Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches - Volume 4 by Thomas Badington Macaulay (e ink ebook reader txt) 📕

Sir Benjamin Heath, epitaph on.

Malthus, Mr, attacked by Mr Sadler.

Man, the contemplation of, the noblest earthly object of man.

Marat, his murmurs against Barere. His death.

Marcellus, the counterfeit oration for.

Marie Antoinette, Queen, Barere's account of the death of. Brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal on the motion of Barere. Her execution.

Martyn, Henry, epitaph on.

Maynooth, Speech on.

Medical science, Petrarch's invectives on the.

Melville, Lord, his impeachment.

Memoirs, popularity of, as compared with that of history.

"Memorial Antibritannique," the, of Barere.

Metaphors, Dante's.

Metcalfe, Lord, Epitaph on.

Mill, Mr, review of his Essays on Government, etc. His utilitarianism. False principles upon which his theory rests. Precision of his arguments and dryness of his style. His a priori method of reasoning. Curious instances of his peculiar turn of mind. His views of democracy, oligarchy, and monarchy. His fallacies. His proposed government by a representative body. His proposal of universal suffrage, but for males only. The effects which a general spoliation of the rich would engender. His remarks on the influence of the middle rank. Review of the Westminster Reviewer's defence of Mr Mill.

Milton, John, compared with Dante. Milton, Mr John, and Mr Abraham Cowley, conversation between, touching the great Civil War. His great modern epic. Dryden's admiration for his genius.

Mirabeau, Souvenirs sur, etc., M. Dumont's review of. M. Dumont's picture of Mirabeau in the National Assembly. Mirabeau compared to Wilkes. And to the Earl of Chatham.

Mitford, Mr, criticism on his History of Greece. His principal characteristic as a historian. Errors of almost all the most modern historians of Greece. Estimation in which the later ancient writers have been held. Differences between Mr Mitford and the historians who have preceded him. His love of singularity. His hatred of democracy. And love of the oligarchical form of government. His illogical inferences and false statements. His inconsistency with himself. His deficiencies. Charges of misrepresentation brought against him as a historian.

Monarchical form of government, Mr Mill's view of a. Moncontour, the Battle of.

Mountain, sketch of the party in the French Convention so called. Votes for the death of the King. Its victory over the Girondists. Tyranny of the Mountain. Violence of public opinion against it.

Naseby, the Battle of.

National Assembly, the French. Mr Burke's character of them. M. Dumont's picture of the Assembly.

Nollekens, his cenotaph of Oliver Goldsmith in Westminster Abbey.

Nonconformists, relief of, by Charles II.

North, Lord, and the American difficulties. Resignation of his ministry. The Coalition. End of the Coalition.

Ode on St Cecilia's Day of Dryden; its character.

Oleron, Barere, Billaud, and Collot d'Herbois imprisoned at.

Oligarchy, Mr Mitford's love of pure. Examination of this sentiment. The growth of genius always stunted by oligarchy. Mr Mill's view of an oligarchical form of government.

Opinion, good, of the public, causes of our regard for the.

Orators, Athenian.

Oratory: Excellence to which eloquence attained at Athens. Circumstances favourable to this result. Principles upon which poetry is to be estimated. Causes of the difference between the English and Athenian orators. The history of eloquence at Athens. Speeches of the ancients, as transmitted to us by Thucydides. Period during which eloquence flourished most at Athens. Coincidence between the progress of the art of war and that of oratory. The irresistible eloquence of Demosthenes. The oratory of Pitt and Fox.

Orestes, the Greek highwayman.

Orleans, Philip, Duke of, character of him and of his Regency.

Ossian, character of the poems of.

Ostracism, practice of, among the Athenians.

Othello, causes of the power of.

Paganism, effect of the overthrow of, by Christianity.

Pallas, the birthplace of Oliver Goldsmith.

Paradise, Dante's, its principal merit.

Paraphrase of a passage in the Chronicle of the Monk of St Gall.

Paris, policy of the Jacobins of. Their excesses.

Parliamentary government, its advantages and disadvantages.

Parliamentary Reform, Speeches on.

Patronage, effect of, on literature.

Pausanias, his insanity.

Pauson, the Athenian painter.

Peers, question of the sterility of the, as a class.

Peiraeus, disreputable character of.

People's Charter, the, Speech on.

Pericles, his eloquence.

Petion, the Girondist. Saint Just's speech on his guilt. His unfortunate end.

Petrarch, influence of his poems on the literature of Italy. Criticism on the works of. Celebrity as a writer. Causes of this. Extraordinary sensation caused by his amatory verses. Causes co-operating to spread his renown. His coronation at Rome. His poetical powers. His genius. Paucity of his thoughts. His energy when speaking of the wrongs and degradation of Italy. His poems on religious subjects. Prevailing defect of his best compositions. Remarks on his Latin writings.

Phalaris of Agrigentari, the spurious letters of. Sir W. Temple's opinion of them. Their worthlessness shown by Bentley.

Phillips, John, his monument refused admission into Westminster Abbey.

Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan's history of the. Its fame. Attempts to improve and imitate it.

Pilnitz, League of, effect of the.

Piozzi, Mrs.

Pisistratus, his eloquence.

