HISTORY OF ENGLISH PROSE

Article 1:
CENTURY PROSE The Fifteenth century is comparatively barren and non productive in the
field of English literature. During this time little poetry of quality was written. The English and Scottish
poets were very poor imitators of Chaucer both in the command of subject matter and versification. But
the prose literature of this age recorded considerable progress. Unlike the poetry of this age prose
suffered from no retrogression. There was a perceptible increase in skill due to increased practice. There
was a growing perception of the beauties of rhythm and cadence and there was the development of
various prose styles including the ornate and the plain. The English prose certainly moved forward
during the 15th century to a richness that was unknown to the preceding age. During the 15th century
prose made some remarkable progress because the English men shaped the rough material of their
native tongue to form a literature for providing instruction and entertainment. But still English prose of
the 15th century amounts for little originality and artistic value. The slow progress of prose on national
lines was due to the influence that Latin exercised on the minds of the prose writers of this age. They
were fascinated by Latin constructions. They were also contented to be the translators of French works
of repute. Prose in the century was developed much on trial anderror basis. The promising prose writers
of the century sought to impart directness, vigour and simplicity. It was due to their efforts that the
prose of the age developed and various kinds of prose works were written. It is interesting to observe
that English prose writers attempted different kinds of prose during this period. Fisher and Cranmer
(1489-1556) popularized theological writings and historical prose was presented in The Chronicle of
England by Capgrave (1393-1464) who wrote in a business like fashion. Philosophical prose appeared
in The Governance of England byFortescue (c. 1394-1476). Elyot (c. 1490-1546) popularised educational
prose and prepared the way for medical prose in the Castle of Health. William Tyndale’s translation of
the Bible is highly praiseworthy. The English Prose of the 15th century was cultivated and promoted by
the following writers: Reginald Peacock Sir John Fortescue William Caxton John Fisher Hugh Latimer
Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas Malory REGINALD PEACOCK (1392-1461) is one of the important prose
writers of the 15th century. Peacock’s prose, often rugged and obscure, is marked by his preference for
English words over Latin. His two works were The Repressor of over-much Blaming of the Clergy (c. 1445)
and The Book of Faith. His books were among the earliest of English controversial works and they mark a
victory over the once all important Latin. SIR JOHN FORTESCUE (1394-1476) was an important prose
writer who made some contributions in the development of 15th century English prose. In contrast to
Peacock, he stands for clarity of ideas. Fortescue avoids Peacock’s pattern of long complicated
sentences. H. S. Bennet in his Chaucer and the Fifteenth Centurywrites “in common with other
15th century writers Fortescue is not capable of writing a highly complex prose but what straight
forwardness, simplicity and clear thinking could accomplish may be seen in almost every pages of The
Governance of England”. WILLIAM CAXTON (1422-1490) the English printer was also a remarkable prose
writer of the 15th century. It would be difficult to overestimate the debt of Caxton to English literature.
He printed almost every English work of real quality known in his days including Chaucer and Malory. In
addition Caxton made and printed twenty four translations from French, Dutch and Latin texts, of which
the most remarkable were the two earliest, the Recuyell of the Histories of Troye(1471) and the Game
and Playe of Chesse(1475). At first he wanted to employ the elegant and ornate style but soon he
became conscious of his limitations and switched to a simpler style. He decided to write in “Englysshe
not ouer rude, ne curious, but in suche termes as shall be vnderstanden by goddys grace.” To make
himself more certain of being understood he sometimes placed the French word beside the English
word. This practise was especially cultivated by Caxton. He avoided rustic terms and became intelligible
to all his readers. The best of his prose can be found in his explanatory prefaces. JOHN FISHER (1459-
1535), a religious divine and the Bishop of Rochester, opposed Henry V111 during Reformation, was
imprisoned and finally beheaded. He wrote much in Latin and in English and he is represented by a small
collection of tracts and sermons and a longer treatise on the Psalms. Though they are of no great
quantity, his prose works are in the nature of much importance. They are the first of the rhetorical
religious books that for several centuries were to be an outstanding feature of English prose. In addition
they mark a distinctive step ahead in the evolution of English prose style. They are written in the style of
an orator: the searching after the appropriate word, the frequent use of rhetorical figures of speech and
a rapid and flowing rhythm. In the style of Fisher we can observe the beginning of an ornate style. Fisher
proved to be the direct ancestor of the prose style of the great 17th century prose writer Jeremy Taylor.
HUGH LATIMER (1485-1555) is another prose writer of the 15th century who was punished by Henry
V111 because of his resistance against some of his reforms. Latimer’s prose work consists of two
volumes of sermons published in 1549. These works are remarkable for their plain and dogmatic
exposition, their graphical power and their homely appeal. He is first among the writers of plain style.
SIR THOMAS MORE (1478-1535) is much known for his Latin works owing to their elegance and wit. This
includes Utopia which presents the picture of an imaginative ideal state based on the socialistic pattern.
His English prose works include The Lyfe of John Picus, The Historie of Richard 111 and a number of
tracts and letters. He writes ably and clearly but with no great distinction of manner. He is the first
writer of the middle style. SIR THOMAS MALORY, died 1471, was well known for his romance Morte’d
Arthur. The famous Arthurian legends were joined to a great prose romance written with a uniform
dignity and fervour. It is a skilful blend of dialogue and narrative, full of colour and life. The style has a
transparent clarity and is poetic making Malory the first great prose stylist. Few writers of the century
had been more successful than Malory in the use of dialogue and narrative. His dialogue is singularly
terse and direct so that Malory’s prose is as capable of irony as Chaucer’s verse. As we look back at the
prose of the 15th century we see a variety of very developed and condensed prose. SIXTEENTH
CENTURY/ELIZABETHAN PROSE The Elizabethan Age has well been called as a young age.
It was full of boundless vigour, reawakened intellectual esteem and soaring imagination. The best of the
age is found in drama and next in poetry. As prose, unlike verse, does not admit any substantial
restriction hence Elizabethan prose developed substantially. For the first time prose had risen to a
position of first rate importance. The dead weight of the Latin tradition was passing away and English
prose was acquiring a tradition and a universal application. During the 15th century Latin dominated as
the medium of expression while English came to its own in the 16th century. With the arrival of mass
printing, English prose became the popular medium for works aiming both at amusement and
instruction. The books which date from this period covered many departments of learning. The early
Elizabethan use of prose was rich, gaudy and overflowing. It is far from commonly accepted principle of
simplicity as it was colourful, blazing, rhythmic, indirect and polished. The sixteenth century prose can
be categorised into two periods: a) prose writings before 1579 and b) prose during the later half of the
16thcentury. During the early years Sixteenth Century Prose was cultivated by Elyot, Cavendish, Cheke,
Willson and Ascham. SIR THOMAS ELYOT is the author of The Governance of England (1531). The book is
a fine specimen of a perfect combination between matter and manner. Elyot’s style is classical and he is
rather too much given to long sentences. He lacks the deliberate classical plainness of his younger
contemporary Ascham. GEORGE CAVENDISH wrote the biography of Cardinal Wolsey. Cavendish wrote
in a rhetorical style and with no simplicity. SIR JOHN CHEKE’s actual composition was in Latin. He wrote
theHeart of Sedition. In this work Cheke shows himself vigorous in arguments and eloquent in
impression. SIR THOMAS WILLSON’s main work is Art of Rhetoric (1553). In this book he recommends
purity and simplicity of the language. He lays emphasis on the necessity of writing English for
Englishmen. ROGER ASCHAM is the representative of the earliest school of Elizabethan prose. Born at
Yorkshire and educated at St. John College,Cambridge, Ascham became a teacher of Greek in 1540. He
participated in the literary and religious controversies of his time but managed a firm position on the
shifting ground of politics. He was appointed tutor to Young Elizabeth (1548) and secretary to Queen
Mary. He is among the pioneers of English prose and the most popular educationist of his times. His two
chief works areToxophilus (1545) and The School Master. The first is a treatise, in dialogue form, on
archery and the next is an educational work containing some ideas that were fairly fresh and
entertaining. He was a man of moderate literary talent, of great industry, and of boundless enthusiasm
for learning. Though he was strongly influenced by classical models, he has all the strong Elizabethan
sense of nationality. In Toxophilus he declares his intention of writing the English matter in English
speech for the Englishmen. English prose up to 1579 does not show any marked progress and after this
date it registered a rapid growth and improvement. The later 16thcentury prose took its various forms
such as Prose romances, Pamphlets, Translations, Critical prose, Sermons, Dramatic prose, Character
writing, Essays etc. During the later half of the 16th century a number of prose romances were
produced. They were all written in Euphuistic style, a prose style cultivated by John Lyly. John Lyly’s first
prose workEuphues, the Anatomy of Wit (1579) made him a foremost figure of his day. He repeated the
success in Euphues and his England (1580). Euphuism is the first consciously fabricated prose style in
English. All through the period there was a flood of short tracts on religion, politics, and literature. In its
buoyancy and vigour, its quaint mixture of truculence and petulance, Elizabethan pamphleteering is
refreshingly boyish and alive. It is usually keenly satirical, and in style it is unformed and uncouth. The
most notable among the pamphleteers were THOMAS NASHE (1567-1601), ROBERT GREENE (1560-92)
and THOMAS LODGE (1558-1625). These pamphleteers cultivated a journalistic style characterised by
vigour, force and raciness. Sermon writings rose to a level of literary importance in this period. Donne
was the most notable and his sermons contain his finest prose work. Numbered 160 Donne’s sermons
show his unflinching faith in God and Christianity and his oratorial skill. Donne’s sermons, of which the
finest is probably Death’s Duell (1630), contain many of the features of his poetry. The other prominent
sermon writers are James Ussher and Joseph Hall. JAMES USSHER (1581-1656), born and educated
at Dublin, was descended from a protestant family. He rose to be the bishop of Meath and the Arch
bishop of Armagh. In 1640 he came to England and remained there through out his life due to
disturbances in Ireland. His sermons, discourses and tracts show learning, adroit argument and a plain
and easy style. JOSEPH HALL (1574-1656) was educated atCambridge, took orders, and became a
prominent of the puritans, among whom wasMilton. He was appointed bishop of Exeter andNorwich.
Hall’s opinions brought him to disgrace during the Puritan rule. Hall’s devotional and theological works
were numerous and include tracts, sermons and treatises. Though he is often shallow and voluble, he
writes with literary grace. He is the most literary of the theologians of the time. The zeal for learning
and spirit of adventure, which were prominent features of the early Elizabethan age, were strongly
apparent in the frequent translations. The translators cared little for verbal accuracy, and sometimes
were content to translate from a translation, say from a French version of a Latin text. They worked in
many varied fields. Of the classics, Virgil was translated by PHAER (1558) and STANYHURST (1562);
Plutarch’s Lives by NORTH (1579); Ovid by GOLDING (1565 & 1567), TURBERVILLE (1567), and CHAPMAN
(1595); Homer by CHAPMAN (1598). All Seneca was translated into English by 1581, and Suetonius, Pliny
and Plutarch’s Morals were translated by HOLLAND. Among the translations of Italian works were
Machiavelli’s Arte of Warre (1560) and Castiglione’s The Courtyer translated by HOBY (1561);
the Palace of Pleasure by PAINTER (1566); Ariosto’s Orlando Furioso by HARRINGTON (1591).
From France were drawn FLORIO’s translation of the Essays of Montaigne (1603) and DANNETT’s
Commines (1596), whileSpain provided NORTH with The Diall of Princes (1557). The birth of literary
criticism during this period indicates the growing stature of the national literature and the realisation of
the need to establish the principles of writing. The critics turned to the classics for their guides and
models. They were chiefly concerned with three topics: the status and value of poetry, the importance
of classical models, the merits and demerits of rhyme. Stephen Gosson attacked poetry as immoral in his
Puritanical treatise The School of Abuse (1579) and Sidney replied in his epoch making The Apologie for
Poetrie (1582). William Webbe, in A Discourse of English Poetrie (1586), attempted the first historical
survey of poets and poetry, and Puttenham’s The Arte of English Poesy (1589) is the first systematic
consideration of poetry as an art. Intermittent discussion on the merits and demerits of rhyme
culminated in the debate between Campion and Daniel. In reply to Campion’s condemnation of rhyme
in his Observations in the Art of English Poesie (1602), Daniel’s famous A Defence of Rhyme (1602)
asserted the right of every literature to its own customs and traditions. Beginning in the pamphlets,
character sketches, and other miscellaneous writings English essay developed in the works of Bacon. The
English essay has its roots in the Elizabethan period, in the miscellaneous work of Lodge, Lyly and
Greene and other literary free lancers. Sidney’s Apologie for Poetrie attains a rudimentary essay form.
But the first real English essayist was Bacon who published a short series of essays in 1597. In him we
have the miscellany of theme and the brevity and the musings of the philosopher.
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY PROSE The development of English prose in the
17thcentury can be divided into two periods: 1) prose in the age of Milton 2) prose during Restoration.
During the mid 17th century or rather the Age of Milton the development of prose carried on from the
previous age. In spite of the hampering effects of the civil strife, the prose output was copious and
excellent in kind. There was a notable advance in the sermon writing; pamphlets were abundant; and
history, politics, philosophy and miscellaneous kinds were well represented. There was a remarkable
advance in prose style. The prose of this age was cultivated in a style very different from the Elizabethan
and Sixteenth century prose. The prose writers used a grand style which Bacon and Hooker never
anticipated. It was loose in structure, over coloured, elaborate and way ward. The writers indulged too
freely in the use of Latinised words of classical construction. Despite some drawbacks, the prose of this
period has many qualities. It has the freshness of form. The Seventeenth century is the first great period
of modern English prose when it was forming under the classical influence but independent of the
French impact. In subject matter it represents the self conscious and personal interest of the time. It was
also a period of biography, autobiography, history and personal essays. The prose of this age possesses a
strongly religious or theological and philosophical character. The important prose writers of this period
are Robert Burton, Sir Thomas Browne, Jeremy Taylor, Thomas Fuller, Jack Walton and John Milton.
ROBERT BURTON (1577-1613) made notable contribution by The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621). It is an
elaborate and discursive study of melancholy, its species and kinds, its causes, results and cure. The
book, though laboured and saturnine in tone, shows an underlying common sense and a true sympathy
with humanity. Its learning is immense and unconventional, being drawn from many rare authors; its
humour curiously crabbed, subdued, and ironical; and its ‘melancholy’ though pervading, is not
oppressive. The diction has a colloquial naturalness; the enormous sentences, packed with quotation
and allusion, are loosely knit. Both as a stylist and as a personality Burton occupies his own niche in
English prose. SIR THOMAS BROWNE (1605-82), born atLondon and educated
at Winchester and Oxford, studied medicine, practised at Oxfordshire, travelled abroad, and received his
degree of M.D at Leyden. Almost alone among his contemporary writers, Browne seems to have been
unaffected by the commotions of the time. His prose works, produced during some of the hottest years
of civil strife, are oblivious of the unrest. Religio Medici (1635/1642), his confession of faith, is a curious
mixture of religious faith and scientific scepticism.Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Vulgar Errors (1646),
sharing the same mental inconsistency, resembles the works of Burton in it’s out of way
learning. Hydriotaphia: Urne Buriall (1658), commonly considered to be his master piece, contains
reflections on human mortality induced by the discovery of some ancient funeral
urns.The Garden of Cyrus (1658) is a treatise on the quincunx. His last work Christian Morals was
published after his death. Browne was a great literary stylist. He shows the ornate style in its richest
bloom. His diction is strongly latinised and he has the scholastic habit of introducing Latin tags and
references. His sentences are carefully wrought and artistically combined into paragraphs. The diction
has a richness of effect unknown among other English prose writers. The prose is sometimes obscure,
rarely vivacious, and hardly ever diverting: but the solemnity and beauty of it have given it an enduring
fascination. JEREMY TAYLOR (1613-67) is the most important literary divine of the age. A learned,
voluble, and impressive preacher, who carried the same quality into his prose works which consisted of
tracts, sermons, and theological books. His popular works were The Liberty of Prophesying (1647), Holy
Living (1650), and Holy Dying (1651). In his writings he is fond of quotations and allusions and of florid,
rhetorical figures, such as simile, exclamation, and apostrophe; and his language is abundant, melodious
and pleasing. THOMAS FULLER (1608-61) had an original and penetrating mind. His literary works are of
great interest and value. His serious historical books include The History of the Holy War (1639), dealing
with the crusades, and The Church History of Britain (1655). Among his pamphlets are Good Thoughts in
Bad Times (1645) and An Alarum to the Counties of England and Wales(1660). The work that has given
him his reputation is The Worthies of England published after his death by his son in 1662. JOHN
MILTON (1608-74) was not only a great poet but also a finest writer of prose whose work is among the
finest controversial writing in the language. Most of his prose was written during the middle period of
his life (1640-60). The prose works have an unusual interest because they have a direct bearing on either
his personal business or public interest. In all he has written twenty-five pamphlets (21 in English, 4 in
Latin).He wrote his pamphlets on themes like divorce, episcopacy, politics, education, liberty of the
press etc. His greatest prose work isAreopagitica (1644) which is a noble and impassioned plea for the
liberty of the press. While considering the prose style of Milton we must keep in mind how it was
occasioned. His pamphlets were cast off at the centre of any controversy and precipitated into print
while some topic was in urgent debate either in Milton’s or in public mind. Hence they are tempestuous
and disordered in method and voluble, violent and lax in style. They reveal intense zeal and pugnacity, a
mind at once spacious in ideals and intolerant in application, a rich fancy, and a capacious scholarship.
They lack humour, proportion, and restraint; but in spite of these defects they are among the greatest
prose compositions in the English language. The other prose writers in the age of Milton were Izaac
Walton, Earl of Clarendon and Thomas Hobbes. The period is almost devoid of narrative prose of the
lighter sort, it is quite rich in sermons, pamphlets and other miscellaneous prose. The period has been
called as “the Golden Age of English pulpit.” The violent religious strife of the time has a great flow of
sermon writing which is marked with eloquence, learning and strong argument. In addition to Jeremy
Taylor and Fuller we may notice Robert South, Issac Barrow and Richard Baxter. A number of
philosophical works were also written. On the moral side there are the works of Browne; on the political
those of Hobbes; and on the religious side the books of John Hales. In historical prose the works of
Clarendon and Fuller stood pre eminent. RESTORATION PROSE With the exception of the works of
Dryden and Bunyan, the prose work of the Restoration times is of little moment. Dryden’s prose is
almost entirely devoted to literary criticism and Bunyan’s contribution shows a remarkable development
of the prose allegory. The remainder of the prose writers deal with political, historical, theological and
other miscellaneous subjects. JOHN DRYDEN (1631-1700) is the representative writer of the Restoration
age. For forty years he continued to produce an abundance of literary works of every kind ----- poems,
plays and prose works. Dryden’s versatility is apparent when we observe that in prose, as well as in
poetry and drama, he attains to primacy in his generation. In prose Dryden has one rival, John Bunyan.
No single item of Dryden’s prose work is of very great length; but in his Essay of Dramatic Poesie (1668),
in his numerous dedicatory epistles and prefaces, and in scanty stock of his surviving letters we have a
prose corpus of some magnitude. The general subject of his prose work is literary criticism, and that of a
sane and vigorous quality. The style is free but not too much. There are slips of grammar, but not too
many. Dryden has been given the credit of inaugurating the new era of English prose. He has also been
considered as the father of English prose. JOHN BUNYAN (1628-88) alone contests the supremacy of
Dryden in the domain of Restoration prose. His first book Grace Abounding (1666) is a spiritual
autobiography dealing with the spiritual history of his birth, childhood and youth. There is sincerity in
expression and a remarkable simplicity. The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678) is his masterpiece. It is an allegory
which takes the form of a dream fragment. The whole book is remarkable for a powerful narrative style
enriched by beauty, simplicity and vividness of language. Bunyan was the first writer who used a very
simple and appealing prose. His other famous works are The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680)
and The Holy War (1682). Except for Grace Abounding, all Bunyan’s major works are allegorical and in
each case the allegory is worked out with ease, force, and clearness. His allegorical personages are fresh
and apt, and are full of an intense interest and a raw dramatic energy. Bunyan’s style is unique in prose.
Though it is undoubtedly based on Biblical models, it is quite individual. It is homely, but not vulgar;
strong, but not coarse; equable, but not monotonous; it is sometimes humorous but it is never ribald;
rarely pathetic, but never sentimental. LORD HELIFAX (1633-95) ranks high as orator; as an author his
fame rests on a small volume called Miscellanies containing a number of political tracts. In his writings
Helifax adopts the manner and attitude of the typical man of the world: a moderation of statement, a
cool and agreeably acid humour, and a style devoid of flourishes. SIR WILLIAM TEMPLE (1628-99) was
an example of the moneyed, leisured semi amateur in literature who wrote little but elegantly. His chief
works were his LETTERS (1700),MEMOIRS (1691) and MISCELLANA, a series of essays (1680, 1690 &
1701). His style resembles that of Halifax in its mundane, cultured reticence; but sometimes he has
higher flights, in which he shows some skill in the handling of melodious and rhythmic prose. It was a
strange coincidence that two diary writers SAMUEL PEPYS (1633-1703) & JOHN EVELYN (1620-1706)
were working at the same time during this period. Though the prose writings of Restoration are not
great in bulk, it shows a profound change in style. Previous writers, such as Browne, Clarendon, and
Hobbes, had done remarkable and beautiful work in prose, but their style had not yet found itself. It was
wayward and erratic, often cumbrous and often obscure, and weighted with a Latinised construction
and vocabulary. In Dryden’s time prose begins definitely to find its feet. It acquires a general utility and
permanence; it is smoothened and straightened, simplified and harmonised. This is the age of average
prose and it prepares the way for the works of Swift and Addison. Not that Dryden’s style is flawless. It
is sometimes involved and obscure; there are little slips of grammar and many slips of expression; but
on the average it is of high quality. In the case of Bunyan the style becomes plainer still. But it is
powerful and effective. Pepys and Evelyn have no pretensions to style as such, but their work is
admirably expressed. In some writers of the period we find this desire for unornamented style
degenerating into coarseness and ugliness. Such a one is JEREMY COLLIER (1650-1726), who’s Short
View of the Immorality and Profaneness of the English Stage(1698) caused a great commotion. THOMAS
SPRAT (1635-1713) wrote on the newly formed Royal Society in a close, naked, natural way of speaking.
JOHN LOCKE (1632-1704), in his famous An Essay concerning Human Understanding (1690) wrote with a
style bare to bald but clear. EIGHTEENTH CENTURY PROSE THE FIRST HALF OF THE
TH th
18 CENTURY The 18 Century was doubtlessly an age of great prose. Matthew Arnold calls it a
century of prose and suggests that even the poetry of the period was prosaic or versified prose. The
period has only one great poet Alexander Pope while it produced prose writers of very high quality like
Addison, Steele, Swift, Defoe and Johnson. Daniel Defoe (1659-1731) was a journalist and pamphleteer
who wrote with extra ordinary felicity and effect on an infinite variety of subjects. His prose work is in
amazing bulk and variety. Like most of the prose writers of the period Defoe turned out a mass of
political tracts and pamphlets. He issued his own journal The Review in 1704 which was in several ways
the forerunner of The Tatler and The Spectator. His best known work was The True Born
Englishman(1701). His The Shortest Way with the Dissenters(1702) invited official wrath. His novels
likeRobinson Crusoe were landmarks in the growth of prose. His prose is noted for extraordinary minute
realism and colloquial style. The most important contribution in 18th century prose has been made by
Richard Steele (1672-1729) and Joseph Addison (1672-1719) through their well known periodicals The
Tatler and The Spectator. Temperamentally Richard Steele was a moralist but he had none of the
cynicism which had characterised the century. He wrote dramas but it was due to his essays that he
finds his place in literature. He had variation and sentimental aspiration and a form of sincere piety as
proved by his first book The Christian Hero. His lesson is that conduct should be regulated not by the
desire for glory but by conscience. He started his journal The Tatler in 1709, The Spectator in 1711 and
several other short lived periodicals The Guardian (1713), The Englishman (1713), The Reader (1714),
and The Plebeian (1719). Steele is remarkable for his witty prose and humorous style. His characters are
