man's Freedom, and the Origin of Evil," "Principles of Nature and
Grace," "New Essays on the Human Understanding," etc.
Alexander Wilson, in the Preface to his "American Ornithology,"
(1808), quotes these words, and relates the story of a boy who had
been gathering flowers. On bringing them to his mother, he said,
"Look, my dear Ma! What beautiful flowers I have found growing in
our place! Why, all the woods are full of them!"
--_Alexander Wilson_.
ALEXANDER WILSON, a celebrated Scotch-American ornithologist, was born
at Paisley, Scotland, July 6, 1766, and died in Philadelphia, August 23,
1813. His most important work, "American Ornithology," won for him great
fame.
Awake thee, my Lady-Love!
Wake thee, and rise!
The sun through the bower peeps
Into thine eyes.
"Waking Song,"--_George Darley_.
GEORGE DARLEY, a noted Irish poet and critic, was born in Dublin, July
7, 1795, and died near Rome, November 23, 1846. He wrote: "Sylvia, or
the May Queen," "Nepenthe," "Errors of Extasie and Other Poems," and
numerous studies of other men's work.
There's a hope for every woe,
And a balm for every pain,
But the first joys of our heart
Come never back again!
"The Exile's Song,"--_Robert Gilfillan_.
ROBERT GILFILLAN, a renowned Scotch poet, was born in Dumfermline, July
7, 1798, and died at Leith, December 4, 1850. His "Original Songs" have
made him famous, the best known of the collection being: "In the Days o'
Langsyne," "Peter McCraw," and "The Exile's Song."
The opinion of the strongest is always the best.
"The Wolf and the Lamb," from "Fables," Book I, Fable 10,--_Jean
de La Fontaine_.
JEAN DE LA FONTAINE, the great French fabulist and poet, was born at
Château-Thierry, in Champagne, July 8, 1621, and died in Paris, April
13, 1695. His principal works were: "Stories and Novels," "Adonis," "The
Loves of Psyche," and his celebrated "Fables."
They love their land because it is their own,
And scorn to give aught other reason why;
Would shake hands with a king upon his throne,
And think it kindness to his Majesty.
"Connecticut,"--_Fitz-Greene Halleck_.
FITZ-GREENE HALLECK, a celebrated American poet, was born in Guilford,
Conn., July 8, 1790, and died there, November 19, 1867. His most
important poems were: "Fanny," and "Marco Bozzaris."
Time softly there
Laughs through the abyss of radiance with the gods.
"The Fire-Bringer," Act i,--_William Vaughn Moody_.
WILLIAM VAUGHN MOODY, a noted American poet, was born at Spencer,
Indiana, July 8, 1869, and died at Colorado Springs, October 17, 1910.
He is best known by his famous poem, "An Ode in Time of Hesitation,"
which won for him lasting fame. Among his dramas are: "The Masque of
Judgment," "The Great Divide," and "The Faith-Healer." With R. W.
Lovett, he wrote: "History of English Literature," etc.
A manufacturing district ... sends out, as it were, suckers into
all its neighborhood.
"View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages," Ch.
IX,--_Hallam_.
HENRY HALLAM, a distinguished English historian, was born at Windsor,
July 9, 1777, and died at Pickhurst, Kent, January 21, 1859. His noted
works are: "Constitutional History of England," "Introduction to the
Literature of Europe During the Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth
Centuries," and "A View of the State of Europe During the Middle Ages."
I have not so great a struggle with my vices, great and numerous
as they are, as I have with my impatience.
--_Calvin_.
JOHN CALVIN, a renowned reformer and theologian, was born at Noyon, in
Picardy, France, July 10, 1509; and died in Geneva, May 27, 1564. He
wrote: "Commentaries on the New Testament," and "Institutes of the
Christian Religion," the latter his most famous work.
Man was formed for society; and, as is demonstrated by the writers
on the subject, is neither capable of living alone, nor indeed has
the courage to do it. However, as it is impossible for the whole
race of mankind to be united in one great society, they must
necessarily divide into many, and form separate states,
commonwealths, and nations, entirely independent of each other,
and yet liable to a mutual intercourse.
"Comment: Of the Nature of Laws in General,"--_Blackstone_.
SIR WILLIAM BLACKSTONE, an eminent English jurist and writer on law, was
born in London, July 10, 1723, and died in 1780. He won great celebrity
by his famous "Commentaries on the Laws of England."
All lies disgrace a gentleman, white or black, although I grant
there is a difference. To say the least of it, it is a dangerous
habit, for white lies are but the gentleman ushers to black ones.
I know of but one point on which a lie is excusable, and that is,
when you wish to deceive the enemy. Then, your duty to your
country warrants your lying till you are black in the face; and,
for the very reason that it goes against your grain, it becomes,
as it were, a sort of virtue.
--_Captain Marryat_.
FREDERICK MARRYAT (CAPTAIN MARRYAT), a celebrated English novelist, was
born in London, July 10, 1792, and died at Langham, Norfolk, August 9,
1848. His best known works are: "The King's Own," "Frank Mildmay,"
"Peter Simple," "Mr. Midshipman Easy," "Japhet in Search of a Father,"
"Masterman Ready," etc.
Chance is blind and is the sole author of creation.
"Picciola," Ch. III,--_J. X. B. Saintine_.
JOSEPH XAVIER BONIFACE SAINTINE, known as Saintine, the renowned French
littérateur and dramatist, was born in Paris, July 10, 1798, and died
there, January 21, 1865. He wrote numerous plays, but his story,
"Picciola," won for him world-wide fame.
This hand, to tyrants ever sworn the foe,
For Freedom only deals the deadly blow;
Then sheathes in calm repose the vengeful blade,
For gentle peace in Freedom's hallowed shade.
Written in an Album, 1842,--_John Quincy Adams_.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, an illustrious American statesman and publicist, and
sixth President of the United States, was born at Braintree, Mass., July
11, 1767, and died in Washington, D. C., February 21, 1848. He
published: "Letters on Silesia," etc. The "Diary of J. Q. Adams," and
his "Memoirs" appeared after his death.
It is better in some respects to be admired by those with whom you
live, than to be loved by them; and this not on account of any
gratification of vanity, but because admiration is so much more
tolerant than love.
--_Arthur Helps_.
SIR ARTHUR HELPS, a noted English essayist, historian and miscellaneous
writer, was born at Streatham, Surrey, July 11, 1813, and died in
London, March 7, 1875. Among his best works are: "Friends in Council,"
"Companions of My Solitude," "Realmah," "Spanish Conquest in America,"
"Casimir Maremma" (a romance), etc.
That man is blessed who every day is permitted to behold anything
so pure and serene as the western sky at sunset, while revolutions
vex the world.
--_Henry D. Thoreau_.
HENRY DAVID THOREAU, an eminent American writer, was born in Concord,
Mass., July 12, 1817, and died there May 6, 1862. His works include:
"Familiar Letters," "Summer," "Winter," "Autumn," "A Week on the Concord
and Merrimac Rivers," "Early Spring in Massachusetts," "Poems of
Nature," "The Maine Woods," "A Yankee in Canada," "Excursions," "Letters
to Various Persons," and "Cape Cod."
And what is true of a shopkeeper is true of a shopkeeping nation.
Tract (1766),--_Tucker_ (Dean of Gloucester).
JOSIAH TUCKER (DEAN TUCKER), a noted English economist and divine, was
born at Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, July 13, 1712, and died November 4,
1799. His "Important Questions on Commerce" (1755), won for him great
fame.
Fixed in a white-thorn bush, its summer guest,
So low, e'en grass o'er-topped its tallest twig,
A sedge-bird built its little bendy nest,
Close by the meadow pool and wooden brig.
"The Rural Muse. Poems: The Sedge-Bird's Nest,"--_Clare_.
JOHN CLARE, a celebrated English poet, was born in Helpstone, near
Peterborough, July 13, 1793, and died at Northampton, May 20, 1864. His
"Poems, Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery," won for him great fame.
Busy, curious, thirsty fly,
Drink with me, and drink as I.
"On a Fly drinking out of a Cup of Ale,"--_William Oldys_.
WILLIAM OLDYS, a distinguished English biographer and antiquary, was
born July 14, 1696, and died April 15, 1761. He wrote: "The British
Librarian," "The Life of Sir Walter Raleigh," "The Universal Spectator,"
etc.
Rise up, rise up, Xarifa! lay your golden cushion down;
Rise up! come to the window, and gaze with all the town.
The Bridal of Andalla,--_John G. Lockhart_.
JOHN GIBSON LOCKHART, a renowned Scotch biographer and son-in-law of
Walter Scott, was born at Cambusnethan, Lanark, July 14, 1794, and died
November 25, 1854. He wrote: "Reginald Dalton," "Adam Blair,"
"Valerius," "Matthew Wald," "Life of Robert Burns," a volume of
translations of "Ancient Spanish Ballads," and his most celebrated work,
"Life of Sir Walter Scott."
But when the sun in all his state
Illumed the eastern skies,
She passed through Glory's morning-gate,
And walked in Paradise.
"A Death-Bed,"--_James Aldrich_.
JAMES ALDRICH, a noted American poet, was born at Mattituck, L. I., July
14, 1810, and died in New York, September 9, 1856. His most celebrated
poem, "A Death-Bed," won for him great fame.
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,--not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
"A Visit from St. Nicholas,"--_Clement Clarke Moore_.
CLEMENT CLARKE MOORE, a distinguished American poet and educational
writer, was born in New York City, July 15, 1779, and died in Newport,
R. I., July 10, 1863. He is best known by his famous poem, "A Visit
from St. Nicholas."
"The history of our land will hereafter record the name of John
Henry Newman among the greatest of our people, as a confessor for
the faith, a great teacher of men, a preacher of justice, of
piety, and of compassion."
From Purcell's "Life of Manning," Vol. II,--_Cardinal Manning_.
HENRY EDWARD CARDINAL MANNING, a famous English Roman Catholic prelate,
was born July 15, 1808, at Totteridge in Hertfordshire, and died in
London, January 14, 1892. Among his publications are: "Petri
Privilegium," "The True Story of the Vatican Council," "The Temporal
Mission of the Holy Ghost," "The Catholic Church and Modern Society,"
"The Internal Mission of the Holy Ghost," "England and Christendom,"
"Sin and Its Consequences," etc.
Though all the bards of earth were dead
And all their music passed away,
What Nature wishes should be said
She'll find the rightful voice to say.
"The Golden Silence,"--_William Winter_.
WILLIAM WINTER, a distinguished American journalist and dramatic critic,
was born at Gloucester, Mass., July 15, 1836, and died in 1917. He has
written: "Life of Henry Irving," "The Wanderers," "Stage Life of Mary
Anderson," "The Queen's Domain," "Life of Edwin Booth," "The Convent,
and Other Poems," "The Jeffersons," "English Rambles," "Life of Ada
Rehan," "Thistle-down," "Poems," "Other Days, Being Chronicles and
Memories of the Stage," "Life and Art of Richard Mansfield," "Vagrant
Memories," etc.
A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts.
--_Sir Joshua Reynolds_.
SIR JOSHUA REYNOLDS, the great English painter, was born at Plympton
Earls, Devonshire, July 16, 1723, and died in London, February 23, 1792.
His fifteen addresses delivered at the Royal Academy constitute the
well-known "Discourses of Sir Joshua Reynolds."
Whene'er I take my walks abroad,
How many poor I see!
What shall I render to my God
For all his gifts to me?
"Divine Songs; Song iv."--_Isaac Watts_.
ISAAC WATTS, a celebrated English clergyman and hymn-writer, was born at
Southampton, July 17, 1674, and died at Theobalds, Newington, November
25, 1748. He wrote many religious works, among them: "The Improvement of
the Mind," "Logic; or, the Right Use of Reason in the Inquiry after
Truth," and his famous "Psalms and Hymns."
There is a limit to enjoyment, though the sources of wealth be boundless.
And the choicest pleasures of life lie within the ring of moderation.
"Proverbial Philosophy: Of Compensation," L. 15,--_Tupper_.
MARTIN FARQUHAR TUPPER, a famous English writer, was born in London,
July 17, 1810, and died November 29, 1889. He published: "Geraldine and
Other Poems," "My Life as an Author," etc. His fame, however, rests on
his notable work, "Proverbial Philosophy," (1838-1867).
Novels are sweets. All people with healthy literary appetites love
them: almost all women; a vast number of clever, hard-headed men.
Judges, bishops, chancellors, mathematicians, are notorious
novel-readers, as well as young boys and girls, and their kind,
tender mothers.
--_Thackeray_.
WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY, the renowned English novelist, was born in
Calcutta, India, July 18, 1811, and died December 24, 1863. Among his
celebrated works are: "Irish Sketch-Book," "The Book of Snobs," "Barry
Lyndon," "Comic Tales and Sketches," "A Shabby-Genteel Story," "Men's
Wives," "Our Street," "Mrs. Perkins's Ball," "English Humorists of the
Eighteenth Century," "Dr. Birch and His Young Friends," "Vanity Fair,"
"The History of Pendennis," "The History of Henry Esmond," "The
Newcomes," "The Four Georges," "The Rose and the Ring," "The
Virginians," "The Adventures of Philip," etc.
Les grandes douleurs sont les serres chaudes de l'âme.[1]
"Noirs et Rouges," Chap. XXI, p. 319,--_Cherbuliez_.
VICTOR CHERBULIEZ, a distinguished French romancist, was born at Geneva,
July 19, 1829, and died in 1899. Under the name of "G. Valbert," he
wrote: "A Horse by Phidias," "A Political Spain," "Foreign Profiles,"
"Art and Nature"; also, "Romance of a Respectable Woman," "Prosper
Randoce," "Miss Rovel," "Samuel Brohl & Co.," etc.
Taine liked to say, that what he most admired in the works of
Renan, was "that one could not see how it was done"; and he was
right, if he meant only the style or the "phrase," which gives the
impression of being born spontaneously, without effort and without
art, under the pen of Renan.
--_Ferdinand Brunetière_.
FERDINAND BRUNETIÈRE, a celebrated French critic, and man of letters,
was born at Toulon, July 19, 1849, and died December 9, 1906. Among his
publications are: "Études critiques," "Le Roman Naturaliste," "Histoire
et Littérature," "Discours Académiques," "Discours de Combat," "L'Action
Sociale du Christianisme," "Sur les Chemins de la Croyance," etc.
I know and love the good, yet, ah! the worst pursue.
Sonnet ccxxv, Canzone xxi, "To Laura in Life."
FRANCESCO PETRARCH, the greatest of Italian lyric poets, was born at
Arezzo, July 20, 1304, and died at Arquà, July 18, 1374. He wrote:
"Africa," "Memoranda," "Of Contempt of the World," "Of the Solitary
Life," "Of the Remedies for Either Fortune," "Rime," "Of Illustrious
Men," "Metrical Epistles," etc.
To sea! to sea! the calm is o'er,
The wanton water leaps in sport,
And rattles down the pebbly shore,
The dolphin wheels, the sea-cows snort,
And unseen mermaid's pearly song
Comes bubbling up, the weeds among.
Fling broad the sail, dip deep the oar:
To sea! to sea! the calm is o'er.
"To Sea!"--_Thomas Lovell Beddoes_.
THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES, a noted English poet and dramatist, was born at
Clifton, July 20, 1803, and died at Basle, January 26, 1849. He wrote:
"The Improvisatore," and "The Bride's Tragedy," "Poetical Works"
(London, 1890), and "Letters" (London, 1894), were edited by Edmond
Gosse.
Soft peace she brings; wherever she arrives
She builds our quiet as she forms our lives;
Lays the rough paths of peevish Nature even,
And opens in each heart a little heaven.
"Charity,"--_Matthew Prior_.
MATTHEW PRIOR, an eminent English poet, was born at Wimborne in
Dorsetshire, July 21, 1664, and died at Wimpole in Cambridgeshire,
September 18, 1721. Among his noted works are: "Solomon," "Alma; or, the
Progress of the Mind," and "Poems on Several Occasions."
How comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in
reasoning, and are so afraid to stand the test of ridicule?
"Characteristics," A Letter Concerning Enthusiasm, Sect.
2,--_Shaftesbury_.
ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, first Earl of Shaftesbury, a distinguished
English statesman, was born in Wimborne, St. Giles, Dorsetshire, July
22, 1621, and died in Amsterdam, January 22, 1683. His notable work was:
"Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, and Times," a collection of
his numerous writings.
Blithe wanderer of the wintry air,
Now here, now there, now everywhere,
Quickly drifting to and fro,
A cheerful life devoid of care,
A shadow on the snow.
"The English Sparrow,"--_George W. Bungay_.
GEORGE WASHINGTON BUNGAY, a noted journalist and poet, was born in
Walsingham, England, July 22, 1818, and died July 10, 1892. The best
known of his many poems are: "The Creed of the Bells," and "The English
Sparrow." He also wrote: "Abraham Lincoln Songster," "Pen Portraits of
Illustrious Abstainers," etc.
Resolve to be thyself; and know, that he
Who finds himself, loses his misery.
"Self Independence,"--_Coventry K. D. Patmore_.
COVENTRY KEASSEY DEIGHTON PATMORE, a celebrated English poet, was born
at Woodford in Essex, July 23, 1823, and died in 1896. He wrote: "The
Unknown Eros," "Amelia," "The Rod, the Root and the Flower," "The Angel
in the House," "Principle in Art, and Other Essays," etc.
Truth is liable to be left-handed in history.
--_Dumas_, (Père).
ALEXANDRE DUMAS, the Elder, an illustrious French dramatist and
romancist, was born at Villière Cotterets, Aisne, July 24, 1803 (?), and
died near Dieppe, December 5, 1870. A few of his great romances are:
"The Count of Monte Cristo," "The Three Musketeers," "Twenty Years
After," "The Knight of Maison-Rouge," "Viscount de Bragelonne," "Queen
Margot," etc., etc. Some of his historical romances are: "Joan of Arc,"
"Michelangelo and Raffaelle," "Louis XIV and His Age," etc. His most
famous plays were: "Henri III. and His Court," "Antony," "Charles VII
with His Grand Vassals," "Napoleon Bonaparte," "Mdlle. de Belle-Isle,"
"Marriage under Louis XV," "The Misses St. Cyr," etc. He also wrote
entertaining narratives of his travels in Italy, Switzerland, Germany,
Spain, North Africa, Syria, Egypt, etc.
Heaven is not reached at a single bound;
But we build the ladder by which we rise
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies,
And we mount to its summit round by round.
"Gradatim,"--_-Josiah G. Holland_.
JOSIAH GILBERT HOLLAND, a famous American poet and novelist and editor,
was born at Belchertown, Mass., July 24, 1819, and died in New York,
October 12, 1881. Among his works are: "Letters to the Young," "Life of
Abraham Lincoln," "Plain Talks on Familiar Subjects," "Nicholas
Minturn," etc. Also poems under the titles: "Bitter Sweet," "Kathrina,"
"The Mistress of the Manse," "Garnered Sheaves," etc.
The energies of our system will decay; the glory of the sun will
be dimmed, and the earth, tideless and inert, will no longer
tolerate the race which has for a moment disturbed its solitude.
Man will go down into the pit and all his thoughts will perish.
"The Foundations of Belief,"--_Arthur James Balfour_.
RT. HON. ARTHUR JAMES BALFOUR, a distinguished English author and
statesman, was born July 25, 1848. He has written: "A Defence of
Philosophic Doubt," "The Foundations of Belief," "Essays and Addresses,"
"Economic Notes on Insular Free Trade," "Speeches" (1880-1905), on
"Fiscal Reform," "Criticism and Beauty," "Theism and Humanism," etc.
I remember, I remember
How my childhood fleeted by,--
The mirth of its December
And the warmth of its July.
"I remember, I remember,"--_Winthrop M. Praed_.
WINTHROP MACKWORTH PRAED, a celebrated English poet, was born in London,
July 26, 1802, and died in 1839. Among his best known pieces are: "The
Red Fisherman," "Private Theatricals," "Every-Day Characters," "School
and Schoolfellows," "A Letter of Advice," "Our Ball," "My Partner," "My
Little Cousins," etc.
The more things a man is ashamed of, the more respectable he is.
"Man and Superman,"--_George Bernard Shaw_.
GEORGE BERNARD SHAW, a famous British author and playwright, was born in
Dublin, July 26, 1856. He has written, "The Quintessence of Ibsenism,"
"The Sanity of Art," "The Perfect Wagnerite," "The Common Sense of
Municipal Training," "Socialism and Superior Brains," "Common Sense
about the War," etc. Also: "The Admirable Bashville," "Man and
Superman," "John Bull's Other Island," "How He Lied to Her Husband,"
"Major Barbara," "The Doctor's Dilemma," "Getting Married,"
"Misalliance," "Fanny's First Play," "Androcles and the Lion,"
"Pygmalion," "Overruled," "Great Catherine," "The Music-Cure,"
"O'Flaherty, V. C.," "An Unsocial Socialist," "The Devil's Disciple,"
"Cæsar and Cleopatra," "The Man of Destiny," "You Never Can Tell," "Back
to Methuselah" (cycle of plays), etc.
'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view,
And robes the mountain in its azure hue.
"Pleasures of Hope," Part I, Line 7,--_Thomas Campbell_.
THOMAS CAMPBELL, a Scottish poet, of great fame, was born at Glasgow,
July 27, 1777; and died at Boulogne, France June, 15, 1844. The best
known of his poems are: "Gertrude of Wyoming," "Pleasures of Hope,"
"Lochiel's Warning," "The Exile of Erin," "Battle of the Baltic," "Ye
Mariners of England," etc.
Memory is a paradise out of which fate cannot drive us.
--_Dumas, Fils_.
ALEXANDRE DUMAS, THE YOUNGER, the renowned French dramatist and
romancist, was born at Paris, July 27, 1824, and died November 28, 1895.
A few of his famous romances are: "A Woman's Romance," "Césarine,"
"Camille," etc. Also, "The Divorce Question," "The Clemenceau Case,"
"The Natural Son," "The Friend of Women," "Claude's Wife," "The
Danicheffs," "Joseph Balsamo," "Françillon," etc.
Of Courtesy it is much less
Than Courage of Heart or Holiness,
Yet in my Walks it seems to me
That the Grace of God is in Courtesy.
"Courtesy,"--_Hilaire Belloc_.
HILAIRE BELLOC, a celebrated English author, was born July 27, 1870.
Among his works are: "Verses and Sonnets," "Paris," "Robespierre," "Path
to Rome," "Hills and the Sea," "Marie Antoinette," "The Green
Overcoat," "The Mercy of Allah," "General Sketch of the European War,
1st Phase," "The Last Days of the French Monarchy."
Beautiful Faith, surrendering to Time.
"Marpessa," L. 62,--_Stephen Phillips_.
STEPHEN PHILLIPS, a noted English author and poet, was born near the
City of Oxford, July 28, 1868, and died December 9, 1915. Among his
poetical pieces are: "The Woman with the Dead Soul," "Marpessa," "The
Wife," "After Rain," "Thoughts at Sunrise," "Thoughts at Noon." The
first volume of his "Poems" appeared in 1897, and "New Poems" in 1907.
"It is a great blessing," says Pascal, "to be born a man of
quality, since it brings one man as far forward at eighteen or
twenty as another man would be at fifty, which is a clear gain of
thirty years." These thirty years are commonly wanting to the
ambitious characters of democracies. The principle of equality,
which allows every man to arrive at everything, prevents all men
from rapid advancement.
--_Alexis de Tocqueville_.
ALEXIS DE TOCQUEVILLE, a distinguished French publicist and writer, was
born at Vermeuil (Seine-et-Oise), July 29, 1805, and died at Cannes,
April 16, 1859. His writings include: "The Old Régime and the
Revolution," "Democracy in America," and "Works," 9 vols., which
appeared in 1860-65.
She was good as she was fair,
None--none on earth above her!
As pure in thought as angels are:
To know her was to love her.
"Jacqueline," Stanza 1,--_Samuel Rogers_.
SAMUEL ROGERS, a famous English poet, was born at Newington Green,
London, July 30, 1763, and died in London, December 18, 1855. He wrote
"The Voyage of Columbus," "Italy," "Human Life," "Pleasures of Memory,"
and "Jacqueline."
He was utterly incapable of anything like baseness. No man could
be more jealous of his honour; no man had a greater pride in being
largely and loftily a man.
"Life of Robert Burns,"--_John Stuart Blackie_.
JOHN STUART BLACKIE, a notable Scottish author was born in Glasgow, July
31, 1809, and died in Edinburgh, March 2, 1895. His works include
translations from the Greek and German; moral and religious and other
philosophy; also, "Lays of the Highlands and Islands," "Language and
Literature of the Scottish Highlands," "Wisdom of Goethe," "Life of
Burns," "Essays on Subjects of Moral and Social Interest,"
"Self-Culture," etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Great sorrows are the hot-houses of the soul.
AUGUST
AUGUST
All human race, from China to Peru,
Pleasure, howe'er disguis'd by art, pursue.
"Universal Love of Pleasure,"--_Thomas Warton_.
THOMAS WARTON, a distinguished English clergyman, critic, was born at
Basingstoke, August 1 (?), 1728, and died at Oxford, May 21, 1790. He
was poet-laureate of England in 1785. He wrote: "History of English
Poetry," etc.
Jealousy is the forerunner of love, and often its awakener.
--_F. Marion Crawford_.
FRANCIS MARION CRAWFORD, a celebrated American author, was born in Bagni
di Lucca, Italy, August 2, 1854, and died in 1909. Among his noted works
are: "Dr. Claudius," "Mr. Isaacs," "A Tale of a Lonely Parish,"
"Zoroaster," "With the Immortals," "Sant' Ilario," "The Witch of
Prague," "Love in Idleness," "A Rose of Yesterday," "Don Orsino," "Via
Crucis," "In the Palace of the King," "The Heart of Rome," "Fair
Margaret," and its sequel, "Prima Donna."
Best they honor thee
Who honor in thee only what is best.
"The True Patriotism,"--_William Watson_.
SIR WILLIAM WATSON, a famous English poet, was born at Wharfedale,
August 2, 1858. He has published: "The Prince's Quest," "Epigrams of
Art," "Wordsworth's Grave, and Other Poems," "Lachrymæ Musarum,"
"Excursions in Criticism," "The Eloping Angels," "Odes, and Other
Poems," "The Purple East," "The Year of Shame," "The Hope of the World,"
"Collected Poems," "For England: Poems Written During Estrangement,"
"New Poems," "Pencraft; A Plea for the Older Ways," "Retrogression,"
"The Man Who Saw," "The Superhuman Antagonists," etc.
Ah woe is me, through all my days,
Wisdom and wealth I both have got,
And fame and name and great men's praise;
But Love, ah! Love I have it not.
"The Way to Arcady,"--_Henry C. Bunner_.
HENRY CUYLER BUNNER, a celebrated American poet and story-writer, was
born in Oswego, N. Y., August 3, 1855, and died in Nutley, N. J., May
11, 1896. He wrote: "A Woman of Honor," "Airs from Arcady and
Elsewhere," "The Runaway Browns," "Zadoc Pine and Other Stories,"
"Jersey Street and Jersey Lane," "The Midge," "Short Sixes," etc.
All love is sweet,
Given or returned. Common as light is love,
And its familiar voice wearies not ever.
* * * * *
They who inspire it most are fortunate,
As I am now; but those who feel it most
Are happier still.
"Prometheus Unbound," Act ii, Sc. 5.--_Percy B. Shelley_.
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY, the renowned English poet, was born at Field
Place, near Horsham, Sussex, August 4, 1792, and was drowned off the
coast of Italy, July 8, 1822. Among his many works may be mentioned: "A
Poetical Essay on the Existing State of Things," "Queen Mab: A
Philosophic Poem," "Rosalind and Helen: A Modern Eclogue; with Other
Poems," "Hellas: A Lyrical Drama," "Adonais: an Elegy on the Death of
John Keats," "The Cenci: A Tragedy," "Prometheus Unbound: a Lyrical
Drama," "An Address to the Irish People," "Alastor, or the Spirit of
Solitude, and Other Poems," "A Vindication of Natural Diet," "A
Refutation of Deism," etc.
Opinions!--they are like the clothes we wear, which warm us, not
with heat, but with ours.
--_Walter Pater_.
WALTER (HORATIO) PATER, a distinguished English literary and art critic,
was born at London, August 4, 1839, and died at Oxford, July 30, 1894.
He wrote: "The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Poetry," "Marius the
Epicurean," "Imaginary Portraits," "Appreciations," "Plato and
Plato-nism," "The Child in the House," etc.
There was something sinister and superb in the song of these
shipwrecked and condemned creatures, something like a prayer and
also something grander and comparable to the ancient and sublime,
_Ave Cæsar, morituri te salutant_.
"La Petite Rogue,"--_Guy de Maupassant_.
GUY DE MAUPASSANT, a noted French novelist, was born at the Château de
Miromesnil, (Seine-Inférieure), August 5, 1850, and died in Paris, July
6, 1893. Among his many works are: "In the Sunshine," "On the Water,"
"The Left Hand," "The Sisters Rondoli," "Peter and John," "Strong as
Death," "Tales of Day and Night," "Our Heart," "A Wondering Life," etc.
Il embellit tout ce qu'il touche.[1]
"Lettre sur les Occupations de L'Académie Française," Sect. iv,
_Fénélon_.
FRANÇOIS DE SALIGNAC DE LA MOTHE FÉNÉLON, an illustrious French
theologian and writer, was born in the Château Fénélon, in Perigord,
Dordogne, August 6, 1651, and died January 7, 1715. He wrote: "Life of
Charlemagne," "Exposition of the Maxims of the Saints Regarding the
Inner Life," "Fables," "Treatise on the Education of Young Girls," and
his most noted work, "Telemachus."
In the spring a livelier iris changes on the burnished dove;
In the spring a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.
"Locksley Hall," Line 19,--_Alfred Tennyson_.
ALFRED TENNYSON, LORD TENNYSON, one of the greatest of English poets,
was born at Somersby, Lincolnshire, August 6, 1809, and died at
Aldworth, October 6, 1892. Among his famous works are: "Maud and Other
Poems," "Queen Mary," "The Princess," "The Foresters," "Enoch Arden,"
"The Holy Grail," "Harold," "The Idylls of the King," "Tiresias,"
"Locksley Hall Sixty Years After," "Poems, Chiefly Lyrical," "In
Memoriam," etc.
When Freedom from her mountain-height
Unfurled her standard to the air,
She tore the azure robe of night,
And set the stars of glory there.
"The American Flag,"--_Joseph Rodman Drake_.
JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE, a noted American poet, was born at New York, August
7, 1795, and died September 21, 1820. Among his poetical works are: "The
Culprit Fay," "Abelard to Héloise," "The American Flag," etc.
There were few of Tennyson's poems which I did not know by heart
without any attempt to commit them to memory.
"Books Which Have Influenced Me,"--_Canon Farrar_.
FREDERICK WILLIAM FARRAR, a celebrated English clergyman, was born at
Bombay, India, August 7, 1831, and died March 22, 1903. His most
notable works are: "Life and Works of Saint Paul," "The Witness of
History to Christ," "The Life of Christ," "The Early Days of
Christianity," "Eternal Hope," "The Origin of Language," "Chapters on
Language," "Families of Speech," "Language and Languages," "Darkness and
Dawn," "The Voice from Sinai," "The Life of Christ as represented in
Art," "Gathering Clouds," and "The Bible, Its Meaning and Supremacy."
That action is best which procures the greatest happiness for the
greatest numbers.
"Inquiry concerning Moral Good and Evil," sect. 3
(1720),--_Hutcheson_.
FRANCIS HUTCHESON, a distinguished Scotch educator and philosopher was
born at Drumalig, Ulster, Ireland, August 8, 1694, and died in Glasgow
about 1746. He was the author of "Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas
of Beauty and Virtue," "Nature and Conduct of the Passions and
Affections," "System of Moral Philosophy," etc.
Oh! say, can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?--
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the clouds of the fight
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming!
