' But the best
short description of the poem is Macaulay's:--'In the 'Traveller' the
execution, though deserving of much praise, is far inferior to the
design. No philosophical poem, ancient or modern, has a plan so noble,
and at the same time so simple. An English wanderer, seated on a crag
among the Alps, near the point where three great countries meet, looks
down on the boundless prospect, reviews his long pilgrimage, recalls the
varieties of scenery, of climate, of government, of religion, of
national character, which he has observed, and comes to the conclusion,
just or unjust, that our happiness depends little on political
institutions, and much on the temper and regulation of our own minds.'
('Encyclop. Britannica', Goldsmith, February, 1856.)
The only definite record of payment for 'The Traveller' is 'Copy of the
Traveller, a Poem, 21l,' in Newbery's MSS.; but as the same sum occurs
in Memoranda of much later date than 1764, it is possible that the
success of the book may have prompted some supplementary fee.
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