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Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe Biography

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“There are some secret moving Springs in the Affections, which when they are set a going by some Object in View, or be it some Object, tho’ not in View, yet render’d present to the Mind by the Power of Imagination, that Motion carries out the Soul by its Impetuosity to such violent eager Embracings of the Object, that the Absence of it is insupportable.”

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Book:Robinson Crusoe
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“Let any one who is acquainted with what multitudes of people get their daily bread in this city by their labour, whether artificers or meer workmen—I say, let any man consider what must be the miserable condition of this town if, on a sudden, they should all be turned out of employment, that labour should cease, and wages for work be no more. This was the case with us at that time; and had not the sums of money contributed in charity by well-disposed people of every kind, as well as abroad as at home, been prodigiously great, it had not been in the power of the Lord Mayor and sheriffs to have kept the publick peace. Nor were they without apprehensions, as it was, that desperation should push the people upon tumults and cause them to rifle the houses of rich men and plunder the markets of provisions; in which case the country people, who brought provisions very freely and boldly to town, would have been terrified from coming any more, and the town would have sunk under an unavoidable famine.”

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Book:A Journal of the Plague Year
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“It must be confessed that though the plague was chiefly among the poor, yet were the poor the most venturous and fearless of it, and went about their employment with a sort of brutal courage; I must call it so, for it was founded neither on religion or prudence; scarce did they use any caution, but run into any business which they could get employment in, though it was the most hazardous. Such was that of tending the sick, watching houses shut up, carrying infected persons to the pest-house, and, which was still worse, carrying the dead away to their graves.”

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Book:A Journal of the Plague Year
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“While I was under these influences of sorrow for him, came notice to me that the next sessions there would be a bill preferred to the grand jury against me, and that I should be tried for my life. My temper was touched before, the wretched boldness of spirit which I had acquired abated, and conscious guilt began to flow in my mind. In short, I began to think, and to think indeed is one real advance from hell to heaven. All that hardened state and temper of soul, which I said so much of before, is but a deprivation of thought; he that is restored to his thinking, is restored to himself.”

SorrowEnlightenmentMercyAwakeningPunishmentPenitence
Book:Moll Flanders
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“I told him I had, perhaps, different notions of matrimony from what the received custom had given us of it; that I thought a woman was a free agent as well as a man, and was born free, and, could she manage herself suitably, might enjoy that liberty to as much purpose as the men do; that the laws of matrimony were indeed otherwise, and mankind at this time acted quite upon other principles, and those such that a woman gave herself entirely away from herself, in marriage, and capitulated, only to be, at best, but an upper servant, and from the time she took the man she was no better or worse than the servant among the Israelites, who had his ears bored—that is, nailed to the door-post—who by that act gave himself up to be a servant during life; that the very nature of the marriage contract was, in short, nothing but giving up liberty, estate, authority, and everything to the man, and the woman was indeed a mere woman ever after—that is to say, a slave. Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (1724)”

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Book:Roxana
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“I added, that whoever the woman was that had an estate, and would give it up to be the slave of a great man, that woman was a fool, and must be fit for nothing but a beggar; that it was my opinion a woman was as fit to govern and enjoy her own estate without a man as a man was without a woman; and that, if she had a mind to gratify herself as to sexes, she might entertain a man as a man does a mistress; that while she was thus single she was her own, and if she gave away that power she merited to be as miserable as it was possible that any creature could be. Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (1724)”

FeminismEqualityMarriage As Slavery
Book:Roxana
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“I had been telling him how the devil was God’s enemy in the hearts of men, and used all his malice and skill to defeat the good designs of Providence, and to ruin the kingdom of Christ in the world, and the like. “Well,” says Friday, “but you say God is so strong, so great; is He not much strong, much might as the devil?” “Yes, yes,” says I, “Friday; God is stronger than the devil—God is above the devil, and therefore we pray to God to tread him down under our feet, and enable us to resist his temptations and quench his fiery darts.” “But,” says he again, “if God much stronger, much might as the wicked devil, why God no kill the devil, so make him no more do wicked?” I was strangely surprised at this question; and, after all, though I was now an old man, yet I was but a young doctor, and ill qualified for a casuist or a solver of difficulties; and at first I could not tell what to say; so I pretended not to hear him, and asked him what he said; but he was too earnest for an answer to forget his question, so that he repeated it in the very same broken words as above. By this time I had recovered myself a little, and I said, “God will at last punish him severely; he is reserved for the judgment, and is to be cast into the bottomless pit, to dwell with everlasting fire.” This did not satisfy Friday; but he returns upon me, repeating my words, “‘Reserve at last!’ me no understand—but why not kill the devil now; not kill great ago?” “You may as well ask me,” said I, “why God does not kill you or me, when we do wicked things here that offend Him—we are preserved to repent and be pardoned.” He mused some time on this. “Well, well,” says he, mighty affectionately, “that well—so you, I, devil, all wicked, all preserve, repent, God pardon all.” Here I was run down again by him to the last degree; and it was a testimony to me, how the mere notions of nature, though they will guide reasonable creatures to the knowledge of a God, and of a worship or homage due to the supreme being of God, as the consequence of our nature, yet nothing but divine revelation can form the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and of redemption purchased for us; of a Mediator of the new covenant, and of an Intercessor at the footstool of God’s throne; I say, nothing but a revelation from Heaven can form these in the soul; and that, therefore, the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I mean the Word of God, and the Spirit of God, promised for the guide and sanctifier of His people, are the absolutely necessary instructors of the souls of men in the saving knowledge of God and the means of salvation.”

