work_id,theme,provenance,created_at,text,reviewed_on,id,comments,metaphor,dictionary,updated_at,context
7486,"",Reading in C-H Lion,2013-06-27 03:17:36 UTC,"Imagination is still more inventive in all its other operations. It can lead us from a perception that is present, to the view of many more, and carry us through extensive, distant, and untrodden fields of thought. It can dart in an instant, from earth to heaven, and from heaven to earth; it can run with the greatest ease and celerity, through the whole compass of nature, and even beyond its utmost limits. It can transpose, vary, and compound our perceptions into an endless variety of forms, so as to produce numberless combinations that are wholly new. Even in sleep, when the senses are locked up, and when the exercise of memory is totally suspended, imagination eminently displays its inventive force; which is then so great, that ""the slow of speech make unpremeditated harangues, or converse readily in languages that they are but little acquainted with; the grave abound in pleasantries, the dull in repartees and points of wit. There is not a more painful action of the mind, than invention; yet in dreams it works with that ease and activity that we are not sensible when the faculty is employed, and we read without stop or hesitation, letters, books, or papers, which are merely the instantaneous suggestions of our own imaginations.""
(I.ii, pp. 30-1)",,21163,"","""Imagination is still more inventive in all its other operations. It can lead us from a perception that is present, to the view of many more, and carry us through extensive, distant, and untrodden fields of thought. It can dart in an instant, from earth to heaven, and from heaven to earth; it can run with the greatest ease and celerity, through the whole compass of nature, and even beyond its utmost limits.""","",2013-06-27 03:17:36 UTC,""
7486,"",Reading in C-H Lion,2013-06-27 03:19:54 UTC,"Genius implies such comprehensiveness of imagination as enables a man, on every occasion, to call in the conceptions that are necessary for executing the designs or compleating the works in which he engages. This takes place, when the associating principles are strong, and fit for acting in an extensive sphere. If they be weak, they will call in memory to their aid. Unable to guide our steps in an unknown country, they keep in the roads to which we have been accustomed; and are directed in suggesting ideas, by the connexions which we remember. Every production of a man who labours under this debility of mind, bears evident marks of barrenness, a quality more opposite to true genius than any other. Nothing appears in it uncommon or new; every thing is trite and unoriginal. Or, if he attempts to quit the beaten path, and start new game, he can find out but a few ideas, he is exhausted by a short excursion, and must either make a stop, or return to the tracks of memory. Industry endeavouring, in this manner, to supply the want of a copious imagination, by accurate remembrance or diligent observation, will produce, instead of a philosopher, a devoted follower, or a dull laborious commentator; instead of a poet, a servile imitator, or a painful translator. But when the associating principles are vigorous, imagination, conscious as it were of its own strength, sallies forth, without needing support or asking assistance, into regions hitherto unexplored, and penetrates into their remotest corners, unfatigued with the length of the way. In a man of genius, the power of association is so great, that when any idea is present to his mind, it immediately leads him to the conception of those that are connected with it. No sooner almost is a design formed, or the hint of a subject started, than all the ideas which are requisite for compleating it, rush into his view as if they were conjured up by the force of magic. His daring imagination traverses all nature, and collects materials fit for his purpose, from all the most distant corners of the universe; and presents them at the very instant when they become useful or necessary. In consequence of this, he takes in a comprehensive view of every subject to which his genius is adapted.
(I.iii, pp. 42-3)",,21165,"","""No sooner almost is a design formed, or the hint of a subject started, than all the ideas which are requisite for compleating it, rush into his view as if they were conjured up by the force of magic.""","",2013-06-27 03:19:54 UTC,""
7498,"",C-H Lion,2013-07-01 16:47:33 UTC,"The proper office of JUDGMENT in composition, is to compare the ideas which imagination collects; to observe their agreement or disagreement, their relations and resemblances; to point out such as are of a homogeneous nature; to mark and reject such as are discordant; and finally, to determine the truth and utility of the inventions or discoveries which are produced by the power of imagination. This faculty is, in all its operations, cool, attentive, and considerate. It canvasses the design, ponders the sentiments, examines their propriety and connection, and reviews the whole composition with severe impartiality. Thus it appears to be in every respect a proper counterbalance to the RAMBLING and VOLATILE power of IMAGINATION. The one, perpetually attempting to soar, is apt to deviate into the mazes of error; while the other arrests the wanderer in its vagrant course, and compels it to follow the path of nature and of truth.
