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Extracts From The Memoirs Of The Life And Writings Of Edward Gibbon, Esq.
Porten * . My lot mig ht have been that of a slave , a savage , or a peasant ; nor can I reflect without pleasure on the bounty of Nature , which cast my birth in a free and civilized country , in an age of science and philosophy , in a family of honourable rank , and decently endowed with the gifts of fortune . From my birth I have enjoyed the right of primogeniture ; but I was succeeded by five brothers and sisterall of whom were snatched away in their infancy . My
one , five brothers , whose names may be found in the parish register of Putney , I shall not pretend to lament ; but from my childhood to the present hour I have deeply and sincerely regretted my sister , whose life was somewhat prolonged , and whom I remember to have seen an amiable infant . The relation of a brother and a sister , especially if they do not marry , appears to me of a veiy singular nature . It is a much about
familiar and tender friendship with a female , our own age ; an affection perhaps softened by the secret influence of sex , but pure from any mixture of sensual desire , the sole species of Platonic love that can be indulged with truth , and without danger . " The account of Mr . Gibbon ' s progress in knowledge , and the circumstances that led him to the study of history , are curious and
entertaining . " The curiosity , which had been implanted in my infant mind , was still alive and active ; but my reason was not sufficiently informed to understand the value , or to lament the loss , of three precious years , from my- entrance at Westminster to my admission at Oxford . Instead of repining at my long and frequent confinement to the chamber or the couchI secretlrejoiced in those infirmitieswhich
deli-, y , vered me from the exercises of the school , and the society of my equals . As often as I was tolerably exempt from danger and pain , reading , free desultory reading , was the employment and comfort of my solitary hours . At Westminster , my aunt sought only to amuse and indulge me ; in my stations at Bath and Winchester , at Buriton and Putney , a false compassion respected my sufferings ; and I was of
allowed , without controul or advice , to gratify the wanderings an unripe taste . My indiscriminate appetite subsided by degrees in the historic line : and since philosophy has exploded all innate ideas and natural propensities , I must ascribe this choice to the assiduous perusal of the Universal History , as the octavo volumes successively appeared . This unequal work , and a treatise of Hearne , the Dncior historian , , referred and introduced me to the Greek and Roman his-
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.
Porten * . My lot mig ht have been that of a slave , a savage , or a peasant ; nor can I reflect without pleasure on the bounty of Nature , which cast my birth in a free and civilized country , in an age of science and philosophy , in a family of honourable rank , and decently endowed with the gifts of fortune . From my birth I have enjoyed the right of primogeniture ; but I was succeeded by five brothers and sisterall of whom were snatched away in their infancy . My
one , five brothers , whose names may be found in the parish register of Putney , I shall not pretend to lament ; but from my childhood to the present hour I have deeply and sincerely regretted my sister , whose life was somewhat prolonged , and whom I remember to have seen an amiable infant . The relation of a brother and a sister , especially if they do not marry , appears to me of a veiy singular nature . It is a much about
familiar and tender friendship with a female , our own age ; an affection perhaps softened by the secret influence of sex , but pure from any mixture of sensual desire , the sole species of Platonic love that can be indulged with truth , and without danger . " The account of Mr . Gibbon ' s progress in knowledge , and the circumstances that led him to the study of history , are curious and
entertaining . " The curiosity , which had been implanted in my infant mind , was still alive and active ; but my reason was not sufficiently informed to understand the value , or to lament the loss , of three precious years , from my- entrance at Westminster to my admission at Oxford . Instead of repining at my long and frequent confinement to the chamber or the couchI secretlrejoiced in those infirmitieswhich
deli-, y , vered me from the exercises of the school , and the society of my equals . As often as I was tolerably exempt from danger and pain , reading , free desultory reading , was the employment and comfort of my solitary hours . At Westminster , my aunt sought only to amuse and indulge me ; in my stations at Bath and Winchester , at Buriton and Putney , a false compassion respected my sufferings ; and I was of
allowed , without controul or advice , to gratify the wanderings an unripe taste . My indiscriminate appetite subsided by degrees in the historic line : and since philosophy has exploded all innate ideas and natural propensities , I must ascribe this choice to the assiduous perusal of the Universal History , as the octavo volumes successively appeared . This unequal work , and a treatise of Hearne , the Dncior historian , , referred and introduced me to the Greek and Roman his-