also humorous. Steele’s alliance with Addison was so close and so constant that a comparison between
them is almost inevitable. Some critics maintain that of the two Steele is worthier. He is equal
to Addisonin versatility and originality. His humour is broader and less restrained than Addison’s, with a
naïve pathetic touch that is reminiscent of Goldsmith. His pathos is more attractive and more humane.
But Steele’s very virtues are only his weaknesses sublimed; they are emotional, not intellectual; of the
heart, and not of the head. He is incapable of irony; he lacks penetration and power. He lacks Addison’s
care and suave ironic insight. He is reckless in style and inconsequent in method. The aim of Steele’s
essays was didactic; he desired to bring about a reformation of contemporary society manners, and is
notable for his consistent advocacy of womanly virtues and the ideal of the gentleman of courtesy,
chivalry, and good taste. His essays on children are charming, and are full of human sympathy. Joseph
Addison was famous for drama, poetry and essays. But it is in fact almost entirely as an essayist that he
is justly famed. Together with Steele he protected the periodical essay in The Tatler and The Spectator.
The first object of Addison and Steele was to present a true and faithful picture of the 18th century. The
next object was to bring about a moral and social reform in the conditions of the time. The best of his
essays are centred round the imaginary character of Sir Roger de Coverley and hence known as Coverley
Papers. Addison wrote four hundred essays in all, which are of almost uniform length, of nearly
unvarying excellence of style and of a wide variety of subject. Most of his compositions deal with topical
subjects ----- fashions, head dresses, practical jokes, polite conversation. Deeper themes were handled
in a popular fashion---- immorality, jealousy, prayer, death and drunkenness. He touched politics only
gingerly. He advocated moderation and tolerance and was the enemy of enthusiasm. Sometimes he
adopted allegory as a means of throwing his ideas vividly to the readers and hence we haveThe Vision of
Mirza and the political allegoryPublic Credit. Addison’s humour is of a rare order. It is delicately ironical,
gentlemanly, tolerant and urbane. His style has often been deservedly praised. It is the pattern of the
middle style, never slipshod, or obscure, or unmelodious. He has an infallible instinct for proper word
and subdued rhythm. In this fashion his prose moves with a demure and pleasing grace, in harmony with
his subject, with his object, and with himself. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was another writer who made
new experiments in prose writings. HisGulliver’s Travels, The Tale of a Tub and The Battle of Books are
powerful satires written in prose. His Journal to Stella is a long narrative in which political situation is
reported when he was in London. He is the greatest satirist and unlike Pope he restricts himself to
general rather than personal attacks. His work has a cosmic, elemental force, which is irresistible and
almost frightening. His dissection of humanity shows a powerful mind relentlessly and fearlessly probing
into follies and hypocrisy, but he is never merely destructive. His work has the desire for the greater use
of commonsense and reason in the ordering of human affairs. In addition to these, other prose writers
of the period were John Arbuthnot (1667-1735), Lord Bolingbroke (1678-1751), George Berkeley (1685-
1753), and Earl of Shaftsbury (1671-1713). The writings of Arbuthnot were chiefly political and includes
the Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus,The History of John Bull and The Art of Political Lying. Bolingbroke
prided himself on being both a patron of letters and a man of letters. His Letter to Sir William
Wyndham, A Letter on the Spirit of Patriotism and The Idea of a Patriot King reflect the Tory sentiments
and are written with lucidity, vigour and rhetoric. Berkeley was a man of great and enterprising mind
and wrote with much charm on a diversity of scientific, philosophical and metaphysical subjects. Among
his books areThe Principles of Human Knowledge, Three Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous and
Alciphron, or The Minute Philosopher. He is among the first of the English Philosophers who have
dressed their ideas in a language of literary distinction. The books of Shaftesbury are written with great
care and exactitude and are pleasant and lucid. His book Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, and
Times suited the taste of the time. The prose of first half of the 18th century made a distinct advance.
Periodical literature occupied a prominent place. Defoe’s Review (1704), Steele’sThe Tatler (1709)
and The Spectator (1711) andThe Plebeian (1719) are some prominent periodicals of this time. With the
advancement of periodical press the short essay takes a great stride forward. The works of Addison and
Steele has already been mentioned. Other essayists of the time were Swift and Pope who contributed to
the periodicals. Allegorical prose narratives were another feature of the time for example
Swift’sGulliver’s Travels and Addison’s The Vision of Mirza. There is also a large body of religious,
political, and philosophical work. Much of it is satirical. In political prose Swift is the most outstanding.
The most outstanding feature of the prose of this era is the development of middle style of which one of
the chief exponents was Addison. We now find an established prose style that may fit into any
miscellaneous purposes---- newspaper, political works, essay, historical writings and biographies. The
plainer style was practised by Swift and Defoe. With these two in vogue the ornate style disappeared
and re-emerged with Johnson and Gibbon in the second half of the century. THE SECOND HALF OF THE
18TH CENTURY During this period we find the development of prose in the hands of Dr. Johnson,
Goldsmith, Gibbon and Burke. Samuel Johnson (1709-84) is a first rate writer of prose. His early works
appeared in The Gentleman’s Magazine during 1738 and 1744. For the said periodical he wrote
imaginary parliamentary debates embellished in his own vigorous style. In 1747 he began working on his
Dictionary which was his great contribution to scholarship. While working on the Dictionary he also
wrote periodical essays for The Rambler. In these essays we find the mannerisms which are evident of
his trenchant force and vigour. He wrote RASSELAS (1759) which was meant to be a philosophical novel
but it was actually a number of Rambler essays strung together. During 1758-60 he contributed papers
for The Idler, The Universal Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. These essays were lighter and shorter than
those ofRambler. In 1765 he published his truly great work---- his edition of Shakespeare for which he
wrote a fine preface, a landmark in Shakespeare criticism and scholarship. His travel book titled A
Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland(1775) shows the faculty of narrative. His last work and a
substantial work was The Lives of the Poets (1777-81), planned as a series of introduction to the works
and lives of fifty two poets. The book is regarded as a fine piece of literary criticism. Johnson’s prose
style has often been criticised as pompous, artificial and verbose. However it only reflects one aspect of
his writing. In his early works, notably in The Rambler, and in Rasselas, the prose is heavy, rhetorical, and
full of affectation and highly Latinised. These early mannerisms disappear in his later writings. In The
Lives of Poets his prose has ease, lucidity, force and vigorous directness of conversation. The prose of
Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74) is of astonishing range and volume. His The Citizen of the World (1759) is a
series of imaginary letters from a china man whose comments on the English society are both simple
and shrewd. He wrote many essays in the manner of Addison and also produced a great mass of hack
work most of which is worthless as historical and scientific fact but is enlightened with the grace of his
style. Some of these works are An Inquiry into the Present State of Polite Learning in Europe(1759), The
History of England (1771) and A History of Earth and Animated Nature. Edward Gibbon (1737-94) was
an eager reader of history from his early years. His private historical studies led him to become a Roman
Catholic when he was sixteen which resulted in his expulsion from Oxford. His father sent him
toLausanne, Switzerland in the hope that the Protestant atmosphere there would divert him from his
new faith. There, at Lausanne, Gibbon got acquainted with the French language and learning. His first
book A History of Switzerland(1770) was never finished. In 1776 he published the first volume of The
Decline and fall of theRoman Empire. Five other volumes of the same book were published at two years
interval. This book has been regarded as one of the greatest historical works. His prose style is peculiar
to himself. It is lordly and commanding with a majestic rhythm. Admirably appropriate to its gigantic
subject, the style has some weaknesses. Though it never flags and rarely stumbles but the very
perfection of it tends to monotony as it lacks ease and variety. Edmund Burke (1729-97) shares with
Gibbon the place of the great prose stylist of the age. The works of Burke can be divided into two
groups: his purely philosophical writings and his political pamphlets and speeches. His philosophical
writings were composed in the earlier part of his career. A Vindication of Natural Society (1756) is a
parody of the style and ideas of Bolingbroke. A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the
Sublime and Beautiful (1756) is his most philosophical book. His political works are his most substantial
claim to fame. In variety, breadth of view and illuminating power of vision they are unsurpassed in the
language. They fall into two categories: speeches and pamphlets. It is in his speeches that Burke’s
artistry and power is at its best. The greatest of them are his speeches on American Taxation, on
Conciliation with the Colonies and on the Impeachment of Warren Hastings. Of his best known
pamphlets, the first to be produced was Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents (1770), which
shows all his peculiar qualities and methods. Between 1790 and 1797 he published a number of
pamphlets, of which Reflection on the Revolution in France, A Letter to a Noble Lord and Letters on a
Regicide Peace are the most noteworthy. Though the occasion of Burke’s political writings has vanished,
the books can still be read with profit and pleasure. Burke was the practical politician who applied a light
and clear and forcible intelligence to the problems of his days. He could distil from the muddy liquid of
contemporary party strife the clear wine of wisdom and so deduce ideas of unshakeable permanence. In
addition, we have the attraction of Burke’s style. Dignified and graceful, it is the most powerful prose of
the times. It is marked by all oratorial devices---- repetition, careful arrangement and balance of parts,
copious use of rhetorical figures, and variation of sentence structure, homely illustrations and a swift
vigorous rhythm. It is full of colour and splendour and is fired by impassioned imagination. The prose of
this period has many men and many manners. The simplest prose of this period is found mainly in the
works of the novelists. The excellent middle style of Addison survived in the works of Goldsmith and in
the later works of Johnson. The ornate class of prose was represented by the Rambler essays of Johnson
and the writings of Gibbon and Burke. A fresh and highly interesting style was the poetic prose of
Macpherson’s Ossian. This style was not ornate as it was drawn from the simplest elements. It
possessed a solemnity of expression, and so decided a rhythm and cadence, that the effect is almost
lyrical. NINETEENTH CENTURY PROSE ROMANTIC PROSE Poetry dominated the
literary scene of the first half of 19th century more popularly known as the Romantic period. Due to the
presence of Wordsworth, Coleridge, Shelley, Byron and Keats the literary limelight was focussed on
poetry. Jane Austen and Walter Scott were the prominent names in Novel. Hence prose was at the third
rank in the stature of literary popularity. However the prose of this period was no mean genre and we
have essayists like Charles Lamb and William Hazlitt enlarging the horizon of English literature through
their contributions. Apart from these two we have Wordsworth, Coleridge, Scott, Shelley and Keats also
writing some substantial prose works. It is a fact that the age did not produce a pamphleteer of the first
rank but the productivity of the age is marked in the immense productivity of the political writers. Apart
from a steep rise in periodicals the age witnessed the beginning of daily journals which are still very
strong elements in literature and politics. Some of the dailies that started are The Morning Chronicle
(1769), The Morning Post (1772), The Times (1785) etc. A race of strong literary magazines sprang to life:
The Edinburgh Review (1802), The Quarterly Review (1809), Blackwood’s Magazine (1817), The London
Magazine (1820), and The Westminster Review (1824). Though Wordsworth and Coleridge are great
poets but they also contributed in the development Romantic prose by their critical works and treatises.
Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical Ballads is a fine specimen of prose and critical theory which blasted the
ailing dogmatic classical dictates of literature in general and poetry in particular. Coleridge’s prose, like
his poetry, was scrappy, chaotic and tentative. In bulk it is massive; in manner it is diffuse and involved;
but it possesses a breadth, a depth and a searching wisdom that is rare and admirable. The prose of
Coleridge is philosophical and literary in theme. In 1796 he started a periodical The Watchman in which
he contributed typical essays showing considerable weight and acuteness of thought. He contributed
some miscellaneous prose in The Morning Post. In 1808 he started a series of lectures on poetry and
allied subjects. In 1817 he publishedBiographia Literaria and Sibylline Leaves.Biographia Literaria is his
most valuable prose work. After long philosophising the book discusses Wordsworthian theory of poetry
in a masterly fashion. The book places Coleridge in the first rank of critics. Second only in importance in
establishing Coleridge as the greatest of English critics are his lectures on Shakespeare and other poets.
Shelley and Keats also wrote some prose of good consideration. Shelley’s Defence of Poetry(1821) is
soundly written and is a strong exposition of the Romantic point of view. His letters show him as a man
of common sense and not merely the crazy theorist of popular imagination. His prose style is somewhat
heavy but clear. As a prose writer, unlike Wordsworth, Keats made no attempt at a systematic
formulation of his views on his art. His Letters give a clear insight into his mind and artistic development.
Written with a spontaneous freshness and an easy intimacy, they are the most interesting letters of
their times. Apart from poems and exquisite novels Sir Walter Scott also compiled a mass of some
beautiful miscellaneous prose. Among them are his prefaces to the editions of Dryden (1808), Swift
(1814), Lives of the Novelists (1821-24), Life of Napoleon (1827) and the admirable Tales of a
Grandfather (1828-30). His articles, pamphlets, journals and letters are a legion in themselves. Charles
Lamb (1775-1834) began his literary career as a poet, attempted a tragic play and compiled Tales from
Shakespeare with his sister Mary Lamb. His substantial critical work is found in his specimens of English
Dramatic Poets, who lived about the time of Shakespeare (1808) which is remarkable for its delicate
insight and good literary taste. But all these writings are of little importance compared with his essays.
The first of his essays appeared in The London Magazine in 1820 when Lamb was forty five. The original
series was published as The Essays of Elia(1823) and a second under the title of The Last Essays of
Elia (1833). The essays of Lamb are unequalled in English. They are on a variety of subjects ranging from
chimney sweeps to old china. They are touched with personal opinions and recollections so oddly
obtruded that interest in the subject is nearly swamped by reader’s delight in the author. It is said that
no essayist is more egotistical than Lamb; but no egotist can be so artless and yet so artful, so tearful yet
so mirthful, so pedantic and yet so humane. It is this delicate clashing of humours, like the chiming of
sweet bells, which affords the chief delight to his readers. His style bears the echoes and odours of
older writers like Browne and Fuller. It is full of long and curious words and it is dashed with frequent
exclamations and parentheses. The humour that runs through the essays is not so strong but it is airy
and elfish in note; it vibrates faintly but never lacks precision. His pathos is of the same character; and
sometimes, as in Dream Children, it deepens into a quivering sigh of regret. He is so sensitive and so
strong, so cheerful and yet so unalterably doomed to sorrow. William Hazlitt (1778-1830) held unusual
political and literary views and headstrong temperament that made him centre of controversies and
battles throughout his life. A lecturer of literature by profession Hazlitt was a representative literary
critic of the period. From 1814 till his death he contributed to The Edinburgh Review, while others of his
articles were published in The Examiner, The Times and The London Magazine. His early writings were
consisted of miscellaneous philosophical and political works but his reputation rests upon the lectures
and essays on literary and general subjects published between 1817 and 1825. His lectures onCharacters
of Shakespeare’s Plays (1817), The English Poets (1818), The English Comic Writers(1819) and The
Dramatic Literature of the Age of Elizabeth (1820) are good examples of literary criticism and
scholarship. The best of his essays are collected in The Round Table (1817), Table Talk, or Original Essays
on Men and Manners(1821-22) and The Spirit of the Age or Contemporary Portraits (1825). Hazlitt’s
writing is remarkable for its fearless expression of an honest and individual opinion, his ability to
communicate his own enjoyment and his gift for evoking unnoticed beauty. His judgements are based
on his emotional reactions rather than on objectively applied principles. Hence they are sometimes
marred by personal bias but, for the most part, they show his enthusiasm guided by a strong common
sense. In style he stands in contrast to De Quincey’s elaborate orchestration of the complex sentence
and the magic of the delicate word tracery. His brief, abrupt sentences have the vigour and directness
which his views demand. His lectures have manly simplicity and something of the looseness of
organisation which is typical of good conversation. His lectures and essays show a fondness for the apt
and skilfully blended quotation and for the balanced sentences. His diction is always pure and his
expression is concise. Thomas De Quincey (1785-1859) is one of the authors whose work has to be
rigorously sifted. He wrote a large amount of prose; most of which is hackwork, a fair proportion is of
good quality, and a small amount is of highest merit. HisConfessions of an English Opium Eater (1821),
appeared in The London Magazine, is a series of visions that melt away in the manner of dreams. The
best of his work is contained in The English Mail Coach (1849), Suspiria de Profundis (1845) and On
Murder considered as one of the Fine Arts (1827). A great part of his work is dreary and diffuse. He
displays a wide range of knowledge. His style is apt to stumble into vulgarity but when inspired he gives
to the English tongue a wonderful strength and sweetness. In these rare moments he plunges into an
elaborate style and imagery but never looses grip, sweeping along with sureness and ease. In rhythm
and melody he is supreme. VICTORIAN PROSE With all its immense production, the Victorian age
produced poets like Tennyson, Browning and Arnold; novelists like Dickens, Thackeray and Eliot. It
revealed no supreme writer like Shakespeare but the general literary level was very high and it was an
age of spacious intellectual horizon, noble endeavour and bright aspirations. With regard to prose, the
greater proportion is written in middle style, the established medium in journalism, in all miscellaneous
work and in majority of the novels. Outside this mass of middle style, the style of Ruskin stands highest
in the scale of ornate ness; of the same kind is the scholarly elegance of Walter Pater. The style of
Macaulay and Carlyle are peculiar brands of the middle style. During the Victorian age novel had thrust
itself into the first rank with Dickens, Thackeray and Eliot. Short story developed as a new species.
Essays had expanded as a giant literary type with Macaulay, Carlyle, Pater, Ruskin and many others. Of
the minor essayists Dickens in his The Uncommercial Traveller and Thackeray in his The Roundabout
Papers practised the shorter Addisonian style that was enlarged by Ruskin, Pater and Stevenson. The
lecture became a prominent literary species with Carlyle, Thackeray and Dickens publishing their
lectures in book form. But it was Ruskin who, like Coleridge, gave a distinct style and manner to it. John
Ruskin (1819-1900), with no need to earn a living, settled down to a literary career. He developed his
own advanced notions on art, politics, economics and other subjects. In art he was particularly devoted
to the landscape painting of Turner. In social and economic issues he was an advocate of an advance
form of socialism. His ideas appear innocuous today but the Victorian public received them with shock
and dismay. First he received only jeers from his adversaries but gradually he freely expounded his
opinions in lectures, pamphlets and books. He began with a book Modern Painters which turned out to
be his longest book with its first volume published in 1843 and the fifth and last in 1860. The Seven
Lamps of Architecture (1849) is a shorter and more popular work. The Stones ofVenice (1851-53), in
three volumes, is considered as his masterpiece in thought and style. His other writings are of
miscellaneous nature. It comprises of The Two Paths (1859), a course of lectures; Unto This Last (1860),
a series of articles on political economy; Munera Pulveris (1862-63), an unfinished series of articles on
political economy; Sesame and Lilies(1865), his most popular shorter works; The Crown of Wild
Olive (1866), a series of addresses etc. Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) is considered as the most
representative and honourable name in Victorian prose that not only enriched the genre but also
exerted a tremendous impact on the age. His earliest works were translations, essays and biographies.
The best work of this period are his translation of Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship (1824),
his The Life of Schiller(1825) and his essays on Burns and Scott. Then came Sartor Resartus (1833-34) in a
series in Fraser’s Magazine. It is an extraordinary book which pretended to contain the opinions of a
German professor but under the thin veil of fiction Carlyle disclosed his own spiritual struggles during his
early troubled years. Though the style is violent and the meaning is obscure but it has energy and a
rapturous ecstasy of revolt. Carlyle then switched over to historical writings which he did in his own
unconventional style. His major historical works are The French Revolution(1837), a series of vivid
pictures rather than history, but full of audacity and colour; Oliver Cromwell’s Letters and
Speeches (1845), a huge effort relieved by his volcanic methods; Life of John Sterling (1851), a slight
work but more genial and humane; and The History of Frederich 11 of Prussia (1858-65), an enormous
work in scale and detail both. He wrote numerous works dealing with contemporary events that
includeChartism (1840), Past and Present (1843), andLetter-day Pamphlets (1850). The series of lectures
which he delivered in 1837 was published as On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History (1841).
Now it is difficult to understand why Carlyle was valued so highly in moral and political affairs. His works
have froth and thunder but little of anything is solid and capable of analysis. However he was a man of
sterling honesty, of sagacious and powerful mind which he applied to the troubles of his time. His
opinions were widely discussed and accepted. His books had the force of ex cathedra pronouncements.
Carlyle’s style was entirely his own. At the first glance a passage seems rude and uncouth: with many
capital letters in the German fashion, with broken phrases, he proceeds amid a torrent of whirling
words. Yet he is flexible to a wonderful degree; he can command a beauty of expression; a sweet and
piercing melody. His style has the lyrical note that requires only the lyrical metre to become great
poetry. Macaulay (1800-59), at Cambridge, won the Chancellor’s medal for poetry twice and was made
a fellow at Trinity College in 1824. The collapse of father’s business led him to study law and he entered
into the bar in 1826. He began his literary career with Knight’s Quarterly Magazine but later began
writing his famous essays for The Edinburgh Review. He entered the Parliament in 1830 as a Whig, came
to Indiafor four years on a legal post, re-entered political life and rose to the level of Secretary of War
and Paymaster General of the Forces. Before leaving for India Macaulay had written 22 essays for The
Edinburgh Review; he added three during his stay in India and finished eleven more after his return. He
contributed five biographies for Encyclopaedia Britannica. His essays dealt with either literary subjects
like Milton, Byron, Bunyan etc or historical studies including his famous compositions on Warren
Hastings and Lord Clive. His opinions were often one sided, and his knowledge was often flawed with
actual error or distorted by his craving for antithesis but his essays are clearly and ably written and
disclose an eye for picturesque effect. His History of England remained unfinished with four volumes of
the book completed during his life time. His treatment of history is marked by picturesque details, desire
for brilliant effect which resulted in a hard, self confident manner and in a lack of broader outlines and
deeper views. Walter Pater (1839-94) is known both as a stylist and a literary critic. He devoted himself
to art and literature producing some remarkable volumes on these subjects. The collection of his first
essays appeared as Studies in the History of the Renaissance (1873). The essays were chiefly concerned
with art. Imaginary Portraits (1887) deals with artists and Appreciations (1889) is on literary themes with
an introductory essay on style. Pater was a representative of the school of aesthetic criticism. He was a
strong believer of the theory of art for art’s sake. He focused his attention always on form rather than
subject matter. His own style is among the most notable of the Victorian prose writers. It is the creation
of immense application and forethought; every word is conned, every sentence proved and every
rhythm appraised. It is never cheap, but firm and equable. The earlier published works of the renowned
Victorian novelist R L Stevenson (1850-94) were consisted of collection of essays titled An Inland
Voyage (1878), Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes (1879) and Virginibus Puerisque(1881). In the
essays he appears to be a master of easy, graceful style which is the result of much care and a close
attention to artistic finish. Any list of Victorian prose stylists will be incomplete without mentioning the
name of Matthew Arnold.Arnold (1822-88) was a man of many activities but now he holds his rank as a
poet and a literary critic. His prose works are large in bulk and wide in range. His critical essays are
ranked of highest value. Essays in Criticism (1865 & 1889) contain the best of his critical works, which is
marked by wide reading and careful thought. His judgements are usually sane and measured. He ranks
as one of the great English literary critics. In his prose, as in his poetry, he appears to be an apostle of
sanity and culture. He advocates a broad cosmopolitan view of European literature as a basis for
comparative judgement and attacks provincialism and lack of real knowledge. He wrote freely upon
theological and political themes also. Two of his best books of this class areCulture and Anarchy (1869)
and Literature and Dogma (1873). His style is perfectly lucid, easy, elegant, distinct and rhythmical.