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Book:Robinson Crusoe
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“That as my sister-in-law at Colchester had said, beauty, wit, manners, sense, good humour, good behaviour, education, virtue, piety, or any other qualification, whether of body or mind, had no power to recommend; that money only made a woman agreeable; that men chose mistresses indeed by the gust of their affection, and it was requisite to a whore to be handsome, well-shaped, have a good mien and a graceful behaviour; but that for a wife, no deformity would shock the fancy, no ill qualities the judgment; the money was the thing; the portion was neither crooked nor monstrous, but the money was always agreeable, whatever the wife was.”

Marriage Equality
Book:Moll Flanders
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“Num trabalho honesto", costumava dizer [Bartholomew Roberts], "o que se vê é gente magra, salários baixos e muito trabalho. Neste daqui, o que temos é fartura e saciedade, prazer e alegria, liberdade e poder. E quem não iria fazer o prato da balança pesar para este lado, quando tudo o que se arrisca daqui, na pior das hipóteses, é apenas um olhar ou dois de tristeza, no instante em que se sufoca? Não, meu lema será sempre por uma vida feliz e curta.”

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Book:A General History of the Pyrates
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“mi opinión del hecho mismo empezó a modificarse, y con pensamientos mas fríos y serenos empecé a considerar qué era lo que iba a acometer; qué autoridad o misión tenía yo para pretender ser juez y verdugo de aquellos hombres, como criminales, a quienes el Cielo había creído oportuno a lo largo de tantas generaciones tolerar dejándoles impunes, de modo que siguiesen así y fuesen, como lo eran, verdugos de Sus juicios, los unos para los otros; hasta qué punto me habían perjudicado aquellos seres, y qué derecho tenía yo a mezclarme en luchas sangrientas y derramar sangre como ellos lo hacían entre sí. Muy a menudo debatí esta cuestión conmigo mismo en los siguientes términos: ¿Cómo sé yo el juicio de Dios en este caso particular?”

ReligiónReflexiónteológica
Author:Daniel Defoe
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“I had no Inclination to be a Wife again, I had had such bad Luck with my first Husband, I hated the Thoughts of it; I found, that a Wife is with Indifference, a Mistress with a strong Passion; a Wife is look’d upon, as but an Upper-Servant, a Mistress is a Sovereign; a Wife must give up all she has; have every Reserve she makes for herself, be thought hard of, and be upbraided with her very Pin-Money; whereas a Mistress makes the Saying true, that what the man has, is hers, and what she has, is her own; the Wife bears a thousand Insults, and is forc’d to sit still and bear it, or part and be undone; a Mistress insulted, helps herself immediately, and takes another.”

Marriage18th Century Literature
Author:Daniel Defoe
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“I had great Reason to consider it as a Determination of Heaven, that in this desolate Place, and in this desolate Manner I should end my life; the Tears would run plentifully down my Face when I made these Reflections, and sometimes I would expostulate with myself, Why Providence should thus compleately ruine its Creatures, and render them so absolutely miserable, so without Help abandon'd, so entirely depress'd, that it could be hardly rational to be thankful for such a Life.”

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Author:Daniel Defoe
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“A rich man is an honest man--no thanks to him; for he would be a double knave, to cheat mankind when he had no need of it: he has no occasion to press upon his integrity, nor so much as to touch upon the borders of dishonesty.”

MenNeedsWould BeWealthRichMankindHonestIntegrityPressesThanksOccasionsBordersCheatDishonestyHonest ManRich ManKnavesThanks To Him
Book:DANIEL DEFOE Ultimate Collection: 50+ Adventure Classics, Pirate Tales & Historical Novels - Including Biographies, Historical Works, Travel Sketches, Poems & Essays (Illustrated): Robinson Crusoe, The History of the Pirates, Captain Singleton, Memoirs of a Cavalier, A Journal of the Plague Year, Moll Flanders, Roxana, The History of the Devil, The King of Pirates and many more
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“A woman well bred and well taught, furnished with the additional accomplishments of knowledge and behaviour, is a creature without comparison. Her society is the emblem of sublimer enjoyments, her person is angelic, and her conversation heavenly. She is all softness and sweetness, peace, love, wit, and delight. She is every way suitable to the sublimest wish, and the man that has such a one to his portion, has nothing to do but to rejoice in her, and be thankful.”

