"Swift must be allowed to have been a good judge of this matter; to which he was himself very attentive, both in his own writings, and in his remarks upon those of his friends: He is one of the most correct, and perhaps [he is] the best, of our prose writers. Indeed the justness of this complaint, as far as I can find, hath never yet been questioned; and yet no effectual method hath hitherto been taken to redress the grievance which was the object of it."—Lowth's Gram., p. iv.
"The only proper use to be made of the blemishes which occur in the writings of such authors, [as Addison and Swift—authors whose 'faults are overbalanced by high beauties'—] is, to point out to those who apply themselves to the study of composition, some of the rules which they ought to observe for avoiding such errors; and to render them sensible of the necessity of strict attention to language and style."—Blair's Rhet., p. 233.
"Thee, therefore, and with thee myself I weep,
For thee and me I mourn in anguish deep."—Pope's Homer.
LESSON II.—PARSING.
"The southern corner of Europe, comprehended between the thirty-sixth and fortieth degrees of latitude, bordering on Epirus and Macedonia towards the north, and on other sides surrounded by the sea, was inhabited, above eighteen centuries before the Christian era, by many small tribes of hunters and shepherds, among whom the Pelasgi and Hellenes were the most numerous and powerful."—Gillies, Gr., p. 12.
"In a vigorous exertion of memory, ideal presence is exceedingly distinct: thus, when a man, entirely occupied with some event that made a deep impression, forgets himself, he perceives every thing as passing before him, and has a consciousness of presence, similar to that of a spectator."—Kames, El. of Crit., i, 88.
"Each planet revolves about its own axis in a given time; and each moves round the sun, in an orbit nearly circular, and in a time proportioned to its distance. Their velocities, directed by an established law, are perpetually changing by regular accelerations and retardations."—Ib., i, 271.
"You may as well go about to turn the sun to ice by fanning in his face with a peacock's feather."—Shak.
"Ch. Justice. I sent for you, when there were matters against you for your life, to come speak with me. Falstaff. As I was then advised by my learned counsel in the laws of this land-service, I did not come."—Id., 2. Hen. IV, Act i, Sc. 2.
"It is surprising to see the images of the mind stamped upon the aspect; to see the cheeks take the die of the passions and appear in all the colors of thought."—Collier.