INTRODUCTORY. 49 



metaphysics of Leibniz. In the first half of the 

 nineteenth century a similar process of sifting and 

 analysing was infused into scientitio theology in Ger- 

 many, whilst critical philology under the hands of F. A. 

 Wolf and his successors attained, during the second 

 third of the century, that rigid, methodical development 

 which for a long time gave it the leading influence in 

 the higher secondary and learned schools of Germany. 



All these resultants of the desire to sift, to arrange, 

 and to judge historically transmitted material, be it facts, 

 records, or theories, testify to the working of the critical 

 spirit. This latter, together with the purely scientific 

 or exact spirit, marks probably the most important char- 

 acteristic of nineteenth century Thought. It is accom- 

 panied by its necessary and inevitable ally — historical 

 research and learning. 



All methodical thought which cannot adopt, or is not 

 yet ready to adopt, the canons of exact or scientific 

 thought, such as have been set out in the earlier portion 

 of this work, has been all through the nineteenth century, 

 and is still, under the undisputed sway of the historical 

 and critical spirit ; all philosophical theories, be they 

 logical, psychological, or purely scientific and enunciated 

 for whatsoever end or purpose, are dominated by criticism 40. 



Criticism 



and history. So much is this the case that in many and history, 

 instances research has almost lost itself in history and 

 criticism, to the damage of the positive interests which 

 originally prompted it. We notice this, for instance, in 

 the work of many distinguished representatives of critical 

 theology abroad : the religious interest has not infre- 

 quently given way to a purely literary or learned interest. 

 VOL. III. D 



