"The thoughts of worldly men are for ever regulated by a moral law of gravitation, which, like the physical one, holds them down to earth. The bright glory of day, and the silent wonders of a starlit night, appeal to their minds in vain. There are no signs in the sun, or in the moon, or in the stars, for their reading. They are like some wise men, who, learning to know each planet by its Latin name, have quite forgotten such small heavenly constellations as Charity, Forbearance, Universal Love, and Mercy, although they shine by night and day so brightly that the blind may see them; and who, looking upward at the spangled sky, see nothing there but the reflection of their own great wisdom and book-learning."
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Ch. 29.
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Barnaby Rudge
Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty was published in November, 1841, and was Charles Dickens' first attempt at a historical novel, set during the Gordon Riots of 1780. It was one of two Dickens novels published in his short-lived weekly serial Master Humphrey's Clock. Barnaby Rudge was originally planned to be his first published novel, but changes by the publisher led to extended delays, which caused it to be his fifth published novel.
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