The History And Antiquities Of The City Of Bristol Compiled From Original Records And Authentic Manuscripts In Public Or Private Hands

Excerpt from The History and Antiquities of the City of Bristol: Compiled From Original Records and Authentic Manuscripts, in Public Offices or Private Hands How the History of Bristol, so long expected, is at length offered to the public the reader may be curious to know. Twenty years have clapsed since collections for the design were fought for with great assiduity and no small expence, and some progress made in compiling it, and even the copperplates were engraved for the work in folio; but the author, engaged in a business that commanded all his time and attention, receiving no encouragement to proceed, and finding there was more likelihood for him, "oleum et operam perdere," fat down contented with his first loss and wholly desisted from the undertaking, locking up his papers for several years, intending to leave them to one of more leisure and to a time more auspicious and favourable to the undertaking. Retiring from business into the country and often confined by the gout, he thought he should find some amusement in this literary employ, and resumed the long intermitted task, that he might leave it in a less unfinished slate to completed and published hereafter. At this time a worthy Doctor of one of our universities, deservedly esteemed by all for his singular humanity and friendly disposition, visited him and warmly solicited him to proceed with the work and publish it himself in his life-time; for posthumous works were often neglected, seldom executed to the author's mind, and not unfrequently lost. In a letter afterwards he urged the matter with great earnestness, and most generous tender of his friendship, concluding with the following spirited expressions, which he applied to this occasion. "Hominem te durum et pene crudelem, qui tam infignes libros tam diu teneas. Sine per ora hominum ferantur, &c. Ouosque tibi et nobis invidebis ? Tibi laudem, nobis maximam voluptatem. Magna etiam longaque expeftatio est quam frulirari adhue et differre non debes. - Habe ante Oeulos Mortalitatem! Define studia tua infinita ista cunctatione fraudare, quae cum modum excedat, verendum est, ne inertiae etdefidiae vel etiam timiditatis nomen accipiat." This added a spur to irresolution, and the "habe ante oculos mortalitatem" made an impression irresistible, applied to one in a declining state of health and years. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."