On the Pleasure of Hating

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On the Pleasure of Hating
Great Ideas William Hazlitt - Author £4.99 Book: Paperback \| 111 x 181mm \| 128 pages \| ISBN 9780141018928 \| 02 Sep 2004 \| Penguin

'Love turns, with a little indulgence, to indifference or disgust: hatred alone is immortal'
William Hazlitt

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.

The Fight

'- The fight, the fight's the thing,
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.'

Where there's a will, there's a way - I said to myself, as I walked down Chancery-lane, about half-past six o'clock on Monday the l0th of December, to inquire at Jack Randall's where the fight the next day was to be; and I found 'the proverb' nothing 'musty' in the present instance. I was determined to see this fight, come what would, and see it I did, in great style. It was my first fight, yet it more than answered my expectations. Ladies - it is to you I dedicate this description; nor let it seem out of character for the fair to notice the exploits of the brave. Courage and modesty are the old English virtues; and may they never look cold and askance on one another! Think, ye fairest of the fair, loveliest of the lovely kind, ye practisers of soft enchantment, how many more ye kill with poisoned baits than ever fell in the ring; and listen with subdued air and without shuddering, to a tale tragic only in appearance, and sacred to the FANCY!