publication of his letters from that time
to his death. I shall thus give more satisfaction, by employing the
language of Mr. Gibbon, instead of my own; and the public will see him
in a new and (I think) an admirable light, as a writer of letters.
By the insertion of a few occasional sentences, I shall obviate the
disadvantages that are apt to arise from an interrupted narration. A
prejudiced or a fastidious critic may condemn, perhaps, some parts of
the letters as trivial; but many readers, I flatter myself, will
be gratified by discovering even in these my friend's affectionate
feelings, and his character in familiar life. His letters in general
bear a strong resemblance to the style and turn of his conversation; the
characteristics of which were vivacity, elegance, and precision, with
knowledge astonishingly extensive and correct. He never ceased to
be instructive and entertaining; and in general there was a vein of
pleasantry in his conversation which prevented its becoming languid,
even during a residence of many months with a family in the country.

It has been supposed that he always arranged what he intended to say,
before he spoke; his quickness in conversation contradicts this notion:
but it is very true, that before he sat down to write a note or letter,
he completely arranged in his mind what he meant to express. He pursued
the same method in respect to other composition; and he occasionally
would walk several times about his apartment before he had rounded a
period to his taste. He has pleasantly remarked to me, that it sometimes
cost him many a turn before he could throw a sentiment into a form that
gratified his own criticism. His systematic habit of arrangement in
point of style, assisted, in his instance, by an excellent memory and
correct judgment, is much to be recommended to those who aspire to any
perfection in writing.

Although the Memoirs extend beyond the time of Mr. Gibbon's return to
Lausanne, I shall insert a few Letters, written immediately after his
arrival there, and combine them so far as to include even the last note
which he wrote a few days previously to his death. Some of them contain
few incidents; but they connect and carry on the account either of his
opinions or of his employment.

End of Project Gutenberg's Memoirs of My Life and Writings, by Edward Gibbon

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MEMOIRS OF MY LIFE AND WRITINGS ***

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