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Outlines of English and American Literature: An Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They LivedLong, William J. (William Joseph)

History

Outlines of English and American Literature: An Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived

Name: Outlines of English and American Literature: An Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived
Author: Long, William J. (William Joseph)

Long, William J. (William Joseph)

American literature -- History and criticism; English literature -- History and criticism

This brave attempt at human brotherhood, of which Brook Farm was
    the visible symbol, showed itself in many other ways: in the
    projection of a hundred social reforms; in the establishment of
    lyceums throughout the country, where every man with a message
    might find a hearing. In education our whole school system was
    changed by applying the methods of Pestalozzi, a Swiss reformer;
    for the world had suddenly become small, thanks to steam and
    electricity, and what was spoken in a corner the newspapers
    immediately proclaimed from the housetops. In religious circles the
    Unitarian movement, under Channing's leadership, gained rapidly in
    members and in influence; in literature the American horizon was
    broadened by numerous translations from the classic books of
    foreign countries; in the realm of philosophy the western mind was
    stimulated by the teaching of the idealistic system known as
    Transcendentalism.

    [Sidenote: TRANSCENDENTALISM]

    Emerson was the greatest exponent of this new philosophy, which
    made its appearance here in 1836. It exalted the value of the
    individual man above society or institutions; and in dealing with
    the individual it emphasized his freedom rather than his subjection
    to authority, his soul rather than his body, his inner wealth of
    character rather than his outward possessions. It taught that
    nature was an open book of the Lord in which he who runs may read a
    divine message; and in contrast with eighteenth-century philosophy
    (which had described man as a creature of the senses, born with a
    blank mind, and learning only by experience), it emphasized the
    divinity of man's nature, his inborn ideas of right and wrong, his
    instinct of God, his passion for immortality,--in a word, his
    higher knowledge which transcends the knowledge gained from the
    senses, and which is summarized in the word "Transcendentalism."

    We have described this in the conventional way as a new philosophy,
    though in truth it is almost as old as humanity. Most of the great
    thinkers of the world, in all ages and in all countries, have been
    transcendentalists; but in the original way in which the doctrine
    was presented by Emerson it seemed like a new revelation, as all
    fine old things do when they are called to our attention, and it
    exercised a profound influence on our American life and literature.

LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD. The violent political agitation and the profound
social unrest of the period found expression in multitudinous works of
prose or verse; but the curious fact is that these are all minor works, and
could without much loss be omitted from our literary records. They are
mostly sectional in spirit, and only what is national or human can long
endure.

[Sidenote: MINOR WORKS]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

Outlines of English and American Literature: An Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived

Long, William J. (William Joseph)

American literature -- History and criticism; English literature -- History and criticism

This brave attempt at human brotherhood, of which Brook Farm was
    the visible symbol, showed itself in many other ways: in the
    projection of a hundred social reforms; in the establishment of
    lyceums throughout the country, where every man with a message
    might find a hearing. In education our whole school system was
    changed by applying the methods of Pestalozzi, a Swiss reformer;
    for the world had suddenly become small, thanks to steam and
    electricity, and what was spoken in a corner the newspapers
    immediately proclaimed from the housetops. In religious circles the
    Unitarian movement, under Channing's leadership, gained rapidly in
    members and in influence; in literature the American horizon was
    broadened by numerous translations from the classic books of
    foreign countries; in the realm of philosophy the western mind was
    stimulated by the teaching of the idealistic system known as
    Transcendentalism.

    [Sidenote: TRANSCENDENTALISM]

    Emerson was the greatest exponent of this new philosophy, which
    made its appearance here in 1836. It exalted the value of the
    individual man above society or institutions; and in dealing with
    the individual it emphasized his freedom rather than his subjection
    to authority, his soul rather than his body, his inner wealth of
    character rather than his outward possessions. It taught that
    nature was an open book of the Lord in which he who runs may read a
    divine message; and in contrast with eighteenth-century philosophy
    (which had described man as a creature of the senses, born with a
    blank mind, and learning only by experience), it emphasized the
    divinity of man's nature, his inborn ideas of right and wrong, his
    instinct of God, his passion for immortality,--in a word, his
    higher knowledge which transcends the knowledge gained from the
    senses, and which is summarized in the word "Transcendentalism."

    We have described this in the conventional way as a new philosophy,
    though in truth it is almost as old as humanity. Most of the great
    thinkers of the world, in all ages and in all countries, have been
    transcendentalists; but in the original way in which the doctrine
    was presented by Emerson it seemed like a new revelation, as all
    fine old things do when they are called to our attention, and it
    exercised a profound influence on our American life and literature.

LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD. The violent political agitation and the profound
social unrest of the period found expression in multitudinous works of
prose or verse; but the curious fact is that these are all minor works, and
could without much loss be omitted from our literary records. They are
mostly sectional in spirit, and only what is national or human can long
endure.

[Sidenote: MINOR WORKS]

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Outlines of English and American Literature: An Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived

Outlines of English and American Literature: An Introduction to the Chief Writers of England and America, to the Books They Wrote, and to the Times in Which They Lived

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