(pp. 8-10)",,21355,"","""Thus it appears to be in every respect a proper counterbalance to the RAMBLING and VOLATILE power of IMAGINATION. The one, perpetually attempting to soar, is apt to deviate into the mazes of error; while the other arrests the wanderer in its vagrant course, and compels it to follow the path of nature and of truth.""",Inhabitants,2013-07-01 16:47:33 UTC,""
7498,"",C-H Lion,2013-07-01 16:54:41 UTC,"Humour in WRITING consists either of random strokes of RIDICULE and FACETIOUSNESS, occasionally thrown out, as subjects of DROLLERY and PLEASANTRY happen to occur; or of a vein of IRONY and DELICATE SATIRE, purposely displayed on a particular subject. Perhaps Pope's Rape of the Lock is the most refined piece of HUMOUR in this kind, which any age can boast. There remains indeed another species of Wit and Humour (for it participates of, or at least pretends to both) of the lowest sort however, but deserving some attention; that which consists of puns, quibbles, and the petulant sallies of a rambling and undisciplined fancy; and which is sometimes displayed in conversation. This species of it is not only generally ostentatious, but superficial. It flashes for a little while, and then expires. It rushes on with precipitation, and, like a shallow stream, makes a great noise; but the rivulet soon dries up, and betrays the penuriousness of the source from which it flowed. The conversation-wits resemble those persons, whose ideas pass through their minds in too quick succession to be distinct; but who, nevertheless, being endued with a natural volubility of expression, acquit themselves to admiration in company; while one is at a loss to find either sense or grammer in their compositions. To become a man of true Wit and Humour, it is necessary to think; a piece of drudgery which the Gentlemen we are speaking of are too lively to undergo.
(pp. 50-2)",,21363,"","""The conversation-wits resemble those persons, whose ideas pass through their minds in too quick succession to be distinct; but who, nevertheless, being endued with a natural volubility of expression, acquit themselves to admiration in company; while one is at a loss to find either sense or grammer in their compositions.""","",2013-07-01 16:54:41 UTC,""
7498,"",C-H Lion,2013-07-01 16:57:05 UTC,"As true Taste is founded on Imagination, to which it owes all its refinement and elegance; so a false and depraved Taste is often derived from the same cause. Fancy, if not regulated by the dictates of impartial Judgment, is apt to mislead the mind and to throw glaring colours on objects that possess no intrinsic excellence. By this means it happens, that though the principles of a just Taste are implanted in the mind of every man of Genius, yet, by a neglect of proper cultivation, or too great an indulgence of the extravagant ramblings of Fancy, those principles are vitiated, and Taste becomes sometimes INCORRECT, and sometimes INDELICATE. The only method left in such a case, is to compare the sensations of Taste with the objects that produced them, and to correct the errors of this sense by an appeal to the dictates of Reason, in the points where its authority is legitimate; by which means Taste may attain JUSTNESS and ACCURACY, as by the former exercise it may acquire SENSIBILITY and REFINEMENT, in those minds where its principles are implanted in any considerable degree.
