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CHAPTER I.

Sketch of the state and progress of Literature and Science in Britain, from the age of Elizabeth to the commencement of the reign of George III; and of the changes in the intellectual habits and pursuits of the people during that period.

F we are not much mistaken, a

I very striking

IF very striking similitude, by no

means fanciful or unfounded, and certainly highly instructive and interesting, may be traced between those peculiarities of temper, feelings, habits, manners, and modes of thinking and action, which constitute the character of a nation, and those peculiarities by which its literature is distinguished. If we pass rapidly in review those nations of Europe which are most forcibly distinguished by peculiarity of character and of literature, we shall be convinced, that this opinion rests on the basis of truth. The French national character is deeply marked; and the peculiarities of its literature and science are not less striking. Vivacity, and quickness of feeling and penetration, rather than permanency and profoundness, are among the most obvious and marked features of the French national character its literature is easy, elegant, and vivacious; all the fine and evanescent feelings of the heart are skilfully pourtrayed, and laid bare, by many of its writers; but they seem neither disposed nor able, to develope or analyse the more manly, and deep-seated passions of the human breast. Its poetry equally resembles many of the features of the national character; it is characterised by taste and cor

rectness; it never offends; but it seldom or never partakes of the real essence of poetry, by making the reader forget the realities of life, and hurrying him into the midst of a world, and human beings, created by the poet. Similar remarks might be applied to the metaphysics, the political writings, and the scientific acquirements of the French. As the effect produced by the action of one body upon another, depends partly on the weight, and partly on the impetus of the acting body; so the effect produced by the mental powers on any department of literature or science, depends partly on the solidity of those powers, and partly on their quickness and vivacity. The French possess powers of mind more distinguished for the latter, than the former qualities; they pierce through a subject by their subtlety, rather than make their way slowly and regularly, by their weight.

It would lead us too far from the immediate purpose and object of this Chapter, to extend and apply these remarks to the other European nations, who may, properly speaking, be said to possess a péculiar national character, and a peculiar literary character: but whoever will take the trouble of instituting a comparison, similar to that into which we have briefly en

tered,

concerns of the State;-in these circumstances we may distinctly trace the formation of some of those features of mind and character that are now regarded as most characteristic of the British nation.

With reference to the more immediate object of our present Chapter, it may be remarked, that the literature of this age is principally distinguished by its advancing far before the age. Of course, we do not mean to apply this remark to the writers of the age of Elizabeth, and her immediate successor, generally indeed, we mean to confine it to those writers who would immediately be named by all who were called upon to point out the master intellects of this period of our literary history. Thus confined and qualified, our remark will be admitted to be strictly just, when the names of Shakespeare and of Bacon are announced. It may, however, be drawn as an inference from what we have just said, that as these writers advanced so far beyond the age in which they lived, they cannot be cited as fair specimens of the literary state or acquirements of that age; nor can their genius and talents be ascribed to the circumstances of the times in which they lived. Still we are of opinion, that both Shakespeare and Bacon are British intellects: that is, intellects formed (so far as they were formed, and not immediately framed, by the hand of nature) by the same circumstances which produced the national character; and specimens, in kind, though infinitely far excelling in degree, of all those literary men, on whom we should fix, if we were called upon, to prove by examples, that the literary character of our country was peculiar, and distinctly

different from the literary character of every other nation. Let us briefly consider what are the peculiar features of the genius of Shakespeare and Bacon. In one respect they both agree; and that illustrates and confirms what we laid down as the most striking feature in the intellectual character of the British nation. They are both profound; and are both conversant, either with the deeper seated feelings and passions of the human breast, or the more abstruse faculties and workings of the human intellect.

With respect to Shakespeare, the stronger marked, and more peculiar features of his intellectual character, are, in some degree, participated by dramatic writers, contemporary, or nearly so, with him. These writers have only within these few years, had their genius brought into the cognizance of modern times; but now, justice is done to them. By far the most powerful in the delineation of bold and appalling characters,-in the painting of the fiercer and more ungovernable passions,—and in the attainment, and regular sustaining of the moral sublime,—is Marlow. Whoever has read his Doctor Faustus, must, if he had no other evidence, rise from its perusal under the firm conviction, that the author was a countryman of Shakespeare— that he was a Briton-and that in him must have existed all the most striking characteristics of British intellect.

