The Project Gutenberg eBook of History of Civilization in England, Vol. 2 of 3

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Title: History of Civilization in England, Vol. 2 of 3

Author: Henry Thomas Buckle

Release date: December 28, 2013 [eBook #44494]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION IN ENGLAND, VOL. 2 OF 3 ***

HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION IN ENGLAND.

BY

HENRY THOMAS BUCKLE.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. II.

NEW EDITION.

TORONTO:
ROSE-BELFORD PUBLISHING COMPANY,
60 YORK STREET.
1878.

ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY OF THE FRENCH INTELLECT FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY TO THE ACCESSION TO POWER OF LOUIS XIV.
	PAGE
Importance of the question, as to whether the historian should begin with studying the normal or the abnormal condition of society	1–3
Greater power of the church in France than in England	4
Hence in France during the sixteenth century everything was more theological than in England	6–8
Hence, too, toleration was impossible in France	9–11
But at the end of the sixteenth century scepticism appeared in France, and with it toleration began, as was seen in the Edict of Nantes	11–15
The first sceptic was not Rabelais, but Montaigne	15–18
Continuation of the movement by Charron	18–21
Henry IV. encouraged the Protestants	23–24
And they were tolerated even by the queen-regent during the minority of Louis XIII.	24–26
The most remarkable steps in favour of toleration were, however, taken by Richelieu, who effectually humbled the church	27–34
He supported the new secular scheme of government against the old ecclesiastical scheme	34–42
His liberal treatment of the Protestants	42–46
They are deserted by their temporal leaders, and the management of the party falls into the hands of the clergy	46–51
Hence the French Protestants, being headed by the clergy, become more intolerant than the French Catholics, who are headed by statesmen	51–55
Evidence of the illiberality of the French Protestants	55–72
They raise a civil war, which was a struggle of classes rather than of creeds	73
Richelieu put down the rebellion, but still abstained from persecuting the Protestants	73–76
This liberal policy on the part of the government was only part of a much larger movement	76–77
Illustration of this from the philosophy of Descartes	77–92
Analogy between Descartes and Richelieu	92–93
The same anti-ecclesiastical spirit was exhibited by their contemporaries	93–95
And by Mazarin	96–98
It was also seen in the wars of the Fronde	99–102
But notwithstanding all this, there was a great difference between France and England; and the prevalence of the protective spirit prevented the French from becoming free	102–107
CHAPTER II.
HISTORY OF THE PROTECTIVE SPIRIT, AND COMPARISON OF IT IN FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
About the eleventh century the spirit of inquiry began to weaken the church	108–110
Coinciding with this, the feudal system and an hereditary aristocracy appeared	110–112
The nobles displace the clergy, and celibacy is opposed by the principle of hereditary rank	112
In England the nobles were less powerful than in France	113–116
And were glad to ally themselves with the people against the crown	116–118
Hence a spirit of popular independence unknown in France, where the nobles were too powerful to need the help of the people	118–119
Effects of this difference between the two countries in the fourteenth century	119–122
Centralization was in France the natural successor of feudality	122–126
This state contrasted with that of England	126–127
Power of the French nobles	128–131
Illustration from the history of chivalry	131–135
Another illustration from the vanity of the French and pride of the English	135–137
Also from the practice of duelling	137
The pride of Englishmen encouraged the Reformation	138
Analogy between the Reformation and the revolutions of the seventeenth century	138–139
Both were opposed by the clergy and nobles. Natural alliance between these two classes	139–142
In the reign of Elizabeth both classes were weakened	143–146
James I. and Charles I. vainly attempted to restore their power	147
CHAPTER III.
THE ENERGY OF THE PROTECTIVE SPIRIT IN FRANCE EXPLAINS THE FAILURE OF THE FRONDE. COMPARISON BETWEEN THE FRONDE AND THE CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH REBELLION.
Difference between the Fronde and the great English rebellion	148–150
The English rebellion was a war of classes	150–159
But in France the energy of the protective spirit and the power of the nobles made a war of classes impossible	160–162
Vanity and imbecility of the French nobles	162–170
As such men were the leaders of the Fronde, the rebellion naturally failed	167–173
But the English rebellion succeeded because it was a democratic movement headed by popular leaders	174–175
CHAPTER IV.
THE PROTECTIVE SPIRIT CARRIED BY LOUIS XIV. INTO LITERATURE. EXAMINATION OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF THIS ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE INTELLECTUAL CLASSES AND THE GOVERNING CLASSES.
