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.