Article 2:
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH PROSE STYLE. Introduction. IF we see the " spirit" of a nation most
faith- fully embodied in its poetry, it is in the prose literature that we must look for the less glov?ing but
more accurate reflection of its " genius." Poetry for the most part is the result of spasmodic outbursts,
consequent upon fits of national self-consciousness, such as are caused by a sudden opening up of new
foreign relations, or by successful wars : fits like these are intermittent ; when the pulse of the nation
has ceased to beat ^Poetr^f '^°''^ '° with feverish activity poetry will probably be comparatively
neglected; whereas prose being the vehicle of all natural thought will, among a people v^hich is making
steady progress towards self-education, maintain a more even course of development. No doubt in a
minor degree the prose literature of a country will always reflect passing phases of national character,
and it would be unsafe to lay down any very formal generalization on the point; but the distinction just
given seems to be the usual one between metrical and unmetrical composition, viewed as factors in
history. Perhaps, too, this is the cause why poetry has in all great nations been an earlier growth than
prose. The fits of self- consciousness to which I have referred often come upon a people long before
there is any vestige of education abroad. Nay, often before a language has been augurate new in-
formed at all; for it is generally m the very S^tiie 'language dawning of the idea of nationahty that a
language. formed, springs up, and then poetry sometimes consciously forces upon its readers a speech,
which is to become common to the nation, and which is as yet quite imperfect ; one need only call to
mind Chaucer and Dante, the latter of whom is said to have hesitated whether he should choose
Provencal or Sicilian as the material out of which he was to fashion a language. It is an indisputable fact
that nearly all n.itional literatures- -that is, literatures which 4 The Development of have not been
transplanted half-grown from foreign soils — have begun in some great poem, and that prose has
followed at a respectful distance of time. The Homeric poems preceded the history of Herodotus, the
Edda preceded the Sagas, and the Divina Commedia preceded the Decamerone. The sequence of poe-
The direct Sequence pf the t\yo kinds of corn- try and prose in position IS not SO clear in the history
ofEngland. literature ; Chaucer is far before any literary prose writer, and he is perhaps to be
considered as much the founder of our modern tongue as Dante is of Italian, but we cannot shut our
eyes to the fact that he himself wrote more than one of the "Canterbury Tales" in prose, and that Sir
John Mandeville, who translated into English his own Latin account of a life of perhaps slightly imaginary
travel in "Cathay" and other uncertain regions, actually lived before Chaucer. Besides the English tracts
of Wycliffe, -the 14th and 15 th centuries produced several minor compositions in the various dialects of
our mother tongue ; but it is not until the impetus given to learning by the Renaissance had produced a
high level of education among the upper classes that any real literary prose Late development
Considered to have existed. The reason of English as a of this delay in the development of the English
literary anguage. language as the means of expressing the thoughts of educated people is an obvious
and simple one, namely, the constant use of Latin as the universal medium of thought. This was owing
primarily to the influence of the Roman Church which still continues to employ Latin in its diplomatic
communications : but even when the religious barriers to free thought were to a certain extent broken
down, — a process which was going on in England in a greater or less degree from the end of the 14th
century, — the interest which all intelligent people felt in the rich mines of learning, which began to be
opened to the Western world even before the fall of Constantinople, and the rage for unearthing old
MSS. of the classics which immediately set in, rendered almost necessary the maintenance of some
common speech in which the disciples of learning could be understood by their brethren of all
nationalities. Thus the Renaissance may be said in one aspect to have retarded the growth of national
literatures. Division of the Subject. . attempting to give a picture of a national lterature, which
possesses a continuous history, we naturally meet with divisions indicated ready to our hands, and
where such landmarks exist it is extremely difficult to avoid following them. It is only by tracing out
some broad divisions of English literature that we hope to arrive at a com- prehension of the changes
which the style of our prose writing has undergone. English Prose Style. 5 The main divisions, then,
into which I intend to let the subject fall, though it may seem '^gi"h''"i.°/ersf aiTd rather a fanciful
arrangement, are marked off, consequently 'three not so much by different classes of prose writers,
writers. ° °^ " as by the different classes of those for whom prose has been written ; the gradual
expansion of what has been called the "literary public" will affoiy the best basis upon which to work :
and this expansion, though in the main steady and con- tinuous, having been helped or retarded by its
several exterior influences, admits of two distinct lines of demarcation, which give us three distinct
classes of readers. To each of these classes will be found assigned, as if by a natural law, a tolerably
distinct class of writers. I. — In the early days of English prose literature — and it does not seem
desirable to date the "^^ 'Teeo.' ''°°~ commencement of such before Sir Thomas The reading public
More — books were written only for scholars; consists of scholars, the style was a scholarly style ; their
authors P™== g^-js >= =• loaded them with quotations from the classics, as if pre-supposing the ability
of their readers to understand them. The revival of classical learning and its patronage by Henry VIII.
and his nobles had produced a very considerable if superficial know- ledge of ancient literature among
the courtiers and the circles of society near the court. Henry's son,and one at least of his daughters,
extended their influence in the same direction, so that by the end of Elizabeth's reign, there may be
said to have been a very con- siderable number of people qualified to understand scholarly books. To
suit this audience the style of the age was modelled. Prose literature in this first period is a fine art. II.
— The unpopularity of the court and the church, during the reigns of the first two Stuarts, Second
period, 1660 , 11, • c ^^ ' — 1800. seems to have retarded the expansion of this ^^ _.^^^.^^ ^^^^.^^
literary public, but with the restoration, contempo- consists of men of raneously with the appearance
of foreign in- the world, fluences, we find visible traces of the growth of a ^r^^rXV^i ha" much larger
class of readers. This second class become aprofession. is composed of people whom we may describe
as men of the world, the germ of that society which became the audience of Addison, Steele, and
Bolingbroke, the society of which " Esmond " gives us so delightful a picture. To meet the wants of this
audience a new literature and a new class of authors arose. These men were writers for bread. Prose
literature, without entirely ceasing to become a fine art has become a pro- fession. IIL-The third and
last class of people for ^ ,^^^^_ whom English prose has been written, is really 6 The Development of
Th. reading public Only a vast expansion of the second ; but it is of the last period is distinctly marked
off from its predecessor Dy tne e"n''to'admk'^ui increased demand for a more popularised English
educated people. literature, which followed the extension of English ^fa?tor"n'X Na^ interest in the
outside world after 1815. This tionai Education. interest has gone on expanding with great rapidity to
our own day. It is this class which constitutes the reading public of the present generation. We live in
an atmos- phere eminently unproductive of literary giants, for " that which was once the heritage of
the few has suffered in its distribution among the many;" but we have abundance of writers who
satisfy the wants of this increasing class of readers. Prose is now written for everybody, and has
become an important factor in the national education. c' tinuit ofthede While the literature of some
countries springs velopment" of'our at once into fuU Stature, in others it is slowly prose style. matured
by steps, of which every one can be traced. The arrangement of writers into three divisions, above
given, shows that England possesses a fairly continuous develop- ment of literary prose. Our prose has
had no "cataclysms" such as came over our poetry in the 15th and i8th centuries. Entirely national and
free from foreign in- Foreign influences. fl^g„j,eg ^g cannot call it, for besides the revival of classical
learning which gave it its first itnpetus, there was a marked period of Itahan influence in the middle of
the 1 6th century, and a marked period of French in the latter half of the 17th. But it is very doubtful
whether any literature, except that pf the Scandinavian nations, has ever been quite isolated, and
certainly it would seem a very questionable benefit for any literature to be so. In what direction we are
tending at the present day, when national education is beginning to be a reality, I shall endeavour to
point out after a brief examination of the three periods above mentioned.^ I. — I do not propose to
trace the development of English prose literature from an earlier date than the commencement of the
first of these three periods, that is from the rise of an English "Note. — It is somewhat strange to
notice that the one ancient prose literature which, brief as its life was, developed itself by regular steps
to a very high point of splendour, namely the Athenian, toolc the very opposite direction from that
which English is now following. We are, perhaps, in danger of for- getting form in our superabundance
of matter, whereas the oratory of the Athenian law courts (the school in which prose reached its most
admirable style), having been raised to the highest scientific form, lost its use for practical purposes.
The influence which was exercised by the speeches, both in the iKKKi]isia., and in the law courts, could
only exist in a small and thoroughly self-conscious community such as Athens. Sheridan and perhaps
Erskine have left their mark upon English prose, but it is rather from an external point that they have
done so; they have not assisted at the making of the language. [See on the question Jebb's Atlic
Orators.'] English Prose Style. 7 literary public, however narrow. Before the opening of the i6th
century there was no such body of men in existence, and even in the early years of the Renaissance it
was very small. The first violent conflict of the Reformation was not a literary -strife, except in so far
as the ends of the '^cemu^t^™'^' '^* two parties were promoted or retarded by published writings ; it
was a war of religious pamphlets, none of which are a model of good English, ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^ and of
which the success depended to some tjon on our prose extent on their author's command of strong
Ian- '"^'^a""'=- guage. However striking and pithy are some of Latimer's rude sentences, however
perspicuous some of the earlier ecclesiastical documents, such as the first book of homilies, they
cannot be said to have contributed to the development of English prose style to any considerable
extent. But of the predecessors of Hooker, who is ^ . generally considered the first real writer of " ^"^^
° °™ '^''*' " style," we may select Sir Thos. More, Roger Ascham, John Lily, and perhaps the Jesuit,
Father Parsons (the last on the authority of Swift), as the four greatest masters of their native
language. The " Life and Times of King Edward V." is .. „, -, really a classical work, and " Utopia" has
been " ""^ said by Professor Minto to be almost an English classic. The meaning of the last statement
of course is that the " Utopia" expresses most clearly the ideas which would be current in the mind of
the most highly cultivated English intellect of the day, and it does not refer to the style; although the
translation of 1552, in which form most people are acquainted with More's little work, is certainly a
marvel of lucidity and beauty for its age. More is altogether before his time, so far as anyone can be
said to occupy such a position, both in his thoughts and in his methods of expressing them. For nearly
a hundred years afterwards we do not meet with such a vigorous, perspicuous, and above all such an
evidently thoughtful style. He was perhaps one of the few men of the 1 6th century who had any
command over their pens, who wrote as they thought ; and his thoughts must have been always clear
as they were always noble. I do not wish to attempt any- thing like a series of quotations even from the
most representative authors, but I cannot refrain from inserting a fev7 lines from a letter from More
to his wife which is given in Mr. Baptiste Scoone's^ delightful collection : " He sent us all that we have
lost ; and sith He hath by such a " chance taken it away again His pleasure be fulfilled. Let us " never
grudge thereat but take it in good worth and heartily " thank Him as well for adversity as for prosperity.
And per- " adventure we have more cause to thank Him for our loss than *> " Four Centuries of English
Letters." 8 The Development of " for our winning. For His wisdom better seeth what is good " for us
than we do ourselves." These few lines of consolation for a domestic misfortune are as far superior in
point of what we now consider good style, to the laboured writings of the next century and a half, as
they are superior in their spirit of resignation to the temper of the age m which they were written.
One can hardly blame the somewhat excessive use of abstract ideas in which More indulges, when
one reflects on his philosophical and thoughtful nature. He uses in his " Edward V." a more practical
and more concrete language than any other writer before Dryden. But More was an isolated
phenomenon in S.r Thomas Elyot. ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^_ ^j^^ ^^j^ ^^^^^^ ^^j^^^ ^f jj^g period whose
work is worthy of remark in the history of English prose is Sir Thomas Elyot, whose " Boke of the
Governour" shews a distinct purpose of building up a good vocabulary. His merit lies chiefly in this that
he saw clearly that there was a multitude of English ideas, which could never be expressed by terms
built up on purely English roots, and he therefore consciously adopted many Latin words and phrases
into his mother tongue. ■= But his sentences are exceedingly involved and obscure, and he evidently
wrote with great labour to himself. Soon after lan m uence. j^.^ ^.^^ ^^ begin to See traces of the
influence of Italy. These came no doubt in the wake of those scholars who had gone, like Grocyn and
Linacre in the early years of the century, to learn Greek in the land where it was taught best, and had
brought back with them a tinge of the pedantic blight which was rapidly overclouding the brilliant
summer of Italian culture ; although Ascham, like Elyot, distinctly sets before oger sc am. jjjjjjggif ^j^g
determination to study the English language with a view to composition as a fine art, and bears few
marks of the influence of foreign pedantry. Euphuism was probably the fashionable Court dialect '^'
before Lily's time, but Lily being a master of the style, his novel was taken as typical, and gave its name
to the language which we find so ably satirised by Scott in the character of Sir Piercie Shafton. The
criticisms of Sidney, and indeed his own prose, although diffusive and ill-connected, affords clear proof
that the Euphuists were not entirely masters of the literary stage. But they left an enduring mark
behind them : " The absurd surfeit to the ears" of which ^EuphikSi''"''"'^ Sidney accuses Lily of being
the author, was toned down into the rich and melodious style of 1= Note. — This process went on
throughout the iSth century, every writer adding a little to the stock of Latin words grafted on the
English language ; so that where the Wiclif Bible has the "again-rising of doom," the A. V. has "
resurrection of damnation." English Prose Style. 9 Hooker, and gave rise to much of the fanciful word
play of Jeremy Taylor, who is said to have exceedingly admired Lily's writings. John Lily was a few years
younger than Richard j^. , , „ , Hdoker, but the " Euphues " was published in 1579 and 1580,, whereas
the "Ecclesiastical Polity" was not written till the later years of Hooker's life, and was given to the world
in 1594. The publication of this book is said to mark an era in English prose : this is true so far as it is
the first instance of pure prose applied to an important literary purpose. The earlier part of Elizabeth's
reign was a period of stirring activity; the nation was on the tiptoe of ex- Why a literary prose
pectancy ; it was starting in the great race of ^^^ iltLr''yla™of foreign adventure, was at the same time
engaged Elizabeth's reign. in a struggle against the overshadowing might of Spain, and yet at home
felt itself by no means secure from revolu- tion. It would not have been unlikely that England should
awake one morning to find Elizabeth assassinated and Mary on her march to London : ecclesiastical
controversies were also very life, and had to be conducted in the most hurried manner con- ceivable.
All this retarded the tranquillity which is inseparable from an Augustan age ; but with the later years of
the Queen's reign there came a period of triumph abroad and security at home, under a very fairly
liberal government, which was eminently favourable to such a development. Favourable condi- . r -n
11 tions of the later The great Augustan age of France on the other years of Elizabeth, hand sprang
from the peace of despotism, following soon after civil war; and, in conse- ^forniTn^u"^"^^ quence,
French Literature took a different turn Age." from English. The so-called Augustan age of Anne bore in
truth little resemblance to its fancied model : it was rather, as I have said above, a. period in which, the
habit of reading having been extended to a larger class of people than before, style had been
compelled to descend from its stilts to suit its paces to the public taste. But the age of Hooker and
Bacon was truly an Augustan age, as much in the bold flights of rhetoric of the one, as in the heroic
researches into science of the other. Hooker is one of the few instances of a writer Hooker's style
whose fame rests almost entirely on his style ; indeed there seems to be a litde else new or original in
his works, except the studied moderation and fairness with which he wrote. _ It is the extraordinary
richness of his language, and certain distinct steps which he took towards what is called a . "periodic"
style, which has earned him the "Ven'odic"5°yk.° excessive praise bestowed by Hallam, and Mr.
Ruskin's declaration that he has consciously endeavoured to make the " Ecclesiastical Polity " his
model. The beauti- ful flow of Hooker's words reflects the serenity of his temper ; he was exceedingly
fond of music; he lived a retired life io The Development of in a beautiful country, he wrote in a
peaceful decade, every- thing indeed worked together for him in favour of successful composition His
sentences are finished and neat, but clearness of expression and adherence to one definition were
things unknown to the writers of the i6th century; and Hooker is no exception to the rule. The best
instance of this is the loose rendering of words in the translations from Latin which abound in his work ;
Hooker seems to have been aware of this fault, but to have been incapable of correcting it. It was not
that men's thoughts were confused in those days, but that their pens had not learnt to follow their
thoughts. Most of Bacon's best work was written after 1620, Francis Bacon. ^^^^ j^ to Say the
"Advancement of Learning," his " History of Henry VII.," and his " Essays." To attempt any- thing like
criticism of these splendid monuments of our language would be quite in vain : it will be enough to
notice the salient points in which his writings influenced the development of English prose literature.
In the matter of diction he uses more obsolete words than either Hooker or Sidney, but he is
immeasur- ably superior to them both in the perspicuity of his sentences which, though occasionally
involved, as a rule allow us to see into his thoughts with great distinctness. The aphoristic style of his
essays is worthy of all praise, and he may be considered the first English master of antithesis : it was
perhaps his work in this direction which gave his peculiar bent to the hterature of the early part of the
17th century. The men of that age delighted in a neatly balanced, if somewhat pedantic and laboured,
antithetical construction. In spite of his obsolete words and Latinisms he is easy to comprehend,
because he is neither an affected nor an emotional writer. His cold nature and judicial mind repelled
both these faults, and his labours might have been employed with the greatest advantage on valuable
historical investigations had he not been engaged in the still more precious discoveries of natural
science. To the same Augustan age belong the great ^Augu^In Age.*^ ""^ divines who made the English
pulpit famous for excellent logic, and for the fanciful quotations from Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, with
which they u pi e oquence. regaled the ears of even the most rustic audiences : it could not be
supposed that these would be understood, but the ecclesiastics of that day seem to have considered
that they were bound to show their knowledge of the dead languages, and the people seem to have
looked for this display of superior erudition in their pastors as a necessity of each Sunday. Nothing
shows more clearly than the style of sermons the change which had come over the religious life of
England since the stirring days of Latimer; in his time it was necessary to excite powerfully the feelings
of the people, and hence his coarse and homely language English Prose Style. i i was uttered with a
most forcible delivery, such as we do not meet with again until the sonorous periods of the learned and
refined Carolian divines have been drowned in the rising tumult of civil war. The most representative
of these preachers and writers were Lancelot Andrewes, Dr. Donne, and perhaps Bp.LancdotAndrewes.
Jeremy Taylor, who, though of a younger generation, belonged in all his ideas no less than in his style