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
"The Star-Spangled Banner,"--_Francis Scott Key_.
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY, a noted American poet, was born in Frederick County,
Md., August 9, 1780, and died at Baltimore, January 11, 1843. He is best
known as the author of "The Star Spangled Banner."
We may say of angling as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries:
"Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God
never did"; and so, if I might be judge, God never did make a more
calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling.
"The Complete Angler," Part I, Chap. II,--_Izaak Walton_.
IZAAK WALTON, a celebrated English author, was born in Stafford,
England, August 9, 1593, and died at Winchester, December 15, 1683. His
most famous work was: "The Complete Angler: or, the Contemplative Man's
Recreation." He also wrote the biographies of a number of famous men,
known as "Walton's Lives."
Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call to-day his own;
He who, secure within, can say,
To-morrow do thy worst, for I have liv'd to-day.
"Imitation of Horace," Book iii, Ode 29, Line 65,--_John
Dryden_.
JOHN DRYDEN, the renowned English poet, was born at Aldwinkle,
Northamptonshire, August 9, 1631, and died in London, May 1, 1700. His
most famous works were: "The Hind and the Panther," "Alexander's Feast,"
and "Absalom and Achitophel," also a number of noted plays including:
"Marriage à la Mode," "The Conquest of Grenada," "The Spanish Friar,"
"Don Sebastian," "All for Love," etc.
His temper was of that warm susceptible kind which is caught
with the heroic and the tender, and, which is more fitted to delight
in the world of sentiment than to succeed in the bustle of ordinary
life. This is a disposition of mind well suited to the poetical
character, and, accordingly, all his earliest companions agree that
Mr. Home was from his childhood delighted with the lofty and heroic
ideas which embody themselves in the description or narrative of
poetry.... Mr. Home's favorite amusement was angling.
"Account of the Life of Mr. John Home," "Home's Works,"
Vol. I, pp. 6, 31,--_Henry Mackenzie_.
HENRY MACKENZIE, a noted Scotch novelist, essayist and miscellaneous
writer, was born at Edinburgh, August 10, 1745, and died there January
14, 1831. He wrote: "The Man of the World," "Julia de Roubigné," "Works"
(8 vols.), and "The Man of Feeling," his most famous work.
Yes, Walt Whitman has appeared. He has his place upon the stage.
The drama is not ended. His voice is still heard. He is the poet of
democracy--of all people. He is the poet of the body and soul. He
has sounded the note of individuality. He has given the pass-word
primeval. He is the Poet of Humanity--of Intellectual Hospitality.
He has voiced the aspirations of America, and, above all, he is the
poet of Love and Death.
"Liberty in Literature," In Re Walt Whitman,--_Robert G.
Ingersoll_.
ROBERT GREEN INGERSOLL, a distinguished American orator, lecturer and
lawyer, was born in Dresden, N. Y., August 11, 1833, and died at Dobbs
Ferry, N. Y., July 21, 1899. He has published: "Some Mistakes of Moses,"
"Lectures, Complete," "Great Speeches," "Prose Poems and Selections."
Most women indulge in idle gossip, which is the henchman of
rumor and scandal.
--_Octave Feuillet_.
OCTAVE FEUILLET, a celebrated French novelist, was born at St. Lô,
August 11, 1821, and died at Paris, December 29, 1890. He wrote: "The
Great Old Man," "The History of Sibylla," "Julie de Trécoeur," "A
Marriage in High Life," "Story of a Parisienne," "La Morte," and his
most notable work, "Romance of a Poor Young Man."
My mother says I must not pass
Too near that glass;
She is afraid that I will see
A little witch that looks like me,
With a red mouth to whisper low
The very thing I should not know.
"The Witch in the Glass,"--_Sarah Morgan Bryant Piatt_.
MRS. SARAH MORGAN (BRYANT) PIATT, a noted American poet, was born at
Lexington, Ky., August 11, 1836. Her best known works are: "A Woman's
Poems," "A Voyage to the Fortunate Isles," "Dramatic Persons and Moods,"
"The Witch in the Glass," "An Enchanted Castle," etc.
How beautiful is night!
A dewy freshness fills the silent air;
No mist obscures; nor cloud, nor speck, nor stain,
Breaks the serene of heaven:
In full-orbed glory, yonder moon divine
Rolls through the dark blue depths;
Beneath her steady ray
The desert circle spreads
Like the round ocean, girdled with the sky.
How beautiful is night!
"Thalaba," Book i, Stanza 1,--_Robert Southey_.
ROBERT SOUTHEY, an English poet and prose-writer, of great renown, was
born in Bristol, August 12, 1774, and died March 21, 1843. He wrote: "A
Vision of Judgment," "Joan of Arc," "Thalaba the Destroyer," "The Curse
of Kehama," "Life of Nelson," "The Doctor," "Book of the Church," "Life
of John Bunyan," "Life of John Wesley," "History of Brazil," etc.
One day thou didst desert me--when I learned
How looks the world to men that lack thy grace,
And toward the shadowy night sick-hearted turned,--
When, lo! the first star brought me back thy face!
"To Imagination,"--_Edith Matilda Thomas_.
EDITH MATILDA THOMAS, a famous American poet, was born in Chatham, Ohio,
August 12, 1854. She has written: "A New Year's Masque," "The Round
Year," "Children of the Seasons," "Babes of the Year," "Babes of the
Nation," "Lyrics and Sonnets," "Heaven and Earth," "The Inverted Torch,"
"Fair Shadow Land," "In Sunshine Land," "In the Young World," "A Winter
Swallow, and Other Verse," "The Dancers," "Cassia and Other Verse,"
"Children of Christmas," "The Guest of the Gate," "The White Messenger,"
"The Flower from the Ashes," etc.
Cruel is death? Nay, kind, he that is ta'en
Was old in wisdom, though his years were few;
Life's pleasure hath he lost--escaped life's pain,
Nor wedded joys, nor wedded sorrows knew.
"On a Youth," Translated from Julianus,--_Goldwin Smith_.
GOLDWIN SMITH, a renowned English historian, essayist and educator, was
born at Reading, Berkshire, August 13, 1823, and died June 7, 1910. He
has written: "Irish History and Irish Character," "Foundation of the
American Colonies," "England and America," "The Civil War in America,"
"Lectures on the Study of History," "Short History of England," "Life of
Cowper," "Life of Jane Austen," "Guesses at the Riddle of Existence,"
"Reminiscences" (1910), "The Empire," "My Memory of Gladstone," etc.
Sweetest the strain when in the song
The singer has been lost.
"The Poet and the Poem,"--_Elizabeth Stuart Phelps_.
ELIZABETH STUART PHELPS WARD, a celebrated American novelist, was born
at Andover, Mass., August 13, 1844, and died in 1911. Among her many
works are: "Ellen's Idol," "Gypsy Stories," "Men, Women and Ghosts,"
"Poetic Studies," "The Story of Avis," "Old Maid's Paradise," "Sealed
Orders," "Beyond the Gates," "Songs of the Silent World," "The Gates
Between," "A Struggle for Immortality," "The Life of Christ," "Trixy,"
"Walled In," and her most famous work, "Gates Ajar."
Flowers are Love's truest language.
"Sonnet,"--_Park Benjamin_.
PARK BENJAMIN, a noted American journalist, poet, and lecturer, was born
at Demerara, British Guiana, August 14, 1809 and died in New York,
September 12, 1864. Among his poetical pieces are: "The Old Sexton,"
"Poetry," "Infatuation," "The Nautilus," "To One Beloved," and "The
Contemplation of Nature."
Among living authors Haggard is unquestionably first. I find two
very remarkable qualities in Mr. Haggard's novels,--a power of
imagination in which, for audacity and strength, he is unequalled
since the Elizabethan dramatists. Secondly there is the mesmeric
influence which he exercises over his readers.
--_Walter Besant_.
SIR WALTER BESANT, a distinguished English novelist, was born in
Portsmouth, August 14, 1838, and died June 10, 1901. Among his noted
works may be mentioned: "The Golden Butterfly," "Ready Money Mortiboy,"
"The Seamy Side," "Studies in Early French Poetry," "When George the
Third Was King," "The French Humorists," "All Sorts and Conditions of
Men," "Dorothy Foster," "All in a Garden Fair," "The Ivory Gate," "The
Master Craftsman," "Beyond the Dreams of Avarice," "St. Katharine's by
the Tower," "Armorel of Lyonnesse," "The Rebel Queen," etc. The first
three works mentioned were written in collaboration with James Rice.
If on a Spring night, I went by
And God were standing there,
What is the prayer that I would cry
To Him? This is the prayer:
O Lord of Courage grave,
O Master of this night of Spring
Make firm in me a heart too brave
To ask Thee anything!
"Moods, Songs and Doggerels," "The Prayer,"--_John
Galsworthy_.
JOHN GALSWORTHY, a famous English author, was born at Combe in Surrey,
August 14, 1867. His publications include: "The Man of Property," "A
Motley," "Moods, Songs and Doggerels," "The Inn of Tranquillity," "A
Sheaf," Vol. I; "Beyond," "A Sheaf," Vol. II; "Saint's Progress," "In
Chancery," "Awakening," "To Let," etc. Plays: "The Silver Box," "The
Pigeon," "The Eldest Son," "The Skin Game," "A Family Man," etc.
The sun reflecting upon the mud of strands and shores is
unpolluted in his beam.
"Holy Living," Chap. i, 3,--_Jeremy Taylor_.
JEREMY TAYLOR, a renowned English theological writer, was born August
15, 1613, at Cambridge, and died at Lisburn, Ireland, August 13, 1667.
His most celebrated works are: "The Great Exemplar of Sanctity and Holy
Life," "Discourse on the Liberty of Prophesying," "The Rule and Exercise
of Holy Living," and "The Rule and Exercise of Holy Dying."
The rose is fairest when 't is budding new,
And hope is brightest when it dawns from fears,
The rose is sweetest wash'd with morning dew,
And love is loveliest when embalm'd in tears.
"Lady of the Lake," Canto iv, Stanza 1.--_Walter Scott_.
SIR WALTER SCOTT, a Scotch novelist and poet of great fame, was born in
Edinburgh, August 15, 1771, and died at Abbotsford, September 21, 1832.
Among his many works may be mentioned: "The Lay of the Last Minstrel,"
"Ballads and Lyrical Pieces," "Rokeby," "Marmion," "The Lady of the
Lake," "Waverley," "Guy Mannering," "The Field of Waterloo," "The Lord
of the Isles," "Rob Roy," "Harold the Dauntless," "Ivanhoe," "The Bride
of Lammermoor: A Legend of Montrose," "Kenilworth," "The Abbot," "The
Monastery," "The Pirate," "Tales of the Crusaders: The Betrothed, The
Talisman," "History of Scotland," "Tales of a Grandfather," "Essays on
Ballad Poetry," "The Eve of St. John: A Border Ballad," "Life of
Dryden," "Life of Swift," etc., etc.
Shakespeare--that is, English tragedy--postulates the intense life
of flesh and blood, of animal sensibility, of man and
woman--breathing, waking, stirring, palpitating with the pulses of
hope and fear. In Greek tragedy the very masks show the utter
impossibility to these contests or conflicts.
"Leaders in Literature,"--_De Quincey_.
THOMAS DE QUINCEY, a celebrated English author, was born in Manchester,
August 15, 1785, and died December 8, 1859. Besides his numerous essays
and papers on historical literary and miscellaneous topics, he wrote:
"Confessions of an English Opium Eater," "Letters to a Young Man Whose
Education Has Been Neglected," "Logic of Political Economy,"
"Klosterheim," "Leaders in Literature," "Suspiria de Profundis: Essays
on Style and Rhetoric," "Joan of Arc," "Autobiographic Sketches,"
"Literary Reminiscences," etc., etc.
Wee Willie Winkie rins through the toun,
Upstairs and dounstairs, in his nicht-goun,
Tirlin' at the window, cryin' at the lock,
"Are the weans in their bed? for it's nou ten o'clock."
"Wee Willie Winkie,"--_William Miller_.
WILLIAM MILLER, a noted Scotch poet, was born in Bridgegate, Glasgow,
August 16, 1810, and died at Glasgow, August 20, 1872. He wrote:
"Scottish Nursery Songs and Other Poems," his best known poem being "Wee
Willie Winkie."
Be sure you are right, then go ahead.
--_David Crockett_.
DAVID CROCKETT, a celebrated American politician, hunter and humorist,
was born at Limestone, Tenn., August 17, 1786, and was killed at Fort
Alamo, San Antonio, Texas, March 16, 1836. He wrote: "Sketches and
Eccentricities," "Tour to the North and Down East," his "Autobiography,"
etc.
The greatest thing a man can do for his Heavenly Father is to be
kind to some of His other children.
--_Henry Drummond_.
HENRY DRUMMOND, a distinguished Scotch geologist and religious writer,
was born at Stirling, August 17, 1851, and died at Tunbridge Wells,
England, March 11, 1897. His most famous works are: "Natural Law in the
Spiritual World," "The Ascent of Man," "Tropical Africa," "Pax
Vobiscum," "The Greatest Thing in the World," "The Programme of
Christianity."
A proverb is one man's wit and all men's wisdom.
Quoted in "Memoirs of Mackintosh," Vol. II, p. 473,--_Lord John
Russell_.
LORD JOHN RUSSELL, a famous English statesman, was born in London,
August 18, 1792, and died at Pembroke Lodge, Richmond Park, May 28,
1878. He is best remembered by his historical works, "Life of William
Lord Russell," "Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe" (2 vols.)
"Correspondence of John, 4th Duke of Bedford," etc.
It would be superfluous in me to point out to your Lordship that
this is war.
"Despatch to Earl Russell," Sept. 5, 1863.--_Charles Francis
Adams_.
CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS, an eminent American statesman, publicist, and
miscellaneous writer, was born at Boston, August 18, 1807, and died at
Boston, November 21, 1886. His best known work was: "Life and Works of
John Adams."
Sorrow and scarlet leaf,
Sad thoughts and sunny weather:
Ah me, this glory and this grief
Agree not well together!
"A Song for September,"--_Thomas William Parsons_.
THOMAS WILLIAM PARSONS, a distinguished American poet, was born at
Boston, August 18, 1819, and died September 3, 1892. Among his writings
are: "The Old House at Sudbury," "Ghetto di Roma," "The Magnolia," "The
Shadow of the Obelisk," etc. He also made a metrical translation of
Dante's "Inferno."
All that is beautiful shall abide,
All that is base shall die.
"Balder the Beautiful,"--_Robert W. Buchanan_.
ROBERT WILLIAMS BUCHANAN, a celebrated English author, was born in
Warwickshire, August 18, 1841, and died in 1901. He wrote: "Idylls and
Legends of Inverburn," "Undertones," "London Poems," "North Coast
Poems," "Ballads of Love, Life and Humor," "The City of Dreams," "A
Child of Nature," "The Shadow of the Sword," "Foxglove Manor," etc.
Let's learn to temper our desires,
Not harshly to constrain;
And since excess makes pleasure less,
Why, so much more refrain.
Small table, cozy corner--here
We well may be beguiled;
Our worthy host old wine can boast;
Drink, drink--but draw it mild!
"Les Petits Coups,"--translation of William Young,--_Pierre
Jean de Béranger_.
PIERRE JEAN DE BÉRANGER, a famous French poet, was born in Paris, August
19, 1780, and died there July 16, 1857. Some of his noted songs are:
"The Old Flag," "Les Petits Coups," "The Old Corporal," "Roger
Bontemps," "Little Red Man," "Little Gray Man," "King of Yvetot," "My
Grandmother," "The Marquis of Carabas," and his "Autobiography."
Attempt the end, and never stand to doubt;
Nothing's so hard but search will find it out.
"Seek and Find,"--_Robert Herrick_.
ROBERT HERRICK, a renowned English poet and royalist clergyman, was born
in London, August 20, 1591, and died at Dean Prior, Devonshire, October
15, 1674. He wrote: "Noble Numbers," and "Hesperides."
In the Confessions of St. Augustine, passion, nature,
individuality only appear in order to be immolated to Divine
grace. They are a history of a crisis of the soul, of a new birth,
of a _Vita Nuova_; the Saint would have blushed to relate more
than he has done of the life of the man, which he had quitted.
With Rousseau the case is precisely the reverse; here grace is
nothing, nature everything; nature dominant, triumphant,
displaying herself with a daring freedom, which at times amounts
to the distasteful--nay, to the disgusting.
"Life of Luther," (translation),--_Michelet_.
JULES MICHELET, a famous French historian, was born in Paris, August 21,
1798, and died at Hyères, February 9, 1874. His principal works are:
"History of France," "History of the Revolution," "Abridgment of Modern
History," "Of the Jesuits," "Of the Priest, the Wife, and the Family,"
"Of the People," "Poland and Russia," etc.
Who can blame me if I cherish the belief that the world is still
young--that there are great possibilities in store for it?
--_John Tyndall_.
JOHN TYNDALL, an eminent British physicist and writer on science, was
born at Leighlin Bridge, near Carlow, Ireland, August 21, 1820, and
died at Haslemere, Surrey, England, December 4, 1893. He has written:
"Philosophical Transactions in Glaciers of the Alps," "Mountaineering in
1861," "Dust and Disease," "Hours of Exercise in the Alps," "Sound: A
Course of Eight Lectures," "Nine Lectures on Light," "Essays on the Use
and Limit of the Imagination in Science," "The Forms of Water in Clouds
and Rivers, Ice and Glaciers," "Essays on the Floating Matter of the
Air," "New Fragments," etc.
Equality is one of the most consummate scoundrels that ever crept
from the brain of a political juggler--a fellow who thrusts his
hand into the pocket of honest industry or enterprising talent,
and squanders their hard-earned profits on profligate idleness or
indolent stupidity.
--_James Kirke Paulding_.
JAMES KIRKE PAULDING, a distinguished American novelist, was born in
Dutchess County, N. Y., August 22, 1779, and died at Hyde Park, N. Y.,
April 6, 1860. Among his famous works may be mentioned: "The United
States and England," "Lay of a Scotch Fiddle," "Letters on Slavery,"
"The Diverting History of John Bull and Brother Jonathan,"
"Koningsmarke," "John Bull in America," "Westward Ho!" "The Dutchman's
Fireside," "Life of George Washington," etc.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
"To R. T. H. B."--_William Ernest Henley_.
WILLIAM ERNEST HENLEY, a noted British poet, critic, and editor, was
born at Gloucester, August 23, 1849, and died July 11, 1903. Among his
works are: "Views and Reviews," "Poems," "London Voluntaries," "Hawthorn
and Lavender," etc.
There is what I call the American idea.... This idea demands, as
the proximate organization thereof, a democracy--that is, a
government of all the people, by all the people, for all the
people; of course, a government of the principles of eternal
justice, the unchanging law of God: for shortness' sake I will
call it the idea of Freedom.
"Speech at the N. E. Anti-slavery Convention, Boston," May 29,
1850.--_Theodore Parker_.
THEODORE PARKER, an American preacher and reformer of great celebrity,
was born at Lexington, Mass., August 24, 1810, and died at Florence, May
10, 1860. He wrote: "Ten Sermons on Religion," "Theism, Atheism and the
Popular Theology," and his most celebrated work: "Discourse on Matters
Pertaining to Religion."
With the greatest possible solicitude avoid authorship. Too early
or immoderately employed it makes the head waste and the heart
empty.
Tr. by S. T. Coleridge.--_Herder_.
JOHN GOTTFRIED VON HERDER, a distinguished German philosopher and
historian of literature, was born at Mohrungen, August 25, 1744, and
died at Weimar, December 18, 1803. Among his works are: "Voices of
Nations in Song," "Fragments on Recent German Literature," "The Cid,"
"Ideas for a Philosophy of the History of Mankind," "Spirit of Hebrew
Poetry," etc.
Which I wish to remark,--
And my language is plain,--
That for ways that are dark
And for tricks that are vain,
The heathen Chinee is peculiar.
"Plain Language from Truthful James,"--_Francis Bret Harte_.
FRANCIS BRET HARTE, a celebrated American poet and short-story writer,
was born in Albany, N. Y., August 25, 1839, and died in 1902. Among his
many works are: "The Luck of Roaring Camp, and Other Sketches," "The
Heathen Chinee," "Plain Language from Truthful James," "Poems," "East
and West Poems," "Echoes of the Foot-Hills," "Poetical Works," "Thankful
Blossom," "Drift from Two Shores," "Flip and Other Stories," "By Shore
and Sedge," "The Queen of the Pirate Isle," "On the Frontier," "Snow
Bound at Eagle's," "Tales of the Argonauts and Other Sketches," "A Waif
of the Plains," "Three Partners," and "In the Hollow of the Hills."
It is even at the present day important to direct careful
attention to an erroneous conception of wealth, which was
universal until the appearance of Adam Smith's great work, in
1775.
"Manual of Political Economy,"--_Henry Fawcett_.
HENRY FAWCETT, a famous English political economist, was born at
Salisbury, August 26, 1833, and died in Cambridge, November 6, 1884. His
publications include: "Free Trade and Protection," "Indian Finance,"
etc. His celebrated work, "Manual of Political Economy," won for him
great fame.
Roger Bacon treated more especially of physics, but remained
without influence.
"Lectures on the History of Philosophy," tr., Haldane and
Simpson, Vol. III. p. 92,--_Hegel_.
GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL, an eminent German philosopher, was born
at Stuttgart, August 27, 1770, and died at Berlin, November 14, 1831.
Among his writings are: "On the Difference Between the Fichtean and
Schellingian Systems," "The Orbits of the Planets," "Phenomenology of
the Human Mind," "System of Science," "Principles of the Philosophy of
Law, or the Law of Nature and Political Science," "Encyclopædia of the
Philosophical Sciences," etc.
If we compare Daudet with Zola, we shall see that it is Daudet who
is the naturalist novelist, not Zola. It is the author of Le Nabob
who begins with observation of reality, and who is possessed by
it, while the author of "L'Assommoir" only consults it when his
seige is finished and then summarily with preconceived ideas.
"Les Contemporains,"--_Jules Lemaître_.
FRANÇOIS ELIE JULES LEMAÎTRE, a famous French literary critic and
dramatist, was born in Vennecy (Loiret), August 27, 1853, and died in
1914. He is the author of five volumes of literary biographies,
"Contemporaries: Being Literary Studies and Portraits." Among his plays
are: "La Revoltée," "Deputy Leveau," "The Kings," "The Pardon," etc.
Also: "Médallions" (poems), "Petites Orientales" (poems), "Corneille and
Aristotle's Poetics," "Myrrha Stories."
The old prose writers wrote as if they were speaking to an
audience; while, among us, prose is invariably written for the eye
alone.
--_Niebuhr_.
BARTHOLD GEORG NIEBUHR, a great German historian, was born at
Copenhagen, August 27, 1776, and died at Bonn, January 2, 1831. His
writings include: "Roman History," "Lectures on the History of Rome,"
"Lectures on Ancient History," "Grecian Heroic History," "Minor
Historical and Philological Writings," etc.
Who never ate his bread in sorrow,
Who never spent the darksome hours
Weeping, and watching for the morrow,--
He knows ye not, ye gloomy Powers.
"Wilhelm Meister," Book ii, Chap, xiii,--_Goethe_.
JOHANN WOLFGANG GOETHE, one of the greatest poets the world has ever
known, was born at Frankfort on the Main, August 28, 1749, and died at
Weimar, March 22, 1832. His most famous works are: "Sorrows of Young
Werther," "Erwin and Elmira," "Stella," "Prometheus," "Iphigenia,"
"Tasso," "Wilhelm Meister," and his greatest work, "Faust." He also
wrote: "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship," "Fiction and Truth," "Hermann
and Dorothea," "Elective Affinities," "Wilhelm Meister's Years of
Travel," etc.
Man should be ever better than he seems.
"The Song of Faith,"--_Sir Aubrey De Vere_.
SIR AUBREY DE VERE, a famous Irish poet, was born August 28, 1788, and
died in 1846. Among his works are: "Julian, the Apostate: A Dramatic
Poem," "The Duke of Mercia: an Historical Drama," "The Song of Faith,
Devout Exercises and Sonnets," "Mary Tudor: an Historical Drama," was
published after his death in 1847.
The thoughts that come often unsought, and, as it were drop into
the mind, are commonly the most valuable we have, and therefore
should be secured, because they seldom return again.
--_John Locke_.
JOHN LOCKE, an eminent English philosopher, was born at Wrington, near
Bristol, August 29, 1632, and died at Oates (Essex), October 28, 1704.
His philosophical writings include: "An Epistle on Tolerance," "Essay
Concerning Human Understanding," "Two Treatises on Government," etc. He
also wrote: "Some Thoughts Concerning Reading and Study," "Some Thoughts
on Education," "Elements of Natural Philosophy," and many other works.
I do not know anyone who makes us feel more than Milton does the
grandeur of the ends which we ought to keep always before us, and
therefore our own pettiness and want of courage and nobleness in
pursuing them. I believe he failed to discern many of the
intermediate relations which God has established between Himself
and us; but I know no one who teaches us more habitually that
disobedience to the Divine will is the seat of all misery to men.
"The Friendship of Books,"--_D. Maurice_.
FREDERICK DENISON MAURICE, a celebrated English divine and theological
and philosophical writer, was born near Lowestoft, Suffolk, August 29,
1805, and died in London, April 1, 1872. Among his works are: "Ancient
Philosophy," "Theological Essays," "Modern Philosophy," "Mediæval
Philosophy," "The Friendship of Books," etc., and a novel, "Eustace
Conway."
Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!
"The Chambered Nautilus,"--_Oliver Wendell Holmes_.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, a distinguished American man of letters, was born
at Cambridge, Mass., August 29, 1809, and died at Boston, October 7,
1894. The most important of his works are: "Urania," "The Iron Gate,"
"Songs in Many Keys," "Poems," "Songs of Many Seasons," "Elsie Venner,"
"The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," "The Professor at the Breakfast
Table," "The Poet at the Breakfast Table," "Soundings from the
Atlantic," "Our Hundred Days in Europe," "John Lothrop Motley," "A
Mortal Antipathy," "Ralph Waldo Emerson," "Over the Teacups," etc.
Men's weaknesses are often necessary to the purposes of life.
"Joyzelle," Act ii.--_Maurice Maeterlinck_.
MAURICE MAETERLINCK, a celebrated Belgian poet, was born in Flanders,
August 29, 1864. Among his works are: "The Seven Princesses," "The
Blind," "The Intruder," "The Treasure of the Humble," "Hot-House
Blooms," "La Princesse Maleine," "Alladine et Palomides," "Douze
Chansons," "La Sagesse et la Destinée," "Le Temple Enseveli," "The
Double Garden," "The Blue Bird," "La Mort," "The Light Beyond," etc.
It is very foolish, and betrays what a small mind we have, to
allow fashion to sway us in everything that regards taste; in our
way of living, our health, and our conscience.
"The Characters,"--_Jean de La Bruyère_.
JEAN DE LA BRUYÈRE, a famous French moralist and satirist, was born in
Paris, August 30 (?), 1645, and died at Versailles, May 10, 1696. His
fame rests on his great work, "The Characters of Theophrastus,
Translated from the Greek, with the Characters or Manners of this
Century."
If for widows you die,
Learn to _kiss_ not to sigh.
"Widow Malone," II, 33-4,--_Charles James Lever_.
CHARLES (JAMES) LEVER, a noted Irish novelist, was born at Dublin,
August 31, 1806, and died at Trieste, June 1, 1872. He wrote:
"Confessions of Harry Lorrequer," "Charles O'Malley," "Arthur O'Leary,"
"Jack Hinton the Guardsman," "Tom Burke of Ours," "The O'Donoghue," "Con
Cregan," "Roland Cashel," "The Daltons, or Three Roads in Life,"
"Luttrell of Arran," "The Fortunes of Glencore," "Davenport Dunn," "Sir
Brooke Fosbrooke," "The Bramleighs of Bishop's Folly," "Lord Kilgobbin,"
etc.
Ils sont si transparents qu'ils laissent voir votre âme.[2]
"The Two Beautiful Eyes,"--_Théophile Gautier_.
THÉOPHILE GAUTIER, a renowned French poet and novelist, was born in
Tarbes, Hautes Pyrenees, August 31, 1811, and died near Paris, in 1872.
Among his famous works may be mentioned: "Young France," "Albertus,"
"Poems," "History of Romanticism," "A Journey in Spain," "Italy,"
"Constantinople," "Miltona," "The Golden Fleece," "Arria Marcella,"
"Mademoiselle Dafne," "The Nest of Nightingales," "The Loving Dead,"
"The Chain of Gold," "Jean and Jeannette," "The Tiger Skin," "Spirite,"
"Modern Art," "The Arts in Europe," etc., etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] He adorned whatever he touched.
[2] Eyes so transparent that through them the soul is seen.
SEPTEMBER
SEPTEMBER
Talent, like beauty, to be pardoned, must be obscure and
unostentatious.
--_Lady Blessington_.
MARGUERITE, COUNTESS OF BLESSINGTON, a distinguished Irish descriptive
writer and novelist, was born in Knockbrit, Tipperary, September 1,
1789, and died in Paris, June 4, 1849. Among her works are: "The Idler
in Italy," "The Idler in France," "Conversations with Lord Byron," etc.
The glorified spirit of the infant is as a star to guide the
mother to its own blissful clime.
"Monody on Mrs. Hemans,"--_Lydia H. Sigourney_.
LYDIA HUNTLEY SIGOURNEY, a noted American author, was born in Norwich,
Conn., September 1, 1791, and died in Hartford, Conn., June 10, 1865.
She wrote: "Letters to Young Ladies," "Letters to Mothers," "Scenes in
My Native Land," "Voice of Flowers," "Letters to My Pupils," "The Daily
Councelor," "Gleanings," (poetry), "The Man of Uz, and Other Poems,"
etc.
Socrates, like Solon, thought that no man is too old to learn;
that to learn and to know is not a schooling for life, but life
itself, and that which alone gives to life its value. To become by
knowledge better from day to day, and to make others better,
appeared to both to be the real duty of man.
"History of Greece,"--_Ernst Curtius_.
ERNST CURTIUS, a renowned German archæologist and historian, was born at
Lubeck, September 2, 1814, and died in 1896. He wrote: "Peloponnesus,"
and his famous, "History of Greece."
The fire upon the hearth is low,
And there is stillness everywhere,
And, like winged spirits, here and there
The firelight shadows fluttering go.
"In the Firelight,"--_Eugene Field_.
EUGENE FIELD, a noted poet and humorous journalist, was born at St.
Louis, Mo., September 2, 1850, and died November 4, 1895. He wrote: "The
Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac," "The Holy Cross, and Other Tales,"
"Love Songs of Childhood," "A Little Book of Western Verse," and "A
Second Book of Verse."
Nothing can make a man happy but that which shall last as long as
he lasts; for an immortal soul shall persist in being, not only
when profit, pleasure, and honour, but when time itself shall
cease.
--_South_.
ROBERT SOUTH, a famous English divine, was born at Hackney, Middlesex,
September 3, 1634, and died July 8, 1716. A collection of his sermons
was published in 1692 in six volumes.
The Grecian history is a poem, Latin history a picture, modern
history a chronicle.
--_Chateaubriand_.
FRANÇOIS RENÉ AUGUSTE, VICOMTE DE CHATEAUBRIAND, a renowned French
statesman, traveler, novelist and historical writer, was born at St.
Malo, September 4, 1768, and died at Paris, July 4, 1848. Among his
works are: "The Genius of Christianity" (his most famous work), "Atala,"
"René," and "The Natchez," also "The Martyrs, or Triumph of the
Christian Religion," "A Journey from Paris to Jerusalem," "An Essay on
English Literature," and translated Milton's "Paradise Lost."
Da dacht ich oft: schwatzt noch so hoch gelehrt,
Man weiss doch nichts, als was man selbst erfährt.[1]
"Oberon," II. 24,--_Wieland_.
