57 



works, — they were, taken as a body, U$8 than men. Individual ex- 

 ceptions could, of course, be pointed to — uniform and consistent men — 

 stars in the firmament of art-history, and some too of the first magni- 

 tude — who have exhibited an epic grandeur in their lives, that shed an 

 after lustre on their works ; but, £is a body, the reproach lay at the door 

 of all generations of artists, and reached to the very highest names, — 

 that inspiration was in their art-utterance alone, — that they were of 

 those who say, and do not ; they were priests to the goddess of the fair 

 and the pure, but they were not lovely in their lives. The " eccentri- 

 cities of genius" generally meant its follies and weaknesses ; and the 

 calamities and distresses of poets and others were mostly traceable to 

 a non-fulfilment of the conditions on which alone comfort and happiness 

 could be secured. 



SEVENTH MEETING. 



Royal Institution. — January 26, 1852. 



J. B. YATES, Esq., F.S.A., &c.. President, in the chair. 



Mr. Thomas Spencer, of London, and William Reynolds, M.D., 

 of Coed-du, Denbighshire, were elected Correspondmg Members. 



It having been arranged, that at the conclusion of the ordinary busi- 

 ness of the Meeting, the Portrait of the President, painted by Mr. 

 Philip Westcott, should be presented, — 



Thomas Thornely, Esq., M.P., one of the founders of the Society, 

 was requested to take the chair. 



The Rev. Dr. Hume, in introducing the subject, gave a short sketch 

 of the history of the Society, from its formation, in 1812, down to the 

 present time, and called upon the Secretaiy to read the following 

 address : — 



To Joseph Brooks Yates, Esq., F.S.A., President of the Literary 

 AND Philosophical Society of Liverpool. 

 Dear S|R, 



The Members of the Literary and Philosophical Society, at 

 the close of forty yeai-s of the Society's existence, are rejoiced to meet 

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