The life of J. G. Zimmerman, counsellor of State, and first physician to His Majesty the King of Great Britain, at Hanover, knight of the order of Wladomir, and member of several academies / translated from the French of M. Tissot, lately published at Lausanne.

  • Tissot, S. A. D. (Samuel Auguste David), 1728-1797.
Date:
1797
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The life of J. G. Zimmerman, counsellor of State, and first physician to His Majesty the King of Great Britain, at Hanover, knight of the order of Wladomir, and member of several academies / translated from the French of M. Tissot, lately published at Lausanne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by University of Bristol Library. The original may be consulted at University of Bristol Library.

    18/106 (page 16)
    ws. Good novels may be ftyled the natural hiftory of the human mind and manners, and mould intcreft us, in proportion to the real importance of their tendency. The Englifh novel writers were his moft favourite authors; and the works, in this way, of his intimate friend, Wieland, were a great fource of pleafure to him. As every kind of read- ing raifes, in the thinking mind, a great variety of ideas, he amufed himfelf with committing thofe which arofe in his mind, to paper j and forming them into (hort Eflays, he fent them to a Journal, printed at Zurich, under the title of The Monitor; a paper w hich I have heard much praifed by very good judges. What he then wrote me, may ferve to explain his motives, for the compofition of his moft considerable work, and that to which he was moft attached:—Cf / love Solitude, and find no plea- jure but at heme; I write for my amufement—It was natural that happinefs mould be the inmate of his dwelling. To * the fociety of his amiable wife, was added that of her mother, a woman of great good fenfe 5 and he became a father at the end of a year. He had not however always loved Solitude; he had known happinefs abroad. This change in his temper may chiefly be attributed to that of his refidencc f and it had the greateft influence on the whole courfe of his life. From the time he left Bru- to purfue his (Indies, he had lived either at Berne, or at Gottingen. There he had contracted intimacies with young perfons of his own age, poffeffed of knowledge, genius and pieafant man. ncrs • in whoft company he paffed many agreeable