Thus we find paganism--in some quarters paganism quite openly
confessed--occupying a prominent place in our literature to-day. Before
we examine some of its aspects in detail a word or two of preliminary
warning may be permissible. It is a mistake to take the extremer forms
of this reaction too seriously, although at the present time this is
very frequently done. One must remember that such a spirit as this is to
be found in every age, and that it always creates an ephemeral
literature which imagines itself to be a lasting one. It is nothing new.
It is as old and as perennial as the complex play of the human mind and
human society.
Another reason for not taking this phase too seriously is that it was
quite inevitable that some such reaction should follow upon the huge
solemnities of Carlyle. Just as in literature, after the classic
formality of Johnson and his contemporaries, there must come the
reaction of the Romantic School, which includes Sir Walter Scott, Byron,
and Burns; so here there must be an inevitable reaction from austerity
to a daring freedom which will take many various forms.
Pages:
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271