The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table
by Oliver Wendell Holmes
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At a glance:
- Author: Oliver Wendell Holmes
- First Published: 1857
- Type of Work: Essays
- Characters: The Autocrat, The Schoolmistress, The Divinity-Student, The Old Gentleman, The Landlady, The Landlady’s Daughter, Benjamin Franklin, The Professor and The Poet
- Genres: Nonfiction, Essays
- Subjects: Culture, United States or Americans, Philosophy or philosophers, Nineteenth century, Social issues, New England, Criticism, Metaphysics, Transcendentalism, Literary criticism
The Work:
At one point in the recounting of his breakfast-table experiences, the Autocrat observes that, since medieval times, the reputation of Aristotle had passed through two stages and is just entering its third. First came the period of idolization, when everything attributed to the Greek sage was accepted not only as scientifically sound but as absolute and ultimate truth. Then came the period of critical examination, the stage at which his scientific inaccuracies were discovered and consequently all his ideas belittled and discredited. Finally, there was the third stage,...
(The entire page is 2216 words.)
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