The History of Fiction: Being a Critical Account of the Most Celebrated Prose Works of Fiction, from the Earliest Greek Romances to the Novels of the Present Day, Volume 2 |
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16th century accordingly admiration adventures affections afterwards amusement appeared Arcadia arrival Artabanes Astrea Bandello beautiful Bertoldo Boccaccio brother castle Celadon celebrated Cent Nouvelles Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles century character chiefly Cinthio composition conduct court daughter death Decameron Diana discovered disguise Don Quixote drama Duke enamoured English entertainment entitled Euphues Fabliau fairy father favour favourite fiction France French Gesta Romanorum Gil Blas Grand Guerin hero heroic romance honour husband imitated incidents informed Italian novelists Italian novels king lady length lover Lycidas Madame manner Marianne ment mistress monarch monks night origin palace Paris passion pastoral person Petrus Alphonsus poet Polexandre priest prince princess published queen Queen of Navarre racters received resemblance residence ridicule Sacchetti satire says scene seems Sethos Shakspeare sister Spanish species story Straparola style tale tion told translated voyage wife woman written young
Popular passages
Page 184 - As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den,* and laid me down in that place to sleep ; and as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back, Isa.
Page 187 - ... grown so crazy and stiff in his joints, that he can now do little more than sit in his cave's mouth, grinning at pilgrims as they go by, and biting his nails because he cannot come at them.
Page 187 - Now just as the Gates were opened to let in the men, I looked in after them, and behold, the City shone like the Sun; the Streets also were paved with Gold, and in them walked many men, with Crowns on their heads, Palms in their hands, and golden Harps to sing praises withal. There were also of them that had wings, and they answered one another without intermission, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord.
Page 187 - There were also that met them with harps and crowns, and gave them to them; the harps to praise withal, and the crowns in token of honour. Then I heard in my dream that all the bells in the City rang again for joy; and that it was said unto them, Enter ye into the joy of your Lord.
Page 404 - Lovelace; but he has excelled his original in the moral effect of the fiction. Lothario, with gaiety which cannot be hated, and bravery which cannot be despised, retains too much of the spectator's kindness.
Page 409 - I completed in less than two months, that one evening I wrote from the time I had drunk my tea, about six o'clock, till half an hour after one in the morning, when my hand and fingers were so weary, that I could not hold the pen to finish the sentence, but left Matilda and Isabella talking, in the middle of a paragraph.
Page 409 - I waked one morning, in the beginning of last June, from a dream, of which all I could recover was, that I had thought myself in an ancient castle (a very natural dream for a head like mine filled with Gothic story) and that on the uppermost banister of a great staircase I saw a gigantic hand in armour.
Page 15 - To remark the folly of the fiction, the absurdity of the conduct, the confusion of the names and manners of different times, and the impossibility of the events in any system of life, were to waste criticism upon unresisting imbecility, upon faults too evident for detection, and too gross for aggravation.
Page 175 - Of an infected darkness : in this place Dwell many thousand thousand sundry sorts Of never-dying deaths: there damned souls Roar without pity; there are gluttons fed With toads and adders; there is burning oil...
Page 167 - Verily thou canst not bear with me : for how canst thou patiently suffer those things, the knowledge whereof thou dost not comprehend ? MOSES replied, Thou shalt find me patient, if GOD please; neither will I be disobedient unto thee in any thing. He said, If thou follow me, therefore, ask me not con.cerning any thing, until I shall declare the meaning thereof unto thee.