MenWayWellsPersonsWishWomenTaughtHe ManConversationCreaturesDelightWitAccomplishmentEnjoymentComparisonHeavenlyRejoicePortionsBehaviourSweetnessBeing ThankfulSuitableSoftnessAngelicEmblemsPeace Love
Book:An Essay Upon Projects
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“As for women that do not think their own safety worth their thought, that impatient of their present state, resolve as they call it to take the first good Christian that comes; that runs into matrimony, as a horse rushes into battle; I can say nothing to them, but this, that they are a sort of ladies that are to be pray'd for among the rest of distemper'd people; and to me they look like people that venture their whole estates in a lottery where there is a hundred thousand blanks to one prize.”

PeopleThinkingFirstsLooksI CanStatesWholeRunningChristianWomenPrayingBattleThousandHundredHorseSafetyPrizeResolveEstatesVentureImpatientLotteryMatrimonyGood Christian
Book:The works of Daniel De Foe [ed.] by W. Hazlitt
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“No man of common sense will value a woman the less, for not giving herself up at the first attack, or for not accepting his proposal without enquiring into his person or character; on the contrary, he must think her the weakest of all creatures in the world, as the rate of men now goes; in short, he must have a very contemptible opinion of her capacities, nay, even of her understanding, that having but one cast for her life, shall cast that life away at once, and make matrimony like death, be a leap in the dark.”

ThinkingMenWorldGivingFirstsPersonsCharacterValuesUnderstandingDarkCommonAcceptingOpinionCreaturesCapacityRateCastsContraryCommon SenseLeapProposalMatrimony
Book:Moll Flanders
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“So possible is it for us to roll ourselves up in wickedness, till we grow invulnerable by conscience; and that sentinel, once dozed, sleeps fast, not to be awakened while the tide of pleasure continues to flow or till something dark and dreadful brings us to ourselves again.”

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Book:The Fortunate Mistress: or, a History of the Life of Mademoiselle de Bealau Known by the Name of Lady Roxana
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“No man commits evil for the sake of it; even the Devil himself has some farther design in sinning, than barely the wicked part of it.”

MenEvilDesignDevilSakeCommitWickedSinning
Book:The Complete Adventures of Robinson Crusoe – 3 Books in One Volume (Illustrated): The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe & Serious Reflections of Robinson Crusoe
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“This town of Sheffield is very populous and large, the streets narrow, and the houses dark and black, occasioned by the continued smoke of the forges, which are always at work: Here they make all sorts of cutlery-ware, but especially that of edged-tools, knives, razors, axes, &. and nails”

HouseBlackDarkStreetsToolsTownsSmokeKnivesNailsRazorsAxesSheffieldCutlery
Book:DANIEL DEFOE Ultimate Collection: 50+ Adventure Classics, Pirate Tales & Historical Novels - Including Biographies, Historical Works, Travel Sketches, Poems & Essays (Illustrated): Robinson Crusoe, The History of the Pirates, Captain Singleton, Memoirs of a Cavalier, A Journal of the Plague Year, Moll Flanders, Roxana, The History of the Devil, The King of Pirates and many more
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“My True Name is so well known in the Records, or Registers at Newgate, and in the Old-Baily, and there are some things of such Consequence still depending there, relating to my particular Conduct, that it is not to be expected I should set my Name, or the Account of my Family to this Work; perhaps, after my Death it may be better known, at present it would not be proper, no, not tho' a general Pardon should be issued, even without Exceptions and reserve of Persons or Crimes.”

ShouldWellsMayPersonsStillsBookNamesKnownRecordsCrimeParticularConsequenceMy FamilyAccountsExpectedExceptionReservesWell KnownPardonRegister
Book:Moll Flanders
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“I was born in the Year 1632, in the City of York, of a good Family, tho' not of that Country, my Father being a Foreigner of Bremen, who settled first at Hull; He got a good Estate by Merchandise, and leaving off his Trade, lived afterward at York, from whence he had married my Mother, whose Relations were named Robinson, a very good Family in that Country, and from whom I was called Robinson Kreutznaer; but by the usual Corruption of Words in England, we are now called, nay we call ourselves, and write our Name Crusoe, and so my Companions always call'd me.”

WritingYearsFirstsBookCountryMotherFatherNamesBornCitiesMarriedEnglandRelationTradeLeavingVery GoodCorruptionCompanionUsualEstatesForeignersMerchandiseGood FamilyHull
Book:The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner: Who Lived Eight and Twenty Years, All Alone in an Un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, Near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque, Having Been Cast on Shore by Shipwreck, Wherein All the Men Perished But Himself with an Account how He was at Last as Strangely Deliver'd by Pyrates, Written by Himself
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“Whatever Party of Men obtain the Reins of Management, and have power to name the Person who shall License the Press, that Party of Men have the whole power of keeping the World in Ignorance, in all matters relating to Religion or Policy, since the Writers of that Party shall have full liberty to impose their Notions upon the World.”

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Book:An Essay on the Regulation of the Press
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