to the later years of Charles I. reign. Andrewes will be chiefly remembered as one of the translators of
the Bible into the form which we now use. The various translations The translation of the Bibk. of this
book are usually regarded as havmg been landmarks in the development of English style. The
authorized version of 1611 has been said to be a typical specimen of the purest period of English, the
reign of King James I. Whether the age of King James is the purest age of our mother tongue or not, it
is certainly an error to say that the translation of 161 1 is typical of the age in which it was drawn up ;
this version was issued professedly and closely on the lines of the somewhat faulty version then in use,
known as the " Bishop's Bible," which had been put forward under the supervision of Matthew Parker
forty years before ; that version again had been copied as nearly as possible from Cranmer's translation
: in each case faults were corrected, and many obsolete words were omitted, but little modernising of
the style took place. A comparison of that portion of our Bible which reads most like a modern book
with the language of Bacon will at once dispel the illusion that the language of the authorised version
is the language of King James' time. On the anti-Erastian side, while ecclesiastical controversy was yet
dignified, we find the_ names of chiiiingworth and Hales. Chilhngworth and Hales, who bemg scholars
rather than fanatics, and not being trammelled by blind obedience to any theories, escaped the errors,
both of matter and style, which soon begame common to the violent partisans of either view. We
must not omit to notice Lord Herbert , j „ , . <■ ^^i , , J • u 1 t.- ,. r tJ Lord Herbert of Cherbury. of
Cherbury s admirable history of Henry VIII., which is undoubtedly the best work of its kind before the
Restoration : the English is a model of purity, and perhaps the very best prose, in the sense of being
most comprehensible to modern ears, before Dryden's ; the periods are well constructed, though not
quite so abundant in antithesis as those of Bacon. There have been two great epochs in the history of
the English pulpit ; the first the one to which I have just referred, and the second that which followed
soon alter the Restoration, and which produced such men as Tillotson, South, and Burnet. The chro-
nological link between these epochs is found in a man who in all but time belonged to the earlier of the
two. Jeremy j„j„ ^^ j^j. Taylor's style is the most perfect example of "'"^ ^^ °^' " Linked sweetness long
drawn out." 12 The Development of In him no less than in Hooker, language is but a reflection of one
of the most beautiful characters with whom our history is fur- nished. His " Holy Living and Holy Dying"
will always be recognised equally with the " De Imitatione Christi" as a perfect exposition of
Christianity as it has appeared to the purest minds. Eut for our present purpose his " Liberty of
Prophesying" is the school wherein the richness of diction of the pulpit oratory of his age may be
studied to the most perfect advantage. His similes are never-ending, but he differs from his
contemporaries in this that, though his classical learning is wide and varied, they are derived
principally from external nature and from the deeper feelings of humanity rather than from books. So
tender indeed are his expressions, that his style has been accused of a want of manliness and vigour.
The Civil Wars made a violent breach in the ^rcivrwars 'in development of our literature : they brought
the continuity of de- tg the tOD Other elements, which during the long- velopement of prose .. *■ . ,rii ^
r /■ style. rising excitement of the decades 1020 — 1640 had been preparing to break down the
despotism of the Stuarts, and the laboured eloquence which while it had in- creased in refinement of
form had rather lost in solidity of matter. Intellectual activity was indeed by no means completely inter-
, , , .,. rupted in the same sense that Constitutional his- Pamphlet writing. ^ . , , ^ r tory was mterrupted
between 1640 and 1660, for the warfare was waged with the pen as well as with the sword, and to
this we owe much of Milton's prose writing; but such publications as exercised any influence on their
respective causes were necessarily too hasty, too much coloured by the violent passions of the time,
religious and political, to improve the English language. We must look backward to the age of
Elizabeth and James, or forward to the Restoration, to find any very immortal specimen of our
literature. M.Taine on Milton. "^ ^f^^ before me," says M. Taine, "the formidable volume in which
some time after " Milton's death his prose works were collected. What a book ! " The chairs creak
when you place it on them, and a man who " turned over its leaves for an hour would have more pain
in his "arm than in his head. As the book, so were the men," etc.'^ ,,.,, •, We can hardly expect from a
Frenchman Milton as a prose writer. . .' <^ . v-».iij«.n anything hke a just estimate of the essentially
English vigour of Milton's prose. The intellect of the great Puritan is quite foreign to the ideas of the
most cultivated Frenchman. M. Taine, moreover, judges England and its litera- ture from an ultra-
French point of view: his work is even, considering the nationality of its author, exceedingly superficial.
He has, however, plenty of astonished admiration for the " dis- ^ Histoire de la Litterature Anglaise,"
tome 2, p. 435. English Prose Style. 13 ciplined army of Milton's arguments," for the tremendous
learning which he displays, and the magnificent claims for freedom which he advances. He compares
him to Swift ; then to a brazen trumpet ; then to one of Michael Angelo's archangels ; and finally
concludes that he is not truly a prose writer ; " imagination and " enthusiasm have carried him away
enchained into metaphor ; " thus dazzled or marred he could not produce a perfect work, he " could
but write useful tracts." That this is in many respects a fair criticism of Milton's prose cannot be denied,
but his value in the eyes of Englishmen will always lie in the mere strength of his expressions. He first
shewed what the force of English language was capable of. His style is involved and overloaded with
imagery no less brilliant than Taylor's, while quite devoid of Taylor's harmony and sweetness : but the
historical circumstances of the " Areopagitica" will always make it interesting, in spite of the rather "
cramped hand," so to speak, in which its vehement language is confined. Milton owned himself that he
had the use of prose writing only with his left hand. Jeremy Taylor is really the last writer of the „■-,-, .
, ''.,'',./ , ■' , - 1 - End of the first period. period which we have been considering, wherein the reading
public was composed of men thoroughly learned according to the style of learning then prevalent in
England : England was in his time already prepared to listen to something different from their "
cumulative sentences," their tedious quotations, their once splendid but at last somewhat sickly
exuberance of fancy ; and to turn, if to writers of meaner language as of meaner moral stature, to
writers in whom at least the man of the world was not wholly sunk in the man of literature. II. — The
reaction in French literature against g j p ■ j the Italian affectations, which had become fashion- able
at Court when the influence of Mary de Medici was in the ascendant, was beginning some time before
1660, but it wanted expression until Boileau published his " Satires," which may be re- garded as
dealing a final blow to the extrava- influence of France, gancesof the " Precieuses." With the
Restoration and especially of in England, French influence streamed into the ^°''«^"' court life of St.
James', and Boileau was almost immediately taken as a literary high priest in both countries. English
writers, how- ever, erred in relying on him too much, and following too closely the standard of
classicalism, which he set up and which can be traced throughout the works of the writers of the " Age
of Anne." From this time began in English prose literature that which M. Taine calls the " Classic Age."
Cowley had perhaps led the way in the reaction against the earlier style, but, easy and °*°^' graceful as
some of his essays are, it is not to him but to "Glorious John" Dryden that we must trace the true dawn
of a 14 The Development of new era of English prose. Dryden is the first '^rofMsiOTaUuthor! persou
who will write either poetry or prose to order with the most complete indifference, as he is also the
first of the " writers for bread," the first professional author. There seems no reason to doubt that the
transition of literature from a fine art to a profession must be accompanied with a deterioration both
of style and matter; but at the period in question some popularisation was emphatically demanded on
account of the increasing number of men and women who wanted to read books, and who were not
educated up to the high standard of literature and scholarship of the preceding age. Dryden and his
contemporaries, if they made style barer, also relieved it of many deformities, and kept up its harmony
with the changing taste of the day, a harmony on which alone any sure foundation for national
literature can be laid. These men made the writings and thoughts of the i8th century possible. Hooker
is always addressing divines, Bacon always men of learning ; Dryden is the first to address men of
moderate educa- tion, practical and busy men of the world. And the men of the world aided the
change which was going on. Conversation became an art; the age of drawing-rooms, and of the elegant
discussion supposed to be inseparable from that species of chamber, set in : and, especially after the
first excesses of the . Restoration had passed off, indecent ideas began of antithetic'sty'ie! to be Veiled
Under some pretence of decorum in speech. The prose writers of this time had a magnificent
inheritance in the literature of the past, and they began accordingly to gather up the ideas of that
literature, to polish them, and to adapt them to the style of conversation then current. Mr. George
Saints- ^^^- Saintsbury, in his newly-published sketch fury's lofty claims of Dryden, claims for him a
higher merit even ^ ™' than the precedence in tliis literary change. He declares that Dryden and
Tillotson, working contemporaneously and in widely different fields of literature, really created the first
English prose style, and averted the dangers which might have ensued from the involved constructions
of the preceding writers. This seems to be rather an extravagant claim, and the danger to be rather
imaginary: Dryden purified but he did not create English prose. His most obvious work lies chiefly in the
fact that whereas up to his time every one had written in different styles he laid down the broad lines
which became the common foundation for all English writers to work upon. Every one of his
successors wrote like Dryden for a considerable period, until one by one the great leaders of the
literary world modified and left their mark upon the language. Bolingbroke, Johnson, and Burke, all
performed, in a much smaller degree and in English Prose Style. 15 widely diverse directions, the work
which Dryden had been the first to inaugurate. The most lasting of Dryden;s prose works are ^ryden's
criticism., beyond doubt his literary criticisms. He was not a systematic feeder in the fields of earlier
literature, but rather a critic by accident. The prefaces which he added to his plays are models of good
working English as far removed from any exaggerated flights of rhetoric on the one hand as from any
excessive use of coUoquiahsms on the other. Of a similar nature is his " Essay on Dramatic Poesy,"
which was published in 1665, and is thus one of the earliest specimens of the new style. The
occasional insertion of a harmless colloquialism or trifling touch of pathos betray the hand of the man
who is already master both of his thoughts and of his pen. Swift and Thackeray alone excel Dryden in
this peculiar excellence. No one can throw in a political allusion with more effect except Swift himself.
The prefaces to Dryden's later works, such as " Religio Laici," the translations of the Aeneid, and the
dedication of his Tables, are among the most perfect of his specimens of prose. And yet with all this
excellence it is extremely doubtful if he would ever have written a line of prose had he not been forced
to affix prefatory notices to his dramas and translations, and to play the part of a literary critic in the
dearth of any great demand for original literature. From Dryden we pass almost at once to the 6. -^ c
lA • c r\ A i-T. Connection between rst writers of the reign of Queen Anne, the men Dryden & Addison.
who listened with reverence to the old Hterary lion in Wills' Coffee-house. There was indeed a direct
and actual connection between the work of Dryden and Addison'; but we must first glance at Sir
William Temple, one of the earliest types of the school of the future. " ' '^"^ '""?'• In reading the
works of this " statesman turned pedant" we are in no danger of being over-excited or carried away
into an un- critical enthusiasm : we shall not be led to form hasty judgments or to shut our eyes to the
facts of history. The chief fear for a nineteenth cgntury reader would be lest a certain drowsiness
should be brought on by the monotonous smoothness of the periods, by the painful trimness of the
verbiage ; we can fancy the author wandering with a volume of the classics in his hand, through the
green alleys of Moor Park, and smiling complacently at the thought that he who had been the
counsellor of a Tory king and the friend of a Whig king had found metal more attrac- tive in the
designing of Dutch gardens and smooth sentences of English prose. = The latter is said to have written
the preface to the Translation of the Georgics, usually believed to have been Dryden's \Saintsbury\. 1
6 The Development of With all the trimness of morality and literature ^e'kriyT?trce°ntu*! which men
like Temple displayed to the world, the opening of the i8th century was a heartless age, an age
without real religious life and without any deep in- tellectual life. One is sometimes tempted to think
that the worst excesses of Charles II.'s early years were preferable to the cold and polished treachery
both public and private with which London Society was honey-combed in the reigns of William and
Twoinfluenceswhich ^nne. But there were _ two influences which rescued society and savcd both
society and literature from dying of itcrature. moral inanition ; the first of these was the splendid
eloquence of the higher divines of the English Church, the successors of the great preachers of the age
of Charles I., men like South, Barrow, Tillotson, Burnet, and Sherlock, whose reasonable and practical
Christianity gradually brought about a regeneration of morality ; the other was the rise of a new set of
models of style in the Parliamentary speeches, of which rumours began to be heard beyond the walls
of St. Stephen's for the first time in the reign of Queen Anne. There is no doubt that though the
eloquence of the pulpit and of the House of Commons operated but slowly in improving the style of
prose writing on matters unconnected with Church or Parliament, yet they did operate in the long run
in leading prose onwards from the cold and polished beauties of the style of Dryden and Addison to
the more natural and forcible yet not less lofty forms of expression which were used by Burke. „, „ . .
But this is anticipating the change which was J.he Jisiayists. , ^ i i i i .^ , only gradual throughout the i8th
century. I am not inclined to estimate very highly the style of the essayists of the reign of Queen Anne
; they have not left their mark upon the language to any great extent ; they did not aim at educating
but only at amusing, because the contemporary public did not demand education so much as
amusement; and I do not think that, with Addison ^^ exception of Addison, their influence was a highly
moral one. His mind is indeed thoroughly brought before us in his style ; cold ar;d cultivated, he is the
man of success who has little pity for his erring brother who is not equally fortunate in the race of life.
His essays are always fascinating to read, but one cannot help feeling that they were written by a man
who had known little of the trials of the world, and who if he had any deep feelings, knew it to be his
duty to crush them beneath an impassible Steele cxtcrior. Steele's mind is a more attractive one, but
he is in style a writer far less careful than Addison, and is even at times slipshod and unculti- vated.
But if they are neither of them models for imitation, which at one time it would have been the rankest
heresy to assert, yet they form together with Swift and Defoe a distinct link in the English Prose Style.
17 literary chain, and display several marked steps of advance beyond their predecessors. Prose
reached in the powerful pens of the two -^^^^ ^^ g^j^^ last-named writers a greater pitch of influence
on the Government of England than it has attained at any other period of our history. These were the
men who gave our litera- ture its political cast, who made pamphlet writing ^he political nature a very
important factor in the Stale: henceforward of English litera- the party which could claim the services of
an '"°' able pamphleteer would sooner have given up the head of its leader than the pen of its drudge.
All work like this being done hastily naturally contributed little in matter to our store of valuable
writings, but it certainly had a great influence in de- termining the direction which was to be followed
in the develop- ment of style. Literature as a factor in politics is now-a-days much overwhelmed by
mere force of what are called " brute votes;" and the wider the suffrage is extended, the less in-
fluence literature will possess, unless indeed education progresses at a rate proportionately faster than
concessions to the spirit of democracy : but even upon the very brute votes themselves literature —
the literature of the newspaper — does exercise an influence the direct origin of which can be traced
back to the articles in the " Review " and the " Examiner," to pamphlets like the " Conduct of the
Allies," and satires like the " True-born Englishman." The style of the newspaper is ° .. , ■' . . ^ .*■
Newspaper style. necessarily a popular one ; repetition is not avoided, forcible expressions are
introduced, and at the same time, newspaper and pamphlet writing, being intended for effect, must
be free from all errors in diction, must be full of allusions to passing events, full even of personalities ;
and in short must be " trenchant," " slashing." It is this quahty of English prose which we g^.^.^ owe to
Defoe, and still more to Swift. Defoe was a hasty writer, and never corrected his sheets ; Swift took
infinitely more pains, and his labours were crowned with infinitely greater success. An instance of the
immense power of such a style is the plain fact that Swift produced a Tory reaction in the middle of a
Whig war, the most triumphant that England had ever been engaged in. This power was due to Swift's
extra- ordinarily pictorial manner, to his mastery of literal, vivid, and coarse description. Carlyle is the
only writer who has exercised an influence similar to that of Swift and Defoe, with minute detailed
accounts of events. M. Taine speaks of the way in which Swift "decomposes" a subject into its
elements. The pleasure which we derive from reading " Gulliver" — a pleasure which even all the
loathsomeness of the book cannot destroy — is akin to that derived from "Robinson Crusoe" and
"Sartor Resartus," We can hardly believe that the author has not been 1 8 The Development of an
eye-witness of the details which he describes. Swift, Defoe, and Carlyle, " lie like truth." The
connecting linkbetween authors of the age of o mg ro e. ^nne and authors of the age of our
grandfathers is Lord Bolingbroke, whose earlier years were connected with schemes of re-establishing
his own supremacy in England through a restora- tion of the old royal family, and whose later years
were spent, like those of Macchiavelli, in discontented retirement among books and agricultural
pursuits, for which he possessed as little aptitude as his great Florentine antitype. He was a philosopher
by compulsion, who would have been all his life an orator if he had been more fortunate in his
schemes. He belonged when he wrote his philosophical and political works, both in spirit and in style,
to the days which were gone, although he lived far into the time during which Johnson was working as
a literary hack for Cave. He is only important, with regard to his influence on the pro- gressive
development of style, because his speeches in Parliament, of which we unfortunately possess no
remains, were looked back to in the days of Chatham and Burke as " more priceless than the " lost
fragments of antiquity." As a matter of fact, upon the development of genuine prose writing, oratory
by itself can „ ,. „ exercise but an external influence. In those Parliamentary Oratory. , . ., i ■ t^ i- days
especially, speeches in Farhament were addressed rather to the ear than to the eye; and to the ears
only of those actually present when they were spoken ; hence tautology, tricks of phrase, tricks of
manner, inoxpia-is were of much more importance than a lucid practical style, such as is considered the
perfection of prose writing, and such as is now addressed even from the benches of the Houses of
Parliament to the audience of the nation. However carefully considered a speech might be
beforehand, words might always be dropped during the debate which would cause the speaker to shift
his ground, or oblige him to alter some cherished aphorism, which would spoil the whole effect of the
declamation. It is for this reason that oratory, whether in the law courts or in a Parliamentary
assembly, can never, as a perfect model of style, enter into competition with works composed in
solitude with a pen in the author's hand. There was indeed a period of transition, before Parliamentary
reporting attained its present efficiency — namely the latter years of the 1 8th century — during which
the great efforts of oratory as we now possess them^for instance those of Burke — were handed
down to posterity in the form in which they were transcribed before delivery. Now-a-days some
speeches suffer as much as others gain at the hands of reporters ; but in the great press of business,
which every year presses more hardly upon our legislators, men have discovered, that the finest
speech that could be made could iiot change a single vote. It is well that it should be so: there is more
danger of party action in an assembly where the English Prose Style. rg tongue of the orator bears a
