He that hath Wife and Children hath given Hostages to Fortune; For they are Impediments to great Enterprises, either of Vertue, or Mischiefe. Certainly, the best workes, and of greatest Merit for the Publike, have proceeded from the unmarried or Childlesse Men, which, both in Affection and Meanes, have married and endowed the Publike. (“Of Marriage … Continue reading Lord Bacon on wives and children
Month: Jul 2026
Thomas Gray on levelling death
Let not Ambition mock their useful Toil,Their homely Joys and Destiny obscure;Nor Grandeur hear with a disdainful Smile,The short and simple Annals of the Poor. The Boast of Heraldry, the Pomp of Pow'r,And all that Beauty, all that Wealth e'er gave,Awaits alike th' inevitable Hour.The Paths of Glory lead but to the Grave. From Gray's … Continue reading Thomas Gray on levelling death
John Morley on intellectual perseverance
"nobody here needs to be reminded that the great successes of the world have been affairs of a second, a third, nay, a fiftieth trial. The history of literature, of science, of art, of industrial achievements, all testify to the truth that success is only the last term of what looked like a series of … Continue reading John Morley on intellectual perseverance
Notes in the Margins of the Days 