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Quote by Horace Walpole

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The Letters of Horace Walpole, Earl of Oxford

This volume includes a comprehensive selection of letters written by Horace Walpole, Earl of Oxford, providing a detailed look into the life and times of the 18th-century English aristocracy. The letters reveal Walpole's personal relationships, his political views, and his observations on the arts and literature of his era. more

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Horace Walpole
Horace Walpole

Horace Walpole was an English politician, writer, and critic, born on September 24, 1717, and died on March 2, 1797. He is best known for his contributions to literature and the arts, particularly for his role in the revival of Gothic novels. more

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“Villages and woods, meadows and chateaux, pass across the moving scene, out of which the whistling of locomotives throws sharp notes. These faint, piercing sounds, together with the yelping and barking of dogs, are the only noises that reach one through the depths of the upper air. The human voice cannot mount up into these boundless solitudes. Human beings look like ants along the white lines that are highways; and the rows of houses look like children's playthings.”

“Previous to this time I had never even a balloon except from a distance. Being interested in their construction, I was about to institute a thorough examination of all its parts, when the aeronaut announced that all was ready. He inquired whether I desired to go up alone, or he should accompany me. My desire, if frankly expressed, would have been not to go up at all; but if I was to go, company was certainly desirable. With an attempt at indifference, I intimated that he might go along.”

“We're at 103,000 feet. Looking out over a very beautiful, beautiful world . . . a hostile sky. As you look up the sky looks beautiful but hostile. As you sit here you realize that Man will never conquer space. He will learn to live with it, but he will never conquer it. Can see for over 400 miles. Beneath me I can see the clouds. . . . They are beautiful . . . looking through my mirror the sky is absolutely black. Void of anything. . . . I can see the beautiful blue of the sky and above that it goes into a deep, deep, dark, indescribable blue which no artist can ever duplicate. It's fantastic.”