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Occupations-Alchemy: Quotations from Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations
Ill husbandry braggeth To go with the best: Good husbandry baggeth Up gold in his chest.— TUSSER — Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry. Ch. LII.
Comparing Good Husbandry. Ill husbandry lieth In prison for debt: Good husbandry spieth Where profit to get.— TUSSER — Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry. Ch. LII.
Comparing Good Husbandry. E'en in mid-harvest, while the jocund swain Pluck'd from the brittle stalk the golden grain, Oft have I seen the war of winds contend, And prone on earth th' infuriate storm descend, Waste far and wide, and by the roots uptorn, The heavy harvest sweep through ether borne, As the light straw and rapid stubble fly In dark'ning whirlwinds round the wintry sky.— VIRGIL — Georgics I. L. 351.
Sotheby's trans. Blessed be agriculture! if one does not have too much of it.— CHAS. DUDLEY WARNER — My Summer
in a Garden. Preliminary. When tillage begins, other arts follow. The farmers, therefore, are the founders of human civilization.— DANIEL WEBSTER — Remarks on
Agriculture, Jan. 13, 1840. P. 457. But let the good old corn adorn The hills our fathers trod; Still let us, for his golden corn, Send up our thanks to God!— WHITTIER — The Corn-Song.
Heap high the farmer's wintry hoard! Heap high the golden corn! No richer gift has Autumn poured From out her lavish horn!— WHITTIER — The Corn-Song.
The cattle are grazing, Their heads never raising: There are forty feeding like one! S.— WORDSWORTH — The Cock is Crowing.
(Written in March while on the bridge. Alchemy. If by fire Of sooty coal th' empiric alchymist Can turn, or holds it possible to turn, Metals of drossiest ore to perfect gold.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. V. L. 439.
The starving chemist in his golden views Supremely blest.— POPE — Essay on Man. Ep. II. L. 269.
The glorious sun Stays in his course and plays the alchemist, Turning with splendour of his precious eye The meager cloddy earth to glittering gold.— Shakespeare — King John. Act III. Sc. 1. L. 77.
You are an alchemist; make gold of that.— Shakespeare — Timon of Athens. Act V. Sc. 1. L. 117.
Architecture. Houses are built to live in, not to look on; therefore, let use be preferred before uniformity, except where both may be had.— BACON — Essays. Of Building.
There was King Bradmond's palace, Was never none richer, the story says: For all the windows and the walls Were painted with gold, both towers and halls; Pillars and doors all were of brass; Windows of latten were set with glass; It was so rich in many wise, That it was like a paradise.— SIR BEVIS OF HAMPTOUN — MS. in Caius
College. Old houses mended, Cost little less than new, before they're ended.— COLLEY CIBBER — Prologue to the Double Gallant. L. 15.
A man who could build a church, as one may say, by squinting at a sheet of paper.— DICKENS — Martin Chuzzelwit. Vol. II. Ch. VI.
Earth proudly wears the Parthenon As the best gem upon her zone.— EMERSON — The Problem.
The Gothic cathedral is a blossoming in stone subdued by the insatiable demand of harmony in man. The mountain of granite blooms into an eternal flower, with the lightness and delicate finish, as well as the ærial proportions and perspective of vegetable beauty.— EMERSON — Essays. Of History.
The hand that rounded Peter's dome And groined the aisles of Christian Rome, Wrought in a sad sincerity: Himself from God he could not free; He builded better than he knew; The conscious stone to beauty grew.— EMERSON — The Problem.
Rich windows that exclude the light, And passages that lead to nothing.— GRAY — A Long Story.
No workman steel, no pond'rous axes rung: Like some tall palm the noiseless fabric sprung.— BISHOP HEBER — Palestine. L. 163.
OCCUPATIONS-ARCHITECTURE. 425 Grandeur *** consists in form, and not in size: and to the eye of the philosopher, the curve drawn on a paper two inches long, is just as magnificent, just as symbolic of divine mysteries and melodies, as when embodied in the span of some cathedral roof.— CHARLES KINGSLEY — Prose Idylls.
My Winter Garden. The architect Built his great heart into these sculptured stones, And with him toiled his children, and their lives Were builded, with his own, into the walls, As offerings unto God.— LONGFELLOW — Christus. The Golden Legend. Pt. III. In the Cathedral.
A fabric huge Rose, like an exhalation.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. I. L. 710.
A pillar'd shade High over-arch'd, and echoing walks between.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. IX. L. 1,106.
Nor did there want Cornice or frieze with bossy sculpture graven.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. I. L. 715.
The hasty multitude Admiring enter'd, and the work some praise, And some the architect: his hand was known In heaven by many a tower'd structure high, Where scepter'd angels held their residence, And sat as princes.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. I. L. 730.
Thus when we view some well-proportion'd dome, * * * * * * No single parts unequally surprise, All comes united to th' admiring eyes.— S. POPE — Essay on Criticism. Pt. II. L. 47.
