John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
3087 Rihard Bentley 1662-1742 John Bartlett
| NUMBER: | 3087 |
| AUTHOR: | Richard Bentley (1662–1742) |
| QUOTATION: | The fortuitous or casual concourse of atoms. 1 |
| ATTRIBUTION: | Sermons, vii. Works, Vol. iii. p. 147 (1692). |
| Note 1. That fortuitous concourse of atoms.—Review of Sir Robert Peel’s Address. Quarterly Review, vol. liii. p. 270 (1835). In this article a party was described as a fortuitous concourse of atoms,—a phrase supposed to have been used for the first time many years afterwards by Lord John Russell.—Croker Papers, vol. ii. p. 54. [back] |