Of all the great writers there were in the 18th century Edward Everet Hale stands above nearly all, but I can't think of anyone who stands above EEH. He was funny. He was deep. Most of all he was a good writer. He communicates well. While many writers of the 9th century are difficult to read, EEH wrote like a 21st century writer. That's probably because he had a good idea of how to think.