Architecture is the work of nations.— RUSKIN — True and Beautiful.
Sculpture. Better the rudest work that tells a story or records a fact, than the richest without meaning. There should not be a single ornament put upon great civic buildings, without some intellectual intention. น.— RUSKIN — Seven Lamps of Architecture.
The Lamp of Memory. It was stated, *** that the value of architecture depended on two distinct characters:-the one, the impression it receives from human power; the other, the image it bears of the natural creation.— RUSKIN — Seven Lamps of Architecture.
The Lamp of Beauty.— OCCUPATIONS — ARCHITECTURE. OCCUPATIONS-AUTHORSHIP.
I would have, then, our ordinary dwellinghouses built to last, and built to be lovely; as rich and full of pleasantness as may be within and without: *** with such differences as might suit and express each man's character and occupation, and partly his history.— RUSKIN — Seven Lamps of Architecture.
The Lamp of Memory. No person who is not a great sculptor or painter, can be an architect. If he is not a sculptor or painter, he can only be a builder.— RUSKIN — True and Beautiful.
Sculpture. Ornamentation is the principal part of architecture, considered as a subject of fine art.— RUSKIN — True and Beautiful.
Sculpture. Therefore when we build, let us think that we build (public edifices) forever. Let it not be for present delight, nor for present use alone, let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for, and let us think, as we lay stone on stone, that a time is to come when those stones will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and that men will say as they look upon the labor and wrought substance of them, "See! this our fathers did for us."— RUSKIN — Seven Lamps of Architecture.
The Lamp of Memory. Architecture is frozen music.— SCHELLING — Philosophie der Kunst.
P. 576. 'Fore God, you have here a goodly dwelling and a rich.— Shakespeare — Henry IV. Pt. II. Act V. Sc. 3. L. 6.
He that has a house to put 's head in has a good head-piece.— Shakespeare — King Lear. Act III. Sc. 2. L. 25.
When we mean to build, We first survey the plot, then draw the model; And when we see the figure of the house, Then must we rate the cost of the erection.— Shakespeare — Henry IV. Pt. II. Act I. Sc. 3. L. 41.
Astronomy. It does at first appear that an astronomer rapt in abstraction, while he gazes on a star, must feel more exquisite delight than a farmer who is conducting his team.— ISAAC DISRAELI — Literary Character of
Men of Genius. On Habituating Ourselves to an Individual Pursuit. And God made two great lights, great for their use To man, the greater to have rule by day, The less by night, altern.— MILTON — Paradise Lost. Bk. VII. L. 346.
At night astronomers agree.— PRIOR — Phillis's Age. St. 3.
And teach me how To name the bigger light, and how the less, That burn by day and night.— Shakespeare — Tempest. Act I. Sc. 2. L. 334.
My lord, they say five moons were seen tonight: Four fixed, and the fifth did whirl about The other four in wondrous motion.— Shakespeare — King John. Act IV. Sc. 2. L. 182.
These earthly godfathers of heaven's lights That give a name to every fixed star Have no more profit of their shining nights Than those that walk, and wot not what they are.— Shakespeare — Love's Labour's Lost. Act I. Sc. 1. L. 88.
"But," quoth his neighbor, "when the sun From East to West his course has run, How comes it that he shows his face Next morning in his former place?" "Ho! there's a pretty question, truly!" Replied our wight, with an unruly Burst of laughter and delight, So much his triumph seemed to please him: "Why, blockhead! he goes back at night, And that's the reason no one sees him!"— HORACE SMITH — The Astronomical Alderman. St. 5.
O how loud It calls devotion! genuine growth of night! Devotion! daughter of Astronomy! An undevout Astronomer is mad.— YOUNG — Night Thoughts. Night IX. L. 774.
Authorship. The circumstance which gives authors an advantage above all these great masters, is this, that they can multiply their originals; or rather, can make copies of their works, to what number they please, which shall be as valuable as the originals themselves.— ADDISON — The Spectator. No. 166.
Write to the mind and heart, and let the ear Glean after what it can.— BAILEY — Festus. Sc. Home.
Indeed, unless a man can link his written thoughts with the everlasting wants of men, so that they shall draw from them as from the wells, there is no more immortality to the thoughts and feelings of the soul than to muscles and the bones.— HENRY WARD BEECHER — Star Papers.
Oxford. Bodleian Library. There is probably no hell for authors in the next world-they suffer so much from critics and publishers in this.— BOVEE — Summaries of Thought.
Authors. A man of moderate Understanding, thinks he writes divinely: A man of good Understanding, thinks he writes reasonably.— DE LA BRUYÈRE — The Characters or Manners of the Present Age. Ch. I.
A man starts upon a sudden, takes Pen, Ink, and Paper, and without ever having had a thought of it before, resolves within himself he will write a Book; he has no Talent at Writing, but he wants fifty Guineas. C.— DE LA BRUYÈRE — The Characters or Manners of the Present Age. Ch. XV.