triumphant sway, than in one to which the deciding body conies with its mind made up beforehand,
even though it is blindly following the call of a party leader or its own rooted prejudice : this
statement is sufficiently proved true by the perversions of justice in Ancient Athens and Modern
France. But in the early days of English forensic oratory, it was probably not so j when St. John spoke
the influence exercised by his pleading was probably much greater than it could have been after
Walpole's systematic corruption had done its work. The most able criticism of the i8th century was
Johnson's ; he may be called in fact the first ^^""''' J°'"'=°"- really systematic critic of English literature;
for, although his remarks on other authors are scattered all about his own miscellaneous writings, it
may be con- The first professional fidently stated that he made criticism his pro- fession, and earned
his living by it. He is an important link in the chain of English prose writers, for he is the first author
whose whole thoughts were turned to the works of his predecessors. Modern literature may be said
to have a double function, production, and criticism ; and great as have been the efforts of the
Victorian age in the former direction, its chief work has lain in the latter. It is only now that Value of
criticism, we are learning the full value of our great English classical authors ; and Samuel Johnson was
the founder of this art of criticism. In accordance with the still somewhat measured and pedantic
ideas of his day, his studies were directed chiefly to giving judgments on style rather than on matter,
for prose writing, despite the dictum of the great sage himself with which I have ventured to
commence this essay, was still chiefly valued for beauties of style. It was not practised by any means in
so narrow a spirit, and Johnson's contemporaries, Goldsmith and Burke, were the most powerful
agents in breaking down the conventional barriers. Johnson adopted Swift's definition of good , , .
poetical style — "the use of proper words in J° "5°" = °*" "y=- proper places " as a canon of criticism for
good prose style also ; but his own style, although it was probably laboriously formed so as to be true
to this rule, strikes a modern reader as too conscious an effort — too over-burdened with Latinisms,
and phrases which are only intelligible to cultivated men, to suit the new era which was beginning to
dawn. His own defence of such a style, even if he had lived much later, would be, that great dignity was
necessary for prose composition. In accordance with this idea he set himself to purify the English
language, and thought that he had, by his importation of new and rejection of old phrases,
considerably added to its beauty. One of the most effective tricks of style which was introduced by him
was, the laying down c 20 The Development of of one brief dictum on a subject first, and the
subsequent amplifi- cation in one or more longer sentences. In this he has been most happily imitated
by Macaulay. This is often useful for purposes of exposition, but it also shews at times a tendency
towards artificial bolstering, which ought always to be avoided Beyond a few mannerisms of this kind,
and his use in some^ of his com- positions of an excessive quantity of Latinism, there seems to be little
reason for the coining of such an upleasing word as " Johnsonese." The name was really given rather to
what was believed to be the style of his conversation rather than to any- thing which he gave to the
world in print. He was one of the few people who talked even more pompously than they wrote. , „ ,
No really new era in English prose was inaugurated Edmund Burke. , ^,-'-_, ,9 r-R«-T» • i by Edmund
Burke, although Mr. Payne m the prefaces to his two volumes of " Selections from Burke " would fain
have us beUeve the contrary.e A truer estimate of Burke is given by De Quincey when he calls him " the
supreme writer of the century." In the field of mere style Burke is indeed supreme, and his writings
mark the highest point reached by the high tide of i8th century literature. It is only because in his
slightly visionary philanthropic schemes and speeches he belonged to a future time, that Mr. Payne is
led into believing that he inaugurated the new epoch of literature in England, which rather began
contemporaneously with the active carrying out of those schemes, some of which Burke's early
liberalism had advocated. To eulogise too highly Burke's beauty of language would be im- possible ;
his use of metaphors is as abundant and varied as could be desired, and yet these are always kept from
running wild. In pathos he is unrivalled, or rivalled only by Thackeray ; in passion his notes are really
like those of a thrilling musical instrument. Though he is advisedly jocose at times, it is with a
somewhat lumbering jocosity, and he is never really humorous ; we must not look for humour in a
man who was so entirely out of harmony with his contemporaries, and so generally unfortunate in his
political career as Burke was. Mr. Payne describes Burke's writings as a mixture of Bolingbroke's
splendour with Johnson's common sense. This is fair and good, and it is, perhaps, the highest praise
that can be bestowed upon an author of that time. It is well known f It is only in liis earlier writings that
Johnson is over Latinised in style. "Rasselas" was written in 1759, and that marks the change to a more
Teutonic idiom. The "Lives of the Poets" is havdly more Latinised than the writings of his
contemporaries. S; Mr. Payne goes so far as to say that we are indebted to Burke for the "Saturday
Review" style; that he introduced a fresher and more natural diction; that he was to prose what
Wordsworth was to poetry. "He fell naturally into that manner which was adapted to take hold of the
practical English mind, and he brought that manner at once lo perfection." — \Select Works, p. xxxiv.
Intro. 'I English Prose Style. 21 that he modelled his early publication, " A Vindication of Nat ural
Society," closely on the style of Bolingbroke, whose deism it was meant to satirise. The
^efea'Dn'mCTlturi" " Vindication " professed to be written " by a late noble Lord," and many admirers
of Bolingbroke, besides most of his enemies, fell into the net which the young writer had so cunningly
spread. Burke is attractive to modern taste because he speaks to his readers more from a footing of
equality than any contemporary writer ; he appeals as from man to man, and he appeals with the
most persuasive eloquence, with the most easy fluency ; it would seem at first sight impossible to resist
his fasci- nations. We possess in Burke's own words a description of his education in eloquence. He
made himself a speaker by steeping himself in the words of the great clasical authors of the English
language no less than of those of antiquity. He tells that it was from the splendid pulpit orators of the
17th century that he learned his earliest lessons. But his command of language and acquaintance with
good models was such that he could imitate now one now another of his great predecessors with
indifference almost with unconsciousness. He talked, we know, as he wrote, and declaimed
passionately. Johnson speaks of the dramatic character of Burke's conversation ; if he is dramatic, it is
because the theatre was in his day, what it has since ceased to be, a great school of life, manners, and
even of rhetoric. This is why Burke spoke so much of admiring Plautus and Terence. Bolingbroke was
still more truly a dramatic writer as he was a more dramatic personage altogether. Why then with all
these advantages in favour of Burke is there always something which makes one sigh as one reads his
finest speeches ? It is because, as I said above, the orator is out of harmony with his age. We place
ourselves unconsciously on the ministerial benches, and feel with Mr. Pitt that all this magnificent
rhetoric will not need an answer. Mr. Payne is wrong when he says that Burke had anything in common
with the practical English mind. He may have been, he often was, more noble than his
contemporaries, but the work of the world has fallen, and perhaps happily, to politicians hke Pitt rather
than to orators and visionaries like Burke. I think the career of the latter is one of the saddest in the
whole of English history. Two writers of very different style, both contemporaries of Burke, may next
be considered, — Edward Gibbon and Oliver Goldsmith. A more complete contrast than exists between
the two could not be imagined. For writing Gibbon's style, as Mr. Baeehot says,'' we may imagine as
necessities, a ^, ^ „.^, r . t t t-ir i_i • Ti Edward Gibbon. comfortable arm-chair before a blazmg hbrary-
fire, with plenty of pens, clear ink, and fresh paper : the " Letters of h Literary Studies—" Gibbon." 2 2
The Development of the Citizen of the world" might have been scrawled on the edges of old news-
sheets and the backs of unpaid bills. _ But it would be wrong to condemn hastily the " ponderous
majesty of the philosophical historian of the Roman Empire," (Gibbon would probably have described
his own literary excellence in some such terms), because we are more attracted by the delicate grace
of him " qui nihil tetigit quod non ornavit." Gibbon is never out of livery ; " his style is typical," says Mr.
Bagehot, in the same essay, " of the age which could tolerate the petty ceremonies and pomps of
Versailles. His involutions and his attempts at humour are painful, his sarcasms are malevolent and
coarse, without piercing the victim in a tender part. Events are darkly hinted at rather than lucidly
explained; and the most curious and exact knowledge of the periods of which he treats — and such
knowledge Gibbon undoubtedly possessed — is unfortunately for posterity involved in a succession of
enigmatic clauses and lumbering rhetorical para- graphs. But the worst fault of which Gibbon can be
justly accused is the not infrequent occurrence of slips in his grammatical construction, such as are
doubly censurable when committed by a man who prided himself as much upon the classical balance
of his senfences as upon the classical purity of his diction. . When we turn to Goldsmith we see the
very opposite of all this. The most thoughtful, the most gentle, the most truly humourous of all the
writers of his age or of any age, he is, on the whole, the most attractive figure in our literary history.
He has touched every kind of composition, history, poetry, drama, fiction, and criticism, and he has
touched them all with a master's hand. The greater part of his writings were miscellaneous " hack
work " for difierent booksellers, for his engagements with these gentlemen usually terminated
abruptly. Goldsmith is an Addison with a rich vein of true poetry and true compassion added. The
pleasure derived from the style of his writings is akin to that derived from reading the "Spectator ;" the
later writer is equally polished and more metaphorical, or rather his metaphors are derived more
from actual life than Addison's. We feel that to him writing could have been no effort whatever,
whereas Addison must have sat down to compose his " Spectators" much as he would to compose his
beautiful Latin verses. Each is the man " Qui mores hominum multorum vidit et urbes." The difference
between them lies in the spirit with which they have looked upon these things. Goldsmith's humour
and pathos are both beyond all praise. Who has not been moved almost to tears by the affecting
comicality of Beau Tibbs ? Who would be ashamed to confess that he has been upset by one or two
passages in that perfect little human epic, the Vicar of Wakefield ? The description of London misery
in the " I,etters of the Citizen of English Prose Style. 23 the World" proves conclusively that the art of
pathetic touches lies in their rarity. Goldsmith's mind was of such a happy equable temperament that
he avoided every trace of the sickly senti- mentality which, it is to be feared, took the place of active
benevolence among some writers of the day.' He is at the head of the novelists of the century; his pen
was pure without the pruderies which are apparent in the earlier leaders of the reaction against
Smollett and Fielding. In style, as in matter. Goldsmith's armour is proof against all the arrows of
criticism, yet no writer was ever more careless of the estimation in which his works would be held by
posterity. Among the authors of the period who do not strictly speaking contribute to the
development Letterwmmg. of English prose literature, but of whom, as masters of their own
particular style, one cannot omit some notice, are „ Horace Walpole and "Junius," who is usually °^^'^'^
^^°°' supposed to have been Sir Philip Francis. Letter writing can, as a rule, as little as pamphlet
writing, be considered as genuinely model style, on account of the numerous allusions to people and
events, known perhaps only to the writer and the recipient of the letter. Therefore epistolary
correspondence is an art in itself, and is not in any direct way connected with our subject. Of Walpole
one can only say that he considered correspondence one of the necessary arts for a fine gentleman's
education, and rather com- placently reflected that he was the only professor of the art in King
George's dominions. Junius' violent attrcks on the various public characters, who happened to be of
opposite political opinions to himself, or to have privately offended him, are certainly something more
than mere tetters. In spirit they carry us back to the warfare of Milton and Salmasius : in language and
style they abound in the most polished phrases of antitheses of which the Enghsh language is capable.
But real beauty of diction they want : they are hard and " glittering." The author is as inferior to Burke
in his diction — and it is interesting to notice that Francis, and it is probable that Francis and Junius
are the same persons, actually accused Burke of writing bad EnglishJ — as he is in loftiness of
character: there is no real flow of words in the letters ; we feel that they are too sur- charged with
venom to let the author's real meaning come to the surface ; and a style in which much of the writer's
mind is kept back from appearing on his paper cannot be recommended for imitation. And • now the
second great change in the development of our prose literature is close at ^°'' "period.'"™'^ hand. At
the end of the i8th century, in the ' e.g., Sterne — Miss Burney. J Burke's Correspoudence, vol. iii. ja.
164. 24 The Development of intense excitement caused by the foreign war and the breaking up all
around us of the medieval conditions of Europe, we may see, if we please to be fanciful, an analogy
with the circumstances which accompanied the first great change in the course of English style. Now,
as then, it seemed likely that the fabric of English society would be overthrown, and that the reign of
democracy in our island, instead of being slowly matured in proportion to the education of the
people, would be inaugurated in the overwhelming at a blow of that aristocratic constitution which
^thrllLed hf En|l had Up till that time felt little indication of the land at the end of coming change.
Literature was dormant for a century. -jvi^iiej for every one of the literary classes felt that the
possibility of a revolution was a serious matter : Burke only raised his warning voice ; and his splendid "
Reflections on the French Revolution" was perhaps the one work of his which was well received by the
nation at the time of its publication. When the reaction from this terror came in the opening years of
the present century, the awakening sense of a few daring members of the Liberal party spoke out.
Their voices inaugurated a new period of English style as soon as the peace, and the prosperity that
followed on the peace, gave people leisure to demand a literature suited to the new conditions of
England. . . IIL — In 1802 the "Edinburgh Review" was first started, and this was the commencement of
the new era of English prose. This era may be termed the educational period. Prose is no longer among
the fine arts, no longer a mere profession by which a scanty living can be picked The prose literature
'^Pi ^-^^d here and there great prizes obtained, but °f '•!= Magazines has become a sober, active, and
self-devoting factor in the instruction of the English people. The demand for literature of this class
must have been infinitesimal at the first appearance of the " Edinburgh Review," but had there been
no demand for such an appeal to a more extended audience there could have been no supply. The
Reviews have now become a necessity of our age. Men have so little time to form judgments for
themselves that they must be told by authoritative and, as it were, licensed public instructors " what to
think." The "Spectator" and the "Tatler" at the opening of the last cen- tury were on a scale so much
smaller, and were written for such a much smaller society of men and books, — if one may be
permitted to use such an expression — that they had really little effect in this direction. But they are,
for all that, the parents of the modern reviews and magazines, as much as Defoe's " Review" and
Swift's " Examiner" are the parents of modern newspapers. The modern English style of prose writing —
'^'''wsty^l^'" the "Saturday Review" style— is lineally de- scended from the style of the first Edinburgh
Rtviewers. It is considered by some great writers of the present English Prose Style. 25 day a
deterioration from the style of Burke and of his contem- poraries ; and as far as the use of beautiful
phrases and metaphors, and the exciting of the emotions of the readers by similar artifices go, this
accusation is quite true. But this is far from being a cause of blame, if we regard the end of pure writing
to be the education of the people rather than the tickling of the senses of the erudite. Plain facts are
dressed by our best modern writers in the most appropriate — that is the plainest — language. If the
sentences are not involved, and the syntax is perfectly clear, we ask no more ; indeed we have time for
no more in the busy life of modern England. The cool self-complacent style of the reviewer, who is
generally anonymous, is of course open to Danger^^of^ Review censure ; but freedom of criticism is
such an inestimable benefit that it probably outweighs the unfortunate results which may have
attended it in some instances. Reviewers have been accused of causing the death of sensitive poets'' :
and most people remember the famous commencement of an article on Wordsworth in the
"Edinburgh Review."' Such faults as these communicate themselves along with the plain and practical
style of the Reviewers, even to writers like Macaulay, in their longer works ; and to a greater or less
degree to every prose writer of the present day, with the exceptions of Mr. Ruskin and the late Mr.
Carlyle. These, as the apostles of quite new and quite other doctrines of literature, T reserve for future
consideration. It will be necessary to say first a few words on the style of the great leaders of this
literary revolution, such as De Quincey and Macaulay. Francis Jeffrey and Sidney Smith are among the
most vigorous, Professor Wilson and Charles Reviewers" aid Lamb among the most refined and
contemplative, V'^l^ writere"™' of the writers who consciously or unconsciously have belonged to the
new school, for it is a school which includes within its boundaries all varieties of thought, manner, and
ex- pression. But the great representatives of the two extremes which can live together within this
pale are Thomas de Quincey and Lord Macaulay. They are respectively the heads of the " abstract
school" and the " concrete school." ^ " Who killed John Keats ?" "I," says the Quarterly, So savage and
tartarly, " 'Twas one of my feats !" Byron, Letter to Murtay, \%z\, July 30th. (This is attributed in the
letter in jest to Shelley. " Are you aware," says Byron, " that Shelley has written an Elegy on Keats, and
accuses the ' Quarterly' of killing him ?") ' " This will ns\ex Ao," Edinliurgh Revieiv, November, 1814,
vol. xxiv. p. i. 2 6 The Development of Thomas deQuincey. The former of these had a perfect genius for
The 'abstract' school Writing about the most trivial subjects in the ofstyie. jjjQg^ perspicuous and lively
language. He possessed a mind steeped in the classical literature of Greece and Rome, but he infinitely
preferred to the masterpieces of these languages the writings of the English Augustan age of the early
17th century: he devoted himself to the study of various styles with the greatest care ; and yet with all
these qualifications for being a mere stylist, a mere survival of the "Classic age," he is an essentially
modern writer; that_is,_he writes for the third period of English audiences. The fact is that it came
perfectly natural to him to write as he did ; there is no smile of satisfaction on his face as he puts down
a curiously turned sentence, for all his thoughts seem to have presented themselves to him slightly
inverted. It was, perhaps, rather a misfortune that a man who had such power of expression, together
with such a wide range of reading as De Quincey, should have such an obhquity of intellect. The
obliquity of itself is not uncommon ; but it is uncommon to find it in company with the other qualities.
His writings are never pleasing to a vigorous mind, for the reason that there is a temptation to regret
that these magnificent powers existed in combination with such inability for real seriousness of
purpose. But his criticism and his lighter articles were all employed to some extent for the object of the
magazine writers of the period ; they served to combine amuse- ment with instruction, and were useful
ingredients in the pot-poiirri of a Review. De Quincey 's great fault is that he is too fond of putting on
paper abstract ideas ; he will nearly alwaj s explain them, if they are obscure, afterwards, for he will not
willingly leave his readers in ignorance of anything which he knows himself ; but still it is a grave fault
in style to make too constant a use either of abstrac- tions or the reverse. He is melodious and even in
his language ; exceedingly tranquil and contemplative in his sentences ; careful to explain to an
uneducated reader the meaning of a quotation, to repeat in a different form a statement which
appears the least involved. He is humorous to the verge of absurdity, pathetic to the verge of
sentimentality, according as his strangely constituted physical nature impels him to laugh or to weep ;
he is extraor- dinarily " felicitous " in the words that occur to his mind, and though sparing of
metaphor, when he does use one it is sure to be striking and illuminating to the reader. Let us take one
short instance of his command over the refinements, both metaphorical and direct, of the English
language. "So thick a curtain of manners is drawn over the features and " expression of men's natures,
