Joseph Addison

  • From “The Spectator”
    THE SPACIOUS firmament on high,
    With all the blue ethereal sky,
    And spangled heavens, a shining frame,
    Their great Original proclaim;
    The unwearied sun, from day to day,
    Does his Creator’s power display,
    And publishes to...

  • From “Cato,” Act II. Sc. 1.
      MY voice is still for war.
    Gods! can a Roman senate long debate
    Which of the two to choose, slavery or death?
    No; let us rise at once, gird on our swords,
    And at the head of our remaining troops
    Attack the foe, break...

  • From “Cato,” Act V. Sc. 1.
    SCENE.—CATO, sitting in a thoughtful posture, with Plato’s book on the Immortality of the Soul in his hand, and a drawn sword on the table by him.

      IT must be so—Plato, thou reasonest well!—
    Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire,...