PAGE 10, 9. state, where we should say statement. See also p. 56, 1. 4. 21-23. The exports from England to Africa consisted almost wholly of articles used in barter for slaves, who were shipped thence to the Colonies. The exchange on the coast of Africa was but an incident in a larger transaction beginning in England and ending in America. The amount of these exports is, therefore, rightly added by Burke to the total of direct exports to the Colonies. PAGE 12, 10 ff. To secure a more vivid sense of the unexampled vigor and growth of the Colonies than mere statistics could give, Burke pauses here to turn upon the subject the gorgeous illumination of this paragraph. The attempt is a daring one, and is carried out with characteristic opulence and splendor. The good taste of portions of it has been questioned; particularly the academic and conventional fulsomeness of lines 24-35; but that would hardly have counted as a fault in a century which admired such displays. citation at the beginning is from the Story of the Transfiguration, Luke ix, 33, which forms the basis of the imagery of the lines which immediately follow. It is an example of Burke's skillful use of literary citation or allusion to give warmth and splendor to the expression of his own kindling thought. The 22, 23. "Already old enough to read the deeds of his fathers, and able to know what virtue is" - adapted from Virgil, Ecl. iv. 26. 27-35. the fourth generation, since George III. was, not the son, but the grandson of George II. made Great Britain by the union with Scotland in 1707. The higher rank of peerage was that of Earl, to which Lord Bathurst had been advanced from that of Baron, the lowest hereditary degree. The new title added to the honors of the family was that of Baron Apsley, conferred upon Lord Bathurst's son when the latter became Lord Chancellor. PAGE 14, 10. deceive, i.e., beguile, lighten usage in the case of the parallel word, fallere. 14. curious subject an echo of Latin one to rouse our curiosity, interesting. 23. corn — grain in general, which is still its usual meaning in the English of England. 27-29. Alluding to the famous story of a Roman father condemned to die of starvation, but secretly nourished by his daughter from her own breasts, until the discovery of her devotion and the admiration it aroused brought about his release. PAGE 15, 11. The Serpent a constellation within the Antarctic circle. 17. run the longitude traverse in succession the degrees of longitude; cf. Paradise Lost, vii. 373. As Burke warms up to a climax in his account of the courage, strength, and joy of achievement shown by these viking-like colonists in their voyages into unknown seas, he is not content to say “they sailed westward"; but instead lifts the whole picture out of the realm of prose into that of poetry by likening their attitude and gesture to that of the newcreated Sun, as he in the dawn of that Fourth Day set forth on the first of his far journeys through the deeps of heaven" jocund to run his longitude through heaven's high road." It is not clear why New Bedford whalers should need to cross the ocean twice to reach the coast of South America, unless that stretch across was part of a great circular cruise and was taken westerly rather than easterly because of the westerly direction of the equinoctial winds and ocean currents. PAGE 16, 10. complexion, in its original signification of temperament, the way in which a person is "put together"; and so generally in Burke. Passages like that which follows here (pp. 16, 17) justify Matthew Arnold's high praise of Burke, "because almost alone in England he brings thought to bear upon politics; he saturates politics with thought." Indeed it would be difficult to find a more admirable specimen of condensed and impassioned argument saturated with thought than that found in these short paragraphs, each summed up in its telling and unforgetable aphorism. In the century and a half which has almost elapsed since Burke spoke them there has never been more need to study and to heed them than there is to-day, when nothing but force seems ever to be thought of as a means to heal the wounds of a broken and dismembered world. PAGE 18, 9, 10. During the great struggle against the tyranny of the Stuarts. 21-24. Notably in Rome, an example always present to Burke's mind. Payne. 32. For full explanation of the meaning and implications of the phrase granting money in English Parliamentary discussion, see Note on Finances and Taxation, pp. 324-325. 66 PAGE 19, 27-29. popular, democratic, of the people and by the people." merely popular — wholly so. the popular representative the portion which represents the people. Cf. Burke's more explicit statement, p. 52, 1. 34 ff. 31. aversion is now followed by to, after the manner of its synonyms, dislike, repugnance, etc. But in Burke's time the force of a Latin etymology or of Latin usage was still strongly felt, and often determined both idiom and meaning of English words. Hence the from in this case. The young student, whose sense for idiom and usage needs to grow more sure and more intelligent, should not fail to notice these cases as they arise. Even though unacquainted with Latin, he should lose no time in acquiring the habit of consulting directly the Latin Lexicon. With a little resolution and a little help at first, the difficulties will speedily vanish; while the gain in conscious power and in grasp of language is invaluable. For examples at hand try piety, p. 14, 1. 