Introductory material
Reading edition
To undertake the writing of a large book is like entering on a long and difficult journey, in the course of which much fatigue and uneasiness must be undergone, while at the same time one is uncertain of reaching the end of it: whereas writing a short essay is like taking a pleasant airing that enlivens and invigorates by the exercise which it yields, while the design is gratified in its completion.
Boswell: The Hypochondriack, No. I