The protective spirit in France, having produced these political evils, was carried into literature under Louis XIV., and caused an alliance between literature and government	176–177
Servility in the reign of Louis XIV.	177–181
Men of letters grateful to Louis XIV.	182
But his system of protecting literature is injurious	183–188
Its first effect was to stop the progress of science	188–192
Even in mechanical arts nothing was effected	192–194
Decline in physiology, in surgery, and in medicine	194–197
Also in zoology and in chemistry	197
Nor was anything done in botany	198–202
Intellectual decay under Louis XIV. was seen in every department of thought, and was the natural consequence of patronage	202–205
Illustrations from the history of French art	205–208
And from every branch of literature	208–210
Universal decline of France during the latter part of the reign of Louis XIV.	210–212
CHAPTER V.
DEATH OF LOUIS XIV. REACTION AGAINST THE PROTECTIVE SPIRIT, AND PREPARATIONS FOR THE FRENCH REVOLUTION.
English literature unknown in France in the reign of Louis XIV.	213–214
But began to be studied after his death, when the most eminent Frenchmen visited England. This caused a junction of French and English intellects	215–227
Admiration of England expressed by Frenchmen	228–229
Hence liberal opinions in France, which the government attempted to stifle	229
Consequent persecution of literary men by the French government	230–242
Violence of the government	242–246
In France literature was the last resource of liberty	246–247
Reasons why literary men at first attacked the church and not the government	247–253
Hence they were led to assail Christianity	254–258
But until the middle of the reign of Louis XV. the political institutions of France might have been saved; after that period all was over	258–259
CHAPTER VI.
STATE OF HISTORICAL LITERATURE IN FRANCE FROM THE END OF THE SIXTEENTH TO THE END OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
Historical literature in France before the end of the sixteenth century	261–265
Improvement in the method of writing history late in the sixteenth century	266–267
Still further progress early in the seventeenth century	268–270
Which became more marked in Mezeray's history in 1643	271–272
Retrograde movement under Louis XIV.	273–279
Illustration of this from the work of Audigier	279–282
And from that of Bossuet	282–291
Immense improvements introduced by Voltaire	292–313
His History of Charles XII.	292–295
His Age of Louis XIV.	296–297
His Morals, Manners, and Character of Nations	297–298
His views adopted by Mallet, Mably, Velly, Villaret, Duclos, and Hénault	299–300
His habit of looking at epochs	301
A remark of his adopted by Constant	302
He advocated free trade	304
His anticipation of Malthus	304–305
His attack on the Middle Ages	305–306
And on the pedantic admirers of antiquity	306–308
He weakened the authority of mere scholars and theologians	308–309
Who had repeated the most childish absurdities respecting the early history of Rome	309–310
In attacking which Voltaire anticipated Niebuhr	310–313
Ignorant prejudice against him in England	313
His vast labours were aided by Montesquieu	314
The works of Montesquieu, and value of his method	314–319
The discourses of Turgot, and their influence	320–321
All this hastened the advance of the French Revolution	321–322
CHAPTER VII.
PROXIMATE CAUSES OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AFTER THE MIDDLE OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY.
Recapitulation of preceding views	323
Difference between certainty and precision	324–326
The intellect of France began to attack the state about 1750	326–327
Rise of the political economists	327–330
Influence of Rousseau	330–331
Just at the same time the government began to attack the church	332–334
And to favour religious toleration	334–336
Abolition of the Jesuits	336–346
Calvinism is democratic; Arminianism is aristocratic	339–342
Jansenism being allied to Calvinism, its revival in France aided the democratic movement, and secured the overthrow of the Jesuits, whose doctrines are Arminian	343–345
After the fall of the Jesuits the ruin of the French clergy was inevitable	347–348
But was averted for a time by the most eminent Frenchmen directing their hostility against the state rather than against the church	349–351
Connexion between this movement and the rise of atheism	351–353
Same tendency exhibited in Helvétius	353–357
And in Condillac	357–360
The ablest Frenchmen concentrate their attention on the external world	360–361
Effects of this on the sciences of heat, light, and electricity	361–363
Also on chemistry and geology	364–373
In England during the same period there was a dearth of great thinkers	374–375
But in France immense impetus was given to zoology by Cuvier and Bichat	375–376
Bichat's views respecting the tissues	377–421
Connexion between these views and subsequent discoveries	383–386
Relation between inventions, discoveries, and method; and immense importance of Bichat's method	386–389
Bichat's work on life	390–395
Great and successful efforts made by the French in Botany	395–399
And in mineralogy by De Lisle and Haüy	399–403
Analogy between this and Pinel's work on insanity	403–404
