Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hazlitt, William, 1778-1830

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Table Talk: Essays on Men and Manners" by William Hazlitt is a collection of essays written in the early 19th century. This reflective work explores various facets of human nature and society, with Hazlitt offering insights on topics ranging from art to personal relationships, emphasizing the interplay between individual perception and broader cultural contexts. The opening of the volume features an essay titled "On the Pleasure of Painting," where Hazlitt expresses his admiration for the art of painting compared to writing. He highlights the joy and serenity of engaging with nature through the medium of painting, suggesting that it allows for a direct connection to truth and beauty. He contrasts this creative process with the anxieties often associated with writing, illustrating his personal experiences with both disciplines. The essay serves as an invitation into Hazlitt's deeper exploration of artistic expression and the inherent pleasures found in observing and recreating the world around us. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

On the pleasure of painting

On the past and future

On genius and common sense

Character of Cobbett

On people with one idea

On the ignorance of the learned

The Indian jugglers

On living to one's-self

On thought and action

On will-making

On certain inconsistencies in Sir Joshua Reynolds's discourses

On paradox and common-place

On vulgarity and affectation

On a landscape of Nicolas Poussin

On Milton's sonnets

On going a journey

On coffee-house politicians

On the aristocracy of letters

On critism

On great and little things

On familiar style

On effeminacy of character

Why distant objects please

On corporate bodies

Whether actors ought to sit in the boxes?

On the disadvantages of intellectual superiority

On patronage and puffing

On the knowledge of character

On the picturesque and ideal

On the fear of death.

Credits:

Produced by Christopher Hapka, and David Widger

Notes:

Reading ease score: 60.8 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read.

Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table-Talk

Release date is 2002-01-01