CHRISTOPHER MARTIN WIELAND, a celebrated German poet and prose-writer,
was born in Oberholzheim, Suabia, September 5, 1733, and died January
20, 1813. He wrote: "Agathon," "The New Amadis," "The Golden Mirror,"
and "Oberon," his most famous work. He also translated the greater part
of Shakespeare into German.
Husband and wife--so much in common, how different in type! Such a
contrast, and yet such harmony, strength and weakness blended
together!
--_Ruffini_.
GIOVANNI DOMENICO RUFFINI, a distinguished Italian littérateur, was born
at Genoa, September 6, 1807, and died at Taggia, November 2, 1881. He
published: "Lorenzo Benoni" (a romance), "Lavinia," etc.; also, "Doctor
Antonio," his most famous book.
Le style est l'homme même.[2]
"Discours de Réception,"--_Buffon_.
GEORGE LOUIS LE CLERC, COMTE DE BUFFON, a famous French naturalist, was
born at Montbard, September 7, 1707, and died April 16, 1788. His
"Natural History," won for him world-wide fame.
Natura il fece, e poi ruppe la stampa.[3]
"Orlando Furioso," Canto x, Stanza 84,--_Ludovico Ariosto_.
LUDOVICO ARIOSTO, an illustrious Italian poet, was born at Reggio,
September 8, 1474, and died at Ferrara, June 6, 1533. His most famous
work is: "Orlando Furioso."
None but God can satisfy the longings of an immortal soul; that as
the heart was made for Him, so He only can fill it.
--_Trench_.
RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH, a noted Anglican archbishop and poet, was born
at Dublin on September 9, 1807, and died March 28, 1886. He wrote: "The
Story of Justin Martyr, and Other Poems," "Sabbation," "Honor Neale, and
Other Poems," "Poems from Eastern Sources," "The Study of Words,"
"English Past and Present," "A Select Glossary of English Words," "Notes
on the Parables," "Notes on the Miracles," etc.
The vocation of every man and woman is to serve other people.
"What is to be done?" Chap. xl. Note,--_Tolstoi_.
COUNT LYOF ALEKSÉEVICH TOLSTOI, the great Russian novelist, was born on
the family estate of Yasnaya Polyana in the government of Tula, Russia,
September 9, 1828, and died in 1910. His most celebrated works are: "In
What My Faith Consists," "Cossacks," "Sevastopol," "War and Peace,"
"Master and Man," "My Confession," "The Kreutzer Sonata," and "Anna
Karénina."
A language cannot be thoroughly learned by an adult without five
years' residence in the country where it is spoken; and without
habits of close observation, a residence of twenty years is
insufficient.
--_P. G. Hamerton_.
PHILIP GILBERT HAMERTON, a distinguished English artist and art-writer,
was born at Laneside, Lancashire, September 10, 1834; and died near
Boulogne, France, November 5, 1894. Among his works are: "Etching and
Etchers," "Thoughts About Art," "Painting in France," "The Quest of
Happiness," "The Graphic Arts," "Contemporary French Painters," "Human
Intercourse," "The Intellectual Life," and "A Painter's Camp in the
Highlands."
A pleasing land of drowsyhead it was,
Of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye;
And of gay castles in the clouds that pass,
Forever flushing round a summer sky;
There eke the soft delights that witchingly
Instil a wanton sweetness through the breast,
And the calm pleasures always hover'd nigh;
But whate'er smack'd of noyance or unrest
Was far, far off expell'd from this delicious nest.
"The Castle of Indolence," Canto i, Stanza 6.--_James Thomson_.
JAMES THOMSON, a famous Scotch poet, was born at Ednam, September 11,
1700, and died August 27, 1748. His most celebrated poems are: "The
Seasons," and "The Castle of Indolence."
Woman's grief is like a summer storm,
Short as it is violent.
"Basil," Act V, Sc. 3,--_Joanna Baillie_.
JOANNA BAILLIE, a celebrated Scottish poet, was born in Bothwell,
Lanarkshire, September 11, 1762, and died at Hampstead, England,
February 23, 1851. She wrote: "Plays on the Passions," and numerous
poems and songs.
Blessed be agriculture! If one does not have too much of it.
"My Summer in a Garden: Preliminary."--_Chas. Dudley Warner_.
CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER, an eminent American journalist and miscellaneous
writer, was born at Plainfield, Mass., September 12, 1829, and died in
1900. Among his noted works are: "My Summer in a Garden," "Backlog
Studies," "My Winter on the Nile," "Life of Captain John Smith,"
"Washington Irving," "A Roundabout Journey," "Their Pilgrimage," "Book
of Eloquence," "A Little Journey in the World," "As We Were Saying,"
"The Golden House," "The Relation of Literature to Life," "Studies in
the South and West, with Comments on Canada," "That Fortune," etc. In
collaboration with Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain) he wrote: "The
Gilded Age." He was editor of the "American Men of Letters" series, and
of "The Library of the World's Best Literature."
The desire of love, Joy;
The desire of life, Peace:
The desire of the soul, Heaven:
The desire of God ... a flame-white secret forever.
"Desire,"--_William Sharp_.
WILLIAM SHARP, a distinguished British critic and man of letters, was
born September 12, 1856, and died in 1905. Among his works are:
"Humanity and Man," "The Conqueror's Dream, and Other Poems," "Dante
Gabriel Rossetti," "Shakespeare's Songs, Poems, and Sonnets," "Sonnets
of this Century," "Shelley," "Romantic Ballads," "Sospiri di Roma,"
"Flower o' the Vine," "Sospiri d' Italia," etc.
Thought is the wind, knowledge the sail, and mankind the vessel.
"Guesses at Truth."--_J. C. and A. W. Hare_.
JULIUS CHARLES HARE, a famous English divine and theological writer, was
born at Valdagno, Italy, September 13, 1795, and died in England,
January 23, 1855. He wrote: "Mission of the Comforter," "The Contest
with Rome," "Vindication of Luther," and conjointly with A. W. Hare,
"Guesses at Truth."
True resignation, which always brings with it the confidence that
unchangeable goodness will make even the disappointment of our
hopes, and the contradictions of life, conducive to some benefit,
casts a grave but tranquil light over the prospect of even a
toilsome and troubled life.
--_Humboldt_.
ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT, a renowned German scientist, was born in Berlin,
September 14, 1769, and died there May 6, 1859. He wrote: "Voyages to
the Equinoctial Regions of the New Continent," "Observations on Zoölogy
and Comparative Anatomy," "View of the Cordilleras and of the Monuments
of the Indigenous Races of America," and "Cosmos," his most celebrated
work.
O years, gone down into the past,
What pleasant memories come to me
Of your untroubled days of peace,
And hours of almost ecstasy.
"_Reconciled_,"--Phoebe Cary.
PHOEBE CARY, a noted American poetess and prose-writer, was born in
Cincinnati, Ohio, September 14, 1824, and died in Newport, Rhode Island,
July 31, 1871. With her sister, she published many books, among them,
"Poems of Faith, Hope, and Love," and "Poems and Parodies."
We always like those who admire us; we do not always like those
whom we admire.
"Maxim 294,"--_Rochefoucauld_.
FRANÇOIS, DUC DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD, an illustrious French classicist and
philosopher, was born at Paris, September 15, 1613, and died there March
17, 1680. His most celebrated works were: "Reflections, or Moral
Sentences and Maxims," better known as "Maxims," and his "Memoirs."
Those families, you know, are our upper-crust,--not upper ten
thousand.
"The Ways of the Hour," Chap. VI,--_Cooper_.
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER, a famous American novelist, and historian, was
born in Burlington, N. J., September 15, 1789, and died at Cooperstown,
N. Y., September 14, 1851. A few of his celebrated novels are: "The
Spy," "The Pilot," "Precaution," "The Pioneers," "The Last of the
Mohicans," "The Prairie," "The Red Rover," "The Water-Witch," "Homeward
Bound," "The Pathfinder," "The Deerslayer," "The Redskins," "The Ways of
the Hour," etc.
I would not live alway: I ask not to stay
Where storm after storm rises dark o'er the way.
"I would not live alway,"--_William Augustus Muhlenberg_.
WILLIAM AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG, a noted American philanthropist and
Protestant Episcopal clergyman, was born in Philadelphia, Penn.,
September 16, 1796, and died in New York, April, 1877. He wrote: "A Plea
for Christian Hymns," and many well-known hymns, among them: "Saviour
Who Thy Flock Art Feeding," "Shout the Glad Tidings," and "I Would Not
Live Alway."
We all know Mr. Lowell's brilliant qualities as a poet, critic,
scholar, and man of the world; but that in him which touches me
most strongly belongs to his relations to his country--his keen
and subtle yet kindly recognition of her virtues and her faults,
and the sympathetic power with which in the day of her melancholy
triumph, after the Civil War, he gave such noble expression to her
self-devotion, sorrows, and hopes.
"James Russell Lowell, The Critic,"--_Francis Parkman_.
FRANCIS PARKMAN, an eminent American historian, was born at Boston,
September 16, 1823, and died at Jamaica Plain, Mass., November 8, 1893.
He wrote: "The Oregon Trail: Prairie and Rocky Mountain Life," "History
of the Conspiracy of Pontiac," "The Pioneers of France in the New
World," "The Jesuits in North America," "La Salle and the Discovery of
the Great West," "The Old Régime in Canada," "Count Frontenac and New
France under Louis XIV," "Montcalm and Wolfe," and "A Half-Century of
Conflict."
The essayist rises higher than the poet--witty, tender; wise in
human frailty, but never bitter.
"Personal Tributes to Dr. Holmes, the Writer," Vol. 7, p. 167
(1894),--_Hamlin Garland_.
HAMLIN GARLAND, a celebrated American story writer, was born in La
Crosse, Wis., September 16, 1860. His works include: "Main Traveled
Roads," "A Spoil of Office," "Prairie Folks," "Prairie Songs,"
"Crumbling Idols," "A Little Norsk," "Rose of Dutcher's Coolly," "Jason
Edwards," "The Eagle's Heart," "Her Mountain Lover," "Hesper," "The
Light of the Star," "The Long Trail," "Money Magic," "The Shadow World,"
"Victor Olnee's Discipline," "Other Main Traveled Roads," "A Son of the
Middle Border," etc.
There's a magic in the distance, where the sea-line meets the sky.
"Forty Singing Seamen,"--_Alfred Noyes_.
ALFRED NOYES, a noted English writer, was born at Staffordshire,
September 16, 1880. He has written, "Robin Hood," "Tales of the Mermaid
Tavern," "The Winepress," "The Sea in English Poetry," "A Salute from
the Fleet," "The Flower of Old Japan," "Poems," "Forty Singing Seamen,"
"Walking Shadows," "The Elfin Artist," (New Poems).
All reasoning is retrospect; it consists in the application of
facts and principles previously known. This will show the very
great importance of knowledge, especially of that kind called
Experience.
"Knowledge,"--_John Foster_.
JOHN FOSTER, a famous English author, and dissenting minister, best
known as the "Essayist," was born near Halifax, Yorkshire, September 17,
1770, and died October 15, 1843. His fame rests chiefly on his
celebrated "Essays." He also wrote: "Essay on Popular Ignorance,"
"Discourse on Missions," etc.
Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not
coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and
nights to the volumes of Addison.
"Life of Addison,"--_Samuel Johnson_.
SAMUEL JOHNSON, a renowned English critic, essayist, lexicographer, and
poet, was born in Lichfield, September 18, 1709, and died in London,
December 13, 1784. Among his many works may be mentioned: "Life of
Richard Savage," "The Vanity of Human Wishes," "Life of Dryden," "Plan
for a Dictionary," "The Rambler," "Irene," "The Idler," "Shakespeare
with Notes," "The False Alarm," "Taxation no Tyranny," "Rasselas,"
"English Poets," etc.
Men are polished, through act and speech,
Each by each,
As pebbles are smoothed on the rolling beach.
"A Home Idyl,"--_John Townsend Trowbridge_.
JOHN TOWNSEND TROWBRIDGE, a celebrated American poet, novelist and
general writer, was born in Ogden, N. Y., September 18, 1827, and died
in 1916. He has written: "Martin Merrivale," "Neighbor Jackwood," "The
Old Battle Ground," "The Drummer Boy," "The Three Scouts," "Coupon
Bonds," "The Story of Columbus," "The Jack Hazard Series," "The Silver
Medal Series," "The Emigrant's Story, and Other Poems," "At Sea," "The
Pewee," "Hearts and Faces," "The Vagabonds," "The Book of Gold, and
Other Poems," "The Start in Life Series," "The Tide Mill Series,"
"Poetical Works," "My Own Story," etc.
O Traveller who hast wandered far
'Neath southern sun and northern star,
Say where the fairest regions are!
Friend, underneath whatever skies
Love looks in love-returning eyes,
There are the bowers of paradise.
"The Bowers of Paradise,"--_Clinton Scollard_.
CLINTON SCOLLARD, a popular American poet and author, was born in New
York, September 18, 1860. He has published: "Pictures in Song," "Old and
New World Lyrics," "Under Summer Skies," "Lyrics and Legends of
Christmastide," "Odes and Elegies," "From the Lips of the Sea,"
"Poems--A Selection from the Harvest of Thirty Years of Song," "A
Christmas Garland," "A Knight of the Highway," "A Son of a Tory," "The
Lutes of Morn," "Lyrics of the Dawn," "Footfaring," etc.
Let the soldier be abroad if he will, he can do nothing in this
age. There is another personage,--a personage less imposing in the
eyes of some, perhaps insignificant. The schoolmaster is abroad,
and I trust to him, armed with his primer, against the soldier in
full military array.
"Speech," January 29, 1828,--_Lord Brougham_.
HENRY PETER BROUGHAM, LORD BROUGHAM, a distinguished British statesman
and author, was born in Edinburgh, September 19, 1778, and died at
Cannes, France, May 7, 1868. His most important works are: "Lives of Men
of Letters and Science," "Speeches," and "Sketches of the Statesmen of
the Time of George III."
The soul of man is larger than the sky,
Deeper than ocean, or the abysmal dark
Of the unfathomed center.
"To Shakespeare,"--_Hartley Coleridge_.
HARTLEY COLERIDGE, a celebrated English poet, and man of letters, (son
of Samuel Taylor Coleridge), was born at Bristol, September 19, 1796,
and died in 1849. His writings include: "Biographia Borealis," "The
Worthies of Yorkshire and Lancashire," "Essays and Marginalia," and some
exquisite sonnets, published in the _London Magazine_.
When change itself can give no more
'Tis easy to be true.
"Reasons for Constancy,"--_Sir Charles Sedley_.
SIR CHARLES SEDLEY, a noted English dramatist, was born at Aylesford in
Kent, September 20, 1639, and died August 20, 1701. Besides his
tragedies and comedies, he wrote a famous song, "Phyllis."
In the first days
Of my distracting grief, I found myself
As women wish to be who love their lords.
"Douglas," Act I, Sc. i,--_John Home_.
JOHN HOME, a well-known Scotch dramatist, was born in Leith, near
Edinburgh, September 21, 1722, and died at Merchiston near Edinburgh,
September 5, 1808. His most celebrated plays are: "Alfred," "The Fatal
Discovery," "Agis," and his tragedy, "Douglas." He also wrote, "History
of the Rebellion in Scotland in 1755-56."
Where are the cities of old time?
"The Ballade of Dead Cities,"--_Edmund William Gosse_.
EDMUND WILLIAM GOSSE, a famous English poet, essayist, and critic, was
born in London, September 21, 1849. He has written: "On Viol and Flute,"
"The Unknown Lover," "Madrigals, Songs, and Sonnets," "Life of Jeremy
Taylor," "French Profiles," "Coventry Patmore," "Life of Sir Thomas
Browne," "Father and Son," "Henrik Ibsen," "Two Visits to Denmark,"
"Portraits and Studies," "Collected Essays" (5 vols.), "Life of
Swinburne," "Lord Redesdale's Further Memories," "Three French
Moralists," "Diversions of a Man of Letters," "Malherbe," etc.
How few take time for friendship! How few plan for it! It is
treated as a haphazard, fortuitous thing. May good luck send us
friends; we will not go after them. May favoring fortune bind our
friendships; we will take no stitches ourselves. Yet friendship
requires painstaking. No art is so difficult, no craft so arduous.
Roll a ball of clay and expect it to become a rose in your hand,
but never expect an acquaintanceship, without care and thought, to
blossom into friendship.
--_Wells_.
HERBERT GEORGE WELLS, a distinguished English author, was born at
Bromley, Kent, September 21, 1868. Among his many works may be
mentioned: "The Wheels of Chance," "Certain Personal Matters," (essays),
"The War of the Worlds," "The Sleeper Awakes," "Love and Mr. Lewisham,"
"Anticipations," "The Sea Lady," "Mankind in the Making," "The Food of
the Gods," "A Modern Utopia," "The War in the Air," "Ann Veronica,"
"The New Machiavelli," "Marriage," "The Passionate Friends," "An
Englishman Looks at the World," "The World Set Free," "The Peace of the
World," "The Research Magnificent," "What is Coming?" "Mr. Britling Sees
it Through," "The Soul of a Bishop," "Joan and Peter," "The Come Back,"
etc.
Manners must adorn knowledge, and smooth its way through the
world. Like a great rough diamond, it may do very well in a closet
by way of curiosity, and also for its intrinsic value.
"Letter," July 1, 1748,--_Earl of Chesterfield_.
PHILIP DORMER STANHOPE, EARL OF CHESTERFIELD, a famous English man of
affairs and of the world, was born in London, September 22, 1694, and
died March 24, 1773. His "Letters to His Son" won for him everlasting
literary fame.
A reply to a newspaper attack resembles very much the attempt of
Hercules to crop the Hydra, without the slightest chance of
ultimate success.
"Gilbert Gurney," Vol. II, Chap. I, _Theodore M. Hook_.
THEODORE EDWARD HOOK, a famous English wit and novelist, was born in
London, September 22, 1788, and died August 24, 1841. He wrote:
"Macwell," "Gilbert Gurney," "Gurney Married," "Births, Deaths and
Marriages." "His Sayings and Doings," were published in 1824, 1825 and
in 1828.
I never yet heard man or woman much abused, that I was not
inclined to think the better of them; and to transfer any
suspicion or dislike to the person who appeared to take delight in
pointing out the defects of a fellow-creature.
--_Jane Porter_.
JANE PORTER, a distinguished English novelist, was born at Durham,
September 23, 1776, and died at Bristol, May 24, 1850. Among her
stories are: "Thaddeus of Warsaw," "The Scottish Chiefs," "The Pastor's
Fireside," etc.
Within the rose I found a trembling tear,
Close curtained in a gloom of crimson night,
By tender petals from the outer light.
"Within the Rose I found a Trembling Tear,"--_Boyesen_.
HJALMAR HJORTH BOYESEN, a celebrated American novelist, was born at
Frederiksvarn, Norway, September 23, 1848, and died in New York, October
4, 1895. He has written: "Idyls of Norway and Other Poems," "Tales from
Two Hemispheres," "Ilka on the Hilltop and Other Stories," "A Norseman's
Pilgrimage," "Gunnar," and "A Daughter of the Philistines."
When he writes of himself, how supremely excellent is the reading.
It is good even when he does it intentionally, as in "Portraits
and Memories." It is better still when he sings it, as in his
"Child's Garden." He is irresistible to every lonely child who
reads and thrills, and reads again to find his past recovered for
him with effortless ease. It is a book never long out of my hands,
for only in it and in my dreams when I am touched with fever, do I
grasp the long, long thoughts of a lonely child and a
hill-wandering boy-thoughts I never told to any; yet which Mr.
Stevenson tells over again to me as if he read them off a printed
page.
"Mr. Stevenson's Books," _McClure's Magazine_, Vol. 4, p. 289
1895,--_S. R. Crockett_.
SAMUEL RUTHERFORD CROCKETT, a distinguished Scotch novelist, was born in
Little Duchrae, Galloway, September 24, 1862, and died in 1914. He has
written "The Stickit Minister," "The Lilac Sun-Bonnet," "Lad's Love,"
"Joan of the Sword Hand," "The Dark o' the Moon," "The Banner of Blue,"
"An Adventure in Spain," "Maid Margaret," "Cherry Riband," "Flower o'
the Corn," "Kit Kennedy," "The Red Axe," "The Bloom of the Heather,"
"The White Plume of Navarre," "Anne of the Barricades," "Patsy,"
"Sandy," etc.
The breaking waves dashed high
On a stern and rock-bound coast,
And the woods against a stormy sky
Their giant branches tossed.
"Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers,"--_Felicia Hemans_.
FELICIA DOROTHEA BROWNE HEMANS, a noted English-Irish poet, was born in
Liverpool, September 25, 1793, and died at Redesdale, near Dublin, May
16, 1835. Her most famous works are: "Tales and Historic Scenes in
Verse," "Songs of the Cid," "Lays of Many Lands," "The Siege of
Valencia, the Last Constantine," and "Domestic Affections."
We can do without any article of luxury we have never had; but
when once obtained, it is not in human nature to surrender it
voluntarily.
"The Clockmaker,"--_Thomas Chandler Haliburton_.
THOMAS CHANDLER HALIBURTON (SAM SLICK), a famous Canadian author, was
born at Windsor, Nova Scotia, September 26 (?), 1796, and died near
London, August 27, 1865. He is best known by his famous "Sam Slick"
papers.
Honor is like the eye, which cannot suffer the least injury
without damage; it is a precious stone, the price of which is
lessened by the least flaw.
--_Bossuet_.
JACQUES BÉNIGNE BOSSUET, a renowned French theologian, was born at
Dijon, September 27, 1627, and died April 12, 1704. He wrote: "Discourse
upon Universal History Down to the Empire of Charlemagne," "History of
the Variations of the Protestant Churches," and the "Defense of the
Famous Declaration Which the Gallican Clergy Approved Regarding the
Power of the Church." His "Complete Works," in 46 volumes, were
published 1815-19.
A life on the ocean wave!
A home on the rolling deep,
Where the scattered waters rave,
And the winds their revels keep!
Like an eagle caged I pine
On this dull unchanging shore:
O give me the flashing brine,
The spray and the tempest's roar!
"A Life on the Ocean Wave,"--_Epes Sargent_.
EPES SARGENT, a celebrated American journalist, author and dramatist,
was born in Gloucester, Mass., September 27, 1813, and died in Boston,
December 31, 1880. His works include: "Change Makes Change," "The
Priestess," "Wealth and Worth," "Peculiar: A Tale of the Great
Transition," "Songs of the Sea," "Life of Henry Clay," "A Life on the
Ocean Wave," etc.
Logic makes only one demand, that of science. But life makes a
thousand. The body wants health; the imagination cries out for
beauty; and the heart for love. Pride asks for consideration; the
soul yearns for peace; the conscience for holiness; our whole
being is athirst for happiness and for perfection.
--_Amiel_.
HENRI FRÉDÉRIC AMIEL, an eminent Swiss essayist, poet, and philosophical
critic, was born at Geneva, September 27, 1821, and died there, March
11, 1881. His writings include: "Millet Grains," "Study on Mme. de
Staël," "The Literary Movement in Romanish Switzerland," etc. His famous
"Journal" appeared after his death.
The dews of summer nights did fall,
The moon, sweet regent of the sky,
Silvered the walls of Cumnor Hall
And many an oak that grew thereby.
"Cumnor Hall,"--_William J. Mickle_.
WILLIAM JULIUS MICKLE, a noted Scottish poet, was born at Langholm,
Dumfriesshire, September 28, 1735, and died at Forest Hill, October 28,
1788. He wrote: "Syr Martyn," "Almada Hill," "Cumnor Hall," etc.
Cobden is a man of an extremely interesting mind; quite the
opposite of an Englishman in this respect, that you never hear him
talk commonplaces, and that he has few prejudices.
"Correspondence,"--_Prosper Mérimée_.
PROSPER MÉRIMÉE, a renowned French essayist and litterateur, was born at
Paris, September 28, 1803, and died at Cannes, September 23, 1870. He
wrote: "Historic Monuments," "Historic and Literary Medleys," "Mateo
Falcone," "Guzla," "Plays of Clara Gazul," and his most celebrated
works: "Colomba" and "Carmen."
Time's corrosive dewdrop eats
The giant warrior to a crust
Of earth in earth and rust in rust.
"A Danish Barrow,"--_Francis T. Palgrave_.
FRANCIS TURNER PALGRAVE, a distinguished English poet and art critic,
was born September 28, 1824, and died in 1897. He wrote: "Essays on
Art," "Lyrical Poems," "The Visions of England," "The Life of Jesus
Christ Illustrated from the Italian painters of the 14th, 15th and 16th
Centuries," "Idylls and Songs," "Hymns," "Amenophis and Other Poems,"
"The Golden Treasury," etc.
"I have often noticed that almost everyone has his own individual
small economies--careful habits of saving fractions of pennies in
some one peculiar direction--any disturbance of which annoys him
more than spending shillings or pounds on some real extravagance."
"Cranford, Chap. V,"--_Mrs. Gaskell_.
MRS. ELIZABETH CLEGHORN GASKELL, a famous English novelist, was born in
Chelsea, September 29, 1810, and died November 12, 1865. Among her
notable works are: "Mary Barton," "Ruth," "Lizzie Leigh," "Sylvia's
Lovers," "Wives and Daughters," "The Life of Charlotte Brontë," and
"Cranford," her most celebrated work.
Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen;
Here's to the widow of fifty;
Here's to the flaunting, extravagant quean,
And here's to the housewife that's thrifty!
Let the toast pass;
Drink to the lass;
I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
"School for Scandal," Act iii, Sc. 3.--_Sheridan_.
RICHARD BRINSLEY SHERIDAN, the renowned British dramatist and
parliamentary orator, was born in Dublin, September 30, 1751, and died
at London, July 7, 1816. His dramatic works include: "The Rivals," "The
School for Scandal," "The Critic," and "The Duenna." His most famous
speeches are: "The Perfumery Speech" and the "Begum Speech."
Der Unterliegende ist immer philosophisch gestimmt.[4]
--_Sudermann_.
HERMANN SUDERMANN, a celebrated German novelist and dramatist, was born
at Matziken, East Prussia, September 30, 1857. Among his works are:
"Dame Care," "In the Twilight," "Honor," "The Cat Bridge," "The
Destruction of Sodom," "Brothers and Sisters," "Home," "Battle of the
Butterflies," "Iolanthe's Wedding," "Once on a Time," "The Undying
Past," "Das Hohe Lied," "Strand-kinder," "The Indian Lily," "Der gute
Ruf," etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] I have often thought that however learnedly you may talk about it,
one knows nothing but what he learns from his own experience.
[2] The style is the man himself.
[3] Nature made him, and then broke the mould.
[4] The losing side is always philosophically inclined.
OCTOBER
OCTOBER
I have read somewhere or other,--in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, I
think,--that history is philosophy teaching by examples.
"On the Study and Use of History," Letter 2,--_Bolingbroke_.
HENRY ST. JOHN, VISCOUNT BOLINGBROKE, a distinguished English statesman,
author, and orator, was born at Battersea, October 1, 1678, and died
there, December 12, 1751. His principal works are: "Letters on the
Spirit of Patriotism," "Letters on the Study of History," "The Idea of a
Patriot King," and "A Dissertation on Parties."
We join ourselves to no party that does not carry the flag and
keep step to the music of the Union.
"Letter to the Whig Convention, 1855,"--_Rufus Choate_.
RUFUS CHOATE, an eminent American lawyer, orator and statesman, was born
at Essex, Mass., October 1, 1799, and died at Halifax, N. S., July 13,
1859. His "Works" (2 vols.) were published in 1863.
But I account it worth
All pangs of fair hopes crost--
All loves and honors lost,--
To gain the heavens, at cost
Of losing earth.
"Sir Marmaduke's Musings,"--_Theodore Tilton_.
THEODORE TILTON, a noted American journalist, lecturer, editor, and
verse-writer, was born in New York City, October 2, 1835, and died in
1907. He wrote: "Thou and I," "The Sexton's Tale, and Other Poems,"
"Suabian Stories," "Tempest-Tossed," "Sanctum Sanctorum: or An Editor's
Proof Sheets," etc.
Mr. Webster says of Mr. Adams: On the day of his death, hearing
the noise of bells and cannon, he asked the occasion. On being
reminded that it was "Independence Day," he replied, "Independence
forever!"
"History of the United States," Vol. vii, p. 65,--_Bancroft_.
GEORGE BANCROFT, a famous American historian and statesman, was born in
Worcester, Mass., October 3, 1800, and died in Washington, D. C.,
January 17, 1891. His most famous work is the "History of the United
States."
But Petrarch's highest merit by no means consists in this new
classic elegance; it consists in the fact that he was the first to
write freely of all things in the same way that a man speaks. He
was the first to throw aside all scholastic crutches, and prove
how much more swiftly a man could walk without leaning upon them.
"Machiavelli and his Times," (transl.) Vol. I,--_Pasquale
Villari_.
PASQUALE VILLARI, a distinguished Italian historian, was born at Naples,
October 3, 1827, and died in 1914. His principal works are: "Niccolo
Machiavelli and His Times," "Ancient Legends and Traditions Illustrating
the Divine Comedy," "Essays Critical, Historical and Literary,"
"Teaching History," "The School and the Social Question in Italy."
Amongst the masses--even in revolutions--aristocracy must ever
exist; destroy it in nobility, and it becomes centered in the rich
and powerful House of Commons. Pull them down, and it still
survives in the master and foreman of the workshop.
--_Guizot_.
FRANÇOIS GUIZOT, an illustrious French historian and statesman, was born
at Nîmes, October 4, 1787, and died at Val Richer, near Lisieux,
September 12, 1874. He wrote: "History of the English Revolution,"
"Corneille and his Time," "The History of Civilization in Europe," "The
History of Civilization in France," "Memoirs," "Shakespeare and His
Times," "History of France for my Grandchildren," etc.
Religion, in its purity, is not so much a pursuit as a temper; or
rather it is a temper, leading to the pursuit of all that is high
and holy. Its foundation is faith; its action, works; its temper
holiness; its aim, obedience to God in improvement of self, and
benevolence to men.
--_Jonathan Edwards_.
JONATHAN EDWARDS, a famous American divine and theological writer, was
born in East Windsor, Conn., October 5, 1703, and died at Princeton, N.
J., March 22, 1758. Among his works may be mentioned: "The Great
Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended," "An Inquiry into the
Modern Prevailing Notions Respecting that Freedom of the Will which Is
Supposed to Be Essential to Moral Agency," "A Dissertation Concerning
the End for which God Created the World," and "The Nature of True
Virtue."
We are far more liable to catch the vices than the virtues of our
associates.
--_Diderot_.
DENIS DIDEROT, a famous French philosopher and encyclopædist, was born
at Langres, October 5, 1713, and died July 31, 1784. He wrote:
"Philosophic Reflections," "A Skeptic's Walk," "The Nun," "Rameau's
Nephew," "Little Papers," etc.
The world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those who
feel.
Letter to Sir Horace Mann, 1770,--_Horace Walpole_.
HORACE WALPOLE, a famous English author and letter-writer, was born in
London, October 5, 1717, and died there March 2, 1797. His works
include: "Anecdotes of Painters in England," "The Castle of Otranto,"
"Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of Richard III," "The Mysterious
Mother," "Memoirs of the Last Ten Years of the Reign of George II," etc.
His chief fame rests upon his celebrated letters, 9 vols., which were
published in 1857-59.
No seed shall perish which the soul hath sown.
"Sonnet, Versöhnung, a Belief,"--_John Addington Symonds_.
JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS, a distinguished English critic and historian of
literature, was born at Bristol, October 5, 1840, and died at Rome,
April 19, 1893. He wrote: "Studies of the Greek Poets," "Sketches in
Italy and Greece," "Introduction to the Study of Dante," "Shakespeare's
Predecessors," "Sketches and Studies in Italy," and his greatest work:
"The Renaissance in Italy."
"Freedom!" their battle cry--
"Freedom! or leave to die!
"The Black Regiment,"--_George H. Boker_.
