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Extracts From The Memoirs Of The Life And Writings Of Edward Gibbon, Esq.
" I am endowed with a cheerful temper , a moderate sensibility , arid a natural disposition to repose ; rather than to activity ; some mischievous appetites and habits have perhaps been corrected by philosophy Or time . The love of study , a passion which derives fresh vigour from enjoyment , supplies each day , each hour , with a perpetual source of independent and rational pleasure ; and lam not sensible of any decay of the mental faculties . The oriinal soil has been
g highly improved by cultivation ; but it maybe questioned , whether some flowers of fancy , some grateful errors , have not been eradicated with the weeds of prejudice . 2 . Since I have escaped from the long perils of my childhood , the serious advice of a physician has seldom been requisite . ' The madness of superfluous health' I have never known ; but my tender constitution has been fortified by
time , and the inestimable gift of the sound and peaceful slumbers of infancy , may be imputed both to the mind and body . 3 . I have already described the merits of my society and situation ; but these enjoyments would be tasteless or bitter if their possession were not assured by an annual and adequate supply . According to the scale of , Switzerland , I am a rich man ; and I am indeed rich , since my
income is superior to my expence , and my expence is equal to mywishes . My friend , Lord Sheffield , has kindly relieved me from the cares to which my taste and temper are most adverse : shall I add , that since the failure of my first wishes , I have never entertained any serious thoughts of a matrimonial connection ? " I am disgusted with the affectation of men of letters , who
complain that they have renounced a substance for a shadow ; and that their fame ( which sometimes is no insupportable weight ) affords a poor compensation for envy , censure , and persecution . My own experience , at least , has tau ght me a very different lesson : twenty happy years have been animated by the labour of my History ; and its success has given me a name , a rank , a character , in the world , to which I should not otherwise have been entitled . The freedom of
my writings has indeed provoked an implacable tribe ; but , as I was safe from the stings , I was soon accustomed to the buzzing of the hornets : my nerves are not tremblingl y alive , and my literary temper is so happily framed , that I am less sensible of pain than of pleasure . The rational pride of an author may be offended , rather than flattered , by vague indiscriminate praise ; but he cannot , he should notbe indifferent to the fair testimonies of private and public esteem .
, Even his moral sympathy may be gratified by the idea , that now , in the present hour , he is imparting some degree of amusement or knowledge to his friends in a distant land ; that one day his mind will be familiar to the grandchildren of those who are yet unborn . I cannot boast of the friendship or favour of princes ; the patronage of English literature has long since been devolved on our booksellers ,
and the measure of their liberality is the least ambiguous test of our common success . Perhaps the golden mediocri ty of my fortune has contributed to fortify my application . " The present is a fleeting moment , the past is no more ; ancl out
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Extracts From The Memoirs Of The Life And Writings Of Edward Gibbon, Esq.
" I am endowed with a cheerful temper , a moderate sensibility , arid a natural disposition to repose ; rather than to activity ; some mischievous appetites and habits have perhaps been corrected by philosophy Or time . The love of study , a passion which derives fresh vigour from enjoyment , supplies each day , each hour , with a perpetual source of independent and rational pleasure ; and lam not sensible of any decay of the mental faculties . The oriinal soil has been
g highly improved by cultivation ; but it maybe questioned , whether some flowers of fancy , some grateful errors , have not been eradicated with the weeds of prejudice . 2 . Since I have escaped from the long perils of my childhood , the serious advice of a physician has seldom been requisite . ' The madness of superfluous health' I have never known ; but my tender constitution has been fortified by
time , and the inestimable gift of the sound and peaceful slumbers of infancy , may be imputed both to the mind and body . 3 . I have already described the merits of my society and situation ; but these enjoyments would be tasteless or bitter if their possession were not assured by an annual and adequate supply . According to the scale of , Switzerland , I am a rich man ; and I am indeed rich , since my
income is superior to my expence , and my expence is equal to mywishes . My friend , Lord Sheffield , has kindly relieved me from the cares to which my taste and temper are most adverse : shall I add , that since the failure of my first wishes , I have never entertained any serious thoughts of a matrimonial connection ? " I am disgusted with the affectation of men of letters , who
complain that they have renounced a substance for a shadow ; and that their fame ( which sometimes is no insupportable weight ) affords a poor compensation for envy , censure , and persecution . My own experience , at least , has tau ght me a very different lesson : twenty happy years have been animated by the labour of my History ; and its success has given me a name , a rank , a character , in the world , to which I should not otherwise have been entitled . The freedom of
my writings has indeed provoked an implacable tribe ; but , as I was safe from the stings , I was soon accustomed to the buzzing of the hornets : my nerves are not tremblingl y alive , and my literary temper is so happily framed , that I am less sensible of pain than of pleasure . The rational pride of an author may be offended , rather than flattered , by vague indiscriminate praise ; but he cannot , he should notbe indifferent to the fair testimonies of private and public esteem .
, Even his moral sympathy may be gratified by the idea , that now , in the present hour , he is imparting some degree of amusement or knowledge to his friends in a distant land ; that one day his mind will be familiar to the grandchildren of those who are yet unborn . I cannot boast of the friendship or favour of princes ; the patronage of English literature has long since been devolved on our booksellers ,
and the measure of their liberality is the least ambiguous test of our common success . Perhaps the golden mediocri ty of my fortune has contributed to fortify my application . " The present is a fleeting moment , the past is no more ; ancl out