Biographia Literaria. Or, Biographical Sketches of my Literary Life and Opinions

467 Pages·1884·26.729 MB·English

by  Samuel Taylor Coleridge

BIOGRAPH IA LITERARIA;
---
OR, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF· MY LITERARY LIFE AND OPINIONS;
AIID
TWO LAY SERMONS;
I.-THE STATESMAN'S MANUAL.
;I.-BLESSED ARE YE THAT SOW BESIDE ALL WATER&
BY
SAMUEL TAYLOR ~OLERIDGE,
•. JTR0a OP "TIIS ftlKND, A lllllUd'° OP 11SSA'l9," IITC, lft'C.
LONDON: GEORGE BELL AND SONS, YORK STltBET,
COVE:_NTG ARDEN.
1884.
Lillrary
This Volume is a verbatim reprint of the original ec1itionso t
Coleridge's "Biogra.phia Literaria" (1817); " The Statesman's
Manual," a Lay Sermon (1816); and "Blessed are ye that sow
beside all waters," a Lay Sermon (1817). These editions ban
long been out of print, and are now quite eca.rce.
LOIIDOlll: l'IIIHIID llY 1rlLLUJI CLOWBSA IID 8051, LDUDD, l'IAlll'OIID IITIUlft
AIID CIUIIIIIIQ OIIOll8.
:1.878
CON-TENTS.
l
I
iliagrlqll)ia JUtna:ria.
CHAPTER I.
J'AOII
Olam otl- of the present work-Reception of the author's llrst publication-The dla
cipllne of his &satea t school- The elfect of contemporary writ.era on youthful
~Bowles'• Sonnets-Comparison between the poets before and eince Pope
CHAPTER II.
nppoeed Irritability of men of geui11&-Brought to the &eato f facta--OaUBeBan d .,.,.._
lione of the ~I&e IIJJuetice 14
CHAPTER III.
be autnor's obligations to critics, and the probable OOC&8lon-Pnnclpleso f modem
criticlsm-lllr. Southey's works and character II
CHAPTER IV.
be Lyrical Ballads with the preface-Mr. Wordsworth's earlier poems-On fancy lad
Imagination-The lnveatlgatlon of the distinction Important to the line arta 3'
CHAPTER V.
n the law of &IIIIOCla&lon-Ihtias tory vaced from Aristotle to Hartley '5
CHAPTER VI.
ha& Hartley's system, as far aa It d!Jfers from that of Aristotle, Is nelu • teoable In
tbeory nor founded In facts , 11
CHAPTER VIL
r t.be -.uy coneequences of the Hartlelan theory-Of tbe original mistake or equ1•
.-aon wblcll procured admlasion for &be& beory-Memorls TeclmiO'. ,e
iY
CHAPTERV III.
p
Tbe lflllemo f Daalllm In~ b7 DOI ear-Be8ned 11m b7s i-- and~ -
wan11b y Leibolb Into &bed oclrlne of ll&rmonla ~-B7losollm-JW&.
rlallmr-Neither or theee "7AOJlolr8 a ny pomlble theory of aaoc:la&loal,l lpplllae r
1111pnedeaa & beoro7r percep&looo,r explalDal he formation or the aaoc:lalllll •
CHAPTER IX.
!1 pblio8oplT poulble u a 11C1encaen,d what are 1111co ndition■ ~kmlllno nr-
1Jtera17 aristocracy, or the exlatence of a tadt oompact among &bel al'lled u a
• privileged order-The author'• obllgatlona to the lllyattao-To Immanuol Xan$.-Tbe
dlffimmol bet;ween the letter and the spirit of Kant'• wrltluga, and a TlndlcaUouof pru
deoce In ,the tacblng of phllooopby-Flchte'• attempt to complete the cr!Uell QSm1
-la partial IIUIXl88aIn d ultimate fallure--ObllgatloDB to 8c:belllng i and amoog
I!ngllah wrltera to Saumares •• tl
CHAPTER X.
.t. chapter or dlgnslon and auecdotel, u au Interlude p~ that cm the mam, and
geuealao f &beI magination or plutlc power-On pedantry and pedantic eqnoalonB
-Advice to young autbon respecting publlcatlon-V ariouB aneedotaof the antbor'a
literary life, and &bep rogreaa or hlB oplnlona In religion and polltlal ll
CHAPTER XI.
An affeollODBt.ueh ort&Uon to thoee who In MrJy life file! tbemlel- &poled to
beoomea utbora 1■
CHAPTER XII.
A cbapler of requeet.l and premonltiona ooncernlng the peruaal er Clllllaakmof tbe
.ehapler lbat follon • 11&
CHAPTERX III.
On the lmaglnaUon or eeempiutlc power •
"'I
CHAPTER XIV.
Occulon of &beL yrical Ballads and the object■ originally propoaed-Prel'llce to the
IOCOnde dition-The ensuing oontroveny, 1111c an- and aarlmoll)'-Pbllooophlc •
deflulUona of a Poem andP oetry, with lcholla 1•1
CHAPTER XV.
The apeclflc BTmpiomao f poetic power elucldaled In a critical &Dllylda of Sbue-
apem,'1 Ve nua and Adon1Ba nd Rape or Lucrece JJI!
CHAPTER XVI.
8lrlklng polnWo f dlll'erenceb 8t;ween the pas of the preaent age and1 h.- or the ll&b I
and1 1th oenturiea-Wlsh expreased ror the union or &be cbaraderletlc mertta or I
balb Ill
COfltenta. 'Y
CHAPTER XVII.
p-
&umhwion or the t.enela pecaliar to Mr. Wonlsworth-Rustlc life (above all, lo,r
andr ustic life) especially unfavourable to the formation of a human diction-The boo&
partso r language the prodncta of pbllooophera,n ot of cloWWIo r sbep~Poeuy
.....,tlall7 Ideal and generic-The language or Milton ae much the language of ral
life, yea, lnccmparably more so, than that of the ootiager 111
CHAPTERX VIII.
Lu,gnage or metrical oompcsltlon-Wby and wherein .....,tlalcydlffenmt from I.ha&o r
~ and elementso r metre-Its necessary oonseqnenceea nd tbe oondtllona
thereby lmpoeedo n the metrical writer in the choice or hla diction 1f t
CHAPTERX IX.
Conllnuation-Coocemlng the ral object ,rblch n la probable Mr. Wordsworth had
berore him in hie critical prefaoo-1!1uclda&loann d appll•tlon or thta 118
CHAPTER XX.
The rormer mldecto ontinnecl-The nentral style, or that common to prose and poetry,
•xemplllled by apeclmeDaf rom Cb&acer,H erbert, and others lN
CHAPTERX XI.
Re1011rlroan the preoentm ode orc ondnctlng critical Jomnall
CHAPTERX XII.
The chancterletlc defects or Wonlswortb's poetry, with the principles rrom which tbe
- Judgmeot that they are defecta la dednced-Thelr proportion to the beanU-For
the grealest pan characteristic or hie tbeory only llOt
S&tyrane'■ ~tera ll38
CHAPTERX XIII.
Critique on the 1'njpldy or Bertram .
CHAPTl..:RX XIV. ...
Oonclllllou
-
-
-
-..1 ,immrm.
1. 1'be Btat,amau'■ Manual , , • .
Appeodlz or Comments and li'Amays
2. • lll-,d are ye that sow beside all water■ •

