er," and comparing him with
Coleridge, he remarks, "They have nearly an equal range of reading and of
topics of conversation; but in the mind of the one we see nothing but
_fixtures_, in the other every thing is fluid."

_Tom Wedgwood_ (1771-1805) was an associate of some of the literary men of
his day.

P. 285. _Holcroft_, Thomas (1745-1809), actor, dramatist, novelist, a
member of Godwin's group of radicals. His chief writings are "The Road to
Ruin" (1792), "Anna St. Ives" (1792), and "Hugh Trevor" (1794-97).
Holcroft's "Memoirs," written by himself, were edited and completed by
Hazlitt and published in 1816 (Works, II).

P. 286. _Hume_, David (1711-1776), historian and sceptic philosopher,
described by Hazlitt as "one of the subtlest and most metaphysical of all
metaphysicians." His chief writings are "A Treatise on Human Nature, being
an Attempt to Introduce the Experimental Method of Reasoning into Moral
Subjects" (1739-40), "Philosophical Essays" (1748), "Four Dissertations"
(1757).

P. 287. _Essay on Vision_. Hazlitt calls this "the greatest by far of all
his works and the most complete example of elaborate analytical reasoning
and particular induction joined together that perhaps ever existed."
(Works, XI, 108).

_Tom Paine_ (1737-1809), an influential revolutionary writer, author of
"Common Sense" (1776), a pamphlet advocating American independence,
"Rights of Man" (1791), a reply to Burke's "Reflections on the French
Revolution," and "The Age of Reason" (1795). He also took an active part
in both the American and French revolutions.

_prefer the unknown to the known_. Cf. the first essay "On the
Conversation of Authors": "Coleridge withholds his tribute of applause
from every person, in whom any mortal but himself can descry the least
glimpse of understanding. He would be thought to look farther into a
millstone than any body else. He would have others see with his eyes, and
take their opinions from him on trust, in spite of their senses. The more
obscure and defective the indications of merit, the greater his sagacity
and candour in being the first to point them out. He looks upon what he
nicknames _a man of genius_, but as the breath of his nostrils, and the
clay in the potter's hands. If any such inert, unconscious mass, under the
fostering care of the modern Prometheus, is kindled into life,--begins to
see, speak, and move, so as to attract the notice of other people,--our
jealous patroniser of late