27, communion, p. 20, 1. 27, and constitution, p. 22, 1. 21. PAGE 21, 29-31. This high and jealous spirit of the free-born in Rome in the midst of a servile class may be illustrated from almost any page of Shakespeare's Julius Cæsar. Our Teutonic and Scandinavian ancestry was habitually, though incorrectly, called Gothic by writers of the 18th century. such were the Poles, for at this time they had ceased to be an independent nation. PAGE 22, 6, 7. The lead seems still to be held by the lawyers. The law is still considered to be the most natural avenue to a political career. 12. Plantations - colonies, the plantings of a new society or The term is regularly so used in acts and charters, and has no reference whatever to cultivation of the soil. race. constitutions ordinances, laws. In this sense it is now no longer used. 21. In the hope of paralyzing all concerted action on the part of the colonists, an order was issued forbidding the calling of townmeetings after Aug. 1, 1774. But a way was soon found, and within the limit of the law, to hold such meetings without calling them. The last called meeting before that date was simply adjourned to whatever time was thought desirable, and its legal existence was thus prolonged indefinitely. 25, 26. This was Thurlow, a famous lawyer, and afterwards Lord Chancellor. At this time he was Attorney-General, and a conspicuous figure among the Ministers on the Treasury Bench. Directly in front of him was the narrow space of open floor; hence, the designation of his position as on the floor." To guard its freedom of speech, the House of Commons in earlier times used its utmost powers to prevent any attempt at reporting its debates. It thus became, and still is, a grave breach of decorum for a member to use pencil and paper in the House at all, unless it were to make a brief note of a point to which he would reply. Burke thus understands Thurlow's note-book and pencil, and avails himself of the unusual action to identify, without naming him, the person he means. 32. 66 Studies pass over into character," or "What we earnestly pursue takes shape again in our life"; a famous aphorism from Ovid, Heroid. Ep. xv. 83, quoted also by Bacon in his essay Of Studies. PAGE 23, 15-17. A splendid figure developed out of Horace's fine phrase in the opening of one of his Odes (Bk. iv. 4), comparing Drusus in his victorious career to Jove's eagle, "the thunder's winged minister,” ministrum fulminis alitem. PAGE 24, 26, 27. with all its imperfections on its head. Adapted from the words of the ghost in Hamlet, Act I., Scene v. 79. PAGE 25, 8–9. the popular part of the Colony Constitution, that is, the representative part of the Colonial Governments the House of Representatives. In Burke's time only the lower house was representative; the other was the Council, a body appointed by the King. The upper house is now as truly representative as the other, but is called the Senate to distinguish it from the other, which keeps its original name. PAGE 27, 11. equal attention, that is, equal to that which he himself would wish to give it as described in the previous sentence. 29. radical going to the root of the matter, PAGE 28, 7-8. withheld and annihilated, are of course, not indicative, but hypothetical subjunctives — meaning were to withhold, and were to annihilate. 17. deserts-i.e., wildernesses, uninhabited regions. The limitation of this word to waterless wastes is modern. PAGE 30, 8. "To the despoiled are still left arms." - JUVENAL, Sat. viii. 124. 26. Cf. Acts xix. 19. its common 33. more chargeable, involving heavier charge, more expensive. PAGE 31, 28. curious strange, surprising, queer meaning now, but recent and rare in Burke's time. 35, 36. Quoted from that treasury of bathos, The Art of Sinking in Poetry, ch. xi. The remote source of the lines in one of Dryden's plays," though affirmed by various editors, seems to lack verification. PAGE 32, 26, 27. Sir Edward Coke, a famous lawyer under Elizabeth and James; Attorney-General in 1603, when Raleigh was tried for treason. "While the prisoner defended himself with the calmest dignity and self-possession, Coke burst into the bitterest invective, brutally addressing the great courtier, as if he were a servant, in the phrase long remembered for its insolence and injustice, 'Thou hast an English face, but a Spanish heart!'' Encyc. Brit. وو PAGE 33, 14, 15. ex vi termini — by the very nature of the expression. PAGE 34, 29. addressed petitioned the Crown in an Address. Cf. Note on Forms of Procedure, p. 322. PAGE 36, 7. startle, intransitive, meaning start. Cf. Dictionary. 27-29. From Paradise Lost, ii. 592-594. PAGE 38, 12, 13. American financiers hope to raise a revenue by taxing America. 24. Mr. Rice. 66 financiers who would 34. shall tell you "is bound to," is sure to "; with fuller recognition than is now common of the original meaning of this auxiliary. PAGE 39, 3. Acts of Navigation, passed first in 1651, re-enacted later, and repealed only within the last century. They were |