It was otherwise with respect to Bacon: he had no equal; there was none who approached near him in his mental career: it is true, indeed, that his precept and his example were at variance: he chalked out in a plain and masterly manner the line, by pursuing which, the

most

most hidden secrets of nature might become accessible to the intellect of man, and even, in some cases, under bis control, and subservient to his pleasure or interest; but he seldom followed himself the line he thus chalked out. We are astonished and mortified to perceive the man, whose intellectual eye had pierced and laid open the path to almost every species of knowledge, himself the slave of credulity and superstition, and in his own attempts to discover the secrets of nature, or the causes of material or intellectual phenomena, adhering to that mode of philosophizing, the futility of which he had so clearly and ably exposed.

The traces of the state and progress of British literature and sci ence during the greater part of the Seventeenth century are slight and unconnected. There can be little doubt that the agitation of the civil wars formed, or called into action, a large portion of intellect, and that it left an impression on the intellectual character and pursuits of the British nation of a deep and durable nature. Indeed the origin and object of the long and arduous struggle between Charles and his Parliament, were well calculated to strengthen and improve more generally and deeply, not only the peculiar features of national character, which had begun to unfold themselves in the age of Elizabeth, but also the corresponding and concomitant features of the intellectual character of Britain, which had also first risen into view during the same period., Perhaps it would not be possible to select a more complete and striking instance both of the national character and national literature of Britain, as moulded by the events of the civil wars, than Milton exhibits. If we compare the character of his in

tellect, as displayed by his conduct and writings, with that of Shakespeare or Bacon, we shall be enabled to trace the operation of those causes which had been in existence the greater part of the period that intervened between the eras of these great men. If we compare Milton and Shakespeare we perceive in the former a much more pure and correct taste, derived, doubtlessly, in a great measure, from the influence and inducement of classical learning, and a more dignified, sedate, and correct style. And if we compare them in the higher excellencies of their respective writings - in their delineation of character-in their painting of the workings and effects of the passions-in their calling forth in the minds of their readers feelings of the moral sublime, and in their descriptions of the beauties or awful wonders of nature-we may still trace a difference, evidently arising, in a great measure, from the different circumstances in which they were placed, though in the essential qualities of intellect they were not very unlike, and both truly British.

If we compare Milton and Bacon, the influence of those circumstances which took place between their respective eras, and which undoubtely gave a higher cast to the British national character at the era of the former, will be much more conspicuous and instructive. Milton is not, perhaps, so profound or comprehensive as Bacon, but he is more bold and daring, and he much more consistently adheres, in his endeavours to attain truth, to the rules he lays down for that purpose, than Bacon does. There is yet another striking difference between the intellectual characters of these two great men; the object of Milton in

most

most of his prose writings, seems to be to raise the intellectual character of his species, not so much that thus truth may be elicited, as that thus intellectual liberty might be acquired and preserved. Whereas Bacon lays down rules for philosophizing, principally with a view to their application to the discovery of the operations and laws of inanimate matter, and even when he extends their application to the intellectual faculties, he does not seem to have in view the same grand object which Milton proposed to himself. Indeed, if we consider that Bacon lived at a time when the doctrine of passive obedience was undisputed, and the mass of the people were scarcely recognized as having a political existence, or allowed to exercise any political rights; and that Milton had not only witnessed an arduous and successful struggle between the sovereign and the people, but had himself been a sharer in it, we shall not be surprised that the intellectual powers of each, though, undoubtedly, of the very highest class, being nurtured by very different circumstances, assumed a very different character.

