OF SOCIETY. 427 



animated by the spirit of Voltaire, whereas the latter ". 



'' ^ _ Contrast 



was largely indebted to Eousseau. Whilst Eousseau, and It^^ween 



o J Voltaire and 



after him Herder, had recourse to the elemental forces ^""sseau. 

 of nature and mind, studied the origin of things, and 

 favoured a poetical and romantic interpretation of 

 nature, pointing always to unexplored regions, and draw- 

 ing inspiration from the half - illuminated storehouse 

 of subconscious thought, Voltaire and the encyclopiv^dists 

 lived in the clear daylight of scientific reasoning, of 

 logical analysis, of methodical definition and construction, 

 denouncing everything outside of it as mere sentiment 

 or illusion. Whilst the former were Christian humani- 

 tarians, the latter were critical sceptics and freethinkers. 

 That both lines of thought w^ere working at the same 

 problem, that, earlier or later, they both elaborated a 

 similar ideal, — using even the same term " humanity " to 

 define it, — is indeed a significant fact, as is likewise 

 the circumstance that the scientific conception led in 

 its greatest representative, Comte, to a fantastic and 

 romantic elaboration, whereas the Christian humani- 

 tarian line of thought in Germany ended with Feuerbach 

 and Strauss in a sort of scientific materialism not unlike 

 the earlier materialism of Helvetius and Condillac in 

 France, though much less elegantly expressed. 



A more modest, though, in the end, a more last; 

 ing contribution to the treatment of the problem of 

 human society came during the same age from this 

 country. Thinkers here had also been profoundly 

 stirred by the political events in America and in 

 France ; neither were there wanting solitary minds 

 who treated single aspects of the social problem from a 



