Arnold, Matthew | Douglas W. Sterner (essay date 1999)
Douglas W. Sterner (essay date 1999)
SOURCE: “Matthew Arnold, The Apostle of Culture,” in Priests of Culture: A Study of Matthew Arnold and Henry James, Peter Lang, 1999, pp. 23-67.
[In the following essay, Sterner studies Arnold's conception of culture and the implications of this ideal for his evaluation of modernity.]
Culture is then properly described not as having its origin in curiosity, but as having its origin in the love of perfection; it is a study of perfection. It moves by the force, not merely or primarily of the scientific passion for pure knowledge, but also of the moral and social passion for doing good. … there is no better motto which it can have than these words of Bishop Wilson: “To make reason and the will of God prevail!”
—Matthew Arnold
Poor Matt, he’s gone to Heaven, no doubt—but he won’t like God.
—Robert Louis...
[The entire page is 21881 words long]
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