Extracts from Literature
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Extracts from Literature’
Anne Elliot is mortified to hear Frederick Wentworth’s opinion of her, but manages to find comfort in his words.
Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth meet again seven years after Anne rejected Frederick’s proposal of marriage, under pressure from a trusted friend. A chance remark by the Captain, repeated by Anne’s sister Mary, leads them both to convince themselves that love is dead – and that they are happier that way.
It is not educational institutions and methods that advance science or the arts, but people.
Holding a degree or some other officially-recognised paper qualification is not really a guarantee of very much; as Samuel Smiles repeatedly observed, there is no substitute for hands-on experience, the quirks of an interesting personality, and sheer determination.
British statesmen were among those who inspired the career of one of America’s greatest men, Frederick Douglass.
At thirteen, escaped slave Frederick Douglass bought a schoolbook, ‘The Columbian Orator’, for fifty cents. It nurtured gifts of understanding and eloquence that brought Douglass to prominence as America’s leading anti-slavery campaigner, and among his favourite passages were speeches by great British statesmen of his day.
An aristocratic statesman was choked with emotion as he reflected on Britain’s creative social mobility.
The Industrial Revolution increased social mobility beyond all measure. Some shook their heads, but for most people, from ordinary working men to aristocratic statesmen, it was a matter of celebration and pride.
Benjamin Disraeli did not make a promising start to his Parliamentary career - but he did start with a promise.
Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), Queen Victoria’s favourite Prime Minister, oversaw the expansion of the electorate as well as a range of social reforms aimed at improving the living and working conditions of the poorer classes. He was also an accomplished novelist, though his first attempts had been cruelly mocked by the critics, and his early political career fared little better.
The great Dr Johnson argues that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Samuel Johnson, one of England’s literary giants, encourages us to employ as much courtesy and good cheer as we can muster in our dealings with those who disagree with us, appealing to no less than the Apostle St Peter for authority.