The national character of England, as well as its literary character, was much changed by the Restoration; before that event took place nothing foreign had mixed up with either; the national character and the literature of England possessed a genuine and most palpable raciness; they both smacked of the soil on which they grew. But the Restoration most deeply adulterated the national character and literature: it introduced the grace, the levity, the ease, the polish, and with these agreeable qualities, many of the foibles and vices of the French national character; and on the

literature of England its effects were nearly similar. If we attend to the characteristics of the writers of the reign of Charles II. we shall find them, with a few exceptions, superficial, but concealing their superficialness by a polish which dazzled the mental eye; we shall find them gay, witty, and elegant; no offences against a pure and correct taste, but seldom any attempts to warm the heart, or deeply interest the affections of their readers. The prevalent, fashionable, and cherished doctrine of the day was, that the end and object of life was enjoyment; that, in comparison with this enjoyment, intellectual dignity and freedom, as well as religious and political liberty, were of trivial importance. This doctrine gave the tone to the literature of the age; in vain in it shall we seek for those traits of British feeling and independence, for those displays of profound thought, for those pictures of strong emotion, or for those specimens of impressive and dignified style, which are scattered so copiously in the writings of the period immediately preceding. We may find indeed a more lively imagination, a more active fancy, a more elegant and chastened taste, and a more polished and grammatical style; but in none of these can we perceive what is truly and peculiarly British.

Even, however, in the midst of the influence of this unnatural spirit, thus acting on the literature of Britain, there may be found that vigour, originality, and profoundness of intellect which our older writers display; and it is worthy of · remark and reflection, that in many of the writings of Dryden-than whom there was scarcely an author more disposed, from a concatenation of various circumstances, to yield

himself

himself up without struggle, and utterly to the torrent of foreign innovation-even in his writings there are mines of genuine British ore-of sterling sense-of acute and comprehensive observation of character of dignified and nervous eloquence in behalf of the best interests of man-and, what is still more extraordinary, of that moral sublime, which was most at variance, not only with Dryden's own character, but also with the fashionable and applauded character of the age. It was long before the literature of England completely shook off the trammels imposed upon it at the Restoration; its grossness and licentiousness, indeed, as well as a large portion of its frivolity, was soon worked off by the natural soundness of the intellectual constitution of our countrymen: but we are of opinion, that the influence of the example of French literature may be distinctly traced, even in the writers of what is called the Augustan age of England; we mean the era of Pope, Addison, Swift, and Arbuthnot. The merits of these writers we are by no means disposed to deny or call in question, but the qualities in which we think those merits are displayed, are not of genuine British growth and rearing. In all of those whom we have enumerated, and particularly in Addison and Arbuthnot, there is much elegance and correctness of taste, incomparable humour, a quick insight into the peculiarities of the human character, a practical tendency to correct the foibles and purify the morals of their readers, and an easy and flowing style: but in none of these qualities, with the exception of that of humour, do we discover any thing resembling our national character, or those writers whose

works most closely resemble that character. The thoughts of Addison on most subjects are obvious, scarcely penetrating the surface of things. He possessed a clear insight into the manners and peculiarities of temper of mankind, but he does not display a knowledge, at all intimate or profound, of the more secret or complicated springs of action, or of those strong passions which work to great ends on the character and fate either of the individual in whom they exist, or of those who are the objects of them. In short, Addison, and the writers of his age, are proofs that English literature had advanced from the period of Elizabeth in elegance, ease, humour, and taste, but by no means instances that it had made any progress in the more rare and characteristic qualities of vigour, depth, comprehension, and intimate knowledge of the human heart and passions, and boldness and originality of views.

From the age of Addison to the commencement of the age of George III. (the limit we have assigned to this Chapter) the character of English literature (with few exceptions) does not vary in any material degree. In fact, the influence of Addison in prose, and of Pope in poetry, had been so great and impressive, that imitations of them may be traced, more or less, in nearly all our principal writers that intervene between their era and the age of George III.

We have already endeavoured to prove, that Addison does not display any of the grander and more characteristic features of the national literature of this country and if we contrast Pope with Shakespeare and Milton, we shall be convinced that that poet, and the school of poetry

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