““The thousand copies of the first edition published in May 1852, priced at fourteen shillings apiece, sold out quickly. Roget felt immense pride when he began reading the glowing reviews. On July 8, 1852, the Times noted, "There cannot be the slightest doubt that, upon the whole, it is one of the most learned as well as one of the most admirable contributions that have been made to philology since...the Diversions of Purley." Likewise, the Literary Examiner referred to "its great value." However, a few reviewers had a quibble. As The Athenaeum stressed in September 1852, good writers didn't really need a "crutch.””
![“Now that reading and writing are universal accomplishments, books are not bought so freely as they were about 1820. . . . [I]n fact, book-buying does not increase in proportion with the power of reading printed matter. People prefer periodical trash, snippets of twaddle. [February 1894, editor's…” quote by Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4f5/andrew-lang-15654_book_now-that-reading-and-writing-are-univers_2879049.jpg)
![“In those days [the 1790s],the students paid their professors directly for the lectures-typically about three guineas a class (a guinea was worth slightly more than a pound).” quote by Joshua Kendall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5a2/joshua-kendall-55509_class_in-those-days-the-1790s-the-students-pai_1856978.jpg)
