The Copybook

Short passages for reading, drawn from history, legend, poetry and fiction.

1201

Held at the Royal College of Music. Via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.

Francesco Geminiani Clay Lane

The most brilliant violinist of his generation, whose finely-crafted compositions showed off bravura and spoke tenderness.

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1202

By Annibale Gatti (1828-1909), via the Wellcome Trust and Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.

The Firstborn Liberty John Milton

John Milton (of ‘Paradise Lost’ fame) urged Parliament not to fall into bad old habits of censorship, whatever their fears may be.

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1203

© Deutsche Fotothek (picture by Roger and Renate Rössing), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0 Germany.

Inquire Within John Stuart Mill

Philosopher and social activist John Stuart Mill discusses the most liberating kind of education.

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1204

National Portrait Gallery, via Wikimedia Commons.

Charles I and his Parliament Clay Lane

Charles took his rights and duties as a King with religious seriousness, but Parliament’s sense of both right and duty was just as strong.

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1205

© John Sutton, Geograph. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Interregnum Clay Lane

When Parliament overthrew the capricious tyranny of Charles I, it discovered an uncomfortable truth about power.

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1206

© UtDicitur, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC-BY-SA 4.0.

A Pledge to the People Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke pleaded with Parliament to emerge from behind closed doors and reconnect with the British public.

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