Hazlitt: Selected Writings

This small collection of prose reveals Hazlitt as one of the great writers in English. Here are superb essays on politics, poetry, art and philosophy. The criticism of Shakespeare and Wordsworth is a marvel to read, as are his devastating polemics "On Fashion" and "On Public Opinion." Hazlitt's prose is masterly; muscular yet nuanced. Just leafing through the collection your eye is caught by startling pieces of insight, eloquently expressed. Furthermore, his writing reveals not only a great deal of knowledge, but more importantly, wisdom, which is a quality perhaps lacking amongst some intellectuals! This point is made clear in one of his aphorisms, which are characteristically witty and paradoxical: "Buonaparte observes that the diplomatists of the new school were no match for those brought up under the ancien regime. The reason probably is, that the modern style of intellect inclines to abstract reasoning and general propositions, and pays less attention to individual character, interests, and circumstances. The moderns have, therefore...a greater knowledge of things, but less of the world."

William Hazlitt, though not much read today, remains one of the greatest prose stylists of the language, and with Dequincey, one of the two best of the romantic age. A must!