The exact words
“But the birth of a New Year is of an interest too wide to be pretermitted by king or cobbler. No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left.”Charles Lamb (as “Elia”), “New Year's Eve,” first published in the London Magazine, January 1821; collected in Essays of Elia (1823)
✓ VerifiedFound in a primary source: the original book, speech transcript, letter or recording.
What people get wrong
Common reading
A cheerful line about New Year celebrations.
A cheerful line about New Year celebrations.
Closer to the original
Lamb's essay is wistful as well as funny. The first of January matters to everyone because it reminds us that time is passing, and he admits he dislikes being reminded of it.
Lamb's essay is wistful as well as funny. The first of January matters to everyone because it reminds us that time is passing, and he admits he dislikes being reminded of it.
Timeline
- January 1821Lamb publishes “New Year's Eve” under his pen name Elia. It begins by comparing birthdays, which only one person celebrates, with New Year's Day, which everyone shares.
- 1823The essay is collected in Essays of Elia. It goes on to describe, with gentle humor, Lamb's own fear of growing older and his love of ordinary life.
Use it in a speech
Charles Lamb wrote two hundred years ago that no one ever regarded the first of January with indifference. Judging by tonight's noise level, nothing has changed.
~9 secondsto say aloud
Pauseafter “with indifference”
Best spotthe opening of the toast
“No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference,” wrote Charles Lamb, because it is the one day when everyone counts up time together.
~8 secondsto say aloud
Pausenone needed in writing
Best spotopening sentence
Questions people ask
Who said “No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference”?
The English essayist Charles Lamb, in his essay “New Year's Eve” (1821), written under the pen name Elia.
What does “pretermitted by king or cobbler” mean?
Overlooked by anyone at all, from the highest to the humblest. “Pretermit” is an old word for neglect or pass over.
Cite this quote
These cite the original source directly, so you can use them in an essay or paper. Always check your teacher's required style.
MLALamb, Charles. “New Year's Eve,” Essays of Elia. 1821. Project Gutenberg, www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10343.
APALamb, C. (1821). “New Year's Eve,” Essays of Elia. Project Gutenberg. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10343
CHICAGOCharles Lamb, “New Year's Eve,” Essays of Elia, 1821.
IN TEXT (APA)(Lamb, 1821)