Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Lives of Eminent Literary and Scientific Men of America
Much is said about the development of a purely national literature, but we confess that we have little expectation of realizing its speedy accomplish ment. So long as England and America speak the same language, and so long as the human mind is progressive in each, so long will they possess a literature in common, and whether willing to admit the truth or not, so long will they derive mutual advantage from the labors of either. And why should it not be thus? The gentle strains of Wordsworth fall as sweetly upon the ear from the quiet banks of the Delaware, as amid the mountains and lakes of his own Westmoreland, and Longfellow's Voices of the Night breathe as melodious and plaintive a tone, when echoed along the cliffs of Devon, as from the rock bound shores of New England.
Literature is the re?ex of society. It does not fashion, but is fashioned by it, -it is the consequence and not the cause. Its materials are developed, its forms moulded, and its authors supplied from its ample resources, to which it gives a coloring in return. Occasionally some transcendant genius bursts upon the world in advance of hls time, and lives neglected by his own, to be worshipped by succeeding ages; but this is an exception, not an example. The literature of a country is usually the fairest criterion of its tastes, opinions, character and refinement, and judged by this standard, the hasty observer might question the advances of American society, because he sees nothing in its literature materially differing from that of the English. N ow this only proves the intimate relations subsisting between them, which neither time nor distance, nor circumstance can entirely obliterate.
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.