The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1868-02-27
at his death in 1000 he left three adj,

splcuity Of its reasoning, and its phllo-
sophical tone, has seldom been equal
cd in any age or country, and seems
likely to justify the prediction Ct Pope
Clement the Eighth; who said 1t would
endure till the final FIRE consumes all
learning" The genius Of Shakespeare
enriched the English language with
those immortal dramas which are the
charm Of the studious in every rank OF
life, from tho throne to the cottage ;
and not long after, philosophy was
aroused from the inactivity of ages by
the justly celebrated works Of Sir Fran.
els Bacon.
The limits Of this article forbid even
an imperfect sketch Of English l,tera-
ture during tho cventful period OF the
seventeenth century. The great civil
war and the era Of the common ealth
were rather unfavorablc to literary pro-
gress. The austcrc and morose genius
OF Puritanism looked coldly upon mere
worldly science. Wise in council and
formidable in the field, the stern tanat-
les who subvertcd the English church
and monarchy cared little for the graces
of style or the charm Of polished die,
ton. Their absurd imitation upon all
occasions Of the rtrascology OF the
Old Testament brought upon them IN
subsequent tilucs rather exaggerated
charge OF hypoericy and proved fruit.
tul theme for ridiculc. Two splendid
exceptions in opposite ranks OF society
must however be made to the general
truth Of these remarks. Milton, with
the manners of cavalier and the pr;n.
c'ples OF Puritan, stood in the first
rank OF the writer's Of that age, both
IN poetry and prose, and welded the
powers Of our mother tongue with rare
energy and felicity. ,Bunyau, born in
humblcst rank in life, composed under
every disadvantage the finest allegory
that ever cmanated from the mind Of
man. The restoration proved on the
whole favorable to the interests Of
English literature, though many years
elapsed before it was purified from the
RIGHTEOUSNESS which marked the anti
Puritan reaction.
In the eighteenth century the En-
gllsh language was brought nearly to
Its present standard, and many writer's
appeared whose works are not unworthy
a place beside the monuments Of ancient
genius. Tie clear and pcrspicious es-
says Of Addison will be rcrused with
delight in every succeeding aye, and the
profound and eloquent works of Dr.
johnson will ever hold high place
among the English classics. The his
torical works of DR.. Robertson are re-
plete with the beauties of manly and
attractive style, and the rich and cor-
geous diction Of Edmund Burke has
been thought to surpass the most ccle-
bsated writers among the ancients.
Globon, (whosc unfortunate cnmity to
christianity merits severe censure) has
In lofty and expressive but somewhat
monotonous style, given US re cord of
the 'dccirc and fall'' Of the Roman
Empire, which spans like a mighty arch
the clark gulf Of the middle ages"
and Hum: has thrown the researches of
a philosophical mini into the checker
ed narration Of English history. In
the present century the brilliant and
versatile genius Of Macauley> has in
vested the records Of the past with the
attractive charms Of romance, and Ali.
son has given US History of Europe
distinguished for dramatic power and
profound and manly cast Of thought
America, too, has entered the literary
arena, and Prescott, Bancroft and Irr-
ing, (not to mention host of subordi-
nate writers) have produced works
which will vie with the most celebrated
productions of the Old World. NV
limits forbid me even to mention the
names Of the most distinguished Of
those who have enriched our language
and literature and won a proud pre-
eminencc by works Of theology, meta
physics, medicine and jurisprudence.
Close in the rear Of these intellectual
leaders appear those who nave won
brighter cut less enduring laurcls in
the fields Of fiction and romance.
Within the past thirty years the in
fuence of German literature uDon the
productions of some OF the greatest
English writer's may be distinctly traced.
This will at once appear by contrasting
the historical works Of Bancroft and
Carlyle with those of Hume, Gibbon,
and Robertson, There is no event of a
similar character in the history of man
which will comp: re with the rapid yet
vigorous growth and wonderful spread
Of the English language, combining in
q surprising degree the varied excellen-
oies of Latin, German and French.
Without any Of TIE advantages result
ing from universal empire which gave
to the first Of these tongues the domin
ion of the civilized world, the English
Is now spoken by not less than seventy
millions Of people in the eastern and
western hemisphere.. In the British
Islands aud in most Of North America
its ascendancv Ia comrlo+o r. A.