And so I penned It down, until at last it came to be, For length and breadth, the bigness which you see.— BUNYAN — Pilgrim's Progress. Apology
for his Book. Writers, especially when they act in a body and with one direction, have great influence on the public mind.— BURKE — Reflections on the Revolution in
France. The book that he has made renders its author this service in return, that so long as the book survives, its author remains immortal and cannot die.— RICHARD DE BURY — Philobiblon. Ch. I. 21. E. C. Thomas' trans.
And force them, though it was in spite Of Nature and their stars, to write.— BUTLER — Hudibras. Pt. I. Canto I. L. 647.
But every fool describes, in these bright days, His wondrous journey to some foreign court, And spawns his quarto, and demands your praise,- Death to his publisher, to him 'tis sport.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto V. St. 52.
But words are things, and a small drop of ink, Falling, like dew, upon a thought produces That which makes thousands, perhaps millions think.— BYRON — Don Juan. Canto III. St. 88.
Dear authors! suit your topics to your strength, And ponder well your subject, and its length; Nor lift your load, before you're quite aware What weight your shoulders will, or will not, bear.— BYRON — Hints from Horace. L. 59.
OCCUPATIONS-AUTHORSHIP. 427 Apt Alliteration's artful aid.— CHURCHILL — The Prophecy of Famine. L. 86.
That writer does the most, who gives his reader the most knowledge, and takes from him the least time.— C. C. COLTON — Lacon. Preface.
Habits of close attention, thinking heads, Become more rare as dissipation spreads, Till authors hear at length one general cry Tickle and entertain us, or we die!— COWPER — Retirement. L. 707.
None but an author knows an author's cares, Or Fancy's fondness for the child she bears.— COWPER — The Progress of Error. L. 518.
So that the jest is clearly to be seen, Not in the words-but in the gap between; Manner is all in all, whate'er is writ, The substitute for genius, sense, and wit.— COWPER — Table Talk. L. 540.
Oh! rather give me commentators plain, Who with no deep researches vex the brain; Who from the dark and doubtful love to run, And hold their glimmering tapers to the sun.— CRABBE — The Parish Register. Pt. I.
Introduction. "Gracious heavens!" he cries out, leaping up and catching hold of his hair, "what's this? Print!"— DICKENS — Christmas Stories. Somebody's Luggage. Ch. III.
And choose an author as you choose a friend.— WENTWORTH DILLON — Essay on Translated Verse. L. 96.
The men, who labour and digest things most, Will be much apter to despond than boast; For if your author be profoundly good, 'Twill cost you dear before he's understood. S.— WENTWORTH DILLON — Essay on Translated Verse. L. 163.
The author who speaks about his own books is almost as bad as a mother who talks about her own children.— BENJ. DISRAELI — Speech. Nov. 19, 1870.
And, after all, it is style alone by which posterity will judge of a great work, for an author can have nothing truly his own but his style. น.— ISAAC DISRAELI — Literary Miscellanies.
Style. The unhappy man, who once has trail'd a pen, Lives not to please himself, but other men; Is always drudging, wastes his life and blood, Yet only eats and drinks what you think good.— DRYDEN — Prologue to Lee's Cæsar
Borgia. All writing comes by the grace of God, and all doing and having.— EMERSON — Essays. Of Experience.
For no man can write anything who does not think that what he writes is, for the time, the history of the world.— EMERSON — Essays. Of Nature.
The lover of letters loves power too. C.— EMERSON — Society and Solitude. Clubs.
The writer, like a priest, must be exempted from secular labor. His work needs a frolic health; he must be at the top of his condition.— EMERSON — Poetry and Imagination.
Creation. Envy's a sharper spur than pay: No author ever spar'd a brother; Wits are gamecocks to one another.— GAY — The Elephant and the Bookseller. L. 74.
Every author, in some degree, portrays himself in his works even be it against his will.— GOETHE — The Poet's Year.
The most original modern authors are not so because they advance what is new, but simply because they know how to put what they have to say, as if it had never been said before.— GOETHE
One writer, for instance, excels at a plan, or a title-page, another works away the body of the book, and a third is a dab at an index.— GOLDSMITH — The Bee. No. 1.
Oct. 6, 1759. His [Burke's] imperial fancy has laid ali nature under tribute, and has collected riches from every scene of the creation and every walk of art.— ROBERT HALL — Apology for the Freedom of the Press. Sec. IV.
Whatever an author puts between the two covers of his book is public property; whatever of himself he does not put there is his private property, as much as if he had never written a word.— GAIL HAMILTON — Country Living and
Country Thinking. Preface. To be really cosmopolitan a man must be at home even in his own country.— T. W. HIGGINSON — Short Studies of
American Authors. Henry James, Jr. But every little busy scribbler now Swells with the praises which he gives himself; And, taking sanctuary in the crowd, Brags of his impudence, and scorns to mend.— HORACE — Of the Art of Poetry. L. 475.
Wentworth Dillon's trans.