An Enquiry Into the Present State of Polite Learning. Essays, Originally Published in 1765. the Life of Thomas Parnell, D.D. Arch-Deacon of Glogher I.E. Clogher. the Life of Henry, Lord Viscount of Bolingbroke

Oliver Goldsmith

ISBN 10: 0371978629 / ISBN 13: 9780371978627

Published by HardPress

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 26395270274

Bibliographic Details

• Title: An Enquiry Into the Present State of Polite Learning. Essays, Originally Published in 1765. the Life of Thomas Parnell, D.D. Arch-Deacon of Glogher I.E. Clogher. the Life of Henry, Lord Viscount of Bolingbroke
• Publisher: HardPress
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371978629
• ISBN 13: 9780371978627
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

An Enquiry Into The Present State Of Polite Learning. Essays, Originally Published In 1765. The Life Of Thomas Parnell, D.D. Arch-Deacon Of Glogher I.E. Clogher. The Life Of Henry, Lord Viscount Of Bolingbroke by Oliver Goldsmith collects a sweeping 18th?century meditation on literature, taste, and the health of polite learning. The major essay traces the decline of literature from the ancient world through the obscurities of the Middle Ages and into modern Europe, contrasting Italy, Germany, Holland, France, and Great Britain while diagnosing the social and political forces that shape intellectual culture. Interleaved with this are biographical Lives of prominent figures—Thomas Parnell and Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke—framed to illuminate the interaction of scholarship, religion, and politics. The volume also includes a series of shorter Essays (originally published in 1765) and commentary on the stage, universities, criticism, and national character. The work remains a foundational portrait of 18th?century debates about taste, merit, and the responsibilities of writers to society.