GEORGE HENRY BOKER, a noted American poet and dramatist, was born in
Philadelphia, Pa., October 6, 1823, and died there January 2, 1890. His
plays include: "Anne Boleyn," "The Betrothed," "Calaynos," "All the
World's a Mask," and "Francesca da Rimini." Also, "Poems of the War,"
"Sonnets," "Königsmark and Other Poems," etc.
The ripest peach is highest on the tree.
"The Ripest Peach,"--_James Whitcomb Riley_.
JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY, a celebrated American poet, was born at
Greenfield, Ind., October 7, 1853, and died July 22, 1916. Among his
writings are: "The Old Swimmin' Hole and 'Leven More Poems," "Green
Fields and Running Brooks," "Child Rhymes," "Love Lyrics," "The Golden
Year," "Songs of Summer," "The Rose," "The Riley Baby Book," "Songs of
Friendship," "Songs of Cheer," "Old Schoolday Romances," "Songs of
Home," "Down Around the River and Other Poems," "A Summer's Day and
Other Poems," "All the Year Round," "Knee-Deep in June and Other Poems,"
"The Prayer-Perfect and Other Poems," "A Song of Long Ago," "When My
Dreams Come True," "Away," "Do They Miss Me?" "Friendship," etc.
I think that saving a little child
And bringing him to his own,
Is a derned sight better business,
Than, loafing around the throne.
"Little Breeches,"--_John Hay_.
JOHN HAY, a famous American poet and prose-writer, was born in Salem,
Ind., October 8, 1838, and died in 1905. His literary fame rests on his
famous "Pike County Ballads."
Thy Soul ...
Is as far from my grasp, is as free,
As the stars from the mountain-tops be,
As the pearl in the depths of the sea,
From the portionless king that would be.
"Stanzas from Music,"--_Edmund Clarence Stedman_.
EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN, a distinguished American man of letters, was
born in Hartford, Conn., October 8, 1833, and died in 1908. He wrote:
"Nature and Elements of Poetry," "Poets of America," "Victorian
Anthology," "Victorian Poets," "Poems Now First Collected," etc.
Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!
I am so weary of toil and of tears--
Toil without recompense, tears all in vain!
Take them, and give me my childhood again!
"Rock Me to Sleep,"--_Elizabeth Akers Allen_.
ELIZABETH AKERS ALLEN, a noted American poet, was born at Strong, Me.,
October 9, 1832, and died in 1911. She wrote: "The Silver Bridge and
Other Poems," and a volume of "Poems," the best known among them being:
"Rock Me to Sleep, Mother."
Woodman, spare that tree!
Touch not a single bough!
In youth it sheltered me,
And I'll protect it now.
"Woodman, Spare that Tree!"--_George P. Morris_.
GEORGE POPE MORRIS, a celebrated American journalist and song-writer,
was born in Philadelphia, October 10, 1802, and died in New York City,
July 6, 1864. He wrote: "Poems," "The Little Frenchman," "Briercliff,"
and his famous song, "Woodman Spare That Tree."
It was acknowledged by Hume, that it was only in solitude and
retirement that he could yield any assent to his own philosophy.
"Essays,"--_Hugh Miller_.
HUGH MILLER, a distinguished Scottish geologist, was born at Cromarty,
October 11, 1802, and died near Edinburgh, December 2, 1856. His most
notable works are: "The Old Red Sandstone," "Footprints of the Creator,"
"Testimony of the Rocks," "Poems," "Scenes and Legends of the North of
Scotland," etc.
There came to port last Sunday night
The queerest little craft,
Without an inch of rigging on;
I looked and looked,--and laughed!
It seemed so curious that she
Should cross the unknown water,
And moor herself within my room,--
My daughter! O my daughter.
"The New Arrival," St. I.--_George Washington Cable_.
GEORGE WASHINGTON CABLE, a famous American novelist, was born in New
Orleans, La., October 12, 1844. He has written: "The Silent South," "The
Creoles of Louisiana," "Old Creole Days," "Dr. Sevier," "Strange True
Stories of Louisiana," "The Busy Man's Bible," "John March,
Southerner," "The Negro Question," "Strong Hearts," "Kincaid's Battery,"
"Gideon's Band," "The Amateur Garden," etc.
I've wandered east, I've wandered west,
Through mony a weary way;
But never, never can forget
The luve o' life's young day!
"Jeannie Morrison,"--_William Motherwell_.
WILLIAM MOTHERWELL, a Scottish poet and antiquary of great fame, was
born at Glasgow, October 13, 1797, and died there, November 1, 1835. His
most famous works are: "Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern," and "Poems,
Narrative and Lyrical."
Absence makes the heart grow fonder;
Isle of Beauty, fare the well!
"Isle of Beauty,"--_Thomas Haynes Bayly_.
THOMAS HAYNES BAYLY, a noted English poet and novelist, was born in
Bath, October 13, 1797, and died at Cheltenham, April 22, 1839. He wrote
36 dramas, including among them: "The Aylmers," "Perfection," and "The
Legend of Killarney."
Be humble and gentle in your conversation, of few words, I charge
you, but always pertinent when you speak, hearing out before you
attempt to answer, and then speaking as if you would persuade, not
impose.
"Advice to his Children,"--_William Penn_.
WILLIAM PENN, a distinguished writer, and the founder of Pennsylvania,
was born at London, October 14, 1644, and died July 30, 1718. Among his
notable works were: "A Sandy Foundation Shaken," "Truth Exalted," "No
Cross, No Crown," "Reasonableness of Toleration," and "Primitive
Christianity Revived in the Faith and Practice of the People Called
Quakers."
Come in the evening, or come in the morning;
Come when you're looked for, or come without warning.
"The Welcome,"--_Thomas Osborne Davis_.
THOMAS OSBORNE DAVIS, a famous Irish poet and journalist was born in
Mallow, County Cork, October 14, 1814, and died in Dublin, September 15,
1845. His "Poems" and his "Literary and Historical Essays" were
collected in 1846.
Farewell to Lochaber, farewell to my Jean,
Where heartsome wi' thee I ha'e mony days been;
For Lochaber no more, Lochaber no more,
We'll maybe return to Lochaber no more.
"Lochaber No More,"--_Allan Ramsay_.
ALLAN RAMSAY, an eminent Scottish poet, was born in Leadhills,
Lanarkshire, October 15, 1686, and died in Edinburgh, January 7, 1758.
His most noted works are: "Fables and Tales," "Tartana; or, The Plaid,"
"The Evergreen," "Fair Assembly," "The Tea-Table Miscellany," "Health,"
"Thirty Fables," and "Gentle Shepherd," his most celebrated work.
A man can't be too careful in the choice of his enemies.
"The Picture of Dorian Gray,"--_Oscar Wilde_.
OSCAR WILDE, a famous Irish poet and author, was born in Dublin, October
15, 1856, and died in 1900. Among his works are: "Poems," "The Picture
of Dorian Gray," "The Happy Prince and Other Tales," etc.; also three
noted plays: "Lady Windermere's Fan," "A Woman of No Importance," and
"The Importance of Being Earnest."
Abstinence is many times very helpful to the end of religion.
--_Tillotson_.
JOHN TILLOTSON, a distinguished English archbishop, was born in Sowerby,
Yorkshire, October 16, 1630, and died in London, November 22, 1694. His
manuscript sermons were published after his death, with the "Rule of
Faith," by Ralph Barker.
The fourteenth of February is a day sacred to St. Valentine! It
was a very odd notion, alluded to by Shakespeare, that on this day
birds begin to couple; hence, perhaps, arose the custom of sending
on this day letters containing professions of love and
affection.
--_Noah Webster_.
NOAH WEBSTER, the eminent American lexicographer and journalist, was
born at West Hartford, Conn., October 16, 1758, and died in New Haven,
May 28, 1843. He published "Sketches of American Policy," "Philosophical
and Practical Grammar of the English Language," "A Compendious
Dictionary of the English Language," and his _magnum opus_, "American
Dictionary of the English Language."
In the Cross of Christ I glory,
Tow'ring o'er the wrecks of time;
All the lights of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.
"The Cross of Christ,"--_Sir John Bowring_.
SIR JOHN BOWRING, a famous English author and diplomat, was born in
Exeter, October 17, 1792, and died there, November 23, 1872. Among his
writings are: "Specimens of the Polish Poets," "Specimens of the Russian
Poets," "Ancient Poetry and Romances of Spain," "Servian Popular
Poetry," "The Flowery Scroll: A Chinese Novel," "The Kingdom and People
of Siam," "Cheskian Anthology," and "A Visit to the Philippine Islands."
Kingsley's three masters were--in poetry, Tennyson; in social
philosophy, Carlyle; in things moral and spiritual, Frederick D.
Maurice; he was a much more passionate reformer than Tennyson; he
was far more genial and social than Carlyle. Not that he imitated
any of the three.
"Studies in Early Victorian Literature,"--_Frederic Harrison_.
FREDERIC HARRISON, a renowned English essayist, and publicist, was born
in London, October 18, 1831. He wrote: "Order and Progress," "The Study
of History," "Oliver Cromwell," "The Meaning of History," "Choice of
Books," "Annals of an Old Manor House," "Chatham," "Life of Ruskin,"
"Memories and Thoughts," "Carlyle and the London Library," "My Alpine
Jubilee," "National and Social Problems," "Among My Books," "The
Positive Evolution of Religion," "Autobiographic Memoirs," "The German
Peril," "On Society," "Jurisprudence and Conflict of Nations," "Obiter
Scripta," "Novissima Verba," etc.
O sweet delusive Noon,
Which the morning climbs to find,
O moment sped too soon,
And morning left behind.
"Verses: Noon,"--_Helen Hunt_.
HELEN FISKE JACKSON ("H. H."), a noted American poet and miscellaneous
writer, was born October 18, 1831, and died in 1885. Among her
publications are: "Poems," "Bits of Talk," "Hetty's Strange History," "A
Century of Dishonor," and "Ramona," her most famous work.
It is the common wonder of all men, how among so many million of
faces there should be none alike.
"Religio Medici," Part II, Sect. ii,--_Sir Thomas Browne_.
SIR THOMAS BROWNE, a celebrated English antiquary and physician, was
born in London, October 19, 1605, and died in 1682. His principal work
is "Religio Medici." After his death a collection of his fugitive pieces
was published, followed by "Christian Morals," a collection of
aphorisms.
The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epocha in
the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be
celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary
festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance,
by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be
solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns,
bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent
to the other, from this time forward for evermore.
"Letter to Mrs. Adams," July 3, 1776.--_John Adams_.
JOHN ADAMS, an illustrious American statesman and publicist, and second
President of the United States, was born at Braintree (now Quincy),
Massachusetts, October 19, 1735, and died there, July 4, 1826. His most
celebrated work was: "Defence of the Constitution and Government of the
United States."
With spots of sunny openings, and with nooks
To lie and read in, sloping into brooks.
"The Story of Rimini,"--_Leigh Hunt_.
LEIGH HUNT, a famous English poet, critic, and essayist, was born in
Southgate, October 19, 1784; and died at Putney, August 28, 1859. The
most important of his works are: "The Story of Rimini," "Recollections
of Byron," "A Legend of Florence," and "Sir Ralph Esher."
Most wondrous book! bright candle of the Lord!
Star of Eternity! The only star
By which the bark of man could navigate
The sea of life and gain the coast of bliss
Securely.
"The Course of Time," Book ii, Line 270,--_Robert Pollok_.
ROBERT POLLOK, a noted Scottish poet, was born at North Moorhouse,
Renfrewshire, October 19, 1798, and died September 17, 1827. He
published "Tales of the Covenanters," and his famous poem, "The Course
of Time."
It is no easy task for anyone who has been studying his life and
works to set reasonable bounds to their reverence and enthusiasm,
for the man.
"Alfred the Great,"--Ch. 24,--_Thomas Hughes_.
THOMAS HUGHES, a celebrated English essayist and story-writer, was born
at Donnington Priory, near Newbury, October 20, 1823, and died in 1896.
He wrote: "Our Old Church: What Shall We Do With It?" "Rugby," "The
Manliness of Christ," and his two celebrated works, "Tom Brown's School
Days," and "Tom Brown at Oxford."
On their own merits modest men are dumb.
"Epilogue" to the "Heir at Law,"--_George Colman, the Younger_.
GEORGE COLMAN, THE YOUNGER, a famous English dramatist and humorous
poet, was born in London (?), October 21, 1762, and died there October
17, 1836. He wrote: "Broad Grins," "Poetic Vagaries," etc. Among his
comedies are: "The Iron Chest," "John Bull," and "The Heir-at-Law."
A noise like of a hidden brook
In the leafy month of June,
That to the sleeping woods all night
Singeth a quiet tune.
"The Ancient Mariner," Part V,--_Samuel Taylor Coleridge_.
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, a renowned English poet and philosopher, was
born at Ottery, St. Mary, Devonshire, October 21, 1772, and died July
25, 1834. Among his famous works are: "Fall of Robespierre" (a play),
"Moral and Political Lecture Delivered at Bristol," "Conciones ad
Populum," "The Plot Discovered," "Poems on Various Subjects," "The
Destiny of Nations," "Ode to the Departing Year," "Pears in Solitude,"
"Wallenstein," "Remorse, a Tragedy," "Biographia Literaria," "Aids to
Reflection," etc. "The Ancient Mariner," was published in 1798, in a
volume of "Lyrical Ballads," with Wordsworth.
If cruelty has its expiations and its remorses, generosity has its
chances and its turns of good fortune; as if Providence reserved
them for fitting occasions, that noble hearts may not be
discouraged.
--_Lamartine_.
ALPHONSE MARIE LOUIS DE LAMARTINE, an eminent French poet, was born at
Milly, near Macon, October 21, 1790, and died at Passy, March 1, 1869.
His greatest works were: "Poetic and Religious Harmonies," "Jocelyn,"
"Poetical Meditations," "New Poetical Meditations," "History of the
Girondins," "The Fall of an Angel," "Confidences," "New Confidences,"
and the "History of the Restoration."
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing:
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountain-side
Let freedom ring.
--"America"--_Samuel Francis Smith_.
SAMUEL FRANCIS SMITH, a noted American clergyman and hymn-writer, was
born in Boston, October 21, 1808, and died in 1895. He wrote: "Mythology
and Early Greek History," "Knights and Sea Kings," "Poor Boys Who Became
Great," and his famous hymn, "America."
Heart to conceive, the understanding to direct, or the hand to
execute.
"Junius" Letter XXXVII.
SIR PHILIP FRANCIS, a celebrated Irish-English public man and writer,
was born in Dublin, October 22, 1740, and died in London, December 23,
1818. He won celebrity by the "Letters" signed "Junius," which appeared
in the Public Advertiser of London, from 1768 to 1772.
Scatter the clouds that hide
The face of heaven, and show
Where sweet peace doth abide.
Where Truth and Beauty grow.
"Morning Hymn,"--_Robert Bridges_.
ROBERT BRIDGES, a renowned English author and poet, was born October 23,
1844. He has been poet-laureate of England since 1913. He has written:
"Essay on Milton's Prosody," "Critical Essay on Keats," "The Growth of
Love," "Eros and Psyche," "Prometheus the Firegiver," "Demeter, a
Masque," "The Spirit of Man: An Anthology in English and French," "Ibant
Obscuri," and some notable plays, among them: "Nero" (Parts I and II),
"Palicio," "Ulysses," "Christian Captives," "Achilles in Scyros,"
"Humours of the Court," "Feast of Bacchus," etc.
... A Boswell and is not allowed to be, who has wild notions that
he is really a greater man than Johnson and occasionally
blasphemes against his idol, but who in the intervals is truly
Boswellian.
"Essays in English Literature,"--_Saintsbury_.
GEORGE EDWARD BATEMAN SAINTSBURY, an eminent English critic and literary
historian, was born at Southampton, October 23, 1845. Among his numerous
works are: "Primer of French Literature," "Short History of French
Literature," "Marlborough," "Elizabethan Literature," "Essays in English
Literature," "Essays on French Novelists," "Nineteenth Century
Literature," "Sir Walter Scott," "A Short History of English
Literature," "Matthew Arnold," "History of Criticism and Literary Taste
in Europe," "History of English Prosody," "History of English
Criticism," "The English Novel," "First Book of English Literature," "A
History of the French Novel," Vol. 1 (1917) and Vol. 2 (1919).
The frivolous work of polished idleness.
"Dissertation on Ethical Philosophy, Remarks on Thomas
Brown,"--_Sir James Mackintosh_.
SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH, a distinguished Scottish lawyer, philosopher, and
politician, was born at Aldourie, Inverness-shire, October 24, 1765, and
died in London, May 30, 1832. Among his writings are: "History of
England," "Life of Sir Thomas More," "Modern British Essayists," and
"Dissertation on the Progress of Ethical Philosophy."
At the close of the day when the hamlet is still
And mortals the sweets of forgetfulness prove,
When naught but the torrent is heard on the hill,
And naught but the nightingale's song in the grove.
"The Hermit,"--_James Beattie_.
JAMES BEATTIE, a noted Scottish poet, was born in Laurencekirk,
Kincardineshire, October 25, 1735, and died in Aberdeen, August 18,
1803. His writings include: "The Minstrel," "Dissertations Moral and
Critical," "The Evidences of the Christian Religion Briefly and Plainly
Stated," "The Elements of Moral Science," and his famous "Essay on
Truth."
Wherever literature consoles sorrow or assuages pain; wherever it
brings gladness to eyes which fail with wakefulness and tears, and
ache for the dark house and the long sleep, there is exhibited in
its noblest form the immortal influence of Athens.
"On Mitford's History of Greece," (1824)--_Thomas B. Macaulay_.
THOMAS BABINGTON, LORD MACAULAY, a renowned English historian, essayist,
poet and statesman, was born at Rothley Temple, Leicestershire, October
25, 1800, and died at Kensington, December 28, 1859. His most famous
works are: "Lays of Ancient Rome," and the "History of England."
Behold! in Liberty's unclouded blaze
We lift our heads, a race of other days.
"Centennial Ode," Stanza 22,--_Charles Sprague_.
CHARLES SPRAGUE, a noted American poet, was born in Boston, October 26,
1791, and died there, January 22, 1875. He wrote: "The Family Meeting,"
"The Winged Worshippers," and "Curiosity." A collection of his works
entitled "Poetical and Prose Writings," was published in 1841.
Whence are thy beams, O sun! thy everlasting light? Thou comest
forth, in thy awful beauty, the stars hide themselves in the sky;
the moon, cold and pale, sinks in the western wave. But thou,
thyself, movest alone.
"The Poems of Ossian," "Carthon Ossian's Address to the
Sun,"--_James Macpherson_.
JAMES MACPHERSON, a famous Scottish author, known as the author of the
"Ossian" poems, was born at Ruthven, Inverness-shire, October 27, 1736,
and died February 17, 1796. He published the "Poems of Ossian,"
consisting of "Fingal, an Epic Poem in Six Books" (1762), "Temora, an
Epic Poem in Eight Books" (1764); he also wrote: "History of Great
Britain" (1775).
No man is justified in doing evil on the ground of expediency.
"The Strenuous Life,"--_Theodore Roosevelt_.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT, a celebrated American politician and author, and
twenty-sixth President of the United States, was born in New York City,
October 27, 1858, and died January 6, 1918. He has written: "Essays on
Practical Politics," "The Naval War of 1812," "Life of Thomas Hart
Benton," "The Wilderness Hunter," "The Winning of the West," "Gouverneur
Morris," "Ranch Life and Hunting Trail," "History of New York City,"
"Hunting Trips of a Ranchman," "The Outdoor Pastimes of an American
Hunter," "African Game Trails," "Theodore Roosevelt: an Autobiography,"
"History as Literature," "Life History of African Big Game," "A Hunter
Naturalist in the Brazilian Wilderness," "Fear God and Take Your Own
Part," "A Book Lover's Holiday in the Open," "The Foes of Our Own
Household," etc.
Life is mostly froth and bubble;
Two things stand like stone:--
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in our own.
Ye Weary Wayfarer. Finis Exoptatus.--_Adam Lindsay Gordon_
(Lionel Gordon).
ADAM LINDSAY GORDON (LIONEL GORDON), a noted Australian poet, was born
October 28, 1833, and died June 24, 1870. His volumes of verse include:
"Sea Spray and Smoke Drift," "Ashtaroth: A Dramatic Lyric," "Bush
Ballads and Galloping Rhymes."
A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he
reads as a task will do him little good.
"Life of Johnson," Vol. II, Chap. VI (1763),--_Boswell_.
JAMES BOSWELL, a famous Scottish biographer, was born in Edinburgh,
October 29, 1740, and died in London, May 19, 1795. He wrote: "An
Account of Corsica and Memoirs of Pascal Paoli," "Journal of a Tour to
the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson," etc. His "Life of Dr. Samuel Johnson"
is considered the most interesting biography that has ever been written.
N'est-on jamais tyran qu'avec un diadème?[1]
"Caius Gracchus,"--_Chénier_.
ANDRÉ MARIE DE CHÉNIER, a renowned French poet, was born at
Constantinople, October 30, 1762, and died July 25, 1794. Among his
writings were: "Liberty," "Invention," "Dithyrambic on the Tennis Play,"
and a beautiful elegy, "The Girl Captive."
Moan, O ye Autumn Winds!
Summer has fled,
The flowers have closed their tender leaves and die;
The lily's gracious head
All low must lie,
Because the gentle Summer now is dead.
--_Adelaide A. Procter_.
ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER, an English poetess of great fame, was born at
London, October 30, 1825, and died February 3, 1864. Her celebrated
"Legends and Lyrics," went through many editions.
A studious decliner of honours and titles.
"Diary," Introduction,--_John Evelyn_.
JOHN EVELYN, a renowned English diarist, was born at Wotton, in Surrey,
October 31, 1620, and died February 27, 1706. His writings are: "A
Parallel of Ancient and Modern Architecture," "Sculptura, or the History
and Art of Chalcography and Engraving on Copper," "Sylva," etc.; also
his famous "Diary."
A thing of beauty is a joy forever;
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness.
"Endymion," Book i,--_John Keats_.
JOHN KEATS, an eminent English poet, was born in London, October 31,
1795, and died in Rome, 1821. He wrote: "Endymion, a Poetic Romance,"
"Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems," including,
also, the unfinished epic, "Hyperion." "The Letters of John Keats to
Fanny Brawne" appeared in 1878, and the "Letters to His Family and
Friends" in 1891.
O Mother dear, Jerusalem,
When shall I come to Thee?
When shall my sorrows have an end?
Thy joys when shall I see?
--_William Cowper Prime_.
WILLIAM COWPER PRIME, a distinguished American man of letters, was born
at Cambridge, N. Y., October 31, 1825, and died in 1905. He wrote: "Owl
Creek Letters," "The Old House by the River," "Later Years," "Tent Life
in the Holy Land," "Boat Life in Egypt and Nubia," "The Holy Cross,"
"Pottery and Porcelain of All Times and Nations," etc. He also wrote the
famous hymn, "O, Mother Dear, Jerusalem."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Is there no tyrant but the crowned one?
NOVEMBER
NOVEMBER
Every age has its pleasures, its style of wit, and its own ways.
"The Art of Poetry," Canto iii, Line 374,--_Boileau_.
NICOLAS BOILEAU-DESPRÉAUX, an eminent French critic and poet, was born
in Paris, November 1, 1636, and died March 13, 1711. A few of his noted
works are: "The Art of Poetry," "The Farewell of a Poet to the City of
Paris," and his masterpiece, "The Reading Desk."
I am dying, Egypt, dying;--
Ebbs the crimson life-tide fast;
And the dark Plutonian shadows
Gather on the evening blast.
Let thine arms, O Queen, enfold me;
Hush thy sobs and bow thine ear;
Listen to the great heart-secrets
Thou, and thou alone, must hear.
"Antony to Cleopatra," St. I,--_William Haines Lytle_.
William Haines Lytle, a distinguished American general and poet, was
born in Cincinnati, Ohio, November 2, 1826, and was killed at the Battle
of Chickamauga, Tenn., September 20, 1863. His best-known poems are
"Antony to Cleopatra," and "Jacqueline."
All men of whatever quality they be, who have done anything of
excellence, or which may properly resemble excellence, ought, if
they are persons of truth and honesty, to describe their life with
their own hand; but they ought not to attempt so fine an
enterprise till they have passed the age of forty.
--_Benvenuto Cellini_.
BENVENUTO CELLINI, a famous Italian sculptor, metal-worker, and writer
of memoirs, was born in Florence, November 3, 1500, and died there,
February 13, 1571. His "Autobiography" won for him an important place
in letters.
So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan which moves
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one that wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.
"Thanatopsis,"--_William Cullen Bryant_.
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, the celebrated American poet, was born in
Cummington, Mass., November 3, 1794, and died in New York, June 12,
1878. His poetical works include: "The Yellow Violet," "Poems," "To a
Water-fowl," "The Ages," "The West Wind," "June," "The Fountain and
Other Poems," "Death of the Flowers," "The White-Footed Deer and Other
Poems," "The Flood of Years," and his famous "Thanatopsis." He also
wrote: "Letters of a Traveler," "Letters from the East," "Letters from
Spain," etc.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee.
"Salvation through Christ,"--_A. M. Toplady_.
AUGUSTUS MONTAGUE TOPLADY, a distinguished Anglican divine, was born
November 4, 1740, and died August 11, 1778. He is chiefly known as a
writer of hymns and poems including: "Rock of Ages," and the collections
entitled, "Poems on Sacred Subjects."
Beyond this vale of tears
There is a life above,
Unmeasured by the flight of years;
And all that life is love.
"The Issues of Life and Death,"--_James Montgomery_.
JAMES MONTGOMERY, a noted English poet and hymn-writer, was born at
Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland, November 4, 1771, and died at Sheffield,
England, April 30, 1854. He wrote: "The World Before the Flood," "The
West Indies," "Greenland," "Original Hymns," "Prose by a Poet," etc.
Mensch, was du thust, bedenk das End,
Das wird die hochst Weisheit genennt.[1]
--_Hans Sachs_.
HANS SACHS, the famous German meistersinger, was born at Nuremberg,
November 5, 1494, and died January 19 or 20, 1576. A complete collection
of his works has never been published.
Make no man your idol; for the best man must have faults, and his
faults will usually become yours in addition to your own. This is
as true in art as in morals.
"Lectures on Art and Poems,"--_Washington Allston_.
WASHINGTON ALLSTON, a renowned American painter, poet, and romancer, was
born at Waccamaw, S. C., November 5, 1779, and died at Cambridge, Mass.,
July 9, 1843. He wrote: "The Sylph of the Seasons and Other Poems,"
"Monaldi," "Lectures on Art and Poems," etc.
Laugh and the world laughs with you,
Weep, and you weep alone;
For this brave old earth must borrow its mirth
But has trouble enough of its own.
"The Way of the World,"--_Ella Wheeler Wilcox_.
ELLA WHEELER WILCOX, a popular American poet, was born at Johnstown
Centre, Wis., November 5, 1845, and died October 31, 1919. Among her
volumes are: "Maurine," "Poems of Passion," "Poems of Pleasure," etc.
She is best known for her poem, "The Way of the World."
As good be out of the world as out of the fashion.
"Love's Last Shift," Act ii.--_Colley Cibber_.
COLLEY CIBBER, a noted English dramatist, was born in London, November
6, 1671, and died there, December 12, 1757. Among his dramatic works
are: "Love's Last Shift," "She Would and She Would Not," "The Careless
Husband," and "Love Makes a Man."
"Innocently to amuse the imagination in this dream of life is
wisdom." So wrote Oliver Goldsmith; and surely among those who
have earned the world's gratitude by this ministration he must be
accorded a conspicuous place.
"Life of Goldsmith,"--_William Black_.
WILLIAM BLACK, a celebrated Scottish novelist, was born November 6,
1841, and died in 1898. Among his popular novels are: "Love or
Marriage," "In Silk Attire," "A Daughter of Heth," "Madcap Violet,"
"Three Feathers," "Yolande," "The Strange Adventures of a Phaeton,"
"Macleod of Dare," "White Heather," "Donald Ross of Heimra," "Highland
Cousins," "Wild Eelin," and his most famous work, "A Princess of Thule."
He also wrote a "Life of Goldsmith."
The great deep ground out of which large historical studies may
grow is the ethical ground,--the simple ethical necessity for the
perfecting, first, of man as man, and secondly, of man as a member
of society; or in other words, the necessity for the development
of humanity on one hand and society on the other.
--_Andrew Dickson White_.
ANDREW DICKSON WHITE, a distinguished American scholar and diplomat, was
born at Homer, N. Y., November 7, 1832, and died in 1918. He has
written: "Outlines of Lectures on Mediæval and Modern History," "The
Plan of Organization for Cornell University," "The New Education,"
"Report on Co-Education of the Sexes," "The Warfare of Science," "Seven
Great Statesmen in the Warfare of Humanity with Unreason," "The Work of
Benjamin Hale," "Lecture on the Problem of High Crime in the United
States," etc.
The man who is so conscious of the rectitude of his intention as
to be willing to open his bosom to the inspection of the world is
in possession of one of the strongest pillars of a decided
character. The course of such a man will be firm and steady,
because he has nothing to fear from the world, and is sure of the
approbation and support of heaven.
--_Wirt_.
WILLIAM WIRT, a renowned American lawyer and author, was born at
Bladensburg, Md., November 8, 1772, and died at Washington, D. C.,
February 18, 1834. He wrote: "Letters of a British Spy," "The Rainbow,"
and his best known work, "Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick
Henry."
How little know they life's divinest bliss,
That know not to possess and yet refrain!
Let the young Psyche roam, a fleeting kiss;
Grasp it--a few poor grains of dust remain.
--_Owen Meredith_.
EDWARD ROBERT BULWER, EARL OF LYTTON ("OWEN MEREDITH"), an English poet
and novelist of great fame, was born in London, November 8, 1831, and
died in Paris, November 24, 1891. His writings include: "The Wanderer,"
"Clytemnestra, the Earl's Return, and Other Poems," "Fables in Song,"
"Glenaveril," "King Poppy," "The Ring of Amasis," and his famous novel
in verse, "Lucile."
Such and so various are the tastes of men.
"Pleasures of the Imagination," Book iii, Line 567.--_Mark
Akenside_.
MARK AKENSIDE, a noted English poet, was born at Newcastle-on-Tyne,
November 9, 1721, and died in London, June 23, 1770. His most famous
work, "Pleasures of the Imagination," won for him great fame.
Emotional effusions are like licorice root. When you take your
first suck at it, it doesn't seem so bad but it leaves a very bad
taste in the mouth afterward.
--_Turgenev_.
IVAN SERGEYEVITCH TURGENEV, a celebrated Russian novelist, was born in
Orel, November 9, 1818, and died in Bougival, near Paris, September 3,
1883. Among his numerous works may be mentioned: "Improvidence,"
"Poems," "The Conversation," "Two Friends," "Quiet Life," "First Love,"
"On the Eve," "Hamlet and Don Quixote," "Fathers and Children,"
"Visions," "The Brigadier," "A Strange Tale," "The Watch," "Some One
Knocks," "The Dream," "Song of Triumphant Love," "The Old Portraits," "A
House of Gentlefolk," "Poems in Prose," etc., etc.
Every great book is an action, and every great action is a book.
--_Luther_.
MARTIN LUTHER, the illustrious church reformer, was born at Eisleben, in
Saxony, November 10, 1483, and died there, February 18, 1546. Among his
works may be mentioned: "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church," "The
Slave Will," "Letters," "Table Talk," and the treatise, "Against Henry,
King of England."
Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,
Where wealth accumulates, and men decay.
Princes and lords may flourish or may fade,--
A breath can make them, as a breath has made;
But a bold peasantry, their country's pride,
When once destroy'd, can never be supplied.
"The Deserted Village," Line 51,--_Oliver Goldsmith_.
