Daily Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1854-1855, 1855-10-30

ry1sDAY nelz1ns. seee1xnsso. ispD.
4 eUDsaIsr A1l1 eenRInEIH7
A late nunber Of the London Critic, in
IN article on American Lterature. says.
Elm one respect We must do the Ameri-
tSns jestice. g reeards foreign literature.
sTAsy have done. more Of late years to pop.
kjlesixs the -best authors of Germany than
al England beside. To the Americana
" We iudebted for many sxcelleat tEsns.
lations Of the German classics."
The above + perhaps True a. regards the
asnber Of Gssnan works trauslased BY A.
sassicaas. bus We question whether Ameri
can lieeraturs OF the American mind,-so to
spssk.-hss Seen very greatly benefited
shygsAs sssideous study which some New
Eeeiasd nen have given to the study Of
aGsssa netaPhysics. Nor are the Amer
siepns estitled TO Ire credit d being pio-
aassssss the isbors of this literary field
Thomss Carlyle vas the high priest in the
work Of Interpreting between the German
AID Eaglsh mind. and Emerson and others
il The eepnisy. have been both prompted
- their 6rst moyemAnts, and assisted in
4hsir subsequent studies. By the previous
Isboss of Carlyle. De Quincy. HaElitt. Mrs.
Apaas. and other English men and women.
For our part. Though it may be consider
ID ~ Some ~ IN old fashioned or an erro-
ssoSs nation. we would prefer that Ameri-
can writers shosld be inspired BY the teach
iags Ard 'sssdisions Of English rather than
Of German literature. We desire no i'm
,ppopsr sesviIty in either case, but the study
Of Bseon. Locke, Burke. Shakespeare and
Milton BY American authors, is no more
APT = make them blamable eopyists Of
Jofthose great originals, than it is to have
.she sane effect upon contemporary English
writer's. We believe it was Madame de Stael
who wittily said that to the English had
been given the empire Of the sea. to the
French that of the land. and to the Ger
mans that Of the air. Mysticism and in
compreheasibili,y have generally charac-
terized the greater portion Of the intellec-
,ualoperations Of Germany. and as far as we
can understand the subject, we do not think
these features have been much changed by
their being interpreted into New England
trsnscendentalism
We shisk. indeed, that the healthy and
6 nat0rai development Of the American mind
has been encumbered and retarded by the
Germano-Yankee school of philosophers
We doubt the possession Of much desirable
virtue By the high-sounding phraseology
which 50 DISCUSSES the most common doc
trines, that We no longer recognize the "a
nilisr facts Of the nursery. To our appre.
heasion. the modern school Of New Eng
1snd philosophy, including i,s spirituaiism
.hssssnscendentalism, and the various inno-
vsiions and ofshoots thence descended, is
bs& defined BY Lord Bscon's description Of
~ philosophy Of the schooimen.--itis ex.
uvaely fruitful Of words. but very barren
~ ffaits. Ithas too much OF tumidness to
neet the practicai wants Of plain people
u nay be cherished ~ an exotic by the
luxurious dilettanteism Of select and small
pet Of students. but we do not think IL
vii have any lasting influence. or is calcu-
Md g have very desirable influence, on
the socisl or political organizations or ope-
xslioas Of our republic; and. il is because
~ think thus. that we question the worth
Of the compliment which ascribes to Us so
greet proficiency in the work of interpre-
sths The lsbors Of the German intellect.