From a humble situation in life,
for he served an apprenticeship to a cooper at Holyhead, he raised
himself by his industry and talents to affluence and distinction,
became a landed proprietor in the county of Cardigan, and inspector
of the royal domains and mines in Wales. Perhaps a man more
generally accomplished never existed; he was a first-rate mechanic,
an expert navigator, a great musician, both in theory and practice,
and a poet of singular excellence. Of him it was said, and with
truth, that he could build a ship and sail it, frame a harp and
make it speak, write an ode and set it to music. Yet that saying,
eulogistic as it is, is far from expressing all the vast powers and
acquirements of Lewis Morris. Though self-taught, he was
confessedly the best Welsh scholar of his age, and was well-versed
in those cognate dialects of the Welsh - the Cornish, Armoric,
Highland Gaelic and Irish. He was likewise well acquainted with
Hebrew, Greek and Latin, had studied Anglo-Saxon with some success,
and was a writer of bold and vigorous English. He was besides a
good general antiquary, and for knowledge of ancient Welsh customs,
traditions, and superstitions, had no equal. Yet all has not been
said which can be uttered in his praise; he had qualities of mind
which entitled him to higher esteem than any accomplishment
connected with intellect or skill.
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