OLIVER GOLDSMITH, the renowned English-Irish poet, novelist, and
dramatist, was born in Pallas, County Longford, Ireland, November 10,
1728, and died at London, April 4, 1774. Among his celebrated works may
be mentioned: "The Traveller," "The Citizen of the World," "The
Good-Natured Man," "She Stoops to Conquer," "The Deserted Village," and
"The Vicar of Wakefield."
Against stupidity the very gods
Themselves contend in vain.
"The Maid of Orleans," Act III, Sc. 6,--_Schiller_.
JOHANN CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH VON SCHILLER, the great German poet and
dramatist, was born in Marbach on the Neckar, November 10, 1759, and
died at Weimar, May 9, 1805. His greatest works are: "Inquiry into the
Connection Between the Animal and Spiritual Nature of Man," "Don
Carlos," "The Robbers," "Fiesco," "History of the Revolt of the
Netherlands from Spanish Rule," "History of the Thirty Years' War," "The
Ghost Seer," "Love and Intrigue," "The Piccolomini," "Maria Stuart,"
"The Bride of Messina," "The Maid of Orleans," "William Tell," etc.
Where did you come from, baby dear?
Out of the everywhere into the here.
"Baby" (Song in "At the Back of the North Wind")--_George
Macdonald_.
GEORGE MACDONALD, a famous Scottish poet and novelist, was born at
Huntley, November 10, 1824, and died in 1905. Besides his numerous
poems, he has written: "Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood," "Robert
Falconer," "David Elginbrod," "Wilfred Cumbermede," "Malcolm," "Sir
Gibbie," "What's Mine's Mine," "Lilith," "Unspoken Sermons"; also, "The
Princess and the Goblin," "At the Back of the North Wind," etc.
I saw the lightning's gleaming rod
Reach forth and write upon the sky
The awful autograph of God.
"The Ship in the Desert,"--_Cincinnatus Heine Miller_.
CINCINNATUS HEINE MILLER (JOAQUIN MILLER), a noted American poet, was
born in Wabash District, Ind., November 10, 1841, and died in 1912.
Among his works are: "The Baroness of New York," "The Danites," "Songs
of the Soul," "Songs of Mexican Seas," "Collected Poems," "'49, or the
Gold Seekers of the Sierras," etc.
Men have dulled their eyes with sin,
And dimmed the light of heaven with doubt,
And built their temple-walls to shut thee in,
And framed their iron creeds to shut thee out.
"God of the Open Air,"--_Henry Van Dyke_.
HENRY VAN DYKE, a distinguished Presbyterian clergyman and diplomat, was
born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, November 10, 1852. Among his numerous
works are: "The Story of the Psalms," "The Poetry of Tennyson," "The
Christ Child in Art," "The Friendly Year," "The Ruling Passion," "The
Blue Flower," "The Open Door," "Select Poems of Tennyson," "Music and
Other Poems," "Out of Doors in the Holy Land," "The Spirit of America,"
"The Story of the Other Wise Man," "Poems in War Times," "The Red
Flower," "Collected Poems," "The Sad Shepherd," "The Mansion," "The
Unknown Quantity," "The Grand Canyon and Other Poems," "The Lost Boy,"
etc.
The rattling, battering Irishman,
The stamping, ramping, swaggering, staggering, lathering, swash of
an Irishman.
The Irishman and the Lady, st. I, 3,--_William Maginn_.
WILLIAM MAGINN, a famous Irish scholar, poet and journalist, was born at
Cork, November 11, 1793, and died at Walton on Thames, August 20, 1842.
With Hugh Fraser, he founded _Fraser's Magazine_ in 1830. A partial
collection of his writings is found in "Miscellanies" (1855-57), edited
by R. Shelton Mackenzie. His best stories are "Bob Burke's Duel with
Ensign Brady" and "The City of Demons."
As all the perfumes of the vanished day
Rise from the earth still moistened with the dew
So from my chastened soul beneath thy ray
Old love is born anew.
"Remembrance," translated by George Murray,--_Alfred de Musset_.
LOUIS CHARLES ALFRED DE MUSSET, one of the greatest of French poets, was
born in Paris, November 11, 1810, and died there, May 1, 1857. Among his
writings are: "Tales of Spain and Italy," "A Night of May," "A Night of
December," "A Night of August," "A Night of October," "Letter to
Lamartine," "Hope in God," "Nights," "Emmeline," "Titian's Son,"
"Frederick and Bernerette," "A Play in an Arm-Chair," etc.
The Angel of Death is the invisible Angel of Life.
"A Study of Death,"--_Henry Mills Alden_.
HENRY MILLS ALDEN, a celebrated American editor, poet, and prose-writer,
was born at Mt. Tabor, Vt., November 11, 1836, and died October 7, 1919.
Among his works are: "God in His World," "The Ancient Lay of Sorrow," "A
Study of Death," "Magazine Writing and the New Literature," and
"Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War" (with A. H. Guernsey).
This is my youth,--its hopes and dreams
How strange and shadowy it all seems
After these many years!
Turning the pages idly, so,
I look with smiles upon the woe,
Upon the joy, with tears!
--_Aldrich_.
THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH, a renowned American poet, author, and essayist,
was born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, November 11, 1836, and died in
1907. His works include: "Marjorie Daw and Other People," "Prudence
Palfrey," "Complete Poems," "The Queen of Sheba," "The Stillwater
Tragedy," "The Story of a Bad Boy," etc.
I preached as never sure to preach again,
And as a dying man to dying men.
"Love breathing Thanks and Praise,"--_Richard Baxter_.
RICHARD BAXTER, an eminent English divine and author, was born at
Rowton, Shropshire, November 12, 1615, and died in London, December 8,
1691. His literary fame rests chiefly on his celebrated work, "The
Saints' Everlasting Rest."
Hail, Columbia! happy land!
Hail, ye heroes! heaven-born band!
Who fought and bled in Freedom's cause,
Who fought and bled in Freedom's cause,
And when the storm of war was gone,
Enjoyed the peace your valor won.
Let independence be our boast,
Ever mindful what it cost;
Ever grateful for the prize,
Let its altar reach the skies!
"Hail, Columbia,"--_Joseph Hopkinson_.
JOSEPH HOPKINSON, a noted American jurist and composer of the famous
patriotic song, "Hail Columbia," was born at Philadelphia, November 12,
1770, and died there, January 15, 1842.
My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Saviour divine!
Now hear me while I pray;
Take all my guilt away;
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
"My Faith Looks Up To Thee,"--_Ray Palmer_.
RAY PALMER, a distinguished American clergyman, and hymn-writer, was
born at Little Compton, R. I., November 12, 1808, and died at Newark, N.
J., March 29, 1887. He published: "Spiritual Improvement," "Hymns and
Sacred Pieces," "Hymns of My Holy Hours," etc. His best known hymn is,
"My Faith Looks up to Thee," which has been translated into twenty
languages.
When I am here, I do not fast on Saturday; when at Rome, I do fast
on Saturday.
"Epistle 36, To Casulanus,"--_Saint Augustine_.
SAINT AUGUSTINE, the most famous of the Latin fathers of the Church, and
of patristic writers, was born in Tagasta, Numidia, November 13, 354,
and died at Hippo, August 28, 430. His most noted works are: "City of
God," "Grace of Christ," "Original Sin," and his "Confessions."
Viking gains are deep wounds, and right well they adorn if they stand
on the brow or the breast.
Let them bleed!
--_Tegnér_.
ESAIAS TEGNÉR, an illustrious Swedish poet, was born at Kyrkerud,
Wermland, Sweden, November 13, 1782, and died at Wexiö, November 2,
1846. He wrote: "Frithiof's Saga" (epic ballads), "Axel,"
"Nattvärdsbarned," and his celebrated poem, "Svea," crowned by the
Swedish Academy.
To be honest, to be kind, to earn a little, and to spend a little
less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence, to
renounce when that shall be necessary and not to be embittered, to
keep a few friends, but these without capitulation; above all, on
the same condition, to keep friends with himself, here is a task
for all a man has of fortitude and delicacy.
--_Robert Louis Stevenson_.
ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON, a Scotch novelist, poet and essayist, of great
renown, was born in Edinburgh, November 13, 1850, and died at Apia,
Samoa, December 3, 1894. Among his publications are: "Familiar Studies
of Men and Books," "An Inland Voyage," "Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes,"
"New Arabian Nights," "Treasure Island," "Prince Otto," "A Child's
Garden of Verses," "Kidnapped," "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde," "Underwoods," "Memoirs and Portraits," "Ballads," "The Merry Men
and Other Tales," "The Black Arrow," "The Ebb Tide," "A Foot-Note to
History: Eight Years of Trouble in Samoa," "David Balfour," "Island
Nights' Entertainments," "Essays and Criticisms," etc.
"Comedies and novels end with the wedding of the hero," he says in
his autobiography; "for only the struggle, not the acquired
position, lends itself to their treatment."
--_Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger_.
ADAM GOTTLOB OEHLENSCHLÄGER, a noted Danish poet, was born near
Copenhagen, November 14, 1779, and died January 20, 1850. He has
written: "The Life of Christ Annually Repeated in Nature," "Poems,"
"First Song of the Edda," "Palnatoke," "A Journey to Langeland," "Earl
Hakon," "Axel and Valborg," "The Little Shepherd Boy," "Socrates,"
"Hamlet," etc.
Mutual love brings mutual delight,--
Brings beauty, life;--for love is life, hate, death.
"The Dying Raven,"--_Richard Henry Dana_.
RICHARD HENRY DANA (THE ELDER), an American poet and essayist of great
fame, was born at Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 15, 1787, and died
February 2, 1879. His poetical works include: "The Dying Raven," "The
Buccaneers," "The Change of Home," etc. Among his short stories are:
"Edward and Mary," and "Paul Fenton."
The great artist ... is he who guides us into the region of his
own thoughts, into the palaces and fields of his own imagination,
and while there, speaks to us the language of the gods.
--_Charles Blanc_.
CHARLES BLANC, a distinguished French art critic, was born November 15,
1813, and died in 1882. He wrote: "A History of Painters of All
Schools," "The Treasure of Curiosity," "Grammar of the Arts of Design,"
"The Dutch School of Painters," "Grammar of Painting and Engraving,"
etc.
High office is like a pyramid; only two kinds of animals reach the
summit--reptiles and eagles.
--_D'Alembert_.
JEAN BAPTISTE LE ROND D'ALEMBERT, an eminent French philosopher,
mathematician and man of letters, was born in Paris, November 16, 1717,
and died there, October 9, 1783. Among his works are: "Literary and
Philosophical Miscellanies," "Elements of Philosophy," etc. He also
wrote the "Preliminary Discourse," or introduction to the great French
Encyclopedia.
In seeking to represent the working classes, and in standing up
for their rights and liberties, I hold that I am also defending
the rights and liberties of the middle and richer classes of
society.
From the "Speech on the Corn Laws" (1843),--_John Bright_.
JOHN BRIGHT, a distinguished English statesman, was born near Rochdale,
in Lancashire, November 16, 1811, and died March 27, 1889. His "Public
Letters," appeared in 1885, and his speeches and addresses were
published in the years 1867-69-79.
If my early friend, Dr. Thirlwall's "History of Greece," had
appeared a few years sooner, I should probably never had conceived
the design of the present work at all; I should certainly not have
been prompted to the task by any deficiencies, and as those which
I felt and regretted in Mitford. The comparison of the two authors
affords indeed a striking proof of the progress of sound and
enlarged views respecting the ancient world during the present
generation. Having studied of course the same evidence as Dr.
Thirlwall, I am better enabled than others to bear testimony to
the learning, the sagacity, and the candour which pervades his
excellent work.
"A History of Greece,"--_George Grote_.
GEORGE GROTE, a famous English historian, was born in Clay Hill, Kent,
November 17, 1794, and died in London, June 18, 1871. He is best known
by his celebrated work, "History of Greece."
The Law is the true embodiment
Of everything that's excellent.
It has no kind of fault or flaw,
And I, my Lords, embody the Law.
"Lord Chancellor's Song,"--_Gilbert_.
WILLIAM SCHWENCK GILBERT, a celebrated English librettist and comic-poet
and prose-writer, was born in London, November 18, 1836, and died in
1911. He wrote: "The Bab Ballads," and several famous comic operas,
among which are: "Pinafore," "Patience," "The Mikado," "Ruddygore," and
"The Pirates of Penzance."
And so I penned
It down, until at last it came to be,
For length and breadth, the bigness which you see.
"Pilgrim's Progress: Apology for his book,"--_John Bunyan_.
JOHN BUNYAN, a renowned English author, was born in Elstow, Bedford,
November 19 (?), 1628, and died in London, August 31, 1688. He wrote
numerous works, the most famous being: "The Pilgrim's Progress," "Grace
Abounding," and the "Holy War."
What is love, It is nature's treasure,
'Tis the storehouse of her joys;
'Tis the highest heaven of pleasure,
'Tis a bliss which never cloys.
"The Revenge," Act I, Sc. 2,--_Thomas Chatterton_.
THOMAS CHATTERTON, the famous young English poet, was born in Bristol,
November 20, 1752, and died at London, August 25, 1770. He wrote
numerous poems and plays, but he is best remembered as the author of the
so-called "Rowley Poems," which were collected and published by T.
Tyrwhitt in 1777.
The first who was king was a fortunate soldier:
Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.
"Mérope," Act I, Sc. 3,--_Voltaire_.
FRANÇOIS MARIE AROUET DE VOLTAIRE, the illustrious French writer, was
born in Paris, November 21, 1694, and died there, May 30, 1778. Among
his famous works are: "Artemire," "Mariamne," "Letters on the English,"
"History of Charles XII," "Philosophical Letters," "The Temple of
Taste," "Elements of Newton's Philosophy," "The Maid of Orleans," "The
Prodigal Son," "Mérope," "Discourse on Man," "Poem on Natural Law,"
"Candide," "Semiramis," "Amélie," "Republican Ideas," "Tales,"
"Catechism of the Honest Man," "Irene," "Tancrède," "Socrates," "Century
of Louis XV," "The Bible at Last Explained," "Zaïre," "The Ingenuous
One," etc., etc.
Touch us gently, Time!
Let us glide adown thy stream
Gently,--as we sometimes glide
Through a quiet dream.
"Touch Us Gently, Time,"--_Bryan W. Procter_.
BRYAN WALLER PROCTER, an eminent English poet and man of letters, was
born in Wiltshire, November 21, 1787, and died at London, October 4,
1874. Among his works are: "A Sicilian Story," "Dramatic Scenes and
Other Poems," "Mirandola" (a tragedy), "English Songs," "The Flood of
Thessaly," "Essays and Tales," "Charles Lamb: a Memoir," and the "Life
of Edmund Kean."
There are certain people whose biographies ought to be long; who
could learn too much concerning Lamb.
"Adventures in Criticism,"--_A. T. Quiller-Couch_.
SIR A. T. QUILLER-COUCH, a celebrated English writer of fiction, was
born in Cornwall, November 21, 1863. He has written: "The Astonishing
History of Troy Town," "Dead man's Rock," "The Splendid Spur," "The Blue
Pavilions," "The Delectable Duchy," "Wandering Heath," "Adventures in
Criticism," "Poems and Ballads," "The Ship of Stars," "The Westcotes,"
"The White Wolf," "From a Cornish Window," "Sir John Constantine," "True
Tilda," "Brother Copas," "The Vigil of Venus and Other Poems," "Lady
Good-for-Nothing," "News from the Duchy," "The Oxford Book of Ballads,"
"Poison Island," "Corporal Sam and Other Stories," "Nicky-Nan
Reservist," "On the Art of Writing," "Hocken and Hunken," etc.
He who loves
God and his law must hate the foes of God.
"Spanish Gypsy, Bk. I,"--_George Eliot_.
MARY ANN EVANS ("GEORGE ELIOT"), the great English novelist, was born at
Arbury Farm, Chilvers Coton, Warwickshire, November 22, 1819, and died
in London, December 22, 1880. Among her many works are: "Scenes of
Clerical Life," "Adam Bede," "The Mill on the Floss," "Romola," "The
Spanish Gypsy," "Agatha" (a poem), "Felix Holt," "Daniel Deronda,"
"Middlemarch," "Jubal and Other Poems," etc., etc.
Peel was, undoubtedly, as Lord Beaconsfield has said, a great
member of Parliament; but he was surely much more than that, he
was a great statesman, a great Minister. He must always rank among
the foremost of English Ministers. The proud boast of Heine is
that, if any one names the best half-dozen of German poets his
name must be brought among them. If we name the best half-dozen of
modern English Prime Ministers, we can hardly fail to bring in the
name of Peel.
"Life of Sir Robert Peel,"--_Justin McCarthy_.
JUSTIN MCCARTHY, an eminent Irish politician, journalist, historian,
novelist and miscellaneous writer, was born at Cork, November 22, 1830,
and died April 24, 1912. He has written: "A History of Our Own Times,"
"History of the Four Georges," "A Fair Saxon," "Lady Judith," "The Story
of Gladstone's Life," "Modern England," "The Reign of Queen Anne,"
"Reminiscences," "The Story of an Irishman," "Irish Recollections,"
etc. Also the biographies of Sir Robert Peel, Pope Leo XIII, and W. E.
Gladstone.
Spinoza was truly, what Voltaire has with rather less justice
called Clark, a reasoning machine.
--_Hallam_ on _Spinoza_.
BENEDICT SPINOZA, a renowned philosopher, was born at Amsterdam,
November 23, 1632, and died at The Hague, February 21, 1677. He wrote:
"Tractate on God and Man and Man's Felicity," "Theologico-Political
Tractate," and his most famous work, "Ethics Demonstrated
Geometrically."
Courtship consists in a number of quiet attentions, not so pointed
as to alarm, nor so vague as not to be understood.
--_Laurence Sterne_.
LAURENCE STERNE, an English novelist of great fame, was born at Clonmel,
Ireland, November 24, 1713, and died in London, March 18, 1768. His most
noted works are: "Tristram Shandy," "The Sermons of Mr. Yorick," and "A
Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy."
Since the seventeenth century, we have had no poet of the highest
order, though Shelley, had he lived, would perhaps have become
one. He had something of that burning passion, that sacred fire,
which kindles the soul, as though it came fresh from the altar of
the gods. But he was cut off in his early prime, when his splendid
genius was still in its dawn.
"History of Civilization in England," Vol. II, p. 397
(1861),--_Henry Thomas Buckle_.
HENRY THOMAS BUCKLE, a distinguished English historian, was born in Lee,
Kent, November 24, 1821, and died in Damascus, May 29, 1862. He is best
known for his great work, "The History of Civilization in England" (2
vols. 1857-61). His "Miscellaneous and Posthumous Works" were edited by
Helen Taylor in 1872, and a new edition by Grant Allen in 1880.
How oft my guardian angel gently cried,
"Soul, from thy casement look, and thou shalt see
How he persists to knock and wait for thee!"
And, O! how often to that voice of sorrow,
"To-morrow we will open," I replied,
And when the morrow came, I answered still,
"To-morrow."
"To-morrow," Longfellow's Trans. L. 9,--_Lope de Vega_.
LOPE DE VEGA, "TOME BURGUILLOS," a renowned Spanish dramatist, was born
in Madrid, November 25, 1562, and died August 21, 1635. Among his many
works may be mentioned: "Jerusalem Conquered," "Angelica," "King and
Peasant," "Circe," "Andromeda," "Philomela," "Orpheus," "Proserpine,"
"San Isidro," "The Dragon," "The Maid of Almudena," "Journey Through My
Country," besides numerous sonnets, etc.
Oh for a lodge in some vast wilderness,
Some boundless contiguity of shade,
Where rumour of oppression and deceit,
Of unsuccessful or successful war,
Might never reach me more.
"The Task," Book ii: "The Timepiece," Line i,--_William Cowper_.
WILLIAM COWPER, an illustrious English poet, was born in Great
Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire, November 26, 1731, and died at East
Dereham, Norfolk, April 25, 1800. His works include: "Homer's Iliad and
Odyssey," "The Task," "Poems" (1798), etc.
What shall I do with all the days and hours
That must be counted ere I see thy face?
How shall I charm the interval that lowers
Between this time and that sweet time of grace?
"Absence,"--_Frances Anne Kemble_.
FRANCES ANNE KEMBLE, a noted English actress, was born in London,
November 27, 1809, and died there, January 16, 1893. She wrote:
"Recollections of a Girlhood," "Recollections of Later Life," "Journal
of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation," and her "Journal."
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe;
I told it not, my wrath did grow.
"Christian Forbearance,"--_Wm. Blake_.
WILLIAM BLAKE, a celebrated English poet and artist, was born in London,
November 28, 1757, and died there, August 12, 1827. He has published:
"Poetical Sketches," "Songs of Innocence," "Songs of Experience," etc.
His "Prophetic Books," including: "Book of Thel," "Marriage of Heaven
and Hell," "Book of Urizen," "Book of Los," "Book of Ahania,"
"Jerusalem," and "Milton," are famous. His greatest artistic work is in
"Illustrations to the Book of Job."
What is philosophy? It is something that lightens up, that makes
bright.
--_Victor Cousin_.
VICTOR COUSIN, a distinguished French philosopher, was born in Paris,
November 28, 1792, and died at Cannes, January 2, 1867. He wrote: "Mme.
de Longueville," "Mme. de Hautefort," "Jacqueline Pascal," "French
Society in the 17th Century," "History of Philosophy," etc. His
translation of "Plato," also won for him great fame.
Of gifts, there seems none more becoming to offer a friend than a
beautiful book.
"Concord Days" (June Books),--_Amos Bronson Alcott_.
AMOS BRONSON ALCOTT, a noted American philosophical writer, and
educator, was born at Wolcott, Conn., November 29, 1799, and died at
Boston, March 4, 1888. His principal works are: "Orphic Sayings,"
"Tablets," "Concord Days," "Table-Talk," "Sonnets and Canzonets," "Ralph
Waldo Emerson: His Character and Genius," "New Connecticut," etc.
What the Puritans gave the world was not thought but action.
Speech, December 21, 1855,--_Wendell Phillips_.
WENDELL PHILLIPS, an American social and political reformer of great
fame, was born at Boston, November 29, 1811, and died there, February 2,
1884. Among his writings are: "Can Abolitionists Vote or Take Office?"
"The Constitution a Pro-Slavery Compact," "Defense of the Anti-Slavery
Movement," "Review of Webster's Speech of March 7th," "Speeches,
Lectures, and Letters," "Addresses," etc.
They are never alone that are accompanied with noble thoughts.
"Arcadia," Book I,--_Sir Philip Sidney_.
SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, a famous English courtier and man of letters, was
born at Penshurst in Kent, November 30, 1554, and died at Arnheim,
October 17, 1586. His best known works are: "Arcadia," "Sonnets,"
"Apology for Poetry," and a versified translation of the "Psalms."
I've often wish'd that I had clear,
For life, six hundred pounds a year;
A handsome house to lodge a friend;
A river at my garden's end;
A terrace walk, and half a rood
Of land set out to plant a wood.
"Imitation of Horace," Book ii, Sat. 6,--_Jonathan Swift_.
JONATHAN SWIFT, the celebrated English prose satirist, was born in
Dublin, November 30, 1667, and died there, October 19, 1745. He wrote:
"Advice to the October Club," "Tale of a Tub," "Meditation upon a
Broomstick," "Battle of the Books," "Project for the Advancement of
Religion," "Public Spirit of the Whigs," "A Modest Proposal," "Drapier's
Letters," "Remarks on the Barrier Treaty," "Sentiments of a Church of
England Man," and "Gulliver's Travels," his most important work.
Forth we went, a gallant band--
Youth, Love, Gold and Pleasure.
"Last Song,"--_Mark Lemon_.
MARK LEMON, a noted English playwright, was born in London, November 30,
1809, and died at Crawley in Sussex, May 23, 1870. Among his comedies
and dramas are: "Hearts Are Trumps," "Lost and Won," "Arnold of
Winkelried," "Domestic Economy," etc.
There are two times in a man's life when he should not speculate;
when he can't afford it, and when he can.
--_Mark Twain_.
SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENS, ("MARK TWAIN"), the distinguished American
humorist, was born in Missouri, November 30, 1835, and died in 1910. He
has written: "The Innocents Abroad," "Huckleberry Finn," "A Tramp
Abroad," "The Jumping Frog," "Old Times on the Mississippi," "Roughing
It," "Tom Sawyer," "The Prince and the Pauper," "The Gilded Age,"
"Pudd'nhead Wilson," "Following the Equator," "A Double-Barreled
Detective Story," etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[1]
Man, think of thine end, whatever thou doest,
That will be counted as wisdom the truest.
DECEMBER
DECEMBER
What is the greatest bliss
That the tongue o' man can name?
'Tis to woo a bonnie lassie
When the kye comes hame!
"When the Kye Comes Hame," st. 2,--_James Hogg_.
JAMES HOGG, a famous Scotch pastoral poet, was born in Ettrick, December
1, 1770, and died at Eltrive Lake, November 21, 1835. He wrote: "Poems
and Songs," "The Mountain Bard," "Scottish Pastorals," and "The Queen's
Wake," his most famous work.
In the soul of Keats, if ever in a human soul at all, there was a
portion of the real poetic essence--the real faculty divine....
His most obvious characteristic, I repeat, is the universality of
his sensuousness. And this it is, added to his exquisite mastery
in language and verse, that makes it such a luxury to read him.
"Wordsworth, Shelley and Keats,"--_David Masson_.
DAVID MASSON, a noted Scottish author, was born at Aberdeen, December 2,
1822, and died in 1907. He wrote: "The Life of Milton in connection with
the History of His Time," "Essays, Biographical and Critical," "British
Novelists," "Recent British Philosophy," "Carlyle Personally and His
Writings," "Edinburgh Sketches and Memories," etc.
Strange to the world he wore a bashful look,
The fields his study, nature was his book.
"The Farmer's Boy: Spring," L. 31,--_Bloomfield_.
ROBERT BLOOMFIELD, a celebrated English poet, was born at Honington,
December 3, 1766, and died in Shefford, in 1823. Among his poetical
pieces are: "The Milk Maid," "The Sailor's Return," and his most famous
poetical work, "The Farmer's Boy."
In books lies the soul of the whole Past Time; the articulate audible
voice of the Past, when the body and material substance of it has
altogether vanished like a dream.
"Heroes and Hero-Worship: The Hero as a Man of Letters,"--_Thomas
Carlyle_.
THOMAS CARLYLE, a Scotch biographer, historian, and miscellaneous writer
of great fame, was born at Ecclefechan, December 4, 1795, and died in
London, February 4, 1881. Among his celebrated works may be mentioned:
"Life of Schiller," "Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship," a translation;
"The French Revolution," "Life and Letters of Oliver Cromwell," "German
Romance," "Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History," "Chartism,"
"Past and Present," "Life of Sterling," "Friedrich II," "Latter-Day
Pamphlets," "Inaugural Address at Edinburgh," etc.
Give me the lowest place: or if for me
That lowest place too high, make one more low
Where I may sit and see
My God, and love Thee so.
"The Lowest Place,"--_Christina G. Rossetti_.
CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI, a renowned English poetess, was born in
London, December 5, 1830, and died December 29, 1894. Among her works
are: "The Prince's Progress," "Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme Book," "Seek
and Find," "Speaking Likenesses," "A Pageant, and Other Poems," "Letter
and Spirit," "Annus Domini: A Prayer for Each Day in the Year,"
"Verses," and her most celebrated work, "Goblin Market."
Right as a trivet.
"The Ingoldsby Legends, Auto-da-fe,"--_R. H. Barham_.
RICHARD HARRIS BARHAM, a famous English poet, was born in Canterbury,
December 6, 1788, and died in London, June 17, 1845. Under the nom de
plume of "Thomas Ingoldsby," he wrote the celebrated "Ingoldsby
Legends." He also wrote: "Life of Theodore Hook," "My Cousin Nicholas,"
etc.
What is worth doing is worth doing well; and with a little more
trouble at first, much trouble afterwards may be avoided.
Max Müller, "Letter to John Bellows," July 18, 1866, from
"Life" (by His Wife) I. XV,--_Max Müller_.
FRIEDRICH MAX MÜLLER, an eminent German-English Sanskrit scholar and
comparative philologist, was born at Dessau, December 6, 1823, and died
in 1900. He has written: "History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature,"
"Science of Language," "Chips from a German Workshop," "Science of
Religion," "Essays on Language, Mythology, and Religion," "Science of
Thought," "My Autobiography," "Last Essays," appeared after his death,
also, "Life and Letters of the Right Honorable Friedrich Max Müller," by
his wife.
Liberty of the imagination is the most precious possession of the
novelist.
--_Joseph Conrad_.
JOSEPH CONRAD, a renowned English author, of Polish parentage, was born
December 6, 1857. Among his works are: "An Outcast of the Islands," "The
Nigger of the Narcissus," "Typhoon," "The Mirror of the Sea," "The
Secret Agent," "Under Western Eyes," "Some Reminiscenses," "Chance,"
"Within the Tides," "Victory," "The Shadow Line," "The Arrow of Gold,"
"Rescue," "Notes on Life and Letters."
A wet sheet and a flowing sea,
A wind that follows fast,
And fills the white and rustling sail,
And bends the gallant mast.
And bends the gallant mast, my boys,
While like the eagle free
Away the good ship flies, and leaves
Old England on the lee.
"A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea,"--_Allan Cunningham_.
ALLAN CUNNINGHAM, a noted Scotch poet and miscellaneous writer, was born
in Keir, Dumfriesshire, December 7, 1784, and died in London, October
30, 1842. His best known works are: "Lord Roldan," "Paul Jones," "Sir
Marmaduke Maxwell," and his most famous work, "Critical History of the
Literature of the Last Fifty Years."
Out in the lonely woods the jasmine burns
Its fragrant lamps, and turns
Into a royal court with green festoons
The banks of dark lagoons.
"Spring,"--_Henry Timrod_.
HENRY TIMROD, a famous American Southern poet and author, was born at
Charleston, S. C., December 8, 1829, and died at Columbia, S. C.,
October 6, 1867. His "Poems" appeared in 1860.
You k'n hide de fier, but w'at you gwine do wid de smoke?
"Plantation Proverbs,"--_Joel Chandler Harris_.
JOEL CHANDLER HARRIS, a noted American journalist and story writer, was
born at Eatonton, Georgia, December 8, 1848, and died July 3, 1908. He
has written: "Daddy Jake, the Runaway," "The Folk-Lore of the Old
Plantation," etc. He is best known, however, by his famous "Uncle Remus"
sketches.
Now came still evening on, and twilight gray
Had in her sober livery all things clad;
Silence accompany'd; for beast and bird,
They to their grassy couch, these to their nests,
Were slunk, all but the wakeful nightingale;
She all night long her amorous descant sung;
Silence was pleas'd. Now glow'd the firmament
With living sapphires; Hesperus, that led
The starry host, rode brightest, till the moon,
Rising in clouded majesty, at length
Apparent queen unveil'd her peerless light,
And o'er the dark her silver mantle threw.
"Paradise Lost," Book IV, Line 598,--_John Milton_.
JOHN MILTON, one of the greatest of English poets, was born in London,
December 9, 1608, and died there November 8, 1674. His most famous works
were: "Paradise Lost," "Paradise Regained," "Comus," "Lycidas,"
"L'Allegro," "Il Penseroso," "Samson Agonistes," "Areopagitica," "The
Tenure of Kings and Magistrates," and the "Defence of the English
People."
And ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,
While the earth bears a plant or the sea rolls its waves.
"Adams and Liberty,"--_Robert Treat Paine, Jr._
ROBERT TREAT PAINE, JR., a celebrated American poet, was born in
Taunton, Mass., December 9, 1773, and died in Boston, November 13, 1811.
He is best known as the author of two songs, "Rise, Columbia," and
"Adams and Liberty." Among his poems are: "The Invention of Letters,"
and "The Ruling Passion."
Virtue often trips and falls on the sharp-edged rock of poverty.
--_Eugene Sue_.