All these vast results were part of the causes of the French Revolution	405
Physical science is essentially democratic	406–410
The same democratic tendency was observable in changes of dress	410–412
And in the establishment of clubs	412–415
Influence of the American Rebellion	415–418
Summary of the causes of the French Revolution	418–420
General reflections	420–424
CHAPTER VIII.
OUTLINES OF THE HISTORY OF THE SPANISH INTELLECT FROM THE FIFTH TO THE MIDDLE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
In the preceding Chapters four propositions have been established	425–426
The truth of which may be further verified by studying the history of Spain	426
In Spain, superstition is encouraged by physical phenomena	426–434
It was also encouraged by the great Arian war with France	434–439
And, subsequently, by the war with the Mohammedans	439–444
These three causes influenced the policy of Ferdinand and Isabella	444–446
Continuation of the same policy by Charles V. and by Philip II.	446–453
Philip II., notwithstanding his repulsive qualities, was loved by the nation	453–455
Their affection for him was the result of general causes, which, during several centuries, have made the Spaniards the most loyal people in Europe	455
Origin of Spanish loyalty, and evidence of it	455–461
Loyalty became united with superstition, and each strengthened the other	461–462
In consequence of this union, great foreign conquests were made, and a great military spirit was developed	461–465
But this sort of progress, depending too much upon individuals, is necessarily unstable	465–466
The progress of England, on the other hand, depends upon the ability of the nation, and therefore, continues, whether individual rulers are skilful, or whether they are unskilful	466–467
In Spain, the ruling classes were supreme; the people counted for nothing; and hence the grandeur of the country, which was raised up by the able princes of the sixteenth century, was as quickly pulled down by the weak princes of the seventeenth	467–472
The decay of Spain, in the seventeenth century, was connected with the increasing influence of the clergy	472–483
The first use which the clergy made of their power was to expel all the Moors	483–496
Effect of this expulsion in impoverishing Spain	497–499
ODecline of manufactures, and of population, and increase of poverty	499–511
In 1700, when affairs were at their worst, the Austrian dynasty was succeeded by the Bourbon	513–514
Spain was now ruled by foreigners	514–520
Who endeavoured to improve the country by weakening the church	521–525
But the authority of the church had so enfeebled the national intellect, that the people, immersed in ignorance, remained inert	525–543
Government attempted to remedy this ignorance by calling in foreign aid	534–545
The influence of foreigners in Spain was displayed in the expulsion of the Jesuits, in 1767	545–546
And in the attacks made on the Inquisition	547–548
It was also displayed in the foreign policy of Spain	548–550
All this was promoted by the authority and high character of Charles III.	552–554
But it was of no avail; because politicians can do nothing, when the spirit of the country is against them	534–555
Still, Charles III. effected great improvements, from which, on a superficial view, permanent benefit might have been expected	555–568
Summary of what was accomplished for Spain, by the government, between the years 1700 and 1788	568–570
Inasmuch, however, as these ameliorations were opposed to the habits of the national character, a reaction was inevitable	570–571
In 1788, Charles III. was succeeded by Charles IV., and the new king, being a true Spaniard, the reaction began	571–573
In the nineteenth century, political reformers again endeavoured to improve Spain	574
For the reasons already stated, their efforts were fruitless, notwithstanding the early establishment in that country of municipal privileges, and of popular representation	575–576
In this way, general causes always triumph over particular actions	577–578
Those general causes predetermined the country to superstition, and it was impossible for individuals to make head against them	578–583
Nothing can weaken superstition but knowledge	583
Such failures are the more observable, because Spain enjoys immense natural advantages	583–585
And has possessed great patriots and great legislators	585
The Spaniards have, moreover, long been celebrated for honour, courage, temperance, humanity, and religious sincerity	585–588
So far, however, as national progress is concerned, these noble qualities are useless, while ignorance is so gross and so general	588–592
This it is, which, isolating Spain from the rest of the civilized world, keeps alive that spirit of superstition, that reverence for antiquity, and that blind and servile loyalty, which, as long as they last, will render improvement impossible; and which must last until ignorance is removed	592–597

History of Civilization in England, Vol. 2 of 3

About This Book

The Project Gutenberg eBook of History of Civilization in England, Vol. 2 of 3

HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION IN ENGLAND.

ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.