Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1876-09-01
EVENING STAR.
September L, Is7s.
Great MEMS Favorfte Books.

MItsele " ere Piutarch AMI Montalgue. MI
Euripides. The latter book was al so tie n
yorite BOOK OF Charles James Fox woo r.
saruea The study OF az as especially u ssf al 10
apuoilc speaker. On the other hand, Pitf
took especial delight IN Milton, whom Fox
ala not appreciate, taking pleasure In recit-
Ing from Paradise Lost. the grand snasch
o. %. bsilai before toe assembled powers OF
Pitts was Newioos 'PrincIpia~ Again.
the earl OF Cnathsm's fsvorite BOOK was
. Barrows Sermons" which he read so often
that ne was able 10 repeat them from memo
~; while Burke's companions We're Demos
themes, Milton, Bolingbroke, and Young's
might Thoughts"
Currsn's favorite was Homer. which he
resd through once year. Virgil was an-
other OF bis favorites-his biogrs pher, Phil
LIPS, saying that he once saw him reading
the "fneid' In the cabin OF q Holyhead
packet while every ooe about hun was pros
trafed by sea sickness.
vi the poets, Dantes favorite was VIRGIL:
S s eiies, Lncani Schiller's was Snake
speare; Grsy's was Spenser; while Coleridge
somlred Collins and Bowles. Date himself
was 1avorite with most poets from Caau-
NJ 10 ny ron and Tepnyson Lori Brougham,
Aacduisy, aud Carlyle. have alike a fsnirei
ana eulogized the great Italian. Tae former
soylsed The students 1t GLASGOW that merit
10 Demosth themes, the study OF Dante was the
oest preparative for the eloquence OF the
pulpit or the bar. Rohsrt Hail sought relief
10 Dante from the racking pains OF sninai
olsease, ana sydney Smith took To the same
poet for comfort and solace In his old age IN
was Characteristic TO Goethe that his "a vors
tie book should have been Spiuoza,s
Ethics" In which he said he found psace
sna consolation such rs be had been able to
md In no other work.
BarTovs favorite was st. Chrysostom:
Bossuet's was Homer; Bunyan's was the old
legend OF Sir Bevis, OF Southampton, which,
10 all probability, gave him the 6rst idea OF
mis- "P1lgrim's Progress" One OF the best
Preiates that ever sat on the English bench,
Br. John Sharp. said, Shakespeare and the
n "a r,hkg "
Inc two books which most impressed John
wesley when young man were "The Imi-
tstion OF Christ" and Taylor's "Holy Living
TO caution his young friends against over
much reading. "Beware You be not swat
lowed up In books" he would say to them;
AN ounce OF love ts worth Q pound OF
Weeley's own life has been great favor.
lite with many thoughtful readers. Coleridge
Wesley" that II was more often In his hands
than any other In his ragged book regiment.
tie this work and TO the life OF Richard
Bs1ter,n he says. 81 Was used TO resort
feel the want OF an old friend OF whose com
pany could never be tired. How many and
many an hour OF self oblivion do owe To
argued with IL, questioned and demonstrates.
been peevish, cried, Right excellent and in
yet heavier hours entreating IL, rs 1t were, to
listened, and was sooihed. though efrc eo HhS
make no reply
Sonnet had only q few books I'm his II.
Virgil, Dante, Camoens, Tasso and Miitoa.
De Quincey's favorite few were Donne, Chill
lipgworth, Jeremy Taylor, Milton, South,
Barrow and Sir Thomas Browne. He de.
scribed these writers as ga pleiad or constel-
lation of seven golden stars, such as, In their
class, no literature can match" aud from
these works he would undertake ito build
Frederick the Great, of Prussia. mani
tested his strong French leanings In his
choice OF books, his principal favorltes being
Malebrapche, and one English author
Locke. His especial favorite was "Bayle's
Dictionary" which was the first book that
laid hold OF his mind; and he thought so
highly OF IL that he himself made an apridg
ment and translation OF IL into German,
which was published. II was q saying OF
Frederick's that "books made up no small
ture.,
1t seems odd that Marshal Blucher,s favor-
Messiah" and Napoleon Bonaparte's IA
vorltes Ossian's "POemso and s'Sorrogs of
Werter." But Napoleon's range OF reading
was very extensive. IL included Homer,
rfes of all times. mathematics, legislation
and theology. He detested what he called
"the bombast and tinsel" OF Voltsire. The
wearied OF sounding. "Resd again." he said
to an officer on board the Bellerophon-"read
again the poet OF Achilles; devour Ossian
Those are the poets who lift up the soul, and
give TO man u colossal greatness
The Duke OF Wellington was an extensive
reader. His principal favorites were Clar-
endon, Bishop Butler, Smiths Wealth of
Leslie, and the Bible. He was also particu-
larly interested by French and English me-
mo1rs-more especially the French Me-
moireS pour se7Tir OF all kinds. When al
Walmer, Mr.. Glegg says, the Bible, prayer
book ,Tay lor's "Holy Living and Dying,n
and f'C@sar's Commentaries" lay within his
reach, and, judging by the marks of use on
them, they must have been much read and
often consulted.