Genre:

Letter

Subjects:

Politics, Astronomy, Light

    Wishes that the Prime Minister, Robert B Jenkinson (2nd Earl of Liverpool), were more conscious of posterity: 'The man who is convinced that his name will be remembered, and that his character will be scrutinized by after years, yet is not solicitous to preserve them unblemished, is destitute of those feelings which establish the dignity of human nature and confirm its superiority over the brutal creation'. Observes: 'When a man emerges from the gloom of obscurity, and by a rapid and eccentric progress attains the zenith of notoriety, the eye of the philosopher delights in contemplating the track of his glory, and the path of his declination'. Continues the astronomical imagery: 'the sattellite [sic] of —— attracted no notice, when Mr. Pitt shone in the meridian of his glory'. (319)