" But the Wesleyan movement made
little impression on the literary circles to whom Bolingbroke, Hume, and
Gibbon had communicated their gospel of nature. The poets continued to
sing, the essayists to write, and the philosophers to speculate, in a
world peculiarly their own. They shut themselves quite in from the
itinerant "helpers" of Wesley. The large class of English minds which
stood aloof from all ecclesiastical organizations, and failed to see any
higher cause of the revival than mere enthusiasm, were the persons whom
those writers still influenced. But it was plain to both the masters and
their disciples that their principles were in process of transition.
They were therefore ready for the reception of whatever plausible type
of skepticism might present itself for their acceptance.
History is the illustration of cause and effect. The fountain springs up
in one period, and generations often pass before it finds its natural
outlet. The issue of the final efforts of English Deism, of the impure
French taste, and of the works of the grosser class of literary men
living in the last century, is now manifested in that spirit which
welcomes the _Essays and Reviews_, and the criticism of Colenso.
Pages:
704
705
706
707
708
709
710
711
712
713
714
715
716
717
718
719
720
721
722
723
724
725
726
727
728