Project Gutenberg 2005-01-01 Public domain in the USA. 151 Birrell, Augustine 1850 1933 Obiter Dicta Carlyle -- On the alleged obscurity of Mr. Browning's poetry -- Truth-hunting -- Actors -- A rogue's memoirs -- The via media -- Falstaff. Text file produced by Robert Shimmin, Tiffany Vergon, Charles Aldarondo, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team HTML file produced by David Widger "Obiter Dicta" by Augustine Birrell is a collection of essays written during the late 19th century. The work explores various literary and philosophical themes, offering critiques and insights on notable figures, particularly focusing on the life and writings of Thomas Carlyle, among others. Through these essays, Birrell provides an intriguing examination of the interplay between literature, criticism, and the human experience. The opening portion of "Obiter Dicta" sets the stage for Birrell's reflections by introducing the concept of an "obiter dictum," a legal term that signifies an incidental remark not binding to law. Birrell uses this as a metaphor to illustrate his own commentary on literature and culture. He begins by addressing Thomas Carlyle, discussing his reputation as a prolific writer and critic. Birrell highlights the complexities of Carlyle's character and literary output, critiquing the notion that Carlyle was merely eccentric. Instead, he frames Carlyle as a significant literary figure whose work merits serious consideration and analysis, thus establishing the tone for the essays that will follow. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 64.4 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Literature English literature -- History and criticism Historiography PR Text Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches 247565 2025-07-03T10:47:20.930322 text/html 247062 2013-05-10T14:21:50 text/html 161671 2025-07-03T10:47:26.216320 application/epub+zip 164148 2025-07-03T10:47:22.683337 application/epub+zip 164148 2025-07-03T10:47:21.585382 application/epub+zip 276153 2025-07-03T10:47:28.700882 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 263969 2025-07-03T10:47:25.404340 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 233313 2022-09-04T05:26:05.809994 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 218070 2025-07-03T10:47:20.569321 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 217852 2013-05-10T14:22:18 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 217844 2013-05-10T14:22:04 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20808 2025-07-03T10:47:28.826782 application/rdf+xml 11362 2025-07-03T10:47:22.082409 image/jpeg 3138 2025-07-03T10:47:21.834358 image/jpeg 88617 2013-05-10T14:22:34 application/octet-stream application/zip 92467 2013-05-10T14:22:34 application/octet-stream application/zip 88582 2013-05-10T14:22:34 application/octet-stream application/zip 155914 2025-07-03T10:47:20.953327 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia