Ethics of Literature (Classic Reprint) - Tapa blanda

Excerpt from Ethics of Literature

A ramble through this field and a view of some of the labor ers and their works may not be amiss in one whose life has been a contemplation of and devotion to it. A candid inquiry into their various merits may work no more ill than slightly to increase the mass, the bulk of which embarrasses more than it edifies the votary to progress, engenders thought as variegated as the features and complexions of men, and hinders rather than promotes the march of intellect. The paradoxical position that one properly may write to show that too much is already writ ten is confidently assumed. The manner in which it is main tained and its success are matters for the discernment of the reader. One ought not to bespeak charity for such a work as is here proposed. Yet such a plea might be prompted if not excused by a due appreciation of the magnitude of the under taking. Lf self-conceit blinds some writers to their own folly, it may sustain others against a humiliating consciousness of infer iority. Were my position consistent with justification by pre cedent, it might be observed that one is not far from fashion merely in the fact that his own overweening assurance is the only assurance he has that he will not meet merited mortifi cation.

The boldness of the undertaking will dwindle to diflidence when compared with the effrontery of savants, prescribing the plans and portraying the purposes of Providence. Under their auspices and with a servile sycophancy Religion is found catch ing at the hem of the garment of Science. Lts apologists (not its promoters) assume the authority to enunciate a divine (moral?) philosophy, to vouch for the veracity of divine verity, and to defend Omnipotence against Impotence, whose assaults derive their chief importance from the concern of pedantic fan atics.

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Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Ethics of Literature

If men were so concerned to have as they are disposed to affect wisdom, it would not be so rare; and the flood of learned jargon with which the world is deluged would not be so over whelming. The results Of their misguided energies, while less voluminous, might be more edifying to their readers, and possi bly more gratifying to the ambitious writers. At all events the world would not suffer from an abatement Of the prevalent ardor for authorship. My library, selected from time to time, and with aview to literary utility, contains many eubullitions, instances Of the inability of the wise to suppress the divine afflatus. From the times of the Socratic Phaedo and the Eucli dian Phoenix on down through the cycles to those Of the Anal ogy and the Age of Reason, and to the present, there have been few wilful violations Of the edict against concealing light under a bushel. In view of the universally inherent communicative ness Of the learned the admonition were quite superfluous; they seldom deserve censure for knowing more than they are willing to impart to or inflict upon their fellows.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.