that to the ordinary observer the " two extremities and the infinite field of varieties which lie "
between them are all confounded, the vast and multitudinous English Prose Style. 27 " compass of
their several harmonies reduced to the meagre outline " of differences expressed in the gamut or
alphabet of elementary "sounds." {Confessions, p. 34). This passage may not seem to be particularly
likely to be clear to the uneducated reader, but it is in the succeeding sentences so carefully illustrated
and explained that it may be taken as typical of his " educational " style. There is no sententiousness
about his work, which one would be tempted to think on a hasty review was the case. But he acted as a
powerful influence in preventing English prose literature from becoming vulgarised, which is a very
possible consequence of an exceed- ingly popular style. He kept off colloquialisms and Americanisms,
and (to use a colloquialism which he would have abhorred) put a " drag " on his contemporaries.
Macaulay, though he is careful to avoid Lg^d Macauiay. vulgarity, was the very opposite of a thoughtful
The concrete school writer. His own command over the English of^'y'^- language was scarcely less
than De Quincey's, and he also wrote for the purpose of instructing his readers. Unfortunately he did
not always make sure of his facts, enough to carry this purpose into effect. He is the writer who
represents to M. Taine the best type of English men of letters ; one can easily imagine the impression
which a Frenchman of liberal opinions would derive from Macaulay's brilliant and often flippant
generalisations. This fault of his is well illustrated by Mr. Bagehot — a modern critic, himself
sometimes nearly as flippant as Macaulay himself — when he says that the sweeping criticisms which
we meet with in the "Essays " are " not suited to such a being as man in such a world " as the
present." Certainly they are eminently unsuited to such a task as the writing of history. But we are not
concerned with criticism of the matter of Macaulay's works ; and his language and style has always
been accepted as a standard of excellence since his death. When a Reviewer wishes to describe the
ambition of a youthful stylist, he says, " This man fancies himself a Macaulay." His name will always be
connected with the most fascinating series of letters that has been published in the present century.
His speeches in the House of Commons are remembered as the most vehement and persuasive,
except those of Burke and Canning, of any that have been uttered since Parliamentary oratory has
been addressed to the audience of the nation. And to the most pleasure-seeking reader an essay of
his will always be as delightful " pabulum " as the best novel conceivable. This power of Macaulay's
style over all classes of minds is owing entirely to the vivid manner in which he represents events to
the eyes of his readers ; to his abjuration of all abstractions, and his choice of concrete expressions. We
feel that he has acted through to himself the scenes which he describes ; that he 28 The Development
of might have lived among the men and women of the court of Charles II., and been present at the
secret negotiations of the leaders of the country party. Alas ! a closer acquaintance with the original
authorities dissipates this delightful sensation of confi- dence, and it is for this reason that Macaulay is
so dangerous a writer, and that his statements are to be so carefully divested of their adventitious
ornament before ^/e can meet them in a properly critical spirit. He is master of one particular literary
weapon, namely the short sentence ; he does not treat us to long periods, whether of plainer or
obscurer meaning, but he astonishes us with a series of brilliant rushes or sallies following close upon
each other, often epexegetical, and often merely of the same force one with another. Frequently he
will argue in this manner for some time, and then introduce at the end of a string of such sentences the
one for which all that preceded have been merely a preparation. For instance ; — " Some states have
been enabled by their geographical position " to defend themselves with advantage against immense
force. " The sea has repeatedly protected England against the fury of " the whole contment. The
Venetian government driven from its " possessions on the land, could still bid defiance to the confede-
" rates of Cambray from the Arsenal amidst the lagoons. More " than one great and well-appointed
army, which regarded the " peasants of Switzerland as an easy prey, has perished in the " passes of
the Alps. Frederick had no such advantage." ™ And then follows a fresh series of sentences explanatory
of the deficiences of the Prussian kingdom. In pursuing this method Macaulay nearly always
distributes the "protasis" and "apodosis" between two sentences. He makes less use of conjunctions
than any other writer ; his mood is always the indicative. It is most truly a very readable if a very
dangerous style. Between these two opposite poles of modern English style, Macaulay and de
Quincey, the dashing and the contemplative, the concrete and the abstract, every variety and shade of
writing may be found. Those authors are most to be admired who steer a middle course between the
two, avoiding the faults of each. It is quite possibly to write as pure and as constructive English as de
Quincey wrote without following too closely his excessively abstract manner of expressing himself. I do
not feel equally sure that it is easy to compose with anything Hke Macaulay's brilliancy and make sure
at the same time of the ground traversed. The leading articles in many of the London papers are a
striking example of an attempt to be "trenchant" which cannot be said to be very successful. Essay
on Frederick the Great. English Prose Style. 29 But most of the great writers of the last genera- tion,
and still more those of the present, have Novelists, been in their apprenticeship to literature,
contributors to perio- dicals." I have not touched much upon the development of the style of the
English novel, partly because I cannot speak from a close acquaintance with the great novelists of the
last century, and partly because fiction is not a very enduring nor very important part of our literature.
It is of its very nature transient, and the taste for it transient, and to a certain extent un- F'^jon as a
recog- T. T 1 i_ ._ ^1 . ^ nisable kind of prose. iLnglish ; but there are one or two great writers of this
century who have been, through their works of fiction, guides and leaders of the national taste. Such
are Sir Walter Scott, Dickens, and Thackeray. In fiction, more than in any other kind of composition,
the mind of the author is reflected on his pages. In each of these men this rule is fully exemplified. Sir
Walter Scott, one might say, is rather too ^" ^^"" ^'°"- fond of abstract ideas (as is not unusually the
case among his countrymen), his syntax is cumulative rather than con- structive or antithetical ; his
metaphors are homely ; but to most people it would seem as vain and almost as impious to attempt
to comment on the style of the Waverley Novels as to criticise Holy Writ. The only judgment that can
be passed upon them is this : they have afforded greater pleasure to a larger circle of English readers
than any book which has ever been published in our language ; they have ennobled and refined the
national taste ; they have reconciled the most scrupulous puritans to fiction, a work which not even
Goldsmith was able to accom- plish ; and they have done all this as much through the charm of their
style as through their matter. Their humour is indeed of that open and lively nature, which even those
who would miss all the meaning of the satire of Thackeray cannot fail to appreciate ; and their pathos
is equally persuasive because it appeals to feehngs common to every human being. When we
approach the other two great novelists j^j^j^^^ j^nr., , we have no such universal admiration to take
the "^ ^°^ ^"^ ^^^^' place of criticism. Neither of them are writers whose books are a treasured
possession of every English household. Some people cannot bear to read a line of one, some of the
other : indeed, as was said of the disciples of two famous philosophers of antiquity, the world might
be divided into those who appreciate Thackeray and those who appreciate Dickens. The pathos and the
humour of each is extolled by then respective admirers as the most wonderful in all literature. M.
I'aine is, I think, on the whole, fair in esti- Djckens mating the respective merits of the two styles ; " A
notable instance of a man whose style has been thus formed is Cardinal Ntviman. [See his articles in
the "British Quarterly."] 30 \Th,e Development of although to the ears of a disciple his praise of
Thackeray seems too qualified. He shews well that Dickens' was an excitable, poetical, " elegiac "
temperament, with a strong obliquity of perception and a strong taste for paradox ; that consequently
he is always hurrying his audience into laughter and tears on subjects, which seem to minds, which
cannot fall in with these peculiar trains of thought, unworthy of such excitement. The audience,
however, if they happen to be at all excitable, cannot help giving way, as the Dramatic Power and word
painting of Dickens is so great that it takes them by storm. Those people who do not give way at all
will in all probability shudder as much at the hideous grotesque scene as at those of the audience who
are bowing down and worshipping. This dramatic power, then, in Dickens, was infinite, and he had
explored such peculiar scenes, and made himself acquainted with such peculiar characters (all of
which he distorted in his own fancy through the peculiar " obliquity of intellect "), that he needs no
beauty of thought to produce effect on his audience. Where he does see beauty it is quite a different
kind from that which anyone else would see; it consists in the details of that which is unobserved in the
hurry of , ordinary life. He is the Hogarth of hterature as well in his awful realism, his love for detail, of
which nobody else will take account, as in his compassion for the oppressed and his burning vials of
wrath poured upon the head of the oppressor. Thackeray is in the most perfect contrast to ' ^'^ ^^'^^'
this man ; though he, too, has a hatred of oppres- sion, his invective against it is concealed under a
cynical smile. It is more effective, for depraved people hate polished ridicule more than stinging
abuse. But Thackeray does not concern himself with the same kind of depravity as Dickens : he aims
less at open sin, and more at ostentation and meanness ; consequently his style is more refined, and
makes its effect more by a single cutting remark in the middle of much amiable laughter, than by page
after page of heart-rending description of the miseries which sin entails upon the world. His periods are
thus more polished and flowing ; his cynical smile is ever on his lips, and yet that smile covers infinite
tenderness for the whole human family. M. Taine cannot see this hidden meaning, nor the depth of
Thackeray's mind, which he admits to be singularly well culti- vated, singularly acute, and free from any
trace of obliquity. Thackeray does not delight in paradox ; he does not seek for victims and proteges in
"Nooks and Corners of Character;" his subjects are the men and women of the higher classes of
English Society ; and he exposes their weaknesses with a ludicrous gravity, which is beyond anything
else, in the way of satire, effective. No one after reading his books would dare to descend to one of
those little tricks which he has shewn up so mercilessly. His pathos, because entirely true to human
nature, and because in English Prose Style. 31 its outward expression very rare, is unrivalled, and there
runs too throughout all his works a tender unexpressed pity for the frailties of man, which was the
result of no conscious effort of style, but rather a peculiar habit of mind which never left him. Articles
for the newspapers or magazines are now nearly always the first thing to which a "^p?"ent day. *°
novice in literature turns his hand. They are necessarily hasty, but they are obliged to be correct in the
main as to the facts, and correct also in style, for there is a host of critics constantly on the watch for
any slip in the Two writers in oppo- paces of a contemporary. This style of writing sitiontotheprevaii-
develops great fluency and ease in the use of the '"g'^''«° ' « ^y- pen, but it also tends to stifle any very
exact or laborious thought. There are, however, two great masters of the English language — if not of
style — who have set their faces against the prevailing taste of the day. The one is Mr. Ruskin, the
other alas ! the late Mr. Carlyle. Each of these writers is at the head of a small school of cultivated
men, but both are out of harmony with the present line of development of English prose, which up to
their time has been continuous in one direction. Mr. Ruskin's style is varied, sweet, and j^^ Ruskin
musical ; he avows in one of his prefaces that he conscientiously endeavoured to imitate the
rhythmical cadences of Hooker; he charms us every now and then by some beautiful metaphor fresh
gathered from nature. Such metaphors, his chief subject, art criticism, enables him to introduce with
great effect. For instance take the following quotation from his lecture on Tuscan art : — " And
instead of this decorative evangelical preacher of a lion " with staring eyes and its paw on a gospel, he
carves you a quite " brutal and maternal lioness, with affectionate eyes and paw set "on her cub."°
The idea here is very beautiful, and it brings the picture of the lioness in the Pisan pulpit very vividly
before our eyes : but it is not a chaste style ; there is too great a tendency to accumulate epithets, and
too free a use of adverbs, to make the passage altogether pleasing to a modern ear. Together with this
anti- quated delight in piling up epithets, Mr. Ruskin combines a peculiarly colloquial turn of sentence
; he is fond of reasoning by means of a conjunction like "then" placed at the end of an argument. For
lecturing in public, no one who has not heard his lectures can form any idea of the delight which this
style affords to the ears of those who listen reverently ; but as a mere question of prose style one
cannot help feeling that his writings are at once too colloquial in construction and too antiquated in
language to be a valuable addition to the chain of our English authors, ° Val d'Arno, p. 12. 32 The
Development of Expressions like the " preacher of a lion," above quoted, and also such Germanisms as
" quite brutal," " entirely holy," are decidedly foreign to the genius of the English language. Mr. Ruskin
him- self would probably say that the style of the present day needs reform, and reform in the
direction of reaction towards the great EUzabethan models ; but his own free use of colloquialisms has
prevented him from effecting any such reform even if he has desired to do so. The question, " What is
the influence of Mr. Mr.Cariyie. Carlyle's style on the development of English prose ? " is closely
connected with a still more important question : " To what end is EngHsh prose style now tending? " Is
it preserving a plain and practical but chaste 'America''on"dktion!^ diction and Constructive syntax, or
is it wandering in the direction of loose Americanisms in dic- tion and in syntax towards the German
models of which Mr. Carlyle is an avowed admirer ? On the score of diction, then, in answer to these
questions, there does seem to be some occasion for fear lest our language may be corrupted by an
influx of those peculiar loose words and phrases, which are classed as American- isms ; tor instance, "
reliable" which is an ungrammatical word. Our isolation from the continent is daily growing less and
less marked, and there is a decided tendency to admit into our conversation, whence they will surely
penetrate into our writings, a great many foreign words, such for instance as " opportunism " and "
parti- cularism," two convenient political terms imported from France. We use these words at first
unconsciously with reference to the concerns of other countries, but such will inevitably become
grafted upon the English language if ever an " opportunist" policy should unfortunately become
necessary in England.? But we have a great many wisely pedantic guardians of our native tongue who
are ever crying out against these and similar abuses. And the influence of With regard to Mr. Carlyle
and the German Germany on English Syntax the case IS different. M. Taine will not syntax. |^g]p ^^
njuch here ; he is of course lost in amaze- ment at such a peculiarly "Teutonic phenomenon" as Mr.
Carlyle : Mr. Carlyle as the ^^ gazes at him as at the relic of some primeval instrument of this world \
but is far froiTi appreciating either the mfluence. ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ j^j^ gcnius, or the true effect of his
writings on the development of English prose. That effect has no doubt been very powerful, and Mr.
Carlyle would fain have had it more powerful still. The languages of England, France, and Germany are
represented at the present day by three distinct styles. The French sentence is usually short, polished,
anti- thetical, contains only one proposition, and is of equal length \vith the sentence that precedes
and that which follows. It p Some people would be inclined to say that English politics, or at least
English legislation, is always condacted on opportunist principles. English Prose Style 33 abounds in
pithy epigrams. The German sentence is peculiarly- long, heavy, and cumulative ; even in the bast
writers like Von Rauke it is utterly regardless of " arsis " and " rhesis ; " it expresses its subordinate
meanings rather by epithets than by short relative clauses ; and consequently it is often very much
involved and 1 ) t suited to the comprehension of any but well educated men. It is not an uncommon
thing to find Germans of average education unable to master the intricate kbyrinthine style of writers
of their own language. English pros^ literature has hitherto combined the advantages of the French
and German styles without the draw- backs of either. The English sentence contains often more than
one swell and cadence, often mixed metaphors, and is often of unequal length with the preceding and
following sentences ; but in the works of good writers it is never involved, and ought never to contain
any allusions which are not fully explained in subor- dinate clauses or separate sentences. It uses
frequent relatives rather than expressive epithets and participles ; it is eminently analytical. Mr.
Saintsbury says that, before the time of Dryden, only the absence of inflexions saved our language from
sharing the fate of the German and "involving itself almost beyond reach of extrication :" but this
seems to be a hasty statement founded on the manifest fondness of Milton for Latin synthetical
constructions. Enough it was saved ; and there is little danger that Mr. Carlyle's influence will lead it
astray again. We can admire and reverence Mr. Carlyle's great work without imitating his mannerism of
speech. This mannerism arises from his intense eager- ness and impatience to present a thought to his
'^^annerism'^ readers in the most forcible words of which he can lay hold : he cannot wait to
construct a sentence, but will give his ideas to the world just as they came rushing pell mell on his
brain. One almost wonders how he ever endured the inevitable delay which must occur in putting
thoughts on paper. It cannot be denied that this style is exceedingly forcible and picturesque as it was
meant to be. Most people know the history of the French Revolution chiefly through his flashing and
vivid description of the details, and of the characters ; but his head-strong and passionate nature has
committed him to faults in history, hardly less glaring than Macaulay's. Mr. Carlyle probably gave little
or no thought to his style ; he talked, we are told, in even more peculiar phrases than he wrote. His
humour is genuine if somewhat Titanic ; his " Teufelsdroeckh laughter" has passed into a by-word, and
moves all except the most fastidious minds \ his pathos moves all. One might search far in English
literature without finding a finer passage, either in beauty of idea or expression than the subjoined
quotation from Sartor Resartus ; — ■ 34 The Development of English Prose Style. " Silence as of death
; for midnight even in the Arctic latitudes "has its chiraccer; nothing but the granite cliffs ruddy tinged,
" and the peaceable gurgle of that slow-heaving Polar ocean ; over " which in the utmost north the
great sun hangs low and lazy, as " if he too were slumbering. Yet is his cloud couch wrought of
"crimson and cloth of gold; yet does his, light stream over the " mirror of waters like a tremulous fire-
pillar, starting downwards " to the abyss, and hide itself under my feet. In such moments '' solitude
also is invaluable ; for who would speak or be looked '' upon when behind him lies all Europe and Africa
fast asleep, " except the watchmen, and before him the silent immensity and " palace of the Eternal,
whereof our sun is but a porch-lamp." I have ventured to give this quotation at some length, because it
is a really good specimen of what Mr. Carlyle's style is capable of when he is least led astray by
eccentricity. But even here he indulges in a peculiarly inverted order of words, and an omission of
verbs, which, though striking and pictorial, is unpleasing to an educated English ear. The guidance
which our best modern prose writers are following is a different one from this of Mr. Carlyle ; there is
hardly a book published, by anyone who can be considered at all qualified to be an author, which does
not make use of chaste and even diction, and a perspicuous aad terse grammatical construction. To
such an end all the changes which have been effected throughout the history of English prose
literature have been directed ; there has been one constant effort to make diction simpler, while
preserving its purity, and to make sentences comprehensible without sacrificing grammar to the
desire for pictorial effect. Since 1660, at the latest, all authors who have consciously turned their
attention to the improvement of either of these two elements of style, Dryden, Johnson, Burke, and
the early Edinburgh Reviewers have all formed links in the same chain. It is a chain which, although one
may be tempted to think that we have now reached the maximum of simplicity, compatible with
avoidance of vulgar colloquialism, is even being forged at the present hour ; a chain, the continuity of
which reflects the highest honour upon the self-restraint and reasoning faculty of English prose
authors.

