A small tortoiseshell butterfly spreads its wings in Saltney, Cheshire.
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A small tortoiseshell butterfly spreads its wings on a bench in Saltney, the village in Cheshire (and partly in Flintshire) where Gladstone made his speech about self-reliance at the now-vanished Literary Institute. Literary Institutes were a popular way to engage the adult public in reading, discussion and self-improvement. Gladstone, who as a Liberal was opposed to Government nannying, praised all private initiatives that allowed and encouraged ordinary people to educate themselves and each other.
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A small tortoiseshell butterfly spreads its wings in Saltney, Cheshire.
A small tortoiseshell butterfly spreads its wings on a bench in Saltney, the village in Cheshire (and partly in Flintshire) where Gladstone made his speech about self-reliance at the now-vanished Literary Institute. Literary Institutes were a popular way to engage the adult public in reading, discussion and self-improvement. Gladstone, who as a Liberal was opposed to Government nannying, praised all private initiatives that allowed and encouraged ordinary people to educate themselves and each other.
In 1889, at the opening of Reading and Recreation Rooms at the Saltney Literary Institute in Cheshire, Prime Minister William Gladstone spoke warmly of the benefits of lifelong, self-directed education for the working man, and warned against letting Government take it over.
WE live at a time when there is a
disposition to think that the Government ought to do this and that,
and that the Government ought to do everything. There are things which
the Government ought to do, I have no doubt. In former periods the
Government have neglected much, and possibly even now they neglect
something. But there is a danger on the other side. If the Government
takes into its hands that which the man ought to do for himself, it
will inflict upon him greater mischiefs than all the benefits he will
have received or all the advantages that would accrue from them.
The essence of the whole thing is, that the spirit of
self-reliance, the spirit of true and genuine manly independence,
should be preserved in the minds of the people. If the individual
loses his self-reliance, if he learns to live in a craven dependence
upon wealthier people rather than upon himself, he incurs mischiefs
for which no compensation can be made.
ByWilliam Ewart Gladstone1808-1898
From a Speech at the opening of the Reading and Recreation Rooms erected by the Saltney Literary Institute at Saltney in Chesire (October 26th, 1889), as given in ‘Public Libraries’ (3rd edition) (1890) by Thomas Greenwood (1851-1908).
Questions for Critics
1. What is the author
aiming to achieve in writing this?
2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that
strike you. How do they help the author communicate his
ideas more effectively?
3. What impression does this passage make on you?
How might you put that impression into words?
Based on The English Critic (1939)
by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at
Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn,
Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University,
USA.
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1I.Craven.Receive.
2Doubt.Everything.People.
3Dependence.If.Take.
Variations:1.include direct and indirect speech2.include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who3.use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Many words can serve as noun or verb depending on context: see if you can prove this with the examples below. Nouns go well with words such as the/a, or his/her; verbs go well after I/you/he etc..
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Variations:
1.if possible, use your noun in the plural, e.g. cat → cats.2.use your verb in a past form, e.g. go → went.3.use your noun in a sentence with one of these words: any, enough, fewer, less, no, some.
In each group below, you will find words that are similar to one another, but not exactly the same. Compose your own sentences to bring out the similarities and differences between them, whether in meaning, grammar or use.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
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