Men and thought in modern history . more than the codeof morality commonly accepted in a given state of civilisa-tion. And in an essentially unmoral—not, it will beobserved, immoral—age, like that of primitive man—anage which is without moral relations of any sort or kind—it can have had no existence at all.—C. E. Vaughan. Rousseau sent his children to the foundling hospital,and could not afterwards trace them. His spiritual chil-dren can be found more easily. If one considers the mostcharacteristic features of a great part of European thoughtsince Rousseaus time—the literature of sentiment, t
Men and thought in modern history . more than the codeof morality commonly accepted in a given state of civilisa-tion. And in an essentially unmoral—not, it will beobserved, immoral—age, like that of primitive man—anage which is without moral relations of any sort or kind—it can have had no existence at all.—C. E. Vaughan. Rousseau sent his children to the foundling hospital,and could not afterwards trace them. His spiritual chil-dren can be found more easily. If one considers the mostcharacteristic features of a great part of European thoughtsince Rousseaus time—the literature of sentiment, thegenuine or affected love for natural scenery, the reactionagainst rationalism and against classicism, even the pes-simism of the nineteenth century, along with its deepersense of sympathy (often more sentimental than rational)with the poor, one might say that, in some degree, we areall Rousseaus children. At least there are a good manyof them at the present time who do not know their spiritualfather.—D. G. VOLTAIRE. [Page 14 Chapter II. VOLTAIRE AND FREEDOM OF THOUGHT. THE reason for the choice of Voltaire as our typicalman in the history of the intellectual warfare forfreedom of thought is not that he was the great-est force, or the most original thinker, or theboldest among the daring company. His methodswere often more calculated to wound his adversariesthan to demolish their case; and as one reads hiswitty, stinging attacks, it is easy to understand that ifno writer has ever roused more hatred in Christendomthan Voltaire,1 the reason was not merely that his arrowsflew straight, but that their barbs were envenomed. With-out having any sympathy with his enemies, and fully recog-nising that in the eighteenth century the devil of persecutioncould not be exorcised with the holy water of sedatereasoning, the irritation provoked by this fierce foe ofclericalism is not very surprising. Heresy is the per-petual hair-shirt of the church; Voltaire added pin p
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