Charles Brockden Brown QUOTES

1 " All men are, at times, influenced by inexplicable sentiments. Ideas haunt them in spite of all their efforts to discard them. Prepossessions are entertained, for which their reason is unable to discover any adequate cause. The strength of a belief, when it is destitute of any rational foundation, seems, of itself, to furnish a new ground for credulity. We first admit a powerful persuasion, and then, from reflecting on the insufficiency of the ground on which it is built, instead of being prompted to dismiss it, we become more forcibly attached to it. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Somnambulism and Other Stories

2 " Their creeds, however, were in many respects opposite. Where one discovered only confirmations of his faith, the other could find nothing but reasons for doubt. Moral necessity, and calvinistic inspiration, were the props on which my brother thought proper to repose. Pleyel was the champion on intellectual liberty, and rejected all guidance but that of his reason. Their discussions were frequent , but, being managed with candour as well as with skill, they were always listened to by us with avidity and benefit. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

3 " Make what use of the tale you shall think proper. If it be communicated to the world, it will inculcate the duty of avoiding deceit. It will exemplify the force of early impressions, and show, the immeasurable evils that flow from an erroneous or imperfect discipline. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

4 " Why should you waste your time in idleness, and torment yourself with unprofitable wishes? Books are at hand; books from which most sciences and languages can be learned. Read, analyse, digest; collect facts, and investigate theories: ascertain the dictates of reason, and supply yourself with the inclination and the power to adhere to them. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Carwin, the Biloquist, and Other American Tales and Pieces. in Three Volumes, Vol. III

5 " All unaware, and in a manner which I had no power to explain, I was pushed from my immoveable and lofty station, and cast upon a sea of troubles. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

6 " To know a man's favourite or most constant studies cannot fail of letting in some little light upon his secret thoughts. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Carwin, the Biloquist, and Other American Tales and Pieces. in Three Volumes, Vol. III

7 " We become fondly attached to objects and pursuits, frequently for no conceivable reason but the pain and trouble they cost us. In proportion to the danger in which they involve us do we cherish them. Our darling potion is the poison that scorches our vitals. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Carwin, the Biloquist, and Other American Tales and Pieces. in Three Volumes, Vol. III

8 " ‎"The incapacity of sound sleep denotes a mind sorely wounded. "

― Charles Brockden Brown

9 " No one knows the powers that are latent in his constitution. Called forth by imminent dangers, our efforts frequently exceed our most sanguine belief. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker

10 " There is no standard by which time can be measured, but the succession of our thoughts, and the changes that take place in the external world. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker

11 " Death was a sweet relief for my present miseries, and I vehemently longed for its arrival. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker

12 " How slender is the accommodation which nature has provided for man. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker

13 " In his first published work, the magazine essay series, The Rhapsodist, Brown suggests that the role of the writer is "to enchain the attention and ravish the souls of those who study and reflect. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

14 " Endless improvements turn out to be merely endless transformations, thus announcing the uncomfortable truth that identity is permanently insubstantial and mutable. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

15 " Books are cold," declared Arthur Merwyn. They "allow no questions, offer no explanations... They talk to us behind a screen. Their tone is lifeless and monotonous. They charm not our attention by mute significances of gesture and look. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

16 " Then will I lay down my head in the lap of death. Hushed will be all my murmurs in the sleep of the grave. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

17 " Fear and wonder rendered him powerless. An occurrence like this, in a place assigned to devotion, was adapted to intimidate the stoutest heart. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

18 " Six years of uninterrupted happiness had rolled away, since my brother's marriage. The sound of war had been heard, affording objects of comparison. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

19 " The will is the tool of the understanding, which must fashion its conclusions on the notices of sense. If the senses be depraved, it is impossible to calculate the evils that may flow from the consequent deductions of the understanding. "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

20 " So flexible, and yet so stubborn is the human mind. So obedient to impulses the most transient and brief, and yet so unalterably observant of the direction which is given to it! How little did I then foresee the termination of that chain, of which this may be regarded as the first link? "

― Charles Brockden Brown , Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist

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