Amiel's Journal (Classic Reprint): The Journal Intime of Henri-Frédéric Amiel Introduction and Notes - Softcover

Ward, Mrs. Humphry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1330632923 ISBN 13: 9781330632925

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2018

Synopsis

Excerpt from Amiel's Journal

Opher for whom the things of the soul were the sovereign realities of existence. Thus modestly announced, the little volume made its quiet debut. It contained nothing, or almost nothing, of ordinary biographical material. M. Scherer's Intro duction supplied such facts as were absolutely necessary to the understanding of Amiel's intellectual history, but nothing more. Everything of a local or private character that could be excluded was excluded. The object of the editors in their choice of passages for publication was declared to be simply the reproduction of the moral and intellectual physiognomy of their friend, while M. Scherer expressly disclaimed any biographical intentions, and limited his Introduction as far as possible to a study of the character and thought of Amiel. The con tents of the volume, then, were purely literary and philo Sophical its prevailing tone was a tone of introspection, and the public which can admit the claims and overlook the inherent defects of introspective literature has always been a small one. The writer of the Journal had been during his lifetime wholly unknown to the general Euro pean public. In Geneva itself he had been commonly re garded as a man who had signally disappointed the hopes and expectations of his friends, whose reserve and inde cision of character had in many respects spoiled his life, and alienated the society around him; while his profes sional lectures were generally pronounced dry and nu attractive, and the few volumes of poems which repre sented almost his only contributions to literature had nowhere met with any real cordiality of reception. Those concerned, therefore, in the publication of the first vol ume of the Journal can hardly have had much expecta tion of a wide success. Geneva is not a favorable starting point for a French book, and it may well have seemed that not even the support of M. Scherer's name would be likely to carry the volume beyond a small local circle.

About this title

About the Author

Henri Frederic Amiel (27 September 1821 – 11 May 1881) was a Swiss philosopher, poet and critic. Born in Geneva in 1821, he was descended from a Huguenot family driven to Switzerland by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. After losing his parents at an early age, Amiel travelled widely, became intimate with the intellectual leaders of Europe, and made a special study of German philosophy in Berlin. In 1849 he was appointed professor of aesthetics at the academy of Geneva, and in 1854 became professor of moral philosophy. These appointments, conferred by the democratic party, deprived him of the support of the aristocratic party, which comprised nearly all the culture of the city. This isolation inspired the one book by which Amiel is still known, the Journal Intime ("Private Journal"), which, published after his death, obtained a European reputation. It was translated into English by Mary A. Ward at the instigation of Mark Pattison. Although modest in volume of output, Amiel's mind was of no inferior quality, and his Journal gained a sympathy that the author had failed to obtain in his life. In addition to the Journal, he produced several volumes of poetry and wrote studies on Erasmus, Madame de Stael and other writers. He died in Geneva.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1330632923
• ISBN 13: 9781330632925
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 510