A book which hath been culled from the flowers of all books. -GEORGE ELIOT. They have been at a great feast of languages, and stolen the scraps. -SHAKESPEARE. The art of quotation requires more delicacy in the practice than those con- COPYRIGHT, 1896. BY FUNK & WAGNALLS COMPANY. [Printed in the United States.] -ISAAC DISRAELI. 43652 1 D '97 AQ PREFACE. THIS work is the first thorough revision of the Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations issued over twelve years ago, and the labor begun five years ago has been steadily pursued, most of the time with a large corps of assistants. The plan of the work has been considerably altered. Hundreds of new quotations have been added with new headings, and it has been the aim of the compiler to bring this work down to date and to include every familiar phrase and sentence that has currency in the English language. The concordance will be found the most complete of any ever compiled for a work of this kind, and by its assistance it will be easy to find whatever may be sought for. Even the English translations of the foreign selections are included in this index. Shortly after the first edition was published, a letter was received asking why the line was not given, as well as the act and scene in the quotations from Shakespeare. There were several reasons why this was not done originally, but, acting on the principle that what interests one may interest many, the work was undertaken, and the labor on this alone may be understood when it is stated that there are at least two thousand quotations from that author, and that some scenes in the plays contain over 800 lines. Then there came a demand for another and obviously needed work, covering the whole volumethe verification of every quotation in the book, and a large number of talented ladies were engaged on this for many months, putting under tribute every large library in New York, and others outside. Thus it is hoped that all errors have been found and corrected, and if a few books have not been found by the compiler and his corps of assistants, it will be useless for the reader to look for them. Here and there a rare book wanted can be found in the library of the British Museum alone. Some of the departments in the first edition were found not to be appropriate to a work of this kind, and have been omitted, while others have been transferred to the body of the work, but the proverbs and foreign quotations and mottoes have been retained, being, however, all brought into two departmentsEnglish and Foreign. Many new topical headings have been given, and the chapter of epigrams presents a collection of the best and cleanest sayings of the poet Martial taken from an expurgated edition, which fact will account for differences in the location of some of the epigrams. The compiler begs to call particular attention to the "Guide to the Use of this Book," which will much facilitate its employment. As the first edition of the Cyclopedia owed much of its value to the fostering care and intelligence of a woman, the compiler but performs an agreeable duty in saying that this edition has been watched with tender care and devotion from the first line to the last by Miss Kate Louise Roberts, of Newark, N. J., a lady singularly gifted with the native and acquired ability to superintend a work of this kind. Thanking the great discriminating public for its past favorable reception of this work he commends this volume to their critical examination. NEWARK, JAN. 1ST, 1895. J. K. H. Mr. Hoyt did not live to see the completion of the work which had been the object of his absorbing interest and solicitude for so many years. He passed into the other life in February, 1895. Jan. 1st, 1896. K. L. ROBERTS. GUIDE TO THE USE OF THIS BOOK. THOSE WHO Consult the Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations will do well to notice the following explanations: The Cyclopedia claims to be a novelty in the abundance of its matter and in that it combines the features of the arrangement of other books of the kind, namely: The quotations are grouped as accurately as possible under subjects or headings. The authority for each quotation is given as fully and accurately as possible, and there is virtually a grouping according to authors, since in the Biographies, after each author's name will be found the number of the pages whereon he is quoted. The object of the book is not to treat exhaustively of any subject, but to glean whatever is useful and well known upon that subject. Not one line has been added merely to expand the book, but in a few instances quotations have been purposely retained under more than one heading where they might be of actual service. There are some subdivisions of the book, but practically there are but two parts: the ENGLISH and the FOREIGN. Among the English quotations will be found a chapter of Proverbs, and at the end of the Foreign department a chapter of mottoes from the Latin and French. Translations of the foreign quotations are put in the English concordance, which, when properly consulted, is a sure guide to every phrase of prominence. The Foreign department is divided into Latin and the modern tongues, and is believed to be unusually rich in the verbal treasures of each language. All the foreign quotations and mottoes are included in a new concordance which is as complete as the best efforts of the compiler could make it. As many lovers of the several poets have expressed a desire to know on which pages the quotations of their favorite poets can be found, and as in some names, such as Shakespeare, Tennyson, Byron, etc., a mere list of pages would convey no information whatever, the plan has been adopted of marking those who are largely quoted with a special sign in the index, the same as was done with Shakespeare in the first edition whose marks 2,000 extracts. The sign for each is designated at the foot of each page of the concordance. The pages where may be found the quotations from authors not so designated will be given after the author's name in the biographical list. We feel assured that this feature will be appreciated. A great improvement in this work over the previous edition is the tracing of every Shakespearian quotation, and all others in fact, where possible, to its line in the scene or poem from which it is taken. This involved great labor, but as it included also a verification of each quotation and the rectification of many errors, it was labor well spent. It may not, however, occur to every one that in counting the lines no two editions of Shakespeare will exactly agree, especially in plays in which prose is a dominant feature, as there are no two editions in which the length of the lines is the same. The figures given are at least approximately correct and will prove of great assistance in finding the context. The number of the line applies to the first in each quotation. The Globe Edition has been the general authority for the text. As far as possible each author's peculiarities of spelling or composition have been respected. All the Latin quotations have been traced to the exact book and place in the author quoted from. This department would make a volume of itself equal in size and value to any other of like character, and is believed to include all the noted sayings of the classic writers in that language. Special attention is called to the quotations under collective headings, a new feature which much simplifies the work of those seeking quotations in those subjects. They are as follows: In consulting this volume it is supposed that each reader has one of two objects: either to find a quotation applicable to some topic under consideration, or to find one of which he has not a clear remembrance and of which he desires to know the exact reading. In the first case he will be naturally assisted by the 'division of the book into chapters under topical headings (see the index of the headings with cross references). If he is writing, for instance, about life or death, love or marriage, he will naturally turn to those headings, but if he is looking for a definite quotation which he partly remembers he will turn to the index, and searching for any prominent word he will be sure to find it; or if he cannot remember the reading of the line but knows the author, a reference to the biographies and the pages where that author may be found will give him the line. Bear in mind that the italic letter in the index corresponds with the same letter in the page, thus enabling the searcher to put his finger upon it at once. It is not to be supposed that all the beauties of every author are to be found in any book of quotations. All those that make up the current quotations of the day are supposed to be here and such others as, in the judgment of the compiler, are appropriate to the several headings. Shakespeare's name does not appear in the body of the book, the names of the plays being sufficient to indicate the author. The book is alphabetically arranged throughout. The authors follow each other alphabetically under each heading and the quotations under each author, save in the proverbs, where the arrangement is according to alphabetical order of lines, and in the modern languages, where the quotations are grouped in the various tongues, the order being French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Everything possible has been done to facilitate search. There are no quotations from the Bible in this volume, the editor believing that book to be amply provided for by the many works devoted entirely to it. |