Article 3:
The Essay And The Beginning Of Modern English Prose
by A.A. Tilley M.A., Fellow of King's College
Introduction

Demand for Simplicity & Clearness

Early French Influence.

Heroic Romances

Later French Influence.

Boileau

Le Bossu and Rymer

Abraham Cowley

Sprat

Dorothy Osborne

Sir William Temple

Letters

Secretary
 Memoirs

Observations

Essays

Influence of Montaigne

Halifax

Halifax's Advice To A Daughter

Clarendon's Essays

Literary Criticism Library Our Decline Home

Introduction
PERHAPS the most important literary achievement that falls within the period covered by this
volume is the creation of a prose style, which, in structure if not in vocabulary, is essentially the
same as that of today. Caroline prose, the prose of Milton and Taylor, of Browne and Clarendon, had
produced, in the hands of genius, some of the noblest passages in our literature. But, at the
restoration, men began to feel the need of an instrument upon which the everyday performer might
play — an instrument suited to an age of reason, possessing, before all things, the homely virtues of
simplicity, correctness, lucidity and precision. These qualities, indeed, were not unknown to English
prose before the restoration. They are to be found in private letters, not meant for the public eye.
Above all, they are to be found in the writings of the veteran Hobbes, who, like Bacon and Ben
Jonson, with both of whom he had literary relations, disdained all superfluity of ornament, and was
content to make his prose a terse and pregnant expression of a clear and vigorous intellect. But
even Hobbes is by no means free from the besetting sins of the older prose — careless construction
and trailing relative clauses. Demand for Simplicity and Clearness
The new prose was the work of a multiplicity of causes, all more or less reflecting the temper of the
age. One of these was the growing interest in science, and the insistence of the new Royal Society on
the need of a clear and plain style for scientific exposition. There is one thing more about
which the Society has been most solicitous; and that is the manner of
their Discourse: which, unless they had been only watchful to keep in
due temper, the whole spirit and vigour of their Design had been soon
eaten out by the luxury and redundance of speech. .. And, in few
words, I dare say that of all the Studies of men, nothing may be
sooner obtain'd than this vicious abundance of Phrase, this trick
of Metaphors, this volubility of Tongue, which makes so great a noise
in the World. ... It will suffice my present purpose to point out what
has been done by the Royal Society towards the correcting of excesses
in Natural Philosophy, to which it is of all others, a most profest
enemy. They have therefore been most vigorous in putting in execution
the only Remedy that can be found for this extravagance, and that has
been a constant Resolution to reject all amplification, digressions,
and swellings of style; to return back to the primitive purity and
shortness, when men deliver'd so many things almost in an equal number
of words. They have exacted from all their members a close, naked,
natural way of speaking, positive expressions, clear senses, a native
eas'ness, bringing all things as near the Mathematical plainness as
they can, and preferring the language of Artizans, Countrymen, and
Merchants before that of Wits or Scholars. So writes Sprat, the first historian of
the Royal Society. Almost at the same time, in December 1664, his colleagues gave effect to their
views by appointing a committee for the improvement of the English language, which included,
besides himself, Waller, Dryden and Evelyn. (1) Doubtless, it was out of this committee that the idea
arose of founding an English academy for the 'improvement of speaking and
writing' on the model of the French one. This idea was discussed at three or four meetings
held at Gray's inn, where, in addition to the above, Cowley and the duke of Buckingham, also
members of the Royal Society, were present. But, in consequence of the plague and 'other
circumstances intervening,' the plan 'came to nothing.' (2) The
same need for greater plainness and simplicity of language was felt in pulpit oratory so far back as
1646, when Wilkins, afterwards bishop of Chester, one of the founders of the Royal Society, and its
first secretary, had recommended, in his popular Ecclesiastes or the Gift of Preaching, that the style
of preaching should be plain and without rhetorical flourishes. (3) After the restoration, these views
found an adequate exponent in his friend John Tillotson, whose sermons at Lincoln's inn and St
Lawrence Jewry attracted large congregations. (4) His St Paul's sermon, preached before the lord
mayor, in March 1661, and printed by request under the title The Wisdom of being religious, is, in its
perfect plainness and absence of rhetoric, an instructive contrast to the brilliantly imaginative
discourse which Jeremy Taylor delivered, only eight months earlier, at the funeral of archbishop
Bramhall. But the reformation of pulpit oratory was not the work of one sermon or one man. Both
Stillingfleet, reader at the Temple, who was even more popular than Tillotson, and South, public
orator at Oxford, who was made a prebendary of Westminster in 1663, belonged to the modern
schooL In a sermon preached on Ascension day 1667, the latter divine commended apostolic
preaching for its plainness and simplicity: nothing here of the finger of the North-
star... nothing of the door of angel's wings or the beautiful locks of
cherubims: no starched similtudes, introduced with a 'thus have I seen
a cloud rolling in its airy mansion,' and the like. This ungenerous hit at
Jeremy Taylor, who was lately dead, well marks the antithesis between the new age and the old,
between wit and poetry, between reason and imagination. Dryden's statement that 'if he had
any talent for English prose it was owing to his having often read the
writings of the great archbishop Tillotson' must be regarded as a piece of
generous exaggeration At the most, he can only have learnt from him the virtues of clear and logical
statement, and of short, well coordinated sentences. In the epistle dedicatory of The Rival-
Ladies (1664), and in the earlier part of the Essay of Dramatick Poesie written in the summer of
1665, his management of the clause is still somewhat uncertain. It is not till Neander, who
represents Dryden, joins in the discussion that we recognise our first master of modern prose. In
the Essay of Dramatick Poesie, the conversational character of Dryden's style is, also, already
apparent. This, of course, is due, in part, to the dialogue form, but we may also trace in it the
influence of Will's coffee-house, where, though he was 'not very
conversible,'(5) he was listened to as an oracle. The statement suggests a man who talked
with unusual deliberation and precision, and with a nice choice of words, and whose written style
was thus a more exact copy of his talk than is ordinarily the case. Moreover, that style is always
refined and well bred, reflecting, in this, the tone of the court and, particularly, that of the king.
'The desire,' says Dryden in his Defence of the Epilogue (1672), of imitating so
great a pattern loosened' the English 'from their stiff forms of
conversation, and made them easy and pliant to each other in
discourse.' And, of Charles II, Halifax says that his wit 'consisted chiefly in
the quickness of his apprehension.' It was a trait which he inherited —
with others — from his grandfather Henry IV, and he gave expression to it with a refinement of
language and a conversational ease natural to one who had spent five years in Paris society. Early
French Influence.
The influx of French fashions at the restoration has become a commonplace with historians; but, so
far as regards literature, it had begun at least as early as the reign of Elizabeth. The marriage of
Charles I with Henrietta Maria (1625) gave a fresh impulse to the movement, and it was under the
queen's auspices, if not by her actual command, that an English version of Corneille's Cid was put on
the stage in 1638, little more than a year after its publication in French. In the same year, three
volumes of Balzac's Letters appeared in an English translation, one of them in a second edition.
The vogue of a rhetorician like Balzac, whose style is more important than his thought, is a striking
testimony to the high estimation in which the language and literature of France were then held. It
must be remembered that Richelien's great design of making France the first power in Europe was
just beginning to be successful, and that it was partly in furtherance of this that, in 1634, he had
founded the Académie française. Though the civil war (1642-8) checked, for a time, the French
studies of Englishmen, it ultimately contributed to their diffusion. For it sent most leading English
men of letters to Paris. In 1646, Hobbes, 'the first of all that fled,' Waller,
D'Avenant, Denham, Cowley and Evelyn were all gathered together in the French capital. Cowley
remained there till 1656; D'Avenant returned, a prisoner, in 1650, the others in 1652. Heroic
Romances
In 1651, D'Avenant published his unfinished heroic poem Gondibert, which he had written at Paris,
and which, in general conception and tone, shows the influence of the heroic romances. (6) Their
popularity in England is well known. (7) Gomberville's Polexandre appeared in an English dress in
1647 but 'so disguised'that Dorothy Osborne, that ardent reader of
romances, 'hardly knew it.' A translation of La Calprenède's Cléopâtre and two
translations of his Cassandre, began to appear in 1652 (Sir Charles Cottrell's translation of the
former was published in 1676). English versions of Madeleine de Scudery's Ibrahim, Le Grand
Cyrusand Clélie followed in 1652, 1653-5 and 1656-61. There was a subsequent version of the last
named in 1678, and translations by John Phillips of La Calprenède's Pharamond and of Madeleine
de Scudéry's Almahide in the previous year. English imitations also appeared, such as lord Broghill
(Orrery)'s Parthenissa (first part) in 1654, with which, in spite of its 'handsome
language,' Dorothy Osborne was not very much taken, and Sir George Mackenzie's Aretina or
the Serious Romancein 1661. A complete edition of Parthenissa in three volumes was published in
1665 and 1667. The most active translator at this time was John Davies of Kidwelly.
Besides Clélie (1652) and the last four parts of Cléopâtre (1658-60), he translated novels by Scarron
(1657-67); Voiture's Letters (1637), which soon eclipsed Balzac's in favour and are recommended
by Locke as a pattern for 'letters of compliment, mirth, railery or
conversation'; Sorel's Le Berger extravagant (1653); and Scarron's Nouvelles tragi-
comiques (1657-62). The same author's Don Japhet d'Arménie and Les trois Dorothées were
translated in 1657, and his Roman comique in 1676. But it was his burlesques which had the
greatest vogue in this country and produced numerous imitators. Charles Cotton led the way with
his Scarronides, a burlesque of the first book of Vergil, in 1664, and followed it up with the fourth
book in 1665. Other writers burlesqued Homer and Ovid, all outdoing Scarron in coarseness and
vulgarity. In the words of Dryden, Parnassus spoke the cant of Billingsgate. But, to return to the
days of the commonwealth, there appeared, in 1653, the translation of a more famous work, which,
in one sense, was a burlesque. This was Sir Thomas Urquhart's remarkable version of the first two
books of Rabelais's great romance. It apparently fell flat, for the third book was not published till
forty years later. (8) Greater success attended the translation of another monument of French
prose, Pascal's Lettres Provinciales, which, under the title The Mysterie of Jesuitisme, discovered in
certain letters, was published in 1657, the year in which Pascal wrote the last of the letters, a new
edition being called for in the following year. And a translation of Descartess Traité des passions de
l'âme (1650) testifies to an interest in that psychological analysis which was to be a brilliant feature
of the new school of French writers. Later French Influence.
At the restoration, there was a decided falling off in this work of translation. In fact, all the
translations from the French produced during the twenty-five years of Charles II's reign hardly
surpass in number those which appeared during the last eight years of the commonwealth. The first
decade after the restoration was marked chiefly by a fairly successful attempt to acclimatise
Corneille, the details of which have been given in a previous chapter. (9) The psychological
tragedies of Racine were less to the taste of English audiences, and it was not till nearly the close of
queen Anne's reign that they secured a footing on the English stage with Ambrose Philips's Distrest
Mother (Andromaque) . The unparalleled debt to Molière has been pointed out in an earlier
chapter. (10) It need only be said here that, of all his thirty-one plays, only about half-a-dozen
escaped the general pillage. (11) La Fontaine was not translated into English till the next century;
but he was read and admired by the English wits, and it was only his growing infirmities which,
towards the end of his life, prevented him from accepting an invitation sent by some of his English
admirers, who 'engaged to find him an honourable subsistence' in London. Boileau
To Boileau, the remaining member of this illustrious group of friends, Dryden refers in 1677, three
years after the publication of L'Art Poétique, as one of the chief critics of his age; while, in
the Discourse concerning the Original and Progress of Satire (1693), he pays a splendid tribute to
him, as 'the admirable Boileau, whose numbers are excellent, whose
expressions are noble, whose thoughts are just, whose language is
pure, whose satire is pointed and whose sense is close.'
His Lutrin appeared in English in 1682; his Art Poétique, translated by Sir William Soames and
revised by Dryden, in 1683; and, about the same time, Oldham imitated two of his satires, the fifth
and the eighth. The second had been already translated by Butler, and the third by Buckingham and
Rochester. Bossuet is represented by some of his controversial writings, such as his Exposition de la
Doctrine de l'Église Catholique and Conférence avec M. Claude, and by his great Discours sur l'Histoire
Universelle, which was translated in 1686. Malebranche's Recherche de la Vérité; and La
Rochefoucauld's Maximes both appeared in English in 1694, and, of the latter, there had been an
earlier translation by Mrs Aphra Behn. Pascal's Pensées and La Bruyere's Caractères, which Dryden
couples together as 'two of the most entertaining books that
modern French can boast of,' were translated in 1688 and 1699 respectively; in
1688, too, appeared an English version of Mine de la Fayette's Princesse de Clèves. But a mere record
of translations from a foreign literature is far from constituting a measure of its influence. The real
influence which French literature exercised upon our own between the restoration and the close of
the seventeenth century may be classified under four heads: that of Corneille and the heroic
romances upon tragedy, that of Moliere upon comedy, that of Moutaigne upon the essay and that of
French criticism upon English criticism. Neither the first nor the second of these influences is really
important: for the fashion of the rim ing heroic play soon passed away; and, though our comedy
borrowed its materials from Moliere, it took over little of his form, and nothing of his spirit. The
influence of Montaigne upon the essay will he discussed later. But it may be well, in the first
instance, to consider the influence which is the most important of all, because it affected our whole
literature and not merely some special department of it. Le Bossu and Rymer
The debt of English literature to French criticism begins with D'Avenant's laboured and longwinded
preface to Gondibert, written in Paris and there published, with an answer by Hobbes, in 1650. It
was, no doubt, suggested by Chapelain's turgid and obscure preface to Marino's Adone (1623). In
1650, Chapelain was at the height of his authority as a critic, and the whole tone of this piece of
writing, with the talk about nature and the insistence on the need of criticism as well as inspiration
in poetry, is thoroughly French. Dryden, in his Essay of Dramatick Poesie, is perfectly independent in
his views; but he must have written it with a copy of the 1660 edition of Corneille's plays, which
contain his Examens and Discours, by his side. (12) Among the French critics of the next generation,
Boileau stands out prominent, but his authority in England during the last quarter of the
seventeenth century was balanced by that of Rapin, whose Réflexions sur la poétique d'Aristote was
translated by Rymer in the same year in which it appeared in French (1674), and of whom Dryden
says that he 'is alone sufficient, were all other critics lost,
to teach anew the rules of writing.'(13) Le Bossu and Dacier were also
highly esteemed. Dryden speaks of Le Bossu as 'the best of modern critics,' and the greater part of
his Discourse concerning the Original and Progress of Satire (1693) is little more than an adaptation
of Dacier's Essai sur la Satire. A translation of this treatise, which consists of only a few pages, was
printed in an appendix to one of Le Bossu's, Du poèmé épique, in 1695. 'I presume your
Ladyship has read Bossu,'says Brisk to lady Froth, in Congreve's Double-
Dealer (1693). (14) '0 Yes, and Rapin and Dacier upon Aristotle and
Horace'; and, in Dennis's The Impartial Critic, produced in the same year as Congreve's play,
frequent appeals are made to Dacier's translation of Aristotle's Poetics, which he had
published, avec des Remarques, in the previous year. Of these three Frenchmen, all of whom have
now passed into oblivion, it may be said that, like Boileau, they express in their literary criticism the
absolutist ideas of their age. But their outlook is narrower, and their attitude towards the ancients
less independent, than Boileau's. Conform to 'the Precepts of Aristotle and
Horace and to the Practice of Homer and Virgil,' is the summary
of Le Bossu's longwinded treatise. Rapin says that 'to please against the rules
is a bad principle,' and he defines art as 'good sense reduced to
method.' In Thomas Rymer, who prefixed to his translation a characteristic preface, he found
an interpreter who, with equal respect for Aristotle, laid even greater emphasis on commonsense.
He aspired to be 'the Plain Dealer' of criticism, and, having examined modern epic
poems in the preface to Rapin, proceeded, four years later (1678), to 'handle' The
Tragedies of the Last Age 'with the same liberty.' He was
answered in verse by Butler (Upon Critics who judge of modern plays by the rules of the Ancients),
and in prose by Dryden, who, in his preface to All for Love, the play in which he renounced rime,
rebels against the authority of 'our Chedreux critics,' and, while he admits
that 'the Ancients as Mr Rymer has judiciously observed, are and ought
to be our masters,' qualifies his admission with the remark that, 'though their
models are regular, they are too little for English tragedy.' The earl of
Mulgrave (afterwards marquis of Normanby and duke of Buckinghamshire), in his much
admired Essay upon Poetry (1682), drew largely from Boileau's Art Poétique; and, in 1684, the
authority of 'the rules' was reinforced by a translation of the abbe d'Aubignac's Pratique du théâtre:
Then, 'tis the mode of France; without whose rules
None must presume to set up here as fools. (15) Rymer's Short view of
Tragedy (1693), with its famous criticism of Othello, roused Dryden to another spirited defence of
English tragedy. (16) But the authority of Rymer continued to stand high, even with Dryden. It was
well, therefore, for English literature that there were critics in France who paid little or no respect
to the rules, and who believed that individual taste was a better criterion than
Rymer's 'common-sense of all ages.' Such were the chevalier (afterwards
marquis) de Méré, whose letters, containing a good deal of scattered criticism, were published in
1687; the père Bouhours, whose Manière de penser sur les ouvrages de l'esprit appeared in the same
year; and La Bruyere, whose Caractères, with the admirable opening chapter Des Ouvrages de
l'esprit, followed at the beginning of the next. All these three writers, of whom the second and third
were known in England before the close of the century, may be said to belong to the school of taste,
when taste was still a matter of individual judgment, and had not yet stiffened into the narrow code
of an oligarchy. But there was another critic of the same school who exercised a far greater
influence on writers, for he was living in our midst. This was Saint-Évremond, who, exiled from his
own country, made England his home from 1662 to 1665 and, again, from 1670 to his death in
1703. He was on intimate terms with the English wits and courtiers, with Hobbes, WaIler and
Cowley, with Buckingham, Arlington and St Albans, and his conversational powers were highly
appreciated at Will's and other places of resort. His occasional writings were translated from time
to time into English, the first to appear being a small volume of essays on the drama, including one
on English comedy (1685). Regarded as an oracle on both sides of the Channel, he had a marked
influence on English literary criticism. But, though he had a real critical gift, he was neither catholic
nor profound. He clung to the favourites of his youth, to Montaigne, Malherbe, Corneille, Voiture,
and, having been exiled from France at the close of la bonne Régence, he had little sympathy for the
age of Louis XIV. Moliere and La Fontaine barely found favour in his eyes; he was unjust to Racine,
and he detested Boileau. Yet much should be pardoned in a man who ventured to say, in the year
1672, that 'there is nothing so perfect in the Poetics of Aristotle that
it should be a rule to all nations and all ages.' It was possibly owing to
Saint-Évremond that Montaigne's popularity in this country, which had lain dormant for a season,
blossomed afresh after the restoration, and gave a new stimulus to the literary essay, which owed
to him its name and original inspiration. For, after 1625, the year in which Bacon's Essays received
their final form, the essay began to lose its popularity. Then, at the beginning of the commonwealth,
a versatile writer, named Thomas Forde, produced a volume of essays, Lusus Fortunae (1649), the
common topic of which, the mutability of man and human affairs, strongly suggests Montaigne; and,
on the eve of the restoration, Francis Osborne published A Miscellany of Sundry Essayes Paradoxes
and Problematical Discourses, Letters and Characters (1659), of which the style has all the faults, and
none of the virtues, of the older prose. (17) The author, who was master of the horse to
Shakespeare's patron William Herbert, earl of Pembroke, is best known for his Advice to a Son,
which, first published in 1656, went through numerous editions. It is a strange admixture of
platitude and paradox, much of which might have come straight from the lips of Polonius. The style,
when it is not terse and apophthegmatic, as of one trying to imitate Bacon, is stiff with conceits and
longwinded sentences. Abraham Cowley
It was Abraham Cowley, a friend of Saint-Évremond, who gave a new turn to the essay. Cowley has
often been called a transitional writer; but he is one in the sense, not that he dallied in a halfway
house, but that, both in prose and verse, he made a complete transit from the old school to the new.
It is particularly interesting to trace this progress in his prose writings. In the earliest of these, the
preface to the 1656 edition of his poems, his sentences are at first cumbrous and involved, and
though, when lie warms to his work, they become shorter and better balanced, there remains a
certain stiffness in the style quite unlike the conversational ease of his later essays. It is nearer to
Jeremy Taylor (who was only five years Cowley's senior, and who died in the same year) than to
Dryden. To the older school also belongs the Discourse by way of Vision concerning the Government
of Oliver Cromwell (1661), of which the latter part is a fine example of rhetorical prose. Even in the
preface to Cutter of Coleman Street (18) (1663), though the sentences, as a rule, are short and well
coordinated, Cowley has by no means shaken himself free from the old mannerism. The essays
proper, eleven in number, were all written during the last four or five years of his life, and, to most
of them, a more approximate date can be assigned. In 1663, having been disappointed of the
mastership of the Savoy hospital, he accomplished his design of withdrawing himself from 'all
tumults and business of the world,' by retiring to Barn Elms on the
Thames, then a favourite resort of Londoners. Before this, he must have written the essay
entitled The danger of Procrastination, in which he refers to his 'design' as only in contemplation. It
is not without charm, but long sentences still occur. Transitional in style, also, is the essay Of
Agriculture, in which he proposes that 'one college in each University
should be erected and appropriated to this Study,' and the
short essay entitled The Garden, dedicated to his friend Evelyn, which was written in 1664, between
the publication of Evelyn's Kalendarium Hortense and that of his Gardening. Cowley speaks of
himself as 'sticking still in the inn of a hired house and a
garden.' In April 1665, he moved to the Porch House, Chertsey, and there he died two years
later. To these last two years of his life belong the essays Of Obscurity, Of My Self and that
entitled The dangers of an Honest man in such Company; and to the same period we may with all
probability assign Of Solitude, Of Greatness and The Shortness of Life and uncertainty of Riches. In
these six essays, Cowley has found his style and his method. The influence of Montaigne is
unmistakable. In the two essays in which he is mentioned by name, Of Solitude and Of Greatness, not
only the titles, but some of the contents, are borrowed from him. Of those chief characteristics
which mark the essai of Montaigue in its final phase of development — the examples from classical
and other authors, the personal element and the artistic workmanship — none is wanting in
Cowley. Yet he is no mere satellite of Montaigne. He is saved from this by the personal element in
his writings. In the words of his biographer, his essays are 'a real chronicler of
his own thoughts upon the point of his retirement.' In spite
of The Spectator's sneer that 'he praised solitude when he despaired of
shining in a court,' there is no reason to doubt his earnest affection for obscurity
and retirement. We can see, too, in his essays, the other qualities ascribed to him by Sprat — his
lack of affectation, his modesty and humility, and, above all, the pleasant gravity of his speech. The
essay Of Greatness may be taken as an example of his method. Here we find, not the solitary self-
communing of a Burton or a Browne, but a friendly interchange of confidence between author and
reader — an anecdote freely translated from the elder Seneca, a few examples from Suetonius of
the foibles of the Roman emperors; a pointed reference to 'the late giant of our
nation'; a quotation or two from the Latin poets; and a few lines of the author's own. There is
no disdain of commonplaces; but they are dressed up as 'ridiculous
paradoxes,' before being stripped and presented to the reader as brand-new truths. As for
the style, it is neither stiff nor slovenly; neither a court suit, nor a dressing gown and slippers. The