EUGENE SUE, a famous French romancer, was born in Paris, December 10,
1804, and died at Annecy, July 3, 1857. He wrote: "Kernock the Pirate,"
"History of the French Navy," "History of the War Navies of All
Nations," "The Seven Deadly Sins," "Martin the Foundling," "The
Mysteries of the People," "The Jouffroy Family," "The Secrets of the
Confessional," "The Mysteries of Paris," and "The Wandering Jew."
Jesus was the first great teacher of men who showed a genuine
sympathy for childhood. When He said, "Of such is the kingdom of
heaven," it was a revelation.
--_Eggleston_.
EDWARD EGGLESTON, a distinguished American historian and novelist, was
born in Vevay, Ind., December 10, 1837, and died in 1902. Among his
noted works are: "The Circuit Rider," "The End of the World," "Roxy,"
"The Hoosier Schoolmaster," "The Graysons," "The Faith Doctor," "Queer
Stories for Boys and Girls," "The Hoosier Schoolboy," "Schoolmasters'
Stories," "Mr. Blake's Walking-Stick," "School History of the United
States," "Household History of the United States," "First Book in
American History," "The Beginners of a Nation," "The Transit of
Civilization," etc.
Oh the heart is a free and fetterless thing,--
A wave of the ocean, a bird on the wing!
"The Captive Greek Girl,"--_Julia Pardoe_.
JULIA PARDOE, a noted English historical and miscellaneous writer, was
born at Beverly, Yorkshire, December 11 (?), 1806, and died in London,
November 26, 1862. Among her many works are: "Traditions of Portugal,"
"City of the Sultan," "Louis XIV and the Court of France," "The Jealous
Wife," "The Court and Reign of Francis I," "Marie de' Medici," "Episodes
of French History During the Consulate," "A Life Struggle," and numerous
lyrics.
A place in thy memory, dearest,
Is all that I claim;
To pause and look back when thou hearest
The sound of my name.
"A Place in Thy Memory,"--_Gerald Griffin_.
GERALD GRIFFIN, a famous Irish novelist, poet and dramatist, was born at
Limerick, December 12, 1803, and died at Cork, June 12, 1840. He wrote:
"Tales of the Munster Festivals," "The Collegians," "Holland Tide: or
Munster Popular Tales," "The Invasion," "Gisippus, or the Forgotten
Friend," "Tales of My Neighborhood," etc.
"That Flaubert was one of the greatest writers who ever lived in
France is now commonly admitted, and his greatness principally
depends upon the extraordinary vigour and exactitude of his
style."
GUSTAVE FLAUBERT, a renowned French novelist, was born at Rouen,
December 12, 1821, and died there, May 8, 1880. Among his writings are:
"Salammbô," "The History of a Young Man," "The Temptation of St.
Anthony," "Three Stories," and "Madame Bovary," his greatest novel.
The nightingale appear'd the first
And as her melody she sang,
The apple into blossom burst,
To life the grass and violets sprang.
"New Spring," No. 31 ("Book of Songs"),--_Heine_.
HEINRICH HEINE, an eminent German poet, was born at Düsseldorf, December
13, 1799, and died at Paris, February 17, 1856. Among his works are:
"Pictures of Travel," "Almansor," "Radcliff," "Poems," "Book of Songs,"
"New Poems," "History of Recent Polite Literature in Germany," "The
Salon," "Doctor Faust," "The Romantic School," "Shakespeare's Maids and
Matrons," "The Romancers," "Miscellaneous Writings," etc.
Life comes before literature, as the material always comes before
the work. The hills are full of marble before the world blooms
with statues.
"Literature and Life,"--_Phillips Brooks_.
PHILLIPS BROOKS, a famous American clergyman of the Episcopal Church,
was born in Boston, December 13, 1835, and died there, January 23, 1893.
He published many volumes of sermons and lectures, including: "Letters
of Travel," "Lectures on Preaching," and "Essays and Addresses."
The germs of all truth lie in the soul, and when the ripe moment
comes, the truth within answers to the fact without as the flower
responds to the sun, giving it form for heat and color for light.
--_Hamilton W. Mabie_.
HAMILTON WRIGHT MABIE, a celebrated American essayist, critic, and
editor, was born in Cold Spring, N. Y., December 13, 1846, and died in
1916. His works include: "Norse Stories Retold from the Eddas," "My
Study Fire," "Short Studies in Literature," "Nature and Culture," "Books
and Culture," "Work and Culture," "Works and Days," "Backgrounds of
Literature," "The Great Word," "What and How to Read," "Writers of
Knickerbocker," "American Ideals, Character and Life," "Japan To-day and
To-morrow," etc., etc.
Go, forget me! why should sorrow
O'er that brow a shadow fling?
Go, forget me, and to-morrow
Brightly smile and sweetly sing!
Smile,--though I shall not be near thee;
Sing,--though I shall never hear thee!
"Go, forget me!"--_Charles Wolfe_.
CHARLES WOLFE, a distinguished Irish clergyman and poet, was born at
Dublin, December 14, 1791, and died at Cove of Cork (now Queenstown),
February 21, 1823. His literary fame rests wholly upon his "Burial of
Sir John Moore."
Just to let thy Father do
What He will;
Just to know that He is true,
And be still.
Just to follow hour by hour
As He leadeth;
Just to draw the moment's power
As it needeth.
Just to trust Him, that is all!
Then the day will surely be
Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall,
Bright and blessed, calm and free.
"The Secret of a Happy Day," St. I,--_Frances Ridley Havergal_.
FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL, a noted English poet and religious writer, was
born at Astley, Worcestershire, December 14, 1836, and died at Swansea,
Wales, June 3, 1879. She wrote: "The Four Happy Days," "Under the
Surface" poems; "Royal Graces and Loyal Gifts" (6 vols., 1879), "Under
His Shadow," etc.
Then here's to the oak, the brave old oak,
Who stands in his pride alone!
And still flourish he, a hale green tree,
When a hundred years are gone!
"The Brave Old Oak,"--_H. F. Chorley_.
HENRY FOTHERGILL CHORLEY, a famous English critic and miscellaneous
writer, was born in Blackley Hurst, Lancashire, December 15, 1808, and
died in London, February 15, 1872. He wrote a famous play, "Old Love and
New Fortune," and several novels, among them: "Conti," "The Prodigy,"
and "The Lion."
Where an opinion is general, it is usually correct.
"Mansfield Park," Chap. II,--_Jane Austen_.
JANE AUSTEN, a renowned English novelist, was born in Steventon,
Hampshire, December 16, 1775, and died in Winchester, July 18, 1817. Her
most famous works are: "Mansfield Park," "Sense and Sensibility," and
"Pride and Prejudice."
A sacred spark created by his breath,
The immortal mind of man his image bears;
A spirit living 'midst the forms of death,
Oppressed, but not subdued by mortal cares.
"Written After Recovery from a Dangerous Illness,"--_Sir H.
Davy_.
SIR HUMPHRY DAVY, an eminent English chemist, philosopher and man of
letters, was born at Penzance, Cornwall, December 17, 1778, and died at
Geneva, Switzerland, May 29, 1829. He wrote: "Consolations in Travel, or
the Last Days of a Philosopher," "Chemical and Philosophical
Researches," "On the Safety Lamp and on Flame," etc.
For of all sad words of tongue or pen,
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"
"Maud Muller,"--_John Greenleaf Whittier_.
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER, a renowned American poet, was born at
Haverhill, Massachusetts, December 17, 1807, and died at Hampton Falls,
New Hampshire, September 1892. Among his noted poems are: "Barbara
Frietchie," "Skipper Ireson's Ride," "Snow-Bound," "Maud Muller," "My
Playmate," "Laus Deo," "My Birthday," and "The Tent on the Beach."
A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify;
A never dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.
"Christian Fidelity,"--_Charles Wesley_.
CHARLES WESLEY, a famous English clergyman and poet, was born at
Epworth, Lincolnshire, December 18, 1708, and died in London, March 29,
1788. He was called "the poet of Methodism," but many of his beautiful
hymns are used in all denominations of the Protestant church.
'Tis noon;--a calm unbroken sleep
Is on the blue waves of the deep;
A soft haze like a fairy dream,
Is floating over wood and stream;
And many a broad magnolia flower,
Within its shadowy woodland bower,
Is gleaming like a lovely star.
"To An Absent Wife," St. 2,--_George D. Prentice_.
GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE, a distinguished American journalist, poet, and
author, was born at Preston, Conn., December 18, 1802, and died January
22, 1870. He published in 1860, "Prenticeana" a collection of pointed
paragraphs. His other works are: "Life of Henry Clay," and "Poems."
There is no to-morrow; though before our face the shadow named so
stretches, we always fail to o'ertake it, hasten as we may.
--_Margaret J. Preston_.
MARGARET JUNKIN PRESTON, a celebrated American author, was born in
Philadelphia, Pa., December 19 (?), 1825, and died in 1897. She has
written: "Silverwood" (a novel), "Old Songs and New," "Cartoons,"
"Beechen-brook," "Colonial Ballads," "For Love's Sake," "Aunt Dorothy,"
etc.
Man is his own star; and that soul that can
Be honest is the only perfect man.
Upon an "Honest Man's Fortune,"--_John Fletcher_.
JOHN FLETCHER, the renowned English dramatist, was born in Rye, Sussex,
December 20 (?), 1579 and died in London, August, 1625. A few of his
famous plays are: "The Wild Goose Chase," "The Loyal Subject," "Monsieur
Thomas," "The Faithful Shepherdess," "A Wife for a Month," "Wit Without
Money," "The Chances," "Bonduca," "The Mad Lover," and "Rule a Wife and
Have a Wife." His name has always been associated with that of Francis
Beaumont, and together they wrote many plays; but the beforementioned
works were written by Fletcher alone.
Whenever a snowflake leaves the sky,
It turns and turns to say "Good-by!
Good-by, dear clouds, so cool and gray!"
Then lightly travels on its way.
"Snowflakes,"--_Mary Mapes Dodge_.
MARY ELIZABETH MAPES DODGE, a noted American editor, poet and author,
was born in New York City, December 20 (?),1838, and died in 1905. She
has written: "Irvington Stories," "Along the Way" (poems), "Theophilus
and Others," "The Land of Pluck," "Donald and Dorothy," "The Golden
Gate," "Poems and Verses," and "Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates," her
most famous work.
Je crains Dieu, cher Abner, et n'ai point d'autre crainte.[1]
"Athalie," Act. i, Sc. I,--_Racine_.
JEAN BAPTISTE RACINE, the illustrious French dramatist, was born at La
Ferté-Milon, December 21, 1639, and died at Paris, April 26, 1699. His
greatest works were: "The Thebaid," "The Pleaders," "Alexander,"
"Berenice," "Bajazet," "Esther," "Athalie," "Mithridates," "Iphigenia,"
"The Chaplain's Wig," "Phædra," "Nymphs of the Seine," "Letters," and
"Abridgment of the History of Port Royal," his last dramatic work.
The world is a wheel, and it will all come round right.
"Endymion," Chap. lxx,--_Benjamin Disraeli_.
BENJAMIN DISRAELI, Lord Beaconsfield, an eminent English statesman and
novelist, was born in London, December 21, 1804, and died April 19,
1881. Among his celebrated works are: "The Young Duke," "Vivian Grey,"
"Venetia," "The Rise of Iskander," "Henrietta Temple," "The
Revolutionary Epic," "Sibyl," "Tancred," "Lothair," and "Endymion."
To be really cosmopolitan a man must be at home even in his own
country.
"Short Studies of American Authors: Henry James, Jr.,"--_T. W.
Higginson_.
THOMAS WENTWORTH HIGGINSON, a distinguished American poet, essayist and
novelist, was born in Cambridge, Mass., December 22, 1823, and died in
1911. Among his writings are: "Atlantic Essays," "Out-Door Papers," "The
Afternoon Landscape," "Life of Margaret Fuller," "Short Studies of
American Authors," "Young Folks' History of the United States,"
"Concerning All of Us," "Cheerful Yesterdays," "Old Cambridge,"
"Contemporaries," "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow," "Part of a Man's Life,"
"Life of Stephen Higginson," etc.
I have a liking old
For thee, though manifold
Stories, I know, are told
Not to thy credit.
"Ode to Tobacco,"--_Charles Stuart Calverley_.
CHARLES STUART CALVERLEY, a noted English poet and humorist, was born at
Martley, Worcestershire, December 22, 1831, and died February 17, 1884.
He wrote: "Verses and Translations," and "Society Verses."
If I had a device, it would be the true, the true only, leaving
the beautiful and the good to settle matters afterwards as best
they could.
--_C. A. Sainte-Beuve_.
CHARLES AUGUSTIN SAINTE-BEUVE, the great French literary critic, was
born at Boulogne-sur-Mer, December 23, 1804, and died at Paris, October
13, 1869. He wrote: "Literary Critiques and Portraits," "Literary
Portraits," "History of Port Royal," "Contemporary Portraits," "Picture
of French Poetry in the Sixteenth Century," "Meditations in August,"
"Consolations," "Poems," his celebrated "Monday Talks," etc.
We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often
discover what will do by finding out what will not do; and
probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.
"Self-Help,"--_Samuel Smiles_.
SAMUEL SMILES, a famous British author, was born at Haddington,
Scotland, December 23, 1812, and died, April 16, 1904. He wrote: "Lives
of the Engineers," "Industrial Biography," "James Brindley and the Early
Engineers," "Lives of Boulton and Watt," "Life of Thomas Telford," "Life
of George Stephenson," "The Life of a Scotch Naturalist" (Thomas
Edward), "Robert Dick," "George Moore," "Men of Invention and Industry,"
"Life and Labor," "A Publisher and His Friends," "Jasmin," "Josiah
Wedgwood," "History of Ireland," etc. Also, "Self-Help," "Character,"
"Thrift," and "Duty."
Her air, her manners, all who saw admir'd;
Courteous though coy, and gentle though retir'd;
The joy of youth and health her eyes display'd,
And ease of heart her every look convey'd.
"The Parish Register, Marriages," Part ii,--_George Crabbe_.
GEORGE CRABBE, a celebrated English poet, was born in Aldborough,
Suffolk, December 24, 1754, and died at Trowbridge, Wiltshire, February
3, 1832. His most famous poems are: "The Parish Register," "The
Village," "Tales in Verse," and "The Borough."
Still so gently o'er me stealing,
Mem'ry will bring back the feeling,
Spite of all my grief revealing
That I love thee,--that I dearly love thee still.
"La Sonnambula,"--_Scribe_.
AUGUSTIN EUGÈNE SCRIBE, a distinguished French dramatist, was born in
Paris, December 24, 1791, and died February 20, 1861. His collected
"Oeuvres," (76 vols. 1874-85), contains all his works.
She is fair as the spirit of light,
That floats in the ether on high.
--_Adam Mickiewicz_.
ADAM MICKIEWICZ, the most celebrated of Slavic poets, was born near
Novogròdek, Lithuania, December 24, 1798, and died at Constantinople,
November 26, 1855. Among his famous works are: "Crimean Sonnets,"
"Lectures on Slavic Literature," "The Books of the Polish People and of
the Polish Pilgrimage," the ballad, "Dziady," and three famous epics:
"Pan Tadeusz," "Conrad Wallenrod," and "Grazyna."
There is no better motto which it (culture) can have than these
words of Bishop Wilson, "To make reason and the will of God
prevail."
"Culture and Anarchy,"--_Matthew Arnold_.
MATTHEW ARNOLD, an eminent English poet, essayist and critic, was born
at Laleham, December 24, 1822, and died at Liverpool, April 15, 1888.
His principal works are: "Empedocles on Etna," "The Strayed Reveler and
Other Poems," "New Poems," "Essays in Criticism," "Lectures on the Study
of Celtic Literature," "Culture and Anarchy," "Friendship's Garland,"
"Mixed Essays," "Irish Essays," "Last Essays on Church and Religion,"
and "Discourses on America."
It is not enough to do good; one must do it the right way.
"On Compromise,"--_John Morley_.
JOHN MORLEY (VISCOUNT MORLEY), a renowned English statesman, essayist,
editor, critic and biographer, was born at Blackburn, Lancashire,
December 24, 1838. He has written: "Life of Oliver Cromwell," "Life of
Gladstone," "Life of Cobden," "Sir Robert Walpole," "Studies in
Literature," "Cromwell," "Literary Essays," "Notes on Politics,"
"Recollections," etc.
Well may your hearts believe the truths I tell:
'Tis virtue makes the bliss, where'er we dwell.
"Oriental Eclogues," I, Line 5,--_William Collins_.
WILLIAM COLLINS, a celebrated English poet, was born in Chichester,
December 25, 1721, and died there, June 12, 1759. His principal works
were: "Ode to Evening," "The Passions," "Ode on the Death of Thomson,"
and the "Dirge to Cymbeline."
Who dares this pair of boots displace,
Must meet Bombastes face to face.
"Bombastes Furioso," Act I, Sc. 4,--_William Barnes Rhodes_.
WILLIAM BARNES RHODES, a noted English dramatic writer, was born
December 25, 1772, and died November 1, 1826. He wrote: "The Satires of
Juvenal, Translated into English Verse," "Epigrams," and his famous
burlesque, "Bombastes Furioso."
The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,
The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,
The ploughman homeward plods his weary way,
And leaves the world to darkness and to me.
"Elegy in a Country Churchyard,"--_Thomas Gray_.
THOMAS GRAY, the renowned English poet, was born at Cornhill, London,
December 26, 1716, and died at Cambridge, July 24, 1771. He wrote: "Ode
to Adversity," "Progress of Poesy," "The Bard," "Ode on a Distant
Prospect of Eton College," and his most famous work, "Elegy in a Country
Churchyard."
It may well wait a century for a reader, as God has waited six
thousand years for an observer.
"Martyrs of Science" (Brewster),--_John Kepler_.
JOHANNES KEPLER, a German astronomer of great fame, was born at Weil,
Würtemberg, December 27, 1571, and died at Ratisbon, November 15, 1630.
His most famous work was: "New Astronomy, with Commentaries on the
Motions of Mars."
Among men of letters Lowell is doubtless most typically American,
though Curtis must find an eligible place in the list. Lowell was
self-conscious, though the truest greatness is not; he was a
trifle too "smart," besides, and there is no "smartness" in great
literature. But both the self consciousness and the smartness must
be admitted to be American; and Lowell was so versatile, so
urbane, of so large a spirit, and so admirable in the scope of his
sympathies, that he must certainly go on the calendar.
"Mere Literature and Other Essays,"--_Woodrow Wilson_.
WOODROW WILSON, a famous American educator and author, and twenty-eighth
President of the United States, was born at Staunton, Va., December 28,
1856, and died at Washington, D. C., February 3, 1924. His works
include: "Congressional Government: A Study of American Politics," "The
State: Elements of Historical and Practical Politics," "Division and
Reunion," "Epochs of American History," "An Old Master, and Other
Political Essays," "Mere Literature and Other Essays," "George
Washington," "A History of the American People," "Constitutional
Government in the United States," "The New Freedom," "When a Man Comes
to Himself," "On Being Human."
Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.
"Speech," Hawarden, May 28, 1890,--_William E. Gladstone_.
WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE, the eminent English statesman, essayist, and
translator from the classics, was born in Liverpool, December 29, 1809,
and died in 1898. His works include: "Studies in Homer and the Homeric
Age," "Church and State," "Juventus Mundi," "Homeric Synchronism,"
"Gleanings of Past Years," etc.
The tumult and the shouting dies,--
The Captains and the Kings depart,--
Still stands thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
"Recessional,"--_Rudyard Kipling_.
RUDYARD KIPLING, a renowned English short-story writer, poet, and
novelist, was born at Bombay, India, December 30, 1865. Among his
writings are: "Life's Handicap," "Mine Own People," "Many Inventions,"
"Soldiers Three," "The Light That Failed," "The Seven Seas," "Barrack
Room Ballads," "The Jungle Books," "Captains Courageous," "The Day's
Work," "Stalky and Co.," "Just So Stories for Little Children," "Kim,"
"The Five Nations," "Traffics and Discoveries," "Puck of Pook's Hill,"
"Actions and Reactions," "Rewards and Fairies," "The Harbour Watch" (a
play), "The New Armies in Training," "France at War," "Fringes of the
Fleet," "A Diversity of Creatures," "The Years Between," etc.
Die Todten reiten schnell.[2]
"Lenore,"--_Bürger_.
GOTTFRIED AUGUST BÜRGER, an eminent German poet, was born at
Molmerswende, near Ballenstedt, Anhalt, December 31, 1747 (or January 1,
1748), and died in Göttingen, June 8, 1794. He wrote: "The Parson's
Daughter," "The Wild Huntsman," "The Song of the Brave Man," "Kaiser and
Abbot," "The Robber Count," "The Wives of Weinsberg," and his most
famous ballad, "Lenore."
"Isn't God upon the ocean
Just the same as on the land?"
"The Tempest,"--_James Thomas Fields_.
JAMES THOMAS FIELDS, a noted American publisher and author, was born at
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, December 31, 1817, and died in Boston, April
24, 1881. He published: "Underbrush," "Yesterdays with Authors," etc.
In winter, when the dismal rain
Comes down in slanting lines,
And Wind, that grand old harper, smote
His thunder-harp of pines.
"A Life Drama," Sc. ii,--_Alexander Smith_.
ALEXANDER SMITH, a famous Scottish poet, was born in Kilmarnock,
December 31, 1830, and died at Wardie, near Edinburgh, January 5, 1867.
Among his poetical works are: "City Poems," "Edwin of Deira," and "A
Life Drama," his most famous work. His prose works include: "Miss Oona
McQuarrie," "Alfred Hagart's Household," "Dreamthorpe," "A Summer in
Skye," etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] I fear God, dear Abner, and I have no other fear.
[2] The dead ride swiftly.
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
A bad neighbour is as great a misfortune as a good one is a great
blessing.
"Works and Days," Line 346,--_Hesiod_.
HESIOD, a renowned Greek poet, born at Ascra in Boeotia, and lived in
the ninth century (?), B.C. Among his writings are the: "Theogony,"
"Works and Days," "The Shield of Hercules," etc.
"The Homeric Poems are the earliest literary product of the world
which has survived to our day, and they lie at the fountain-head
of all the later literature of Europe."
HOMER, the greatest of epic poets, author of the "Iliad" and "Odyssey."
The date of his birth has never been known, but is generally set at the
eighth or ninth century B.C.
The fox said the grapes were sour.
--_Æsop_.
ÆSOP, a famous Greek fabulist, lived in the seventh century, B.C.
Procure not friends in haste, and when thou hast a friend part not
with him in haste.
--_Solon_.
SOLON, the renowned Athenian legislator, lived about 638-559 B.C. The
constitution which he gave to Athens, made him famous.
What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon also be
beautiful.
--_Sappho_.
SAPPHO, a celebrated Greek poet, was born in the Island of Lesbos, about
612 B.C. Little is known of her life. Only fragments of her poems
remain. We have in complete form a "Hymn to Aphrodite" and an "Ode to a
Beautiful Girl."
Wine is wont to show the mind of man.
"Maxims," Line 500,--_Theognis_.
THEOGNIS OF MEGARA, a famous Greek elegiac poet, flourished in the
latter half of the sixth century B.C. Over one thousand of his verses
have come down to our time.
With the exception of Heraclitus, Parmenides is the greatest of
the pre-Socratic Greek thinkers.
--_Parmenides_.
PARMENIDES, a celebrated Greek philosopher of the fifth century B.C.,
was born at Elea in Southern Italy. He wrote one famous work on
philosophy entitled: "On Nature." It was divided into three sections,
"Proem," "Truth," and "Opinion," but only fragments of this work have
come down to our time.
A lip like Persuasion's calling on us to kiss it.
--_Anacreon_.
ANACREON, a famous lyric poet, of Greece, was born at Teos, in Ionia,
562 (?) B.C., and died 477 B.C. A few of his authentic compositions have
come down to our times.
We count it death to falter, not to die.
Jacobs I. 63, 20,--_Simonides_.
SIMONIDES, a renowned Greek lyric poet, was born in the Island of Ceos
about 556 B.C., and died about 468 B.C. Some of his famous "Epigrams,"
have come down to our times.
By nature men are nearly alike; by practice they get to be wide
apart.
--_Confucius_.
CONFUCIUS, the head of Chinese religious and social philosophy, was born
about 551 B.C., and died 478 B.C. He wrote: "Analects," etc., and is
credited with having compiled the "Ancient Poems." His last work is
called "Annals of Lee" or "Spring and Autumn."
Much knowledge of things divine escapes us through want of faith.
--_Heraclitus_.
HERACLITUS, a renowned Greek philosopher, born in Ephesus, about 535
B.C., died about 475 B.C.
Time as he grows old teaches many lessons.
"Prometheus," 981,--_Æschylus_.
ÆSCHYLUS, the greatest of the Greek dramatists, was born at Eleusis,
Attica, 525 B.C., and died at Gela, Sicily, 456 B.C. Of his numerous
works only seven tragedies remain, "The Suppliants," "The Persians,"
"The Seven Against Thebes," "Prometheus Bound," "Agamemnon,"
"Choephori," and "Eumenides."
He is gifted with genius who knoweth much by natural talent.
--_Pindar_.
PINDAR, the greatest of the Greek lyric poets, was born at Cynoscephalæ
near Boeotian Thebes, 522 B.C., and died at Argos, about 450 B.C. The
Alexandrine scholars divided his poems into 17 books, comprising Hymns,
Pæans, Dithyrambs, Encomia, and Songs of Victory.
Fortune is not on the side of the faint-hearted.
--_Sophocles_.
SOPHOCLES, the great Greek tragic poet, was born at Colonus near Athens,
about 495 B.C.; and died about 405 B.C. His seven great tragedies are:
"Antigone," "Electra," "Ajax," "Trachiniæ," "Philoctetes," "Oedipus
Tyrannus," and "Oedipus at Colonus."
The saying "Call no man happy before he dies" was ascribed to
Solon.
--_Herodotus_, I, 32.
HERODOTUS, "The Father of History," was born at Halicarnassus, in Caria,
about 490 B.C., and died at Thurii, in Magna Græcia, between 428 B.C.
and 426 B.C. His "Exposition of History" in nine books, won for him
everlasting fame.
Moderation, the noblest gift of Heaven.
"Medea," 636,--_Euripides_.
EURIPIDES, a great Greek tragic poet, was born at Athens, about 480
B.C., and died about 406 B.C. Nineteen of his dramas have come down to
our time: "Alcestis," "Andromache," "Hecube," "Bacchæ," "Helena,"
"Electra," "Heraclidæ," "The Mad Hercules," "The Suppliants,"
"Hippolytus," "Iphigenia at Tauris," "Ion," "Iphigenia at Aulis,"
"Medea," "Orestes," "Rhesus," "The Trojan Women," "The Phoenissæ," and
"Cyclops."
Extreme remedies are very appropriate for extreme diseases.
Aphorism i,--_Hippocrates_.
HIPPOCRATES, a noted Greek philosopher and writer, termed the "Father of
Medicine," was born according to Soranus, in Cos, in the first year of
the 80th Olimpiad, i.e., in 460 B.C. The earliest Greek edition of the
Hippocratic writings is that which was published by Aldus and Asulanus
at Venice in 1526.
You think that upon the score of fore-knowledge and divining I am
infinitely inferior to the swans. When they perceive approaching
death they sing more merrily than before, because of the joy they
have in going to the God they serve.
"In Phaedo," 77,--_Socrates_.
SOCRATES, the renowned Athenian philosopher, was born at Athens, about
470 B.C., and died 399 B.C. He left no writings, but his philosophical
method and his teaching are to be found in the works of his
contemporaries and disciples.
Envy doth merit like its shade pursue.
--_Aristophanes_.
ARISTOPHANES, the greatest of the Greek writers of comedy, (448-380
B.C.), was born at Athens. Only eleven of his 44 plays have come down to
us. They are: "The Knights," "The Clouds," "The Wasps," "The
Acharnians," "The Peace," "The Lyristrate," "The Birds," "The
Thesmophoriazusæ," "The Frogs," "The Ecclesiazusæ," and "Plutus."
Trees and fields tell me nothing, men are my teachers.
--_Plato_.
PLATO, the renowned Greek philosopher, was born at Athens, about 427
B.C., and died there 347 B.C. Among his famous dialogues are: "Apology,"
"Lysis," "Charmides," "Laches," "Protagoras," "Meno," "Gorgias," "Io,"
"Euthyphro," "Crito," "Phædrus," "The Sophist," "The Politician,"
"Parmenides," "Symposium," "Phædo," "The Republic," "The Laws," etc.
Excess of grief for the deceased is madness; for it is an injury
to the living, and the dead know it not.
--_Xenophon_.
XENOPHON, a famous Greek author, was born at Athens, about 430 B.C., and
died in Corinth, about 355 B.C. He is the author of: "Encomium of
Agesilaus," "Horsemanship," "Hipparchicus," "Cynegeticus," "Cyropædeia,"
"Lacedæmonian Polity," "Hieron," "Athenian Finance," "Symposium,"
"Apology of Socrates," "Oeconomicus," and his most celebrated works,
the "Hellenics" and "Anabasis."
Our Theocritus, our Bion,
And our Pindar's shining goals!--
These were cup-bearers undying,
Of the wine that's meant for souls.
"Wine of Cyprus,"--_E. B. Browning_.
THEOCRITUS, the greatest of Greek bucolic poets, lived in the first half
of the third century B.C. Thirty-one of his idyls and pastorals and a
number of his epigrams have been preserved.
No excellent soul is exempt from a mixture of madness.
--_Aristotle_.
ARISTOTLE, the most renowned of Greek philosophers, was born at Stagira,
Macedonia, 384 B.C., and died at Chalcis, Euboea, 322 B.C. He wrote
numerous treatises on philosophy.
There is one safeguard known generally to the wise, which is an
advantage and security to all, but especially to democracies as
against despots. What is it? Distrust.
"Philippic 2," Sect. 24,--_Demosthenes_.
DEMOSTHENES, a renowned Athenian orator, was born about 384 B.C., and
died at Calauria, 322 B.C. Besides his numerous orations, he wrote the
"Olynthiacs" and the "Philippics," and his great speech, "On the
Crown."
Amnesty, that noble word, the genuine dictate of wisdom.
--_Æschines_.
ÆSCHINES, a great Athenian orator, rival of Demosthenes, lived 389-314
B.C.
A good man never dies.
"Epigrams," X,--_Callimachus_.
CALLIMACHUS, a renowned Greek poet, born in Cyrene, flourished in the
third century B.C. Besides his tragedies, comedies, elegies and hymns,
he wrote the epics, "Hecale" and "Galatea," a "Hymn to Jupiter," and an
"Epitaph on Heracleitus."
Patience is the best remedy for every trouble.
"Rudens," Act II, Sc. 5, 71,--_Plautus_.
TITUS MACCIUS PLAUTUS, a celebrated Roman comic poet, was born at
Sarsina in Umbria, about 254 B.C., and died at Rome about 184 B.C. His
"Captives" has been declared "the best constructed drama in existence."
Buy not what you need, but what you must have; what you do not
need is dear at a penny.
--_Cato_.
MARCUS PORCIUS CATO, THE CENSOR, a famous Roman statesman and
pamphleteer (234-149 B.C.) He wrote many tractates on different
subjects, but only one of them, "On Farming," has come down to our
times. Of "Beginnings" we have only a few fragments.
"Polybius of Megalopolis in Arcadia must rank as the third Greek
historian, Herodotus and Thucydides being first and second."
POLYBIUS, a celebrated Greek historian, was born at Megalopolis in
Arcadia, 204 B.C., and died 122 B.C. His "Histories," won for him great
fame.
The quarrels of lovers are the renewal of love.
"Andria," Act III, Sc. 3, 23,--_Terence_.
TERENCE, the renowned Latin writer of comedy, was born at Carthage,
about 185 B.C., and died about 159 B.C. Among his writings are:
"Andria," "Hecyra," "Heautontimorumenos," "Eunuchus," "Phormio," and
"Adelphi."
While the sick man has life there is hope.