(pp. 68-9)",,21366,"","""By this means it happens, that though the principles of a just Taste are implanted in the mind of every man of Genius, yet, by a neglect of proper cultivation, or too great an indulgence of the extravagant ramblings of Fancy, those principles are vitiated, and Taste becomes sometimes INCORRECT, and sometimes INDELICATE.""","",2013-07-01 16:57:05 UTC,""
7498,"",C-H Lion,2013-07-01 16:58:55 UTC,"Some persons possess such force and compass of Imagination, as to be able by the power of this faculty to conceive and present to their own minds, in one distinct view, all the numerous and most distant relations of the objects on which they employ it; by which means they are qualified to make great improvements and discoveries in the arts and sciences. The mind in this case has recourse to and relies on its own fund. Conscious of its native energy, it delights to expand its faculties by the most vigorous exertion, Ranging through the unbounded regions of nature and of art, it explores unbeaten tracks of thought, catches a glimpse of some objects which lie far beyond the sphere of ordinary observation, and obtains a full and distinct view of others.
(pp. 73-4)",,21368,"","""Conscious of its native energy, it delights to expand its faculties by the most vigorous exertion, Ranging through the unbounded regions of nature and of art, it explores unbeaten tracks of thought, catches a glimpse of some objects which lie far beyond the sphere of ordinary observation, and obtains a full and distinct view of others.""","",2013-07-01 16:58:55 UTC,""
7498,"",C-H Lion,2013-07-01 17:19:36 UTC,"The second species of invention we mentioned was that of CHARACTERS. Ordinary Writers, and even those who are possessed of no inconsiderable talents, commonly satisfy themselves, in this branch of composition, with copying the characters which have been drawn by Authors of superior merit, and think they acquit themselves sufficiently, when they produce a just resemblance of the originals they profess to imitate. A moderate degree of praise is no doubt due to successful imitators; but an Author of original Genius will not content himself with a mediocrity of reputation; conscious of the strength of his own talents, he disdains to imitate what perhaps he is qualified to excel. Imitation indeed, of every kind, except that of nature, has a tendency to cramp the inventive powers of the mind, which, if indulged in their excursions, might discover new mines of intellectual ore, that lie hid only from those who are incapable or unwilling to dive into the recesses in which it lies buried. A Writer however, of the kind last mentioned, instead of tracing the footsteps of his predecessors, will allow his imagination to range over the field of Invention, in quest of its materials; and, from the group of figures collected by it, will strike out a character like his own Genius, perfectly Original.
(pp. 130-2)
",,21376,"","""A Writer however, of the kind last mentioned, instead of tracing the footsteps of his predecessors, will allow his imagination to range over the field of Invention, in quest of its materials; and, from the group of figures collected by it, will strike out a character like his own Genius, perfectly Original.""","",2013-07-01 17:19:36 UTC,""
7498,"",C-H Lion,2013-07-01 18:19:37 UTC,"Whether this quality is to be ascribed to the cause above-mentioned in particular; or whether it is the effect of that fiery impetuosity of Imagination, which, breaking through the legal restraints of criticism, or overleaping the mounds of authority and custom, sometimes loses sight of the Just and Natural, while it is in pursuit of the New and Wonderful, and, by attempting to rise above the sphere of Humanity, tumbles from its towering height; or lastly, whether it is to be ultimately derived from the unavoidable imperfection of the human faculties, which admit not of perpetual extension, and are apt to flag in a long, though rapid flight; whichsoever of these may be the cause of the phenomenon above-mentioned, or whether all of them may contribute to produce it, certain it is, that an irregular greatness of Imagination, implying unequal and disproportioned grandeur, is always discernible in the compositions of an original Genius, however elevated, and is therefore an universal characteristic of such a Genius.
