“Dear Sir,—You and I have read and rejected many a grave
definition of man; and if the failure
LIFE OF DR. PARR.
443
of others were not
sufficient to deter us from attempts to define, we should hardly, on such a
question, observe the three laws which logicians produce, as indispensably
necessary to a just definition. But we can describe what is prominent, or even
peculiar, in species and in individuals; and can you, after all your variety of
research, and with all your fertility of conception, point out a more proper
term for man than a procrastinating animal? Such is man—and such have I been.
Mr. C—— left your book at Birmingham, while I was
rambling about Wales. In the beginning of October I received it, at Birmingham.
I brought it to Hatton. I read it twice—I liked it exceedingly—I determined,
again and again, to write to you—I have been busy—I have been vexed—I have been
idle—I have remembered, and remembered my resolution again and again; and again
and again I have neglected to execute it. Your kind letter, and even the sight
of your hand-writing, have roused me from my delirium. Tansillo interested me even by his subject.
The short but pithy life you have prefixed, sent me to the book with yet
stronger emotions. I read, and was delighted with his tenderness, his just
indignation, his deep observation upon character, his earnest and most
expressive expostulations. A mother I am not; and yet if I were, and had sinned
against his laws, such a monitor would have awakened me to repentance. I am a
man and a father, and a diligent and anxious observer of what passes in the
earlier stages of what you and I consider education, &c. &c.
S. Parr.”
Jan. 25, 1799.
Luigi Tansillo (1510-1568)
Italian poet, the author of Il vendemmiatore (1532–1534).
Title:Memoirs of the Life, Writings, and Opinions of the Rev. Samuel Parr, LL.D.;
with Biographical Notices of many of his Friends, Pupils, and Contemporaries. 2 vols (London: Henry Colburn, 1828).
Electronic Edition:
Series: Lord Byron and his Times: http://lordbyron.org
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Publisher: Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Tech
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