"Epistolarum ad Atticum,"--_Cicero_.
MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO, the prince of Roman orators, a distinguished
writer on philosophy, rhetoric, morals, etc., was born at Arpinum, 106
B.C., and died 43 B.C. Among his treatises on the art of oratory are:
"The Orator, to Marcus Brutus," "Of the Orator," and "Brutus, or of
Illustrious Orators." His philosophical writings include: "The
Academics," "Tusculan Disputations," "Of Definitions of Good and Evil."
Of discussions of moral questions, we have the practical treatise, "Of
Mutual Offices." Theological questions are examined in the two
treatises, "Of Divinations" and "Of the Nature of the Gods"; also the
treatises, "Of Old Age," "Of Friendship," "Of Consolation." The letters
of Cicero are extant to the number of 864, under the titles: "To
Intimate Friends" (16 books), "To Atticus" (also 16 books), "To
Quintus," his brother, (3 books), and "Correspondence with M. Brutus"
(in 2 books).
Wine and other luxuries have a tendency to enervate the mind and
make men less brave in battle.
--_Cæsar_.
CAIUS JULIUS CÆSAR, the great Roman general and writer of memoirs, was
probably born about 100 B.C.; killed March 15, 44 B.C. Besides his
famous "Commentaries," he wrote a grammatical treatise, "On Analogy,"
but it has not come down to our times.
What is food to one man may be fierce poison to others.
"De Rerum Natura," IV, 637,--_Lucretius_.
TITUS LUCRETIUS CARUS, a renowned Roman poet, was born about 98 B.C.,
and died 55 B.C. His one work, "On Nature," in six books, is considered
one of the greatest of Latin didactic poems.
I hate and love--the why I cannot tell But by my tortures know the
fact too well.
"Two Chords," (translation of Sir Theodore Martin),--_Catullus_.
CAIUS VALERIUS CATULLUS, the greatest of Roman lyric poets, was born at
Verona, 84 B.C., and died 54 B.C. A number of his compositions have come
down to our time, The most celebrated are those "To Lesbia," "The Boat,"
and "Address to Himself."
Numero deus impare gaudet. (The god delights in odd numbers.)
"Eclogæ," 8, p. 75,--_Virgil_.
VIRGIL, the greatest of Roman epic poets, was born at Andes near Mantua,
October 5, 70 B.C., and died at Brundisium, September 21, 19 B.C. He
wrote the "Georgics," "Bucolics," and the epic, "The Æneid," in 12
books.
If you wish me to weep, you yourself must feel grief.
"Ars Poetica," 102,--_Horace_.
HORACE (QUINTUS HORATIUS FLACCUS), the great Latin lyric poet, was born
at Venusia, Italy, December 8, 65 B.C., and died at Rome November 27, 8
B.C. He wrote: "Satires," "Epodes," "Odes," and his famous "Epistles."
Wit is the flower of the imagination.
--_Livy_.
LIVY, the great Roman historian, was born at Patavium (Padua), 59 B.C.,
and died there A.D. 17. He wrote the "History of Rome from the Founding
of the City," in 142 "books," many of which have been lost.
Perjuria ridet amantum Jupiter.[1]
--_Tibullus_.
ALBIUS TIBULLUS, a renowned Roman poet, was born about 54 B.C., and died
probably in 19 B.C. Three books of his elegies have come down to us.
Qua pote quisque in ca conterat diem.[2]
--_Propertius_.
SEXTUS PROPERTIUS, the great Roman elegiac poet, was born at Aassisium,
about 50 B.C., and died about 15 B.C. His poems consist of four books.
In my opinion, he only may be truly said to live, and enjoy his
being, who is engaged in some laudable pursuit and acquire a name
by some illustrious action or useful art.
--_Sallust_.
SALLUST, a famous Roman historian, was born about 86 B.C., and died at
Rome, about 34 B.C. He wrote: "The Conspiracy of Catiline," and "The
History of the War Against Jugurtha."
A good man possesses a kingdom.
"Thyestes," 380,--_Seneca_.
LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA, an illustrious Roman philosopher, was born at
Corduba, in Spain, about the year 4 B.C., and died A.D. 65. Many of his
writings have come down to our time, among them 124 "Epistles to
Lucilius," containing exhortations to the practice of virtue: "On
Providence," "Anger," "Of Benefits," and "Natural History Questions,"
also, several tragedies, among them, "Phædra," "Thyestes," and "Medea."
Habit is stronger than nature.
--_Quintus Curtius Rufus_.
QUINTUS CURTIUS RUFUS a notable Eoman historian, was born about the
first century A.D. He is the author of "De Rebus Gestis Alexandri Magni"
(Deeds of Alexander the Great), in ten books, the first two of which are
lost.
The best plan is, as the common proverb has it, to profit by the
folly of others.
Natural History, Book xviii, Sect. 31,--_Pliny the Elder_.
PLINY THE ELDER, a celebrated Roman compiler of encyclopædic knowledge,
was born at Novum Comum, (Como), A.D. 23; and died A.D. 79. He wrote: "A
Natural History" in 37 books, compiled from more than 2,000 volumes.
Hunger is the teacher of the arts and the bestower of invention.
--_Persius_.
AULUS PERSIUS FLACCUS, a famous Latin satiric poet, was born at
Volaterræ in Etruria, 34 A.D., and died A.D. 62. He wrote six satires,
and they are all extant.
A liar should have a good memory.
"Institutionis Oratoriæ," iv, 2, 91,--_Quintilian_.
QUINTILIAN, the famous Roman rhetorician, was born about A.D. 35, at
Calagurris (Calahorra), Spain, and died about A.D. 95 or 96. His great
work, "Institutionis Oratoriæ," is one of the most renowned classical
works on rhetoric.
Alta sedent civilis vulnera dextræ.[3]
"Pharsalia," I, 32,--_Lucan_.
MARCUS ANNAEUS LUCANUS (LUCAN), a celebrated Latin poet, was born at
Cordova, Spain, A.D. 39, and died at Rome, A.D. 65. He is best known by
his epic poem, "Pharsalia."
Quid crastina volveret ætas,
Scire nefos homini.[4]
"Thebaid," III. 562,--_Statius_.
PUBLIUS PAPINIUS STATIUS, a famous Roman poet, was born at Naples, about
A.D. 45, and died there, about A.D. 96. His chief work is, "The
Thebaid," an epic poem in twelve books.
Difficulties are things that show what men are.
"Discourses," Chap. xxiv,--_Epictetus_.
EPICTETUS, a celebrated Greek Stoic philosopher, was born at Hierapolis
in Phrygia, about A.D. 50. No works of his have come down to our time,
but his maxims were collected and published in the "Encheiridion," or
Handbook, and the "Commentaries" in eight books.
The gods looked with favour on superior courage.
--_Tacitus_.
PUBLIUS CORNELIUS TACITUS, a great Latin historian, was born about A.D.
54. He wrote the dialogue "De Oratoribus," the "Annals," the "Agricola,"
the "Germania," ("On the Manners of the Germans"), and his "History."
No man ever became extremely wicked all at once.
"Satire ii," 83,--_Juvenal_.
JUVENAL, the renowned Latin poet, was born at Aquinum, about A.D. 60,
and died about A.D. 140. Sixteen of his famous satires are extant.
Never do a thing concerning the rectitude of which you are in
doubt.
"Letters," Letter xviii, 5,--_Pliny the Younger_.
PLINY THE YOUNGER, a noted Roman orator, nephew of Pliny the Elder, was
born at Comum, A.D. 61, and died about 113. Of his numerous forensic
works, only one oration is extant, "The Panegyric," also his "Letters."
To conduct great matters and never commit a fault is above the
force of human nature.
"Life of Fabius,"--_Plutarch_.
PLUTARCH, the celebrated Greek moralist, practical philosopher, and
biographer was born at Chæronea in Boeotia. The year of his birth and
death are not known, but he was very old at the death of Trajan, A.D.
117. He wrote: "Parallel Lives," and many "Moral Treatises," including
"The Education of Children," "The Right Way of Hearing," "Precepts About
Health," "Cessation of Oracles," "The Pythian Responses," "The Retarded
Vengeance of the Deity," "The Dæmon of Socrates," "The Virtues of
Women," "On the Fortune of the Romans," "Political Counsels," "On
Superstition," "On Isis and Osiris," "On the Pace of the Moon's Disk,"
"On the Opinions Accepted by the Philosophers."
A boy of five years old serene and gay,
Unpitying Hades hurried me away.
Yet weep not for Callimachus: if few
The days I lived, few were my sorrows too.
--_Lucian_.
LUCIAN, the celebrated Greek satirist, was born at Samosata, in northern
Syria, about 120 A.D., and died about 200 A.D. Among his writings are:
"Praise of Demosthenes," "Dialogues of the Gods," "Dialogues of the Sea
Gods," "Dialogues of the Dead," "The True History," "Lucius; or The
Ass," "Death of Peregrinus," "The Fisherman," "The Sea Voyage, or
Votive Offerings," "The Sale of Lives," "Alexander, or The False
Prophet," "Hermotimus," etc.
Neither fear, nor wish for, your last day.
Epigram x, 47.13,--_Martial_.
MARTIAL, a famous Latin poet, was born at Bilbilis, Spain, A.D. 50 (?),
and died in Spain, 102 (?). His fame rests upon his "Epigrams" in
fifteen books.
Suetonius says of the Emperor Titus: "Once at supper, reflecting
that he had done nothing for any that day, he broke out into that
memorable and justly admired saying, 'My friends, I have lost a
day!'"
"Lives of Twelve Cæsars" (Translation by Alexander
Thomson),--_Suetonius_.
SUETONIUS, a famous Latin chronicler, grammarian, and critic, flourished
in the early part of the second century of our era. His works include:
"Distinguished Orators," "Illustrious Grammarians," "Lives of the
Cæsars," etc.
When I am at Rome I fast as the Romans do; when I am at Milan I do
not fast. So likewise you, whatever church you come to, observe
the custom of the place, if you would neither give offence to
others, nor take offence from them.
"Advice to St. Austin on Sabbath Keeping,"--_St. Ambrose_.
SAINT AMBROSE, one of the fathers of the Latin Church, born at Trèves,
Gaul, probably A.D. 340, died at Milan, April 4, A.D. 397. His writings
include: "Of the Duties of the Clergy," "Hexæmeron," hymns, etc. He
became bishop of Milan in 374.
Socrates said, "Those who want fewest things are nearest to the
gods."
"Socrates," XI,--_Diogenes Laertius_.
DIOGENES LAERTIUS, a famous Greek compiler of anecdotes, flourished
about A.D. 200-250, a native of Lærte in Cilicia. He wrote a collection
of notes and memoranda (in 10 books), "On the Lives, Teachings, and
Sayings of Famous Men."
None can injure him, who does not injure himself.
--_Chrysostom_.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, a noted Greek Church father, born in Antioch,
Syria, 350 (?), and died at Comana, 407. His works, comprising homilies,
commentaries, liturgies, epistles, etc., can be found in 13 volumes,
fol. (1718).
Quis legem det amantibus? Major lex amor est sibi.[5]
--_Boëthius_.
BOËTHIUS, a famous Roman didactic poet and statesman, was born between
470 and 475, and died about 525. His celebrated "Consolation of
Philosophy" won for him lasting fame.
Heav'n but the Vision of fulfill'd Desire,
And Hell the Shadow of a Soul on fire.
"Rubáiyát," Stanza lxvii,--_Omar Khayyám_.
OMAR KHAYYÁM, a celebrated Persian poet, mathematician, and astronomer,
was born at Nishapur, in 1050 (?), and died there in 1123 (?). His fame
rests on the "Rubáiyát," or "Quatrains,"--four-line stanzas with the
third unrhymed. Fitzgerald's was the first English translation to make
these quatrains widely known.
"Abélard was almost the first who awakened mankind in the ages of
darkness to a sympathy with intellectual excellence ... Abélard
was the first of recorded name, who taught the banks of the Seine
to resound a tale of love; and it was of Eloïse that he sang."
PIERRE ABÉLARD, a famous French scholastic philosopher and theologian,
was born near Nantes, 1079, and died April 21, 1142. His romantic and
tragic love for Héloïse is told in his "Story of My Misfortunes."
Jesu! the very Thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast,
But sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy presence rest.
"Saint Bernard's Hymn,"--_Bernard of Clairvaux_.
BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX, ST. BERNARD, a renowned French theologian, church
father, and saint, was born at Fontaines, near Dijon, in 1091, and died
at Clairvaux, January 12, 1153. He wrote five books on "Reflection," and
his famous hymn, "Jesu, the Very Thought of Thee," is popular in the
churches of our day.
"Unless the spirit of wisdom and understanding had been with me
and filled me, I had never been able to construct so long a work
in such a difficult metre."
--_Bernard of Cluny_.
BERNARD OF CLUNY, a famous French monk and poet, who flourished in the
twelfth century, is best known for his noted work, "On Contempts of the
World."
"If St. Francis had been less of a poet, he would have been less
of a saint."
ST. FRANCIS D'ASSISI, a renowned Italian preacher, and poet, founder of
the Franciscan order, was born at Assisi in Umbria, Italy, 1182, and
died October 12, 1226. The most famous of his hymns is the "Canticle of
the Sun."
He who learns the rules of wisdom, without conforming to them in
his life, is like a man who laboured in his fields, but did not
sow.
--_Sadi_.
SADI, one of the greatest of Persian poets, was born at Shiraz, in 1184,
and died in 1291 (?). He wrote: "Bustán," or "The Fruit Garden," and
"Gulistán," or "The Rose Garden," also his "Divan."
The best perfection of a religious man is to do common things in a
perfect manner. A constant fidelity in small things is a great and
heroic virtue.
--_St. Bonaventura_.
SAINT BONAVENTURA, an Italian theologian and scholar of great fame, was
born at Bagnarea, 1221, and died in 1274. His real name was Giovanni di
Fidenza. He wrote: "Life of Saint Francis," "Progress of the Mind
Towards God," etc.
"To an absolute purity of life, St. Thomas added an earnest love
of truth and of labor."
THOMAS AQUINAS, a great mediæval theologian and philosopher, was born at
Aquino in the kingdom of Naples, about 1225, and died at Fossa Nuova,
March 7, 1274. Among his works are: "Sum of Catholic Belief Against the
Heathen," "Exposition of All the Epistles of St. Paul," and his most
famous work, the "Sum of Theology."
No greater grief than to remember days Of joy when misery is at
hand.
"Divine Comedy," Canto V, Line 121,--_Dante_.
DANTE ALIGHIERI, the greatest of Italian poets, was born in Florence
1265, and died in Ravenna, September 14, 1321. He wrote: the "New Life,"
the "Banquet," and the "Divine Comedy."
O, marvelous power of the Divine seed, which overpowers the strong
man armed, softens obdurate hearts, and changes into divine men
those who were brutalized in sin, and removed to an infinite
distance from God.
--_John Wyclif_.
JOHN WYCLIF, a renowned scholar, was born near Richmond, England, about
1324, and died December 31, 1384. His great work was the translation of
the entire Bible into English.
Who that well his warke beginneth,
The rather a good ende he winneth.
"Confessio Amantis,"--_Gower_.
JOHN GOWER, a noted English poet, was born in Kent in 1325 (?), and died
in London in August (or September), 1408. Among his works are: "Voice of
One Crying" (Vox Clamantis), "Mirror of Meditation" (Speculum
Meditantis), and "Lover's Confession" (Confessio Amantis).
Full wise is he that can himselven knowe.
"The Monkes Tale,"--_Geoffrey Chaucer_.
GEOFFREY CHAUCER, the father of English poetry, was born in London (?),
1328 or 1340, and died there October 25, 1400. He wrote: "Troilus and
Cressida," "The Parliament of Fowles," "Boke of the Duchesse," "The
House of Fame," "The Legend of Good Women," and his most famous work,
"Canterbury Tales."
Man proposes, but God disposes.
"Imitation of Christ," Book I, Chap. 19,--_Thomas à Kempis_.
THOMAS À KEMPIS, a renowned German mystic, was born at Kempen, near
Cologne in 1380, and died in 1471. He was the author of the "Imitation
of Christ," which is said to be the most popular book in the world, with
the exception of the Bible.
"The one certain thing about Sir Thomas Malory is, that
he wrote the first and finest romance of chivalry in our
common-tongue,--the 'Morte d'Arthur.'"
SIR THOMAS MALORY, the British author of the renowned "Morte d'Arthur,"
was born about 1430, and died after 1470.
"If Froissart, by his picturesque descriptions, and fertility of
historical _invention_, may be reckoned the Livy of France, she
had her Tacitus in Philippe de Comines."
PHILIPPE DE COMINES, a celebrated French chronicler, was born at
Comines, about 1445, and died at the Château of Argenton, October 17,
1510. His famous "Memoirs" won for him great fame.
I know everything except myself.
"Autre Ballade," i,--_François Villon_.
FRANÇOIS VILLON, a renowned French poet, was born in 1431, and died 1460
(?). He wrote: "The Greater Testament," and the "Smaller Testament: Its
Codicil"; a collection of poems and a volume of "Ballades."
A heart which is void of the pains of love is not heart;
A body without heart woes is nothing but clay and water.
Turn thy face away from the world to the pangs of love;
For the world of love is a world of sweetness.
"Love" (Translation of S. Robinson),--_Jami_.
'ABD-URRAHMÁN JAMI, the last of Persia's classic poets, was born in Jam,
Khorasan, in 1414, and died in May (?), 1492 or 1493. His best known
works are: "The Abode of Spring," "The Chain of Gold," "The Loves of
Joseph and Zuleika and of Mejnun and Leila."
E duobus malis minimum eligendum.[6]
"Adages,"--_Erasmus_.
DESIDERIUS ERASMUS, a renowned Dutch humanist, was born at Rotterdam,
1465 or 1467, and died July 12, 1536. He wrote a noted volume of
"Colloquies," a collection of "Adages," and a celebrated satire, "The
Praise of Folly"; besides numerous works on the ancients--Cicero,
Seneca, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Jerome, etc.; also a noted
treatise on "Free-Will."
There are few husbands whom the wife cannot win in the long run,
by patience and love.
--_Marguerite de Valois_.
MARGUERITE D'ANGOULÊME, or DE VALOIS, Queen of Navarre, and famous for
her stories, poems and letters, was born in 1492, and died in Bigorre in
1549. She is best known in literature by the celebrated "Heptameron," a
collection of tales; "Pearls of the Pearl of Princesses" (poems), and
her "Letters," which were published in 1841-42.
One inch of joy surmounts of grief a span,
Because to laugh is proper to the man.
"To the Reader,"--_François Rabelais_.
FRANÇOIS RABELAIS, the greatest of French satirists, was born at Chinon,
Touraine, about 1495, and died in 1553. His fame rests upon the two
works, "Gargantua," and "Pantagruel."
A chip of chance weigheth more than a pound of it.
Courtier's Life,--_Sir T. Wyatt_.
SIR THOMAS WYATT, a distinguished English poet and diplomatist, was born
at Arlington Castle, Kent, in 1503, and died at Sherborne, October 11,
1542. He wrote many poems, chiefly love sonnets after the Italian
manner.
Therefore, if to the goodness of nature be joined the wisdom of
the teacher, in leading young wits into a right and plain way of
learning; surely children kept up in God's fear, and governed by
His grace, may most easily be brought well to serve God and their
country, both by virtue and wisdom.
"On Gentleness in Education" (From "The Schoolmaster"),--_Roger
Ascham_.
ROGER ASCHAM, a famous English scholar and prose writer, was born at
Kirby Wiske, near Northallerton, in 1515, and died in London, December
30, 1568. His most noted works are: "Toxophilus," and "The
Schoolmaster."
Time shall make the bushes green;
Time dissolve the winter's snow;
Winds be soft, and skies serene;
Linnets sing their wonted strain:
But again
Blighted love shall never blow.
"Blighted Love" (trans., Lord Strangford), st. 3,--_Luiz de
Camoëns_.
LUIZ DE CAMOËNS, Portugal's greatest poet, was born at Lisbon, in 1524
or 1525, and died June 10, 1580. He is best known by "The Lusiads,"
which is considered the national epic of Portugal.
The stone that is rolling, can gather no moss,
Who often removeth is sure of loss.
"Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry Lessons,"
St. 46,--_Tusser_.
THOMAS TUSSER, a noted English poet was born at Rivenhall, Essex, in
1527, and died in London about 1580. He was the author of "Five Hundred
Points of Good Husbandry, United to as Many of Good Housewifery," etc.
I cannot eat but little meat,
My stomach is not good;
But sure I think that I can drink
With him that wears a hood.
"Gammer Gurton's Needle," Act. II,--_Bishop Still_.
BISHOP JOHN STILL, a celebrated English writer of comedy, was born at
Grantham, in Lincolnshire, in 1543, and died February 26, 1607. He is
reputed to be the author of "A Ryght Pithy Pleasant, and Merrie Comedy,
Intytuled Gammer Gurton's Needle."
I was so free with him as not to mince the matter.
"Don Quixote," The Author's Preface,--_Cervantes_.
CERVANTES, a renowned Spanish romancist, was born at Alcalà de Henares
in 1547, and died at Madrid, April 23, 1616. Of his many romances and
stories, his fame rests entirely on his celebrated work, "Don Quixote."
Who will not mercie unto others show,
How can he mercy ever hope to have?
Faerie Queene, Book V, Canto II, St. 42,--_Edmund Spenser_.
EDMUND SPENSER, the famous English poet, was born about 1552, and died
at London, January 13, or 16, 1599. Among his works are: "Amoretti,"
"Four Hymns," "The Shepherd's Calendar," "Astrophel," "Complaints,"
"Daphnaida," "Colin Clout's Come Home Again," and "The Faerie Queene,"
his most famous work.
If all the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd's tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee, and be thy love.
"The Nymph's Reply to the Passionate Shepherd,"--_Sir Walter
Raleigh_.
SIR WALTER RALEIGH, the celebrated English admiral, was born at Hayes in
Devonshire, in 1552, and was executed, October 29, 1618. His poems were
not published until 1814, his "Miscellaneous Writings," in 1751, and his
"Complete Works," in 1829.
Live or die, sink or swim.
"Edward I" (1584?),--_Peele_.
GEORGE PEELE, a famous English dramatist, was born in 1553 (?), and died
in 1597 (?). He wrote: "The Arraignment of Paris," "The Chronicle
History of Edward I," "The Battle of Alcazar," "The Old Wives' Tales,"
"David and Bethsabe," "Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes."
Calvin was incomparably the wisest man that ever the French Church
enjoyed.
--_Richard Hooker_.
RICHARD HOOKER, one of the greatest glories of the English Church, was
born in Exeter, in 1553, and died in 1600. Among his famous works may be
mentioned: "Ecclesiastical Polity," "The Nature and Majesty of Law,"
"Scripture and the Law of Nature," "Defence of Reason," etc.
Goe to bed with the Lambe, and rise with the Larke.
"Euphues and his England,"--_John Lyly_.
JOHN LYLY, a renowned English dramatist, was born in 1554, and died in
London, 1606. He is known principally by his two books, "Euphues, or the
Anatomy of Wit," and "Euphues and His England."
He that loves a rosy cheek,
Or a coral lip admires,
Or from star-like eyes doth seek
Fuel to maintain his fires,--
As old Time makes these decay,
So his flames must waste away.
"Disdain Returned,"--_Thomas Carew_.
THOMAS CAREW, a noted English poet, lived about 1598-1639. He wrote
numerous poems, mostly songs and odes. He also wrote a masque, "Coelum
Britannicum."
Young men think old men are fools; but old men know young men are
fools.
"All Fools," Act V, Sc. I,--_George Chapman_.
GEORGE CHAPMAN, a renowned English dramatist, and translator of Homer,
was born in Hitchin, Hertford, 1559, and died at London, May 12, 1634.
Among his comedies and tragedies are: "All Fools but the Fool," "May
Day," "Bussy d'Amboise," and "The Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron."
His version of Homer is renowned.
Though men determine, the gods do dispose; and oft times many
things fall out betweene the cup and the lip.
"Perimedes the Blacksmith" (1588),--_Greene_.
ROBERT GREENE, a celebrated English dramatist, was born in Norwich,
about 1560, and died in London, September 3, 1592. He wrote: "History of
Orlando Furioso," "Comical History of Alphonsus, King of Aragon,"
"Honorable History of Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay," "The Scottish
Historie of James IV," etc.; also two noted tracts, "Never Too Late,"
and "Greene's Groat's Worth of Wit Bought with a Million of Repentance."
Come let us kiss and part,--
Nay I have done, you get no more of me;
And I am glad, yea, glad with all my heart
That thus so clearly I myself can free.
Shake hands forever, cancel all our vows,
And when we meet at any time again,
Be it not seen, on either of our brows,
That we one jot of former love retain.
"Come Let Us Kiss and Part,"--_M. Drayton_.
MICHAEL DRAYTON, a noted English poet, was born near Atherstone in
Warwickshire, in 1563, and died in 1631. He wrote: "The Shepherd's
Garland," "Poly Olbion," his most famous work, "Sir John Oldcastle" a
drama, and "Poems Lyrick and Pastorall," including the famous "Ballad of
Agincourt."
Who ever loved that loved not at first sight.
"Hero and Leander,"--_Christopher Marlowe_.
CHRISTOPHER MARLOWE, a renowned English poet and dramatist, was born at
Canterbury, about 1564, and was killed at Deptford, June 1, 1593. He
wrote: "Tamburlaine," "The Jew of Malta," "Life and Death of Dr.
Faustus," and "Edward II," his most famous work.
Do not be troubled by Saint Bernard's saying that hell is full of
good intentions and wills.
"Spiritual Letters," Letter xii,--_Francis De Sales_.
SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES, a famous French ecclesiastic and devotional
writer, was born in 1567, and died in 1622. He wrote: "Introduction to
the Devout Life," "A Treatise on the Love of God," etc. He founded the
Order of the Visitation.
The world's a stage on which all parts are played.
"A Game of Chess," Act. V, Sc. i,--_Thomas Middleton_.
THOMAS MIDDLETON, a noted English dramatist, was born about 1570, and
died in 1627. He produced, "A Game of Chess," and with William Rowley,
"A Fair Quarrel," "The Changeling," "The Spanish Gipsy," etc.
To add to golden numbers golden numbers.
"Patient Grissell,"--_Thomas Dekker_.
THOMAS DEKKER, a famous English dramatist, was born in London, about
1570, and died after 1637. Among his plays are: "The Shoemaker's
Holiday," and "Old Fortunatus." He also wrote: "The Wonderful Year,"
"The Bachelor's Banquet," etc.
I loved thee once, I'll love no more,
Thine be the grief as is the blame;
Thou art not what thou wast before,
What reason I should be the same?
He that can love unloved again,
Hath better store of love than brain:
God send me love my debts to pay,
While unthrifts fool their love away.
"Woman's Inconstancy," St. I,--_Sir R. Ayton_.
SIR ROBERT AYTON, a notable Scottish poet, was born in his father's
castle of Kinaldie in 1570, and died in London in February, 1638. Ayton
is supposed to have been the author of "Auld Lang Syne," which was
remodeled by Burns.
Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I'll not look for wine.
"The Forest: To Celia,"--_Ben Jonson_.
BEN JONSON, a celebrated English dramatist, was born in London, in 1572
or 1573, and died August 6, 1637. He wrote two famous comedies, "Every
Man in His Humour," and "Every Man Out of His Humour," and numerous
poems.
Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right.
"To the Countess of Bedford," St. 7,--_John Donne_.
JOHN DONNE, a famous English poet and clergyman, was born in London, in
1573, and died March 31, 1631. His famous "Satires" won for him great
fame. A collection of his sermons were published in 1897.
As it fell upon a day
In the merry month of May,
Sitting in a pleasant shade
Which a grove of myrtles made.
Address to the Nightingale,--_Richard Barnfield_.
RICHARD BARNFIELD, a noted English poet, was baptized at Norbury,
Staffordshire, June 13, 1574, and died in 1627. He wrote: "The
Affectionate Shepherd," "Cynthia, with Certain Sonnets," "The Encomion
of Lady Pecunia," "The Passionate Pilgrim," etc.
Seven cities warred for Homer being dead,
Who living had no roofe to shrowd his head.
"Hierarchie of the Blessed Angells,"--_Thomas Heywood_.
THOMAS HEYWOOD, a famous English dramatic poet, was born in Lincolnshire
(?), about 1575, and died in London (?), 1650 (?). Of all his poetry and
prose his fame rests upon "A Woman Killed with Kindness," "The Wise
Woman of Hogsdon," "Love's Mistress," etc.
Death hath a thousand doors to let out life.
"A Very Woman," Act V, Sc. 4,--_Philip Massinger_.
PHILIP MASSINGER, a celebrated English dramatist, was born at Salisbury,
in 1583, and died at the Bankside, Southwark, March, 1640. Among his
famous plays are: "The Duke of Milan," "The Fatal Dowry," "A New Way to
Pay Old Debts," "A City Madam," "A Very Woman," etc.
It is always good
When a man has two irons in the fire.
"The Faithful Friends," Act I, Sc. 2,--_Francis Beaumont_.
FRANCIS BEAUMONT, a renowned English dramatist, was born in 1584, at
Grace-Dieu, Leicestershire, and died in London, March 6, 1616. He has
always been associated with John Fletcher, and together they wrote many
famous plays, among them: "The Coxcomb," "King and No King," "The
Faithful Friends," "Philaster," "The Maid's Tragedy," "The Knight of the
Burning Pestle," and "The Scornful Lady."
Diamond cut diamond.
"The Lover's Melancholy," Act I, Sc. I,--_John Ford_.
JOHN FORD, a famous English dramatist, was baptized at Islington in
Devon, April 17, 1586, and died about 1640. His best plays are: "The
Lover's Melancholy," "The Broken Heart," and "Love's Sacrifice."
Be wisely worldly, be not worldly wise.
"Emblems," Book II, Emblem 2,--_Francis Quarles_.
FRANCIS QUARLES, a celebrated English sacred poet, was born in Rumford,
Essex, in 1592, and died September, 1644. His most famous works were:
"Emblems, Divine and Moral," "Argalus and Parthenia," and the
"Enchiridion."
Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates are secretaries of Nature.
"Letters," Book ii, Letter xi,--_Howell_.
JAMES HOWELL, a noted British author, was born at Abernaut, in
Carmarthenshire, in 1594, and died in November, 1666. Of all his works,
his "Letters," the "Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ" (four volumes issued in 1645,
1647, 1650 and 1655) are best known, and his elaborate allegories are
forgotten.
Actions of the last age are like almanacs of the last year.
"The Sophy," A Tragedy,--_Sir John Denham_.
SIR JOHN DENHAM, a noted English poet, was born in Dublin, 1615, and
died in London (?), March 15 (?), 1669. He translated the "Æneid," and
produced "The Sophy," a tragedy, and "Cooper's Hill," a famous poem.
I have ever thought,
Nature doth nothing so great for great men,
As when she's pleas'd to make them lords of truth.
Integrity of life is fame's best friend,
Which nobly, beyond death shall crown the end.
The Duchess of Malfi, Act V, Sc. 5,--_John Webster_.
JOHN WEBSTER, a famous English dramatist, was born near the end of the
sixteenth century. Some of his dramas are: "The White Devil, or
Vittoria Corombona," "The Duchess of Malfi," "Appius and Virginia," and
"The Devil's Law Case."
My mind to me a kingdom is;
Such present joys therein I find,
That it excels all other bliss
That earth affords or grows by kind;
Though much I want which most would have,
Yet still my mind forbids to crave.
--_Edward Dyer_.
SIR EDWARD DYER, a noted English courtier and poet, was born at Sharpham
Park, Somersetshire, and died in 1607. He had a great reputation as a
poet among his contemporaries, but very little of his work has survived.
"My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is," is universally accepted as his.
The assembled souls of all that men held wise.
"Gondibert," Book II, Canto v. Stanza 37,--_Sir William
Davenant_.