choice of words is fastidious, without being affected; the use of metaphor is restrained; sentences
are well turned, but not all cut to the same pattern. The artist, in short, has concealed his art.
Cowley, we are told, intended to publish a discourse upon style. It would have been agreeable
reading; but it would doubtless have revealed as little of his secret as have similar treatises by later
masters of the art of prose. Sprat
Cowley's essays were first printed, under the title Several Discourses, by way of Essays, in Verse and
Prose, in 1668, the year after his death. In the same year, his friend Thomas Sprat (afterwards
bishop of Rochester) wrote an 'elegant' account of his life and writings, which, unfortunately, is as
sparing of facts as the same writer's History of the Royal Society. Worse than this, having told us that
Cowley excelled in his letters to his private friends — as we can well believe from the one letter of
this sort which has escaped destruction (19) — Sprat declines to publish them on the ground that
'in such letters the souls of men should appear undressed; and in that
negligent habit, they may be fit to be seen by one or two in a
chamber, but not to go abroad into the street.' Dorothy Osborne
Happily, one collection of private letters of this period has been preserved, which reveals
a 'native tenderness and innocent gaiety of mind' equal to
Cowley's. These are the letters of Dorothy Osborne, niece of Francis Osborne, written to her future
husband, Sir William Temple, between the autumn of 1652 and that of 1654. She not only writes
delightful letters, full of good sense, penetration and humour, but she has views of her own about
the epistolary style. 'All letters, methinks, should be free and easy as one's
discourse: not studied as an oration, not made up of hard words like a
charm. ' This criticism she does not consider applicable to the letters of her lover. Sir William
Temple
Nothing is more pleasant than to trace through the records of Temple's political life the services
rendered to him, and, through him, to the public interest, by this most devoted of women, though
the title has been held to be disputable on behalf of Temple's sister, lady Giffard, whom he
commemorated with his wife and himself on his tombstone. Lady Giffard gave up the whole of her
long widowhood to the companionship and service of her beloved brother, and wrote anonymously
the brief Life and admirable character of him, afterwards prefixed to the folio edition of his works
(1750). But, although, at times, it was more convenient for lady Giffard to be the companion of her
brother's journeys than it was for his wife, the latter was by no means, as has been suggested,
thrown into the shade by her, and a complete harmony of purpose and feeling seems to have
existed among the trio. Lady Temple was taken into her husband's confidence as completely in his
public, as in his private, business, except when he was under obligations of absolute secrecy; when
left behind at the Hague, she was able to give him trustworthy information as to Buckingham's
negotiations with France; and she had the principal share in the confidential enquiries as to
what 'concern'd the Person, Humour and Dispositions' of the young
princess Mary of York whose hand William of Orange thereupon made up his mind to ask in
marriage. (20) Lady Giffard's own letters, which have been recently published, (21) lack the rare
charm which attaches to those of her sister-in-law, after, as well as before, marriage, even at
seasons when, according to lady Temple's own description, she felt 'as weary as a dog
without his Master.' The greatest tragedy of her life, the death by his own hand of the
son of whom, in his babyhood, she had written as 'the quietest best little boy
that ever was borne,' seems to school her into a calm solemnity of expression which
has a pathos of its own, unlike that which mingles with the humour of her earlier writing. Temple's
Letters
Temple's own letters — not including those to Dorothy — were published after his death by
his quondam secretary Swift (whose reverence for his patron certainly did not go deep), the first
two volumes appearing in 1700, and the third in 1703. (22) This correspondence, which includes
many letters from Arlington, lord keeper Bridgeman, and others (with Clifford, notwithstanding
their connection through lady Temple, her husband was quite out of touch from the first), fails to
warrant the statement of its title-page, that it contains 'an account of the most
Important Transactions that pass'd in Christendom' during the
period which the earlier volumes cover (1665-72) (23); but it furnishes a lucid survey of unusual
interest. In his Letters, even more conspicuously than in his Memoirs, Temple's style is wholly
unaffected and unambitious, and the early letter to his father in Ireland, giving an account of his
visit to the slippery bishop of Munster, is an admirable specimen of lively narrative. It is worth
noticing that not only Temple but most of the men of affairs who correspond with him write in the
same straightforward and simple style — it was a period when much importance had begun to be
attached in France to the clearness and readableness of diplomatic despatches, and it was natural
that the same habit should have become more common in English diplomatic correspondence. In
1666, Temple was, as he says, 'Young and Very New in Business'; but it was
not long before he was engaged in the negotiations of which the result was a diplomatic
masterpiece, the famous Triple Alliance of 1668, and in those which accompanied its break-up. A
considerable number of Temple's letters and other papers are in French, Latin or Spanish, in all of
which tongues he was a proficient; but he naturally finds few opportunities for a display of literary
taste as well as of linguistic ability. (24) The personal interest of some of his letters is, however,
considerable; not only his trust in his wife, but his modest and unaffected estimate of the value of
his own public services, even in so exceptional an instance as the carrying through of the Triple
Alliance, and bringing 'Things drawn out of their Center' back 'to
their Center again,' cannot fail to engage the sympathy of the reader. Temple's
Memoirs
The distinctive qualities of Temple as a writer of clear and agreeable prose are even more
distinctive of his Memoirs, which are concerned with the later years of his career — from 1674,
when the conclusion of peace with the Dutch and the general desire of inducing the French
government to follow the example of the English brought him again to the front, to the conclusion of
the peace of Nymegen, in 1678, and thence to his final withdrawal, at the very height of political
agitation at home, from all further open share in public affairs. The second part professes to begin
in 1672 (though it cannot really be said to go back beyond 1674), and was preceded by a first part
beginning with 1665, which, at some unknown period of his life, and for reasons which can only be
conjectured, (25) was destroyed by the author himself. Thus, only the second part, published
without authority in 1691 and republished by Swift in 1692, and the third part, published by him on
his own motion, remain to us. But they are among the best examples of a class of literature which
was as yet new in England-memoirs of affairs, as well as of personal experiences, conveying the
information and instruction which they are designed to impart in a thoroughly readable and often
highly attractive style. It would not be easy to find a more lucid account of the political results of the
declaration of war by England against the Dutch, with which the narrative opens, or of
the impasse to which the selfishness of party purposes and personal interests had reduced English
politics when Temple bade them a long farewell. On the other hand, few memoirs or diaries of the
time succeed better in suggesting a lifelike, and, at the same time, reasonable, conception of both
the ways of talking and the ways of thinking of two princes so different from one another as were
Charles II and William III (before his accession to the English throne). It is not a little to Temple's
credit as a diplomatist that he should have been able, in a very uncommon degree, to gain the
confidence of both; it is hardly less to his credit as a writer that, especially in the case of Charles II,
to none of whose weaknesses he was blind, he should have been able to show what there was in
him that fitted him for his destiny. In the preface to part III of these Memoirs, Swift is at pains to
refute the objections taken against them 'first, as to the Matter; that the Author speaks too much of
himself; next, as to the Style; that he affects the Use of French Words, as well as some Turns of
Expression peculiar to that Language.' Temple's nature, no doubt, was, in a sense, self-centred, but
his Memoirs preserve a due balance between egotism and a reticence about himself which would
have detracted from the impression of veracity conveyed by them, besides depriving them of much
of the human interest without which many valuable political memoirs have become virtually closed
books. Temple's Gallicisms of vocabulary and expression Swift seeks to excuse by more or less
ingenious pleas; but, to modern English readers, Temple's style will not seem to stand in need of
defence, whether or not there were many French words which he blotted out, as Swift states, in
order to put English in their place. On the other hand, if we may ourselves be guilty of the fault
imputed to him, he was an excellent raconteur; and his good stories are all the better because they
are neither too long nor too numerous. They often point a characteristic trait in princes or
statesmen or, like the anecdote of Richelieu's wrathful outburst against Charles I, illustrate the
genesis of a whole Iliad of truths; occasionally, they are merely amusing 'problems,' like the story of
the old count of Nassau and the parrot. But the writer is at his best in the light-handed analysis of
character and conduct (including his own) which shows the influence of French example far more
notably than does his choice of words or phrases. Yet, even when speaking of himself; he could
write with force, when it seemed in place: I have had in Twenty Years Experience,
enough of the Uncertainty of Princes, the Caprices of Fortune, the
Corruption of Ministers, the Violence of Factions, the Unsteddyness of
Counsels, and the Infidelity of Friends; Nor do I think the rest of my
Life enough to make any new Experiments. Temple's Observations
Temple's general judgment of the political and social characteristics of a people whom he learnt to
know well, not only by long sojourns among them, but because, as he relates with pardonable pride,
his visits were welcomed by them as are those of the swallow in the spring, is laid down in his
sympathetic but unprejudiced Observations upon the United Provinces of the Netherlands (1672).
They present themselves as the expansion of a summary of the condition of the country, sent in,
according to custom, at the close of an ambassador's stay there; but they are put together under the
impression of the great and, as it seemed to Temple, decisive catastrophe, which had suddenly
brought to the brink of destruction a state, 'the Envy of some, the Fear of
others, and the Wonder of all'its neighbours. It is the growth of that polity's
greatness, due to moral, as well as physical, causes — to the principle of tolerance as well as the
control of the sea — which this admirable essay demonstrates with equal lucidity and conviction.
During the same period of leisure, he produced, in 1667 or 1668, An Essay upon the present State
and Settlement of Ireland, which, though censuring the process of the late settlement, advises no
remedy for existing results beyond that which had been commended by Spenser. In 1673, Temple
published An Essay upon the Advancement of Trade in Ireland, which asserts 'the true and
natural ground of Trade and Riches' to be the 'Number of People in
proportion to the Ground they inherit,' but proposes some useful developments
of the export trade suggested to him by his own residence in Leinster. Part I of
the Miscellanea contains A Survey of the Constitution and Interests of the Empire and other principal
European countries, with their Relations to England in the Year 1671, presented in that year to
Arlington: a clear exposition of the political situation and of the reasons for and against England's
joining France against the Dutch, with a specially luminous account of the general history of
Spanish politics and of the rise of the United Provinces to the rank of a first-rate power. It will be
noted that this diplomatic summary, clear as it is, opens with sentences of almost Clarendonian
length. To a later period seems to belong An Introduction to the History of England (published in
1695), which may possibly have been intended as an introduction to Kennett's History, the editors
of which, however, proposed to use Milton for the period before the Norman conquest. Temple
shows a characteristic contempt for mythology, and treats no part of his subject very assiduously
till he comes to the reign of William the Conqueror, whom he holds to have been unjustly censured
by ecclesiastical writers. Like all Temple's writings, this abridgment is very readable, though, unlike
most of them, the work of a dilettante. Of much greater interest is his Essay upon the Original and
Nature of Government (written about 1672), which is noticeable as arguing, in direct contravention
of the theory of a social contract elaborated by Hobbes and Locke, that state government arose out
of an extension of paternal and patriarchal authority. It is not too much to say that, in this
argument, Temple was before his times; Locke takes no notice of his speculations. (26) Temple's
Essays
Temple's essays, or, as they were called, Miscellanea, appeared in three parts; the first in 1680 the
second in 1690 and the third, two years after the author's death, in 1701. The most widely read of
these essays, Upon Ancient and Modern Learning (1690), was inspired by that quarrel between the
ancients and the moderns which, for more than two years, had divided the literary world of Paris,
and was, in its turn, the origin of the celebrated controversy on the Letters of Phalarisbetween
Bentley and Charles Boyle. But neither in this nor in the companion essay, Upon Poetry, does
Temple show to much advantage. His knowledge is too superficial for his task. He has a bowing
acquaintance with many authors, but he is not on intimate terms with any. He has sauntered
through the outer courts of literature, but he has never penetrated to the sanctuary. It is interesting,
however, to note his opinions on French literature. In poetry, he only mentions two names, Ronsard
for the past and Boileau for the present. For prose, he names Rabelais, Montaigne, and, among the
moderns, Voiture, La Rochefoucauld and Bussy — Rabutin, whose Histoire Amoureuse de
Gaule (1665) had a succès de scandale in this country as well as in France. (27) Of the French
language, Temple justly observes that, as it 'has much more Finess and Smoothness at
this time, so I take it to have had much more Force, Spirit, and
Compass in Montaigne's Age'; while, of Rabelais, he says that he 'seems to
have been Father of the Ridicule, a man of universal learning as well
as wit.' Was it this praise which led to the publication, in the following year (1693), thirty-
three years after the author's death, of Sir Thomas Urquhart's translation of the third book
of Pantagruel,(28) followed, in 1708, by that of the fourth and fifth books from the pen of Pierre-
Antonius Motteux, one of the 84,000 refugees whom the revocation of the edict of Nantes sent to
this country? The most agreeable of Temple's essays are those Upon the Cure of the Gout (part
I), Upon the Gardens of Epicurus, or Of Gardening (part II) and Upon Health and Long Life (part III).
The latter is especially interesting for the light that it throws upon the notions of the age as to
health and longevity, and the specifics in use for the cure of ordinary ailments. Thus, we learn that
alehoof or ground-ivy is 'most sovereign for the eyes' and 'admirable
in Frenzies' and that the constant use of alehoof ale is a 'specifick Remedy or
Prevention of the Stone'; that 'the Spirit of Elder is sovereign in
Cholicks, and the use of it in general very beneficial in Scurvies and
Dropsies'; and that 'for Rheums in the Eyes and the Head a leaf of
Tobacco put into the Nostrils for an Hour each Morning is a Specifick
Medicine.' In the essay Of Gardening, written in 1685, Temple gives an agreeable account of
his own garden at Sheen, which was renowned for its fruit trees, discoursing of his grapes and figs,
his peaches and apricots, with that complacent sense of superiority which is the foible of most
gardeners. The essay entitled Gout, written in 1677, gives much information as to various cures for
that malady of statesmen, and, incidentally, introduces us to several of Temple's diplomatic
colleagues in a new and entertaining light. Temple's style was highly thought of in his own day.
'It is generally believed,' said Swift, 'that this author has advanced
our English tongue to as great perfection as it can well bear.' But this
is the exaggerated praise of an editor. Lamb's 'plain, natural, chit-chat' is
nearer the mark. Temple writes like a fine gentleman at his ease, without any affectation, but with
considerable negligence. His syntax is sometimes faulty, and his expression does not always fit his
thought. Though his sentences are kept, as a rule, within convenient bounds, they straggle
occasionally and leave trailing ends. To agree wholly with Johnson that 'Temple was the
first writer who gave cadence to English prose,' is to forget
Browne and Taylor; but Temple has a true feeling for cadence; in this alone he is Cowley's superior.
It is largely through this quality that he rises at times beyond the level of 'natural chit-
chat,' as in the fine passage in praise of poetry and music which concludes the essay Upon
Poetry and ends with the often quoted comparison between human life and a froward child.
Influence of Montaigne
Like Cowley, Temple came under the spell of Montaigne. In the essay Of Gardening, he borrows
from him the story of Heraclitus playing with the boys in the porch of the Temple, and he refers to
him in two later essays, Upon Popular Discontents and Upon Health and Long Life. Moreover, two
essays, heads for which were found among his papers, Upon the different conditions of life and
fortune and Upon Conversation, suggest, not only in the titles, but in the subjects themselves,
frequent intercourse with the father of the essay. There were other Englishmen of letters, too, who
kept the same excellent company. Dryden quotes from 'Honest Montaigne' in the preface to All for
Love, (29) while, according to Pope, Montaigne and La Rochefoucauld were among the livres de
chevet with which Wycherley was wont to 'read himself to sleep.' In 1685,
Montaigne was popular enough in England to warrant the publication of a new translation of his
essays from the pen of Charles Cotton. Cotton sometimes misses his author's meaning, but he does
not write sheer nonsense, as Florio sometimes does. On the other hand, his style lacks the glamour
and quaint individuality of the Elizabethan translation, and, though sound on the whole, is
somewhat unequal. His work is dedicated to George Savile, marquis of Halifax, who, in
acknowledging the dedication, says that 'it is the book in the world I am
best entertained with.' Halifax
Halifax's own Miscellanies, first collected in 1700, are, for the most part, political pamphlets, but a
few words concerning them may, perhaps not inappropriately, find a place here. For his finest piece
of writing is his praise of truth in The Character of a Trimmer — a passage worthy of Montaigne,
whom Halifax also resembles in his bold and happy use of metaphor. Although this famous
pamphlet, which, notwithstanding its substantial length, must have circulated largely between the
date of its composition (early in 1685) and that of its first publication (April 1688), was then
ascribed on the title-page to Sir William Coventry, there can be no doubt that it was by Halifax,
who 'owned it to his friends.' (30) The title was suggested to him by a paper by his subsequent
adversary L'Estrange; but the use made of the term 'trimmer,' and the lesson read to the nation on
the ever old and ever new truth that there are times when the ship of state has to be steadied
against the excesses of each of 'the two extremes,' must alike be placed to the credit of Halifax
himself. Few publications of the kind, intended to allay, not to heighten or inflame, the changes of an
important crisis, have exercised a more direct effect. The death of Charles II put an end to the
trimmer's plan of inducing the king to free himself from an overbearing influence which had now
become sovereign authority. Halifax appears to have consoled himself by composing his
admirable Character of King Charles the Second, which was not published, with an appendix
of Political, Moral and Miscellaneous Thoughts and Reflections, till 1750. The literature of characters,
which the circumstances of the times and the art of both historians and satirists had brought to a
great height of perfection, received a notable addition in this admirable portrait, by a man of the
world, of a prince whom he thoroughly understood and for whom he did not care to conceal a liking
which was not all loyalty. 'The thing called Sauntering is a stronger
Temptation to Princes than it is to others.' In this vein of easy philosophy, he
delivered a judgment far nearer the truth than many more incisive censures. (31) Halifax's second
political pamphlet of importance, A Letter to a Dissenter Upon Occasion of His Majesties late Gracious
Declaration of Indulgence, was first printed, with the signature 'J. W.', in 1687. It is much shorter
than The Character of a Trimmer, but not less notable; for it may unhesitatingly be described as one
of the pithiest and most straightforward productions of its kind, abounding in homethrusts and
exhibiting throughout the clear candour of a writer sure of his ground and convinced of the
necessity of his conclusions. It is wholly directed against the dangerous, indeed suicidal, policy of an
alliance between nonconformity and an unlawful strain of the prerogative, and, on the face of it, is
written by a loyal patriot possessed by complete distrust of Rome. (32) The Anatomy of an
Equivalent(probably printed without an author's name in 1688, certainly in 1689) is a tract of
considerable subtlety of argument on a cognate subject. (33) Of the collection of
aphoristic Thoughts and Reflections, published with the Character of King Charles the Second, the
political section is characterised by much wit, at times thoroughly cynical, as is shown by the
trimmer's assertion that 'the best Party is but a kind of a Conspiracy
against the rest of the Nation,' and by several of the aphorisms under the head
'Religion.' But not a little. wisdom as well as wit is to be found both in these, and in the 'Moral' and
'Miscellaneous' sayings; and, on the whole, there is no unfairness, though there is some severity, in
the 'reprisals' made by this shrewd philosopher upon the generation which had grown up under his
observant eye. Halifax's Advice To A Daughter
More in the nature of an essay than any of his other productions, was Halifax's A Lady's Gift, or
Advice to a Daughter (by which latter name it is generally known). First printed in 1688, it went
through many editions. This little book, addressed to his own daughter (mother of lord Chesterfield,
author of perhaps the most celebrated Letters ever addressed to a son), shows much knowledge of
the human, especially of the feminine, heart, and much of it is still so appropriate that one may
wonder why it has not been reprinted in modern times. Aphorisms like 'Love is a passion
that hath friends in the garrison,' and 'You may love your children
without living in the nursery,' and, of an 'empty' woman, 'such an one is
seldom serious but with her tailor,' have lost none of their force. The chapter on
vanity and affectation contains a character of a vain woman quite in the manner of La Bruyère. The
chapter on a husband is full of worldly wisdom, and good sense, and is based on a frank recognition
of the 'inequality in the sexes,' and the imperfection of husbands. The
treatment of religion is just what you might expect from a man who, in religion as well as in politics,
had 'his dwelling in the middle between the two extremes.' If
it is a little cold and unspiritual, it is tolerant, cheerful and reasonable; it breathes the temper of his
contemporaries Barrow and Tillotson. Halifax's style is thoroughly individual. It is the style not of
an essayist communing with his readers for his own pleasure in the seclusion of his study, but of a
man of the world who takes up the pen for the practical purpose of convincing others. He had a
great reputation as an orator, and this is easy to believe, for, in his written speech, he often rises to
real eloquence. Clarendon's Essays
There is no trace of Montaigne in the Reflections upon several Christian Duties, Divine and Moral, by
way of Essays, which Clarendon wrote, for the most part, at Montpellier, during the years 1669 and
1670. (34) It is true that, in at least six of them, notably those Of Contempt of Death, Of
Friendship and Of Repentance, he deals with themes also treated by Montaigne. But the treatment is
quite independent; indeed, the essay Of Repentance, with its definitely Christian doctrine, forms a
striking contrast to Montaigne's famous essay on the same subject. The style is that of the History,
diffuse and unequal — pregnant phrases of high imaginative beauty alternating with sentences a
page long — but always that of a sincere and serious thinker, of one who is learned, high-minded
and conversant with affairs. Alike in thought and in style, Clarendon's essays belong to the Caroline
age. Thus, the essay, with its near allies, the literary preface and the political pamphlet, played a
large part in the formation of the new prose. We have seen that it was in the same year (1665) that
Cowley and Dryden achieved independently the mastery of their instruments. Cowley only played
on his for a brief moment, but Dryden's mastery became more and more perfect, till, in the last year
of the century, he produced his masterpiece in 'the other harmony of
prose'; the Preface to the Fables. In its numerous digressions — 'the nature of a
Preface,' he says, 'is rambling' — and in the pleasant intrusion of his own
personality, it reminds one happily of Montaigne. (35) But the style is all Dryden's own — short and
well balanced sentences, restraint, lucidity and precision, a tone of friendly intercourse with the
reader, an ease which never becomes familiarity, and a dignity which never stiffens into pomposity.
When, nine years later, Steele wrote the first number of The Tatler, he found an instrument ready to
his hand. Steele's style suggests Dryden, just as Addison's model in the first paper which he
contributed to the same journal is, obviously, Cowley. Steele and Addison addressed themselves to
a wider audience than Dryden, not only to scholars and wits and courtiers, but to ordinary middle-
class citizens; they made the essay lighter, and introduced into it humour and a spice of malice. But
they were not the creators either of the essay or of modern prose. The foundations of most of the
literature of the first half of the eighteenth century were already laid down in the seventeenth.
Dryden not only dominates his own age, but throws his shadow over the next.