Pitt, William, popular comparison of, with Mr Canning. His birth and early life. His preceptor Pretyman. His fondness for mathematics. His knowledge of Greek and Latin. And of modern literature. His delight in oratory. Studies the law. Goes into parliament for Appleby. Condition of the country at this period. Pitt's first speech in Parliament. Declines the Vice-Treasurership of Ireland. Courts the ultra-Whig party. His advocacy of reform. Becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer at twenty-three years of age. Pitt's speech and Sheridan's repartee. His visit to the Continent with William Wilberforce. Appointed First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. His difficulties and dangers. His power. Review of his merits and defects. His reported speeches. Character of his oratory. His private life. His popularity. His neglect of authors. His talents as a leader. Effect of the French Revolution. His love of peace and freedom. Unjustly charged with apostasy. Beginning of his misfortunes. His domestic policy. His great designs for the benefit of Ireland. His rupture with Addington. His speech on the opening of the Session of 1803. Reconstructs the government on the resignation of the Addington ministry. Decline of his health. His death. His public funeral. Vote for paying his debts. Review of his life. Lines to his memory.

Plautus, translation from his Rudens.

Plutarch, class of historians of which he may be regarded as the head. His delineation of character.

Poetry; Horace's comparison of poems to certain paintings. Principles upon which poetry is to be estimated. Element by which poetry is poetry. Frame of mind required by poetry. Absurdities of writers who attempt to give general rules for composition. The mechanical part of the art of poetry. Power of the imagination in a barbarous age. Periods of consummate excellence and of the decline of poetry. Age of critical poetry. The imaginative school gradually fading into the critical. The poets of Greece. And of Rome. Revolution of the poetry of Italy, Spain, and England. The critical and poetical faculties, distinct and incompatible. Excellence of English dramatic poetry. Extinction of the dramatic and ascendency of the fashionable school of poetry. Changes in the time of Charles II. John Dryden.

Poets, the favourite themes of the, of the present day. Catholicity of the orthodox poetical creed. Why good poets are bad critics.

Police officers of Athens.

Polybius, his character as a historian.

Pomponius Atticus, his veneration for Greek literature.

Pope, Alexander, condensation of the sense in his couplets. His friendship with Bishop Atterbury. Appears as a witness in favour of his friend. His epitaph on Atterbury.

Population, review of Mr Sadler's work on the law of. His attack of Mr Malthus. His statement of the law of population. Extremes of population and fecundity in well-known countries. Population of England. Of the United States of America. Of France. And of Prussia.

Portland, Duke of, formation of his Administration.

Portrait-painting compared with history.

Posterity, Epistle to, Petrarch's.

Power, senses in which the word may be used. Dependence of the happiness of nations on the real distribution of power.

Pretyman, Bishop of Lincoln. His life of William Pitt.

Printing, influence of, on modern history.

Prior, Matthew, his intimacy with Bishop Atterbury.

Prize poems, character of.

Provencal poets, their amatory compositions.

Prussia, Mr Sadler's law of population, as illustrated by the census of Prussia.

Psalmanazar, George, his friendship with Samuel Johnson.

Purgatorio, Dante's, the simile of the sheep in the. Incomparable style of the sixth canto of.

Puritans, their prohibition of theatrical representations.

Quakers, Bunyan's abhorrence of the.

Quintillian, his principles of criticism.

Quixote, the Spiritual.

Radical War Song, a.

Rambler, Johnson's, publication of the.

Rasselas, Johnson's, circumstances under which it was written. Plan of the work.

Re-election to Parliament, Speech on.

Reform Bill, mildness of the revolution of the.

Reform, Parliamentary, Speeches on.

Regent, the Prince, and the King.

Rent, Doctrine of.

Repeal of Union with Ireland, Speech on.

Representation, its value as a check on the governing few.

Revolution, the French, terms in which it is spoken of by M. Dumont.

Revolution, the first and second French. Compared with the English. And with the American.

Reynolds, Sir Joshua, his part in the Club.

Rich: desire of the poor majority to plunder the rich minority. Effects which a general spoliation would produce.

Richardson, Samuel, his opinion of the Rambler. His kindness to Johnson.

Robespierre, his power over the lives of his fellow-citizens. His character. Regaled by Barere at a tavern on the day of the Queen's death. Atrocious decree of the Convention proposed by him. Becomes one of the Committee of Public Safety. Purpose of his celebrated fiendish decree. Barere's panegyric on Robespierre. Barere's motion to put Robespierre and his accomplices to death. Robespierre's execution. His character.

Rockingham, Charles Marquis of, at the head of the Whig opposition. His adherents in the House of Commons. Becomes Prime Minister. His death.

Roland, Madame, her courage and force of thought. Her execution.

Roland, the Girondist, his wife. His fate.

Roman Tale, Fragments of a.

Romans, domestic habits of the. Character of the poetry of the Romans. Their regard for the language and literature of Greece. Their disregard of the sacred books of the Hebrews. Their exclusive spirit. The Roman empire of the time of Diocletian compared with the Chinese empire. Effect of the victory of Christianity over paganism. Purification of the Roman world by the invasion of the Barbarians.

Rousseau, his egotism and its success.

Royal Society of Literature, on the.

Rumford, Count, his proposition for feeding soldiers cheaply.

Russell, Lord William, his last saying.

Sacheverell, prosecution of.

Sadler, Mr, review of his work on the Law of Population. His style. And spirit. His attack on Mr Malthus. His distinctions without a difference. The great discovery by which he has vindicated the ways of Providence. His refutation refuted. The motto on his title-page. His statements examined and refuted.

Safety, Committee of Public, formation of the, in Paris. Names of the persons composing the. Character of the men composing the Committee. Its crimes and blunders. Robespierre's fiendish motion.

Sallust, his merits as a historian. His conspiracy of Catiline.

Satire of Juvenal and Dryden.

Savage, Richard, his career.

Schoolmen, Lord Bacon's description of the logomachies of the, of his time.

Scott, Sir Walter, his use of the rejected fragments of history.

Sermon in a Churchyard.

Shakspeare, William, language he gives to his superhuman beings. His euphuism. His dramas miracles of art. His exquisite imagery. Publication of Johnson's