One great philosophical mind has sometimes dictated the
literature of generations, and, in earlier periods, of entire centuries.
This influence of philosophy on literature is furnished with a new
illustration at the present day; some of the most popular and attractive
writers of Great Britain have extracted their opinions from one or more
of the later philosophers of Germany, and incorporated them into current
poetry, finance, and history. The effect has been to furnish the people
with a literature which possesses all the weight of vital religious
truth in the minds of those readers who prefer to derive their creed
from some enchanter in letters to seeking it immediately from the Bible
or its most reliable interpreters.
The department of literature in question inculcates as its cardinal
principle that man is unconscious of his power, he can do what seems
impossible, does not worship his fellows enough, is purer than his
clerical leaders would have him imagine, and ought, like certain of his
predecessors, to arouse to lofty efforts, assert his dignity and
divinity, and strive to advance the world to its proper glory and
perfection.
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