Edward Francis Burney (1760-1848) was a British illustrator and portraitist born to a family of arti

Edward Francis Burney (1760-1848) was a British illustrator and portraitist born to a family of artists. His illustrations were featured in a 1791 edition of his cousin, Fanny Burney’s novel, Evelina.EdwardBurney included satire and wit in many of his illustrations and was influenced by the British artist and satirist, William Hogarth (1697-1764).

This Burney illustration, Degenerate Bees, is featured on the title page of Elegant Extracts. His original sketch includes the quote “tis industry our state maintains”. This book includes a different quote. Beneath the illustration on the title-page is a quote from the Roman poet Horace’s Satires, “studio fallente laborem.” This phrase roughly translates in English to “enthusiasm deceives hard work.” The idea is that hard work doesn’t seem so bad if you enjoy it, like children educating themselves through “useful and entertaining” renditions of the classics.

Image from:

Elegant Extracts: Or, useful and entertaining passages in prose, Selected for the Improvement of Young Persons: being similar in Design to Elegant Extracts in Poetry. London: Printed for J. Johnson…, 1808.