First Sentence

"THE time-honoured saying, that a poet is born, not made, may he quite true so far so it goes; but that he will soar and sing, like the lark, irrespective of the influences to which he is subjected, and the advantage he takes of the circumstances is which he is placed, is hardly confirmed by the lives of those who have left the impress of their innate genius on the heart and mind of a busy world."