SIR WILLIAM DAVENANT, a celebrated English poet, was born at Oxford, in
1606, and died April 7, 1668. He wrote numerous poems and plays, and
succeeded Ben Jonson as poet laureate of England. Besides his poetical
works, he wrote an epic, "Gondibert," and an opera, "The Siege of
Rhodes."
'Tis expectation makes a blessing dear;
Heaven were not heaven if we knew what it were.
"Against Fruition,"--_Sir J. Suckling_.
SIR JOHN SUCKLING, a noted English poet, was born at Whitton, Middlesex,
in 1608, and died in Paris, about 1642. He is noted for his love poems.
A complete edition of his works appeared in 1874.
When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war!
--_Nathaniel Lee_.
NATHANIEL LEE, a celebrated English dramatist, was born in 1653 (?), and
died in 1692. Among his plays are: "Nero, Emperor of Rome,"
"Theodosius," "The Rival Queens, or the Death of Alexander the Great,"
etc.
He that imposes an oath makes it,
Not he that for convenience takes it;
Then, how can any man be said
To break an oath he never made!
"Hudibras," Part II, Canto II, Line 377,--_Samuel Butler_.
SAMUEL BUTLER, a famous English satirist, was born in Strensham,
Worcestershire, 1612, and died in London, September 25, 1680. His most
important works are: "Ode to Duval," "Characters," "The Elephant in the
Moon," and "Hudibras," which won for him world-wide fame.
Whoe'er she be,
That not impossible she,
That shall command my heart and me.
"Wishes to his Supposed Mistress,"--_Richard Crashaw_.
RICHARD CRASHAW, a noted English poet, was born in London, about 1613,
and died in 1650. His poems were collected by an anonymous friend and
published under the titles of "Steps to the Temple," "Sacred Poems," and
"The Delights of the Muses."
I could not love thee, dear, so much,
Lov'd I not honour more.
"To Lucasta, on going to the Wars,"--_Richard Lovelace_.
RICHARD LOVELACE, a famous English poet and dramatist, was born in
Woolwich, Kent, in 1618, and died in 1658. He wrote: "The Scholar," a
comedy, "The Soldier," a tragedy, and "Lucasta," a volume of poems.
A mighty pain to love it is,
And 'tis a pain that pain to miss;
But of all pains, the greatest pain
It is to love, but love in vain.
--_Abraham Cowley_.
ABRAHAM COWLEY, a noted English poet and essayist, was born in London,
1618, and died at Chertsey, Surrey, July 28, 1667. He wrote: "The
Mistress," "Poems," and numerous Virgilian elegies, essays, and
love-songs.
Dear, beauteous death, the jewel of the just!
Shining nowhere but in the dark;
What mysteries do lie beyond thy dust,
Could man outlook that mark!
"They Are All Gone,"--_Henry Vaughan_.
HENRY VAUGHAN, a celebrated British poet, known as "The Silurist," was
born in Newton, Brecknockshire, Wales, in 1621, and died in April, 1695.
His works are: "Olor Iscanus: Select Poems," "The Bleeding Heart,"
"Ejaculations," "The Mount of Olives; or Solitary Devotions," and
"Thalia Rediviva."
God helps those who help themselves.
"Discourses on Government," Ch. II, Pt. xxiii,--_Algernon
Sidney_.
ALGERNON SIDNEY, a noted English republican patriot, was born at
Penshurst, Kent, in 1622 (?), and died in London, December 7, 1683. His
"Discourses on Government" appeared in 1698.
Fortune is always on the side of the largest battalions.
"Letters," 202,--_Mme. de Sévigné_.
MARIE DE RABUTIN-CHANTAL, MARQUISE DE SÉVIGNÉ, a celebrated French
letter-writer, was born at Paris, in 1626, and died at the Castle of
Grignan, in Dauphiné, April 18, 1696. The best edition of her "Letters"
appeared in 1818-19.
Let free, impartial men from Dryden learn
Mysterious secrets, of a high concern,
And weighty truths, solid convincing sense,
Explain'd by unaffected eloquence.
"On Mr. Dryden's Religio Laici,"--_Earl of Roscommon_.
WENTWORTH DILLON, EARL OF ROSCOMMON, a noted Irish poet, was born in
1630, and died January 21, 1685. His reputation as a didactic writer and
critic rests on his blank verse translation of Horace's "Ars Poetica,"
and "Essays on Translated Verse."
Great families of yesterday we show,
And lords, whose parents were the Lord knows who.
"The True-Born Englishman," Part I, Line I,--_Daniel Defoe_.
DANIEL DEFOE, the famous author of "Robinson Crusoe," was born in St.
Giles Parish, Cripplegate, in 1660 or 1661, and died near London, in
1731. Among his works are: "The Storm," "Apparition of Mrs. Veal,"
"Robinson Crusoe," "Further Adventures of Robinson Crusoe," "King of
Pirates," "Duncan Campbell," "Mr. Campbell's Pacquet," "Memoirs of a
Cavalier," "Captain Singleton," "Moll Flanders," "The Highland Rogue,"
"Colonel Jacque," "Cartouche," "John Sheppard," "Account of Jonathan
Wild," etc.
To die is landing on some silent shore
Where billows never break, nor tempests roar;
Ere well we feel the friendly stroke, 'tis o'er.
"The Dispensary," Canto iii, Line 225,--_Samuel Garth_.
SIR SAMUEL GARTH, a renowned English physician and poet, was born in
Yorkshire (?), in 1661 (or at Bolam, Durham, 1660), and died in London
(?), January 18, 1719. His famous poem "The Dispensary," won for him
great fame. He also translated "Ovid," and wrote numerous epigrams.
Though her mien carries much more invitation than command, to
behold her is an immediate check to loose behaviour; to love her
was a liberal education.
Tatler, No. 49,--_Richard Steele_.
SIR RICHARD STEELE, a celebrated British author and dramatist, was born
in Dublin, in 1672, and died at Llangunnor, Wales, September 1, 1729. He
wrote: "The Tender Husband," "The Christian Hero," "The Lying Lover,"
etc. However, his fame rests chiefly upon his connection with the
_Tatler_ and the _Spectator_.
Remote from man, with God he passed the days;
Prayer all his business, all his pleasure praise.
"The Hermit," Line 5,--_Thomas Parnell_.
THOMAS PARNELL, a noted Irish poet, was born in Dublin, in 1679, and
died in 1718. His best known poem is "The Hermit"; his other noted
poetical works include: "The Hymn to Contentment," "The Night Piece on
Death," and "The Fairy Tale."
Procrastination is the thief of time.
"Night Thoughts," Night I, Line 393,--_Edward Young_.
EDWARD YOUNG, an illustrious English poet, was born at Upham, Hampshire,
in 1684, and died at Welwyn, April 12, 1765. Among his works are: "The
Revenge," "Busiris," "The Love of Fame," and his masterpiece, "Night
Thoughts."
Friendship is the balm as well as the seasoning of life.
--_Richardson_.
SAMUEL RICHARDSON, a renowned English novelist was born in Derbyshire,
in 1689, and died July 4, 1761. All of his books are in the form of
letters. His best known works are: "Clarissa Harlowe," "Pamela," a
continuation of it in 1741, followed by "Sir Charles Grandison." His
"Correspondence" was published in 1804 by Anna Lætitia Barbauld.
If the heart of a man is depress'd with cares,
The mist is dispell'd when a woman appears.
"The Beggar's Opera," Act II, Sc. I,--_John Gay_.
JOHN GAY, a famous English poet, was born near Barnstable, Devonshire,
in 1685, and died at London, December 4, 1732. He wrote: "The Fables,"
"The Shepherd's Week," "Rural Sports," "Trivia, or the Art of Walking
the Streets of London," "The Wife of Bath," etc. Also "The Beggar's
Opera."
Heed the still, small voice that so seldom leads us wrong, and
never into folly.
--_Mme. du Deffand_.
MARIE ANNE DE VICHY-CHAMROND, MARQUISE DU DEFFAND (MADAME DU DEFFAND), a
celebrated French wit and letter-writer, was born in Burgundy, in 1697,
and died at Paris, September 24, 1780. Her correspondence with Horace
Walpole was published in 1780; with d'Alembert, and other renowned
Frenchmen, in 1809; with Voltaire, in 1810, and with the Duchess de
Choiseul and others in 1859.
One kind kiss before we part,
Drop a tear and bid adieu;
Though we sever, my fond heart
Till we meet shall pant for you.
"The Parting Kiss,"--_Robert Dodsley_.
ROBERT DODSLEY, a noted English poet, was born at Mansfield, Notts, in
1703, and died in 1764. He published "The Muse in Livery," (a volume of
verse), and some notable plays, among them: "The Toy Shop," "The King
and the Miller of Mansfield," and "Sir John Cockle at Court."
Alas! by some degree of woe
We every bliss must gain;
The heart can ne'er a transport know
That never feels a pain.
"Song,"--_Lord George Lyttelton_.
LORD GEORGE LYTTLETON, a distinguished English statesman and man of
letters, was born at Hagley, Worcestershire, in 1709, and died, August
22, 1773. His best known prose works are: "The Conversion and
Apostleship of St. Paul," and "History of Henry II."
Of right and wrong he taught
Truths as refined as ever Athens heard;
And (strange to tell!) He practised what he preached.
"The Art of Preserving Health," Book IV, Line 301,--_John
Armstrong_.
JOHN ARMSTRONG, a celebrated English physician and poet, was born about
1709, and died September 7, 1779. He is best known by his famous poem,
"The Art of Preserving Health."
Whoe'er has travell'd life's dull round,
Where'er his stages may have been,
May sigh to think he still has found
The warmest welcome at an inn.
"Written on a Window of an Inn,"--_William Shenstone_.
WILLIAM SHENSTONE, a celebrated English poet, was born at the Leasowes,
near Halesowen, Shropshire, in 1714, and died there, February 11, 1763.
His best known poems are: "The Pastoral Ballad," "Written in an Inn at
Henley," and "The Schoolmistress." His "Essays on Men and Manners,"
"Letters," and "Works" were collected and published after his death.
Born in a cellar, and living in a garret.
"The Author," Act II,--_Samuel Foote_.
SAMUEL FOOTE, a noted English wag, impersonator and comic playwright,
was baptized January 27, 1720, at Truro in Cornwall, and died at Dover,
October 21, 1777. Of his popular plays the most notable are: "The
Minor," "The Liar," and "The Mayor of Garratt."
Facts are stubborn things.
Translation of "Gil Bias,"--_Smollett_.
TOBIAS GEORGE SMOLLETT, a renowned British novelist, was born at
Dalquhurn, Dumbartonshire, Scotland, in 1721, and died at Monte Novo,
near Leghorn, Italy, October 21, 1771. A few of his numerous works are:
"The Regicide," "The Adventures of Roderick Random," "Advice," "The
Adventures of Peregrine Pickle," "The Reprisals," "The Adventures of
Ferdinand, Count Fathom," "The Expedition of Humphry Clinker,"
"Travels," "Reproof," and "Compendium of Voyages and Travels."
There's nae sorrow there, John,
There's neither cauld nor care, John
The day is aye fair,
In the land o' the leal.
"The Land o' the Leal,"--_Lady Nairne_.
LADY NAIRNE (CAROLINA OLIPHANT), a famous Scotch poet, was born at Gask,
Perthshire, in 1766, and died there, 1845. She wrote: "The Land o' the
Leal," "Caller Herrin'," and "The Laird o' Cockpen."
Too late I stayed,--forgive the crime!
Unheeded flew the hours;
How noiseless falls the foot of time
That only treads on flowers.
"Lines to Lady A. Hamilton,"--_William Robert Spencer_.
WILLIAM ROBERT SPENCER, a noted English poet and wit, was born in 1770,
and died in 1834. Among his best known pieces, which were published in a
collection of his poems in 1811, were "Beth Gelert," and "Too Late I
Stayed."
Abide with me from morn till eve,
For without Thee I cannot live;
Abide with me when night is nigh,
For without Thee I dare not die.
"Evening,"--_John Keble_.
JOHN KEBLE, a celebrated English religious poet, was born at Fairford,
Gloucestershire, in 1792, and died at Bournemouth, Hampshire, in 1866.
His fame rests on the renowned work, "The Christian Year," which he
published anonymously in 1872.
Reproof on her lip, but a smile in her eye.
"Rory O'More,"--_Samuel Lover_.
SAMUEL LOVER, a famous Irish novelist and song-writer, was born at
Dublin, in 1797, and died July 6, 1868. He wrote: "Legends and Stories
of Ireland," "Songs and Ballads," including, "The Low-Backed Car,"
"Widow Machree," "The Angel's Whisper," and "The Four-Leaved Shamrock."
Also: "Handy Andy, an Irish Tale," "Treasure Trove," "Rory O'More, a
National Romance," "Metrical Tales and Other Poems," and edited a
collection of "The Lyrics of Ireland."
On this I ponder
Where'er I wander,
And thus grow fonder,
Sweet Cork of thee,--
With thy bells of Shandon,
That sound so grand on
The pleasant waters
Of the River Lee.
"The Bells of Shandon,"--_Father Prout (Francis O'Mahony)_.
FRANCIS O'MAHONY ("FATHER PROUT"), a noted Irish journalist and poet,
was born in Cork, about 1804, and died in Paris, in 1866. He published
"Reliques of Father Prout," "Facts and Figures from Italy," etc.
I'm very lonely now, Mary
For the poor make no new friends;
But oh, they love the better still
The few our Father sends.
"Lament of the Irish Emigrant,"--_Lady Dufferin_.
HELENA SELINA (SHERIDAN) LADY DUFFERIN, a noted English poet, was born
in 1807, and died June 13, 1867. Her songs and lyrics were collected
into a volume, and edited by her son.
For death and life, in ceaseless strife,
Beat wild on this world's shore,
And all our calm is in that balm
Not lost but gone before.
"Not Lost but Gone Before,"--_Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton_.
CAROLINE ELIZABETH SARAH NORTON (HON. MRS. NORTON), a distinguished
English author, was born in London, in 1808, and died in 1877. She wrote
a pamphlet on "English Laws for Women in the Nineteenth Century," "The
Dream and Other Poems," "A Voice from the Factories," "Aunt Carry's
Ballads," "Lives of the Sheridans," etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Jupiter laughs at the perjuries of lovers.
[2] Let everyone engage in the business with which he is best
acquainted.
[3] The wounds of civil war are deeply felt.
[4] Man is not allowed to know what will happen to-morrow.
[5] What law can bind lovers? Love is their supreme law.
[6] Of two evils, the least should be chosen.
INDEX
INDEX
A
Abélard, 299
Adams, Charles Francis, 187
Adams, John, 228
Adams, John Quincy, 159
Adams, Sarah Flower, 44
Addison, Joseph, 107
Æschines, 291
Æschylus, 287
Æsop, 285
Agassiz, J. L. R., 125
Aguilar, Grace, 131
Akenside, Mark, 243
Alcott, Amos B., 257
Alden, Henry Mills, 247
Aldrich, Anne R., 99
Aldrich, James, 161
Aldrich, Thomas B., 247
Alembert, J. B. L. d', 251
Alfieri, Vittorio, 14
Allen, Charles Grant, 46
Allen, Elizabeth Ackers, 223
Allingham, William, 66
Allston, Washington, 241
Ames, Fisher, 87
Amiel, Henri F., 214
Anacreon, 286
Andersen, Hans Christian, 80
Aquinas, Thomas, 301
Arago, Dominique François, 47
Arbuthnot, John, 102
Ariosto, Ludovico, 201
Aristotle, 290
Armstrong, John, 319
Aristophanes, 289
Arnold, Sir Edwin, 136
Arnold, Matthew, 277
Ascham, Roger, 304
Auerbach, Berthold, 50
Aurelius, Marcus, 93
Austen, Jane, 271
Austin, Alfred, 127
Ayton, Sir Robert, 309
Aytoun, William E., 142
B
Bacon, Francis, 19
Bagehot, Walter, 30
Baillie, Joanna, 203
Bailey, Philip J., 97
Balfour, Arthur James, 168
Ballantine, James, 137
Balzac, Honoré de, 116
Bangs, John Kendrick, 124
Bancroft, George, 220
Barbauld, Anna Lætitia, 142
Barham, Richard, 265
Baring-Gould, Sabine, 23
Barlowe, Joel, 69
Barnfield, Richard, 310
Barrie, James Matthew, 112
Barnes, William, 43
Barrow, Isaac, 140
Barton, Bernard, 25
Baxter, Richard, 248
Bayly, Thomas Haynes, 225
Beattie, James, 232
Beaumarchais, P. A. C. de, 20
Beaumont, Francis, 311
Beddoes, Thomas L., 165
Beecher, Henry Ward, 146
Beers, Ethel L., 11
Beethoven, Ludwig von, 87
Belloc, Hilaire, 169
Benjamin, Park, 183
Bennett, Arnold, 124
Bentham, Jeremy, 38
Bentley, Richard, 21
Benton, Thomas Hart, 63
Béranger, Pierre Jean de, 188
Berkeley, George, 62
Bernard of Clairvaux, 300
Bernard of Cluny, 300
Besant, Walter, 184
Beyle, Marie Henri, 20
Bierce, Ambrose, 134
Birrell, Augustine, 17
Bismarck, Otto E. L. von, 79
Black, William, 242
Blackie, John Stuart, 171
Blackmore, Sir Richard, 135
Blackstone, Sir William, 158
Blair, Robert, 93
Blake, William, 257
Blanc, Charles, 250
Blanchard, Samuel L., 116
Blossington, Countess of, 199
Blind, Mathilde, 68
Bloomfield, Robert, 263
Boker, George Henry, 222
Boëthius, 299
Boileau-Despréaux, 239
Bolingbroke, Viscount, 219
Boner, John Henry, 25
Borrow, George, 155
Bossuet, Jacques B., 213
Boswell, James, 235
Bourdillon, Francis W., 69
Bowring, Sir John, 227
Boyesen, H. H., 212
Brandes, George, 31
Bridges, Robert, 231
Bright, John, 251
Brillat-Savarin, 79
Brontë, Charlotte, 95
Brooks, Phillips, 270
Brougham, Lord, 209
Browne, Charles Farrar, 100
Browne, Sir Thomas, 228
Brownell, Henry Howard, 32
Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 58
Browning, Robert, 111
Brunetière, Ferdinand, 164
Bryant, William Cullen, 240
Bryce, James, 113
Buchanan, Robert W., 188
Buckle, Henry Thomas, 255
Buffon, Comte de, 201
Bulwer-Lytton, Edward, 122
Bungay, George W., 166
Bunner, Henry C., 176
Bunyan, John, 252
Bürger, August G., 280
Burke, Edmund, 10
Burleigh, William Henry, 29
Burney, Frances, 138
Burns, Robert, 20
Burroughs, John, 82
Burton, Robert, 33
Bushnell, Horace, 90
Butler, Samuel, 314
Byrom, John, 51
Byron, Lord, 19
C
Cable, George W., 224
Cæsar, Julius, 292
Caine, Hall, 116
Calderon, Pedro, 14
Calhoun, John C., 66
Callimachus, 291
Calvin, John, 158
Calverley, Charles Stuart, 275
Campbell, John, Duke of Argyle, 103
Campbell, Thomas, 169
Camoëns, 305
Canning, George, 89
Carew, Thomas, 307
Carlyle, Thomas, 264
Carman, Bliss, 91
Carroll, Lewis, 22
Cary, Phoebe, 205
Cato, the Censor, 291
Catullus, 293
Cawein, Madison J., 69
Cellini, Benvenuto, 239
Cervantes, 306
Chalmers, Thomas, 65
Chamisso, Adelbert von, 25
Channing, William E., 86
Chapman, George, 307
Chateaubriand, Viscomte de, 200
Chatterton, Thomas, 252
Chaucer, Geoffrey, 302
Chénier, André Marie de, 235
Cherbuliez, Victor, 164
Chesterfield, Earl of, 211
Chesterton, Gilbert, 126
Child, Lydia, M., 36
Choate, Rufus, 219
Chorley, Henry F., 271
Churchill, Charles, 32
Chrysostom, St. John, 299
Cibber, Colley, 242
Cicero, 292
Clare, John, 160
Clarendon, Edward Hyde, 42
Clarke, McDonald, 141
Clay, Henry, 89
Cleveland, Grover, 66
Cobbett, William, 60
Clough, Arthur Hugh, 3
Coleridge, Hartley, 209
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 230
Colman, George, Jr., 230
Colman, George, Sr., 101
Collins, Mortimer, 149
Collins, William, 278
Collins, William Wilkie, 7
Comenius, 72
Comines, Philippe de, 303
Comte, Auguste, 16
Confucius, 287
Congreve, William, 83
Conrad, Joseph, 265
Cooke, Rose Terry, 40
Cooper, James Fenimore, 205
Copernicus, 42
Corneille, Pierre, 133
Cousin, Victor, 257
Cowley, Abraham, 315
Cowper, William, 256
Crabbe, George, 276
Craik, Dinah M., 94
Cranch, Christopher P., 60
Crashaw, Richard, 314
Crawford, Francis Marion, 175
Creasy, Sir Edward S., 18
Crébillon, Prosper de, 11
Crockett, David, 186
Crockett, Samuel R., 212
Cunningham, Allan, 266
Curtis, George William, 46
Curtius, Ernst, 199
D
Dana, Richard Henry, 250
Dante, 301
Darley, George, 156
Darmesteter, Agnes M. F. R., 50
Darmesteter, James, 73
Darwin, Charles Robert, 37
Daudet, Alphonse, 115
Davenant, Sir William, 313
Davies, Sir John, 56
Davies, W. H., 94
Davis, Thomas Osborne, 226
Davy, Sir Humphry, 272
Deffand, Madame du, 318
Defoe, Daniel, 316
Dekker, Thomas, 309
Deland, Margaret, 45
De Ligne, 113
Demosthenes, 290
Denham, Sir John, 312
DeQuincey, Thomas, 186
Descartes, René, 75
De Vere, Sir Aubrey, 194
DeVere, Aubrey Thomas, 8
Dewey, Orville, 73
Dibdin, Charles, 64
Dickens, Charles, 33
Diderot, Denis, 221
Dillon, Wentworth, Earl of Roscommon, 316
Diogenes, Laertius, 298
Disraeli, Benjamin, 274
Disraeli, Isaac, 117
Dobell, Sydney, 83
Dobson, Austin, 16
Doddridge, Philip, 147
Dodge, Mary Mapes, 274
Dodsley, Robert, 318
Domett, Alfred, 118
Donne, John, 310
Dorr, Julia C. R., 38
Doudney, Sarah, 13
Dowden, Edward, 109
Doyle, A. Conan, 120
Drake, Joseph Rodman, 178
Draper, John W., 110
Drayton, Michael, 308
Drummond, Henry, 187
Dryden, John, 180
Dufferin, Lady, 322
Dumas, Alexandre, the Elder, 167
Dumas, Alexandre, the Younger, 169
Du Maurier, George, 59
Dunlop, John, 70
Dwight, John S., 115
Dwight, Timothy, 115
Dyer, Edward, 313
E
Ebers, George, 55
Edgeworth, Maria, 3
Edwards, Amelia B., 134
Edwards, Jonathan, 221
Egan, Maurice Francis, 122
Eggleston, Edward, 268
Eichendorff, Joseph von, 61
Eliot, George, 254
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 123
English, Thomas D., 148
Epictetus, 296
Erasmus, 303
Euripides, 288
Evelyn, John, 235
Everett, David, 73
Everett, Edward, 89
F
Faber, Frederick W., 148
Falconer, William, 36
Farrar, Frederick W., 178
Fawcett, Henry, 192
Fénélon, 177
Feuillet, Octave, 181
Fichte, Johann G., 118
Field, Eugene, 200
Fielding, Henry, 96
Fields, James T., 281
Finch, Francis M., 136
Fiske, John, 74
Fitzgerald, Edward, 75
Flaubert, Gustave, 269
Fletcher, John, 273
Foote, Samuel, 319
Ford, John, 311
Forster, John, 80
Foster, John, 207
Fouché, Joseph, 119
France, Anatole, 92
Francis, Sir Philip, 231
Franklin, Benjamin, 13
Freneau, Philip, 4
Frere, J. H., 119
Froebel, Friedrich, 94
Froude, James A., 97
Fuller, Margaret, 121
Fuller, Thomas, 141
G
Galsworthy, John, 184
Garland, Hamlin, 206
Garnett, Richard, 49
Garth, Samuel, 316
Gaskell, Mrs. Elizabeth C., 215
Gautier, Théophile, 196
Gay, John, 318
Gibbon, Edward, 100
Gilbert, William S., 252
Gilder, Richard Watson, 34
Gilfillan, Robert, 156
Giusti, Giuseppi, 114
Gladstone, William E., 279
Goethe, 193
Goldoni, Carlo, 47
Goldsmith, Oliver, 244
Gordon, Adam Lindsay, 234
Gosse, Edmund, 210
Gower, John, 302
Grant, Ulysses Simpson, 101
Grattan, Henry, 154
Gray, Thomas, 278
Greeley, Horace, 30
Greene, Robert, 308
Griffin, Gerald, 269
Grillparzer, Franz, 12
Grimm, Jacob, 5
Griswold, R. W., 39
Grote, George, 251
Guérin, Eugénie de, 9
Guizot, François, 220
H
Haeckel, Ernst, 40
Haggard, Sir Henry Rider, 143
Hale, Edward E., 81
Haliburton, Thomas C., 213
Hallam, Henry, 157
Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 157
Hall, Bishop, 153
Hamilton, Alexander, 9
Hamerton, Philip G., 202
Hardy, Thomas, 132
Hare, A. J. C., 63
Hare, Julius C., 204
Harris, Joel, Chandler, 266
Harrison, Frederic, 227
Harte, Francis Bret, 191
Havergal, Frances R., 271
Hawkins, Anthony Hope, 35
Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 155
Hay, John, 223
Hayne, Paul Hamilton, 4
Hazlitt, William, 87
Hearn, Lafcadio, 147
Heber, Reginald, 95
Hegel, Georg W. F., 192
Heine, Heinrich, 269
Helps, Sir Arthur, 159
Hemans, Felicia, 213
Henley, William E., 190
Henry, Patrick, 125
Heraclitus, 287
Herbert, George, 80
Herder, Johann G. von, 191
Herodotus, 288
Herrick, Robert, 189
Hesiod, 285
Heyse, Paul Ludwig, 64
Heywood, Thomas, 311
Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, 275
Hildreth, Richard, 143
Hippocrates, 288
Hobbes, Thomas, 83
Hogg, James, 263
Holland, Josiah Gilbert, 167
Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 195
Home, John, 209
Homer, 285
Hood, Thomas, 121
Hook, Theodore, E., 211
Hooker, Richard, 307
Hopkins, Mark, 31
Hopkinson, Joseph, 248
Horace, 293
Horne, Richard Henry, 3
Housman, Alfred E., 71
Howe, Julia Ward, 123
Howell, James, 312
Howells, William Dean, 55
Hughes, Thomas, 229
Hugo, Victor, 47
Humboldt, Alexander von, 204
Hume, David, 100
Hunt, Leigh, 229
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Irving, Washington, 81
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James, Henry, 91
Jami, 303
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Lecky, William E. H., 70
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Le Gallienne, Richard, 18
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Lemaître, François, 193
Lemon, Mark, 259
Le Sage, 112
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Livy, 293
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Macleod, Norman, 132
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Madison, James, 64
Maeterlinck, Maurice, 195
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Marguerite d'Angoulême, 304
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Marryat, Frederick, 158
Martial, 298
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Massinger, Philip, 311
Masson, David, 263
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Maurice, Frederick D., 194
Mazzini, Joseph, 148
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Mérimée, Prosper, 215
Merivale, Charles, 59
McCarthy, Justin, 254
McMaster, John B., 149
Michelangelo, 58
Michelet, Jules, 189
Mickiewicz, Adam, 277
Mickle, William J., 214
Middleton, Thomas, 309
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Miller, Hugh, 224
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Milton, John, 267
Mitchell, Donald G., 89
Mitchell, S. Weir, 39
Molière, 12
Montagu, Lady, 123
Montaigne, 50
Montesquieu, 14
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Morley, John, 277
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Morris, Sir Lewis, 145
Morris, William, 70
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Paulding, James K., 190
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Petrarch, 164
Phelps, William Lyon, 5
Phillips, Stephen, 170
Phillips, Wendell, 258
Piatt, Sarah M., 181
Pierpont, John, 85
Pindar, 287
Plato, 289
Plautus, 291
Pliny, the Elder, 295
Pliny, the Younger, 297
Plutarch, 297
Poe, Edgar Allan, 17
Pollok, Robert, 229
Polybius, 291
Pope, Alexander, 119
Porter, Jane, 211
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Prentice, George D., 273
Prescott, William H., 109
Preston, Harriet W., 12
Preston, Margaret J., 273
Priestley, Joseph, 63
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Procter, Adelaide Anne, 235
Procter, Bryan Waller, 253
Propertius, 294
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Quincy, Josiah, 20
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Rhodes, James Ford, 107
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Richardson, Samuel, 317
Richter, Jean Paul, 67
Riley, James Whitcomb, 222
Ritchie, Lady Anne, 136
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Robertson, Frederick W., 30
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Rogers, Samuel, 170
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Roosevelt, Theodore, 234
Rossetti, Christina G., 264
Rossetti, Dante Gabriel, 114
Rostand, Edmond, 79
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Rowe, Nicholas, 149
Ruffini, Giovanni, 201
Ruskin, John, 34
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Russell, William Clark, 46
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Sadi, 300
Saint Ambrose, 298
Saint Augustine, 249
Sainte-Beuve, 275
Saint Bonaventura, 301
Saint Francis D'Assisi, 300
Saint Frances De Sales, 309
Saintine, J. X. B., 159
Saint-Pierre, Bernardin de, 16
Saint-Simon, 13
Saintsbury, George, 232
Sallust, 294
Sand, George, 153
Sangster, Margaret E., 44
Sappho, 286
Sargent, Epes, 214
Saxe, John G., 131
Scarron, Paul, 133
Scheffel, Joseph V. von, 39
Schelling, Friedrich, W. J. von, 21
Schérer, Edmond, 86
Schiller, 245
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Scollard, Clinton, 208
Scott, Sir Walter, 185
Scribe, Augustin Eugène, 276
Sears, Edmund H., 85
Sedley, Sir Charles, 209
Seegar, Alan, 144
Sénancour, de, 57
Seneca, 294
Sévigné, Marquise de, 315
Sewall, Samuel, 72
Sewell, Harriet W., 150
Shaftesbury, Earl of, 166
Shakespeare, William, 97
Sharp, William, 204
Shaw, George Bernard, 168
Shelley, Percy B., 176
Shenstone, William, 319
Sheridan, Richard B., 216
Sherman, William T., 34
Sidney, Algernon, 315
Sidney, Sir Philip, 258
Sigourney, Lydia H., 199
Sill, Edward R., 102
Simms, William Gilmore, 92
Simonides of Ceos, 286
Sismondi, 112
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Smiles, Samuel, 276
Smith, Adam, 133
Smith, Alexander, 281
Smith, Goldwin, 183
Smith, Samuel F., 231
Smith, Sydney, 132
Smollett, Tobias George, 320
Snider, Denton J., 8
Socrates, 289
Solon, 285
Sophocles, 288
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Southey, Robert, 182
Spencer, Herbert, 101
Spencer, William Robert, 320
Spenser, Edmund, 306
Spinoza, Benedict, 255
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Staël, Madame de, 96
Statius, 296
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Steele, Sir Richard, 317
Sterne, Laurence, 255
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Suetonius, 298
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Thaxter, Mrs. Celia, 142
Theocritus, 290
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Tibullus, Albius, 294
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Tillotson, John, 226
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Trowbridge, John T., 208
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Whitman, Walt, 127
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Wieland, Christopher, 201
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Wilson, John, 117
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Wolfe, Charles, 270
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Woolson, Constance F., 58
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Wordsworth, William, 86
Wotton, Sir Henry, 74
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