Before independence the chief subjects were history, religion and poetry, and many of the writers were ecclesiastics. Since the establishment of the republic fiction, philosophy and political economy have been prominent, and lay writers have taken precedence over ecclesiastics. Ramon Briceño and Venturo Marin are two well known writers of modern philosophy and ethics. Other Chilean writers along similar lines were Errázuriz, Casanova, Aracena Lopez, Arrasco, Albano and José Lara. Andres Bello is a name that towers above all. Says Professor Currier: “I regard him as one of the most extraordinary men that the Western Hemisphere has produced. Entirely a self-made man, he explored almost every field of human knowledge, and his numerous works testify to his labours. Poet, philosopher, linguist, philologist, litterateur, historian, educator and jurist, such was Bello. His civil code of Chile places him among the world’s legislators. It is, perhaps, to be regretted that in his earlier years his attention was so much divided among various subjects that many of his labours remain unfinished. Few countries can boast of a man so versatile and of such intellectual activity as Bello.” Journalism in Chile, like the other Spanish-American republics, is an important profession. One of the greatest journalists Chile has produced was Zorobabel Rodriguez, who exercised immense influence on public thought for many years. His editorials were the ordinary topics at the breakfast table, and were looked for by all parties from day to day. Rodriguez was also a poet, novelist and all-round literary man. Chile has produced a number of historical writers. Among these might be mentioned the brothers Miguel Luis and Gregorio Victor Amunategui, Manuel Bilbao, Vicuña Mackenna and Diego Barrios Araña. Many have dropped into poetry, for such a form of writing is popular and natural with the Spanish race. The drama is also an important branch of Spanish literature and Chile has produced her fair share of dramatists. The best known is probably Carlos Walker Martinez, who succeeded in touching a sympathetic and patriotic chord. A number of novels have also been written by Chilean writers, but they are unknown among English readers.