The philosophy of life, and philosophy of language, in a course of lecturesSchlegel, Friedrich von
Philosophy
The philosophy of life, and philosophy of language, in a course of lectures
Schlegel, Friedrich von
Language and languages -- Philosophy; Life; Philosophy
eminently in need of patience. How watchful and comprehensive must be
his vigilance, how deliberate his precautions, lest the organic course
of his administration should come to a check or stop, in consequence of
his having neglected, or failed to provide for any single member of the
great body, or any regulating-wheel in the complicated machinery of the
state.
But, on the other hand, there are also moments in human life where the
final issue turns not so much on a steady and uniform perseverance in
continuous activity, as on a decided resolution and firmness of purpose.
Among these we may place foremost, perhaps, in an intellectual relation,
the dissension between faith and infidelity, and the choice at the point
where the two branch off forever.
It is not here my design to set up, to commend, and to extol faith, nor
to decry, to attack, and to make war upon infidelity. For the former
would take me beyond my present limits; the latter would lead me into a
boundless field of details, and require me to take an exhaustive survey,
not only of all actually existent, but also of all conceivable,
prejudices and delusions. My principal object is rather to sketch a true
and exact picture of both, comprising, at the same time, all their
historical manifestations, and explaining their psychological causes, in
order to exhibit them both in their true light, so that man may choose
for himself and decide between them.
Now the apparent--or it may be real, but still only accidental--schism
between science and faith is, in the first place, internal. It is often,
indeed, profoundly hidden and concealed in the inmost depths of the
heart. It is therefore inwardly only that it admits of being adjusted
and finally reconciled. When this task is once accomplished in the heart
of an individual, and the choice is at least made one way or the other,
then this decision manifests itself outwardly, either as the triumph of
truth in the unity of science and faith, or as infidelity and
skepticism, shows itself in the form of a determined opposition to this
unity, or to faith itself. And the latter is the form it also assumes in
the intermediate case when the schism between science and faith is
declared to be irreconcilable. Openly expressed, therefore, these two
views go far beyond the original dissension, and pass into the second
schism and conflict between faith and infidelity. And although this
problem be itself an original and internal one, still it reveals itself
pre-eminently as a practical schism in actual life, and it is as such,
also, that it develops and manifests itself in history.
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