The poetical works of Sir Walter Scott, with memoir of the author.

LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL. 13
ful quarrel, made themselves ridiculous during
their lives, to become the still more degraded objects of pity to future times.
Upon the whole, as I had no pretension to the
genius of the distinguished persons who had fallen
into such errors, I concluded there could be no
occasion for imitating them in their mistakes, or
what I considered as such; and, in adopting literary pursuits as the principal occupation of my
future life, I resolved, if possible, to avoid those
weaknesses of temper which seemed to have
most easily beset my more celebrated predecessors.
With this view, it was my first resolution to
keep as far as was in my power abreast of society, continuing to maintain my place in general
company, without yielding to the very natural
temptation of narrowing myself to what is called
literary society. By doing so, I imagined I
should escape the besetting sin of listening to
language, which, from one motive or other, is apt
to asqribe a very undue degree of consequence to
literary pursuits, as if they were, indeed, the business, rather than the amusement, of life. The
opposite course can only be compared to the injudicious conduct of one who pampers himself with
cordial and luscious draughts, until he is unable
to endure wholesome bitters. Like Gil Blas,
therefore, I resolved to stick by the society of my
commis, instead of seeking that of a more literary