The History of England, Volume I

Excerpt

It is difficult for a man to speak long of himself without vanity;
therefore I shall be short.  It may be thought an instance of vanity
that I pretend at all to write my life; but this narrative shall
contain little more than the history of my writings; as, indeed,
almost all my life has been spent in literary pursuits and
occupations.  The first success of most of my writings was not such as
to be an object of vanity.