(pp. 165-6)",,21381,"","""Whether this quality is to be ascribed to the cause above-mentioned in particular; or whether it is the effect of that fiery impetuosity of Imagination, which, breaking through the legal restraints of criticism, or overleaping the mounds of authority and custom, sometimes loses sight of the Just and Natural, while it is in pursuit of the New and Wonderful, and, by attempting to rise above the sphere of Humanity, tumbles from its towering height; or lastly, whether it is to be ultimately derived from the unavoidable imperfection of the human faculties, which admit not of perpetual extension, and are apt to flag in a long, though rapid flight; whichsoever of these may be the cause of the phenomenon above-mentioned, or whether all of them may contribute to produce it, certain it is, that an irregular greatness of Imagination, implying unequal and disproportioned grandeur, is always discernible in the compositions of an original Genius, however elevated, and is therefore an universal characteristic of such a Genius.""","",2013-07-01 18:19:37 UTC,""
7498,"",C-H Lion,2013-07-01 18:27:56 UTC,"A Genius for Architecture truly ORIGINAL, will, by the native force and plastic power of Imagination, strike out for itself new and surprising Models in this Art; and, by its combining faculty, will select out of the infinite variety of ideal forms that float in the mind, those of the Grand and Beautiful, which it will unite in one consummate as well as uncommon design. We have already observed, that every original Genius, whether in Architecture or in any other of the liberal Arts, is peculiarly distinguished by a powerful bias to INVENTION. It was this bias which we may call the instinctive, insuppressible Impulse of Genius, whose spontaneous efforts designed those stupendous Gothic structures, that appear so magnificent in their ruins. The Architects. Who first planned those edifices, though unacquainted with the polite Arts, or with the Grecian and Roman Architecture, were doubtless great Originals in their profession, since they planned them by the unaided strength of their own Genius. Their untutored imaginations prompted them to aspire to the Solemn, the Vast, and the Wonderful; and allowing an unbounded scope to the exercise of this faculty, they were enabled to give to their buildings that awful, though irregular grandeur, which elevates the mind, and produces the most pleasing astonishment. These Gothic edifices shew the inventive power of the human mind in a striking light, and are sufficient to convince us, that excellence in Architecture was not confined to the Greeks and Romans, but may be sometimes displayed among a people in other respects barbarous.
(pp. 256-9)",,21389,"","""A Genius for Architecture truly ORIGINAL, will, by the native force and plastic power of Imagination, strike out for itself new and surprising Models in this Art; and, by its combining faculty, will select out of the infinite variety of ideal forms that float in the mind, those of the Grand and Beautiful, which it will unite in one consummate as well as uncommon design.""","",2013-07-01 18:27:56 UTC,""
7498,"",C-H Lion,2013-07-01 18:38:11 UTC,"We observed likewise, that an EXEMPTION from the RULES and RESTRAINTS of Criticism, contributed greatly to the more remarkable display of original Poetic Genius in the first ages of society. Every species of original Genius delights to range at liberty, and especially original Poetic Genius, which abhors the fetters of Criticism, claims the privilege of the freeborn sons of Nature, and never relinquishes it without the utmost regret. This noble talent knows no law, and acknowledges none in the uncultivated ages of the world, excepting its own spontaneous impulse, which it obeys without control, and without any dread of the censure of Critics. The truth is, Criticism was never formed into a system, till Aristotle, that penetrating, and (to use an expression by which Voltaire characterises Mr Locke ) ""methodical Genius"" arose, who deduced his Poetics, not from his own imagination, but from his accurate observations on the Works of Homer, Sophocles, Æschylus, and Euripides. Let us observe the probable and natural effects which a strict adherence to the rules of Criticism will have on original Genius in Poetry. One obvious effect of it is, that it confines the attention to artificial rules, and ties the mind down to the observance of them, perhaps at the very time that the imagination is upon the stretch, and grasping at some idea astonishingly great, which however it is obliged, though with the utmost reluctance, to quit, being intimidated by the apprehention of incurring censure. By this means, the irregular but noble boldness of Fancy is checked, the divine and impetuous ardor of Genius is, we do not say extinguished, but in a great measure suppressed, and many shining excellencies sacrificed to justness of design, and regular uniformity of execution.
(pp. 282-4)",,21397,"","""One obvious effect of it is, that it confines the attention to artificial rules, and ties the mind down to the observance of them, perhaps at the very time that the imagination is upon the stretch, and grasping at some idea astonishingly great, which however it is obliged, though with the utmost reluctance, to quit, being intimidated by the apprehention of incurring censure.""",Fetters,2013-07-01 18:38:27 UTC,""