Hired to Depress: A Digital Scholarly Edition of William Blake's Annotations to Sir Joshua Reynolds' DiscoursesMain MenuWho is William Blake?Just who is William Blake? And why does his scribbling in a book matter?Who is Sir Joshua Reynolds?Important FiguresTitle PageContents of The First VolumeDedication and To the KingSome Account of the Life and Writings of Sir Joshua ReynoldsWritten by Edmond Malone, Esq.The First DiscourseBibliographyElizabeth Pottera6e9fb7ea6eda3e5063e2aee73ca5f372e99b8f3
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12017-01-15T22:27:21-08:00Elizabeth Pottera6e9fb7ea6eda3e5063e2aee73ca5f372e99b8f370541The First Discourse pg. 10plain2017-01-15T22:27:21-08:00Elizabeth Pottera6e9fb7ea6eda3e5063e2aee73ca5f372e99b8f3
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12017-01-11T00:15:51-08:00The First Discourse 103plain2017-01-15T22:27:39-08:00 imbibe somewhat congenial to its own origin- nal conceptions. Knowledge, thus obtained, has always something more popular and use- ful than that which is forced upon the mind by private precepts, or solitary meditation. Besides, it is generally found, that a youth more easily receives instruction from the companions of his studies, whose minds are nearly on a level with his own, than from those who are much his superiors ; and it is from his equals only that he catches the fire of emulation.
One advantage, I will venture to affirm, we shall have in our Academy, which no other nation can boast. We shall have no- thing to unlearn. To this praise the present race of Artists have a just claim. As far as they have yet proceeded, they are right. With us the exertions of genius will hence- forward be directed to their proper objects. It will not be as it has been in other schools, where he that travelled fastest, only wan- dered farthest from the right way.