92 



PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT. 



of the same systematic treatment, philosophical subjects 

 such as Economics, Politics, and questions of taste and 

 literary criticism filled the pages of those numerous 

 and popular reviews which form such an important 

 department of nineteenth century literature. 1 



1 In this country before the be- 

 ginning of the nineteenth century 

 there existed no important period- 

 ical literature which appealed to a 

 larger circle of cultivated readers. 

 The British Essayists, headed by 

 Steele and Addison, possessed their 

 peculiar interest and have acquired 

 the standing of classics. Some of 

 them had European reputation and 

 much influence, notably on Ger- 

 man literature. The ' Gentleman's 

 Magazine,' founded in 1731. had a 

 wide circulation, and imparted a 

 largeamount of varied and desultory 

 information. The ' Monthly Re- 

 view' (1749) and the 'Critical Re- 

 view' (1756) had no commanding 

 influence. The Reviews existing 

 in the beginning of the nineteenth 

 century were said to be in their 

 dotage. At this time new life was 

 infused into periodical literature 

 from a quite unexpected quarter. 

 The ' Edinburgh Review,' edited 

 during twenty - seven years by 

 Jeffrey, began its brilliant career 

 with quite unforeseen success in the 

 year 1802, and very soon became 

 the organ of a distinct political 

 party with a definite programme of 

 reform in things political, social, 

 and literary. It provoked in the year 

 1809 the foundation of a literary 

 organ for the opposite party, in 

 defence as was said of Church, 

 Tory, and War Principles. " The 

 defence was a consequence of the 

 attack. And it is fortunate that it 

 was so. For besides getting these 

 opinions fairly discussed, the party 

 excesses natural to any unchecked 

 publication were diminished ; and 

 a work arose which, in many re- 

 spects, is an honour to British 



literature, and has called out, and 

 indirectly reared, a great variety of 

 the highest order of talent" (Cock- 

 burn's ' Life of Lord Jeffrey,' vol. i. 

 p. 192). But this critical attitude, 

 this spirit of " accuse and defence," 

 peculiar to leaders in the legal pro- 

 fession who launched this whole 

 enterprise into existence, was not 

 favourable to a just appreciation of 

 the scientific spirit, and both the 

 ' Edinburgh,' as in the case of 

 Thomas Young, and the ' Quarterly,' 

 as in the case of Charles Darwin, 

 have shown themselves singularly 

 incompetent in the discussion of 

 novel and leading scientific ideas. 

 The scientific interest was not in- 

 troduced into general literature 

 either in Germany or in this coun- 

 try before the fourth decade of 

 the century. In England it was 

 characteristically introduced in con- 

 nection with Economic questions. 

 In Germany its introduction was 

 partly through French models 

 which had a great influence upon 

 men like Humboldt and Lie- 

 big ; and secondly^ also through 

 some of the representatives of the 

 philosophy of nature such as Oken, 

 Schubert, Steffens, and Oerstedt. 

 Under the influence of these very 

 different interests, review literature 

 in Germany and in England has in 

 the course of the century become 

 more and more expository and 

 representative rather than critical 

 its object being to spread know- 

 ledge and information and to abstain 

 from premature criticism. All this 

 is due to the increasing prevalence 

 of the scientific as against that of 

 the critical spirit. 



