Autor: William Hutton, "An History of Birmingham (1783)".
Publisher: G. Berger| ISBN: 0225689542 | 2004 edition | PDF | 145 Pages | 1.04 MB
We next turn over a new leaf, and open upon a pompous dedication, which answers many laudable purposes: if a coat of arms, correctly engraven, should step first into view, we consider it a singular advantage gained over a reader, like the first blow in a combat. The dedication itself becomes a pair of stilts, which advance an author something higher. As a horse-shoe, nailed upon the threshold of a cottage, prevents the influence of the witch; so a first-rate name, at the head of a dedication, is a total bar against the critic; but this great name, like a great officer, sometimes unfortunately stands at the head of wretched troops. When an author is too heavy to swim of himself…