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.
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’sDie,” “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.
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.
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.
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.
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 yearsIs hanging breathless on thy fate!“The Building of the Ship,”—Longfellow.
Sail, on, O Ship of State!Sail on, O Union, strong and great!Humanity with all its fears,With all the hopes of future yearsIs 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.
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.
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,” “Idyllsand 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 IAnd (sooth to say) I wonder whyWe either of us came!“To a Dragon-fly,”—Agnes M. F. R. Darmesteter.
You hail from Dreamland, Dragon-fly?A stranger hither? So am IAnd (sooth to say) I wonder whyWe 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.
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.
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: “TheEducated 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.
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 gracesWill soon fill up their proper places.“Advice to Preach Slow,”—John Byrom.
Take time enough: all other gracesWill 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.
[1]They have learned nothing, and they have forgotten nothing.
[1]They have learned nothing, and they have forgotten nothing.
[2]Danger teaches even kings to pray.
[2]Danger teaches even kings to pray.
[3]The blush is beautiful, but it is sometimes inconvenient.
[3]The blush is beautiful, but it is sometimes inconvenient.
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.
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.
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 Eyeof 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 sitIn 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.
Much like a subtle spider which doth sitIn 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.
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 meThat now she knows,When I resemble her to thee,How sweet and fair she seems to be.“Go, Lovely Rose,”—Edmund Waller.
Go, lovely rose!Tell her that wastes her time and meThat 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 theeTo 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.
O woman! lovely woman! Nature made theeTo 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.
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.
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.
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 touchThe stone unhewn and coldBecomes a living mould.The more the marble wastes,The more the statue grows.“Sonnet,” Translation by Mrs. Henry Roscoe,—Michelangelo.
As when, O lady mine!With chiselled touchThe stone unhewn and coldBecomes 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.
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 playTo keep us going—and so good day!A little warmth, a little lightOf love’s bestowing—and so, good night.A little fun, to match the sorrowOf each day’s growing—and so, good morrow!A little trust that when we dieWe reap our sowing—and so, good bye!“Trilby,”—George Du Maurier.
A little work, a little playTo keep us going—and so good day!A little warmth, a little lightOf love’s bestowing—and so, good night.A little fun, to match the sorrowOf each day’s growing—and so, good morrow!A little trust that when we dieWe 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.
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.
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 testThat all is ordered well;We know enough to trust that all is bestWhere Love and Wisdom dwell.“Oh, Love Supreme,”—Christopher P. Cranch.
O Light divine! we need no fuller testThat all is ordered well;We know enough to trust that all is bestWhere 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.
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.
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, anddied 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 roarTelling the battle was on once more—And Sheridan twenty miles away!“Sheridan’s Ride,”—Thomas Buchanan Read.
The terrible rumble, grumble and roarTelling 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.
“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.
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.
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.
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 StundleinIst deine Kammer voll Sonne![2]“Gedichte,” “Uber ein Stundlein,”—P. Heyse.
Dulde, gedulde dich fein!Uber ein StundleinIst 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.
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.
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.
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 knownFor lack of listeners are not said.“Afterthought,”—Jean Ingelow.
Man dwells apart, though not alone,He walks among his peers unread;The best of thoughts which he hath knownFor 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 diesWith the dying sun.The Mind has a thousand eyes,And the Heart but one;Yet the light of a whole life diesWhen Love is done.“Light,”—Francis W. Bourdillon.
The Night has a thousand eyes,And the Day but one;Yet the light of the bright world diesWith the dying sun.The Mind has a thousand eyes,And the Heart but one;Yet the light of a whole life diesWhen 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 sowAnd some shall toil and not attain.“Success,”—Madison Julius Cawein.
Some shall reap that never sowAnd 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.
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 sweetBut never a song that you have sung,Is half so sweet as thrushes sangWhen my dear Love and I were young.“Other Days,”—William Morris.
O thrush, your song is passing sweetBut never a song that you have sung,Is half so sweet as thrushes sangWhen 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.