John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
Page 299
| Joseph Addison. (1672–1719) (continued) |
| And intimates eternity to man. Eternity! thou pleasing, dreadful thought! |
| Cato. Act v. Sc. 1. |
| 3234 |
| I ’m weary of conjectures,—this must end ’em. Thus am I doubly armed: my death and life, My bane and antidote, are both before me: This in a moment brings me to an end; But this informs me I shall never die. The soul, secured in her existence, smiles At the drawn dagger, and defies its point. The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years; But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, 1 Unhurt amidst the war of elements, The wrecks of matter, and the crush of worlds. |
| Cato. Act v. Sc. 1. |
| 3235 |
| Sweet are the slumbers of the virtuous man. |
| Cato. Act v. Sc. 4. |
| 3236 |
| From hence, let fierce contending nations know What dire effects from civil discord flow. |
| Cato. Act v. Sc. 4. |
| 3237 |
| For wheresoe’er I turn my ravish’d eyes, Gay gilded scenes and shining prospects rise, Poetic fields encompass me around, And still I seem to tread on classic ground. 2 |
| A Letter from Italy. |
| 3238 |
| Unbounded courage and compassion join’d, Tempering each other in the victor’s mind, Alternately proclaim him good and great, And make the hero and the man complete. |
| The Campaign. Line 219. |
| 3239 |
| And, pleased the Almighty’s orders to perform, Rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm. 3 |
| The Campaign. Line 291. |
| Note 1. Smiling always with a never fading serenity of countenance, and flourishing in an immortal youth.—Isaac Barrow (1630–1677): Duty of Thanksgiving, Works, vol. i. p. 66. [back] |
| Note 2. Malone states that this was the first time the phrase “classic ground,” since so common, was ever used. [back] |
| Note 3. This line is frequently ascribed to Pope, as it is found in the “Dunciad,” book iii. line 264. [back] |