BIOGRAPHIA LITERARIA;
BJOGRAPHJCAL SKETCHES
OJ'
MY LITERARY LIFE AND OPINIONS.
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE.
LONDON.
111,.
So wenig er auch beetimmt eeyn mag, andere zu belehren, ao
wiinacht er doch sich denen mitzutheilen, die er sich gleichgesinnt
weiss, oder hotft, deren Anzahl aber in der Breite der Welt zer·
.streut ist : er wiinscht sein V erhiiltniss zu den ii.ltesten Freund.en
dadurch wieder anzukniipfen, mit neuen es fortzusetzen, und in der
letzen generation sich wieder andere fiir seine iibrige Lebenszeit
zu gewinnen. Er wiinscht der Jugend die Umwege zu ersparen,
auf denen er sich selbst verirrte. •
GoJ:THB.
TRANBLA.TION.-LittJec all as he may have to instru.ot others,
he wishes nevertheless to open out his heart to such as he either
knows or hopes to be of like mind with himself, but who are.
widely scattered in the world : he wishes to knit anew his con·
nections with his oldest friend.a, to continue those recently
formed, and to win other friends among the rising generation
for the remaining course of his life. He wishes to spare the
young those circuitous paths on which he himself had !oat hia way.
BIOGRAPHIA LITERARIA.
CHAPTER I.
l'he mot1•e1o f the preaent work-Reception or the Author'■ tint publbtloD-'l'lle clilcip,
line of his tute at school-The etrect of contemporary writ.en on 7outhfal mlndll-
Bowlee'a Sonneta--O>mparlson between the poe,. before and since Pope. •
I
T has been my lot to have had my name introduced, both in con
Vel'Bationa nd in print, more frequently than I find it easy to
explain, whether I consider the fewness, unimportance, and limited
circulation of my writings, or the retirement and distance in which
I have lived, both from the literary and political world. Most
often it has been connected with som" charge which I could not
acknowledge, or some principle which l had never entertained.
Nevertheless, had I had no other motive or incitement, the reader
would not have been troubled with this exculpation. What my
additional purposes were will be seen in the following pages. It
will be found that the least of ,..hat I have written concerns my
self personally. I have used t..hen arration chiefly for the purpose
of giving a continuity to ~e work, in part for the sake of the mis
cellaneous reflections suggested to me by particular events; but
still more u introductory to the statement of my principles in
Politics, Religion and Philosophy, and the application of the rules,
deduced from philosophical principles, to poetry and criticism.
But of the objects which I proposed to myself, it was not the least
important to effect, as far as possible, a settlement of the long
continued controversy concerning the true nature of poetic diction,
and at the ea.me time to define with the utmost impartiality the
real poetic character of the poet, by whose writings this contro
ve-rsy was first kindled, and has been since fuelled and fanned.
In 1794, when I had barely passed the verge of manhood,1-pub
.ished a email volume of juvenile poems.• They were received
Nith, a. degree of favour which, young aa I was, I well knew was
• Tb1a la mdeolly a lllp of t.be memory; JMUBC ollege, Cambridge. LondClo, Printed
:olerldl!,e'a 11m 'fOlume, a ■mall 121110w. u !,_~~.<::.,11!!~..::LRol~_!ll, &Del J. Collie
,ubllahed In 1796. Tbe title la u Poem■ oo ...,.,...,...,. ,,....., ,-.
·•..,_ llabJecll, 117& . T, Coleridge, late of
B
,
.,
_.
2 BiographiaI M,aria.
beat.ow8do n them not ao much for any positive merit, as beca\1118
they were considered buds of hope and promiaea of better worb
to come. The critics of that day, the most flatt.ering eq-g.allyw ith
the severest, coDC1ll'l'eidn objecting to them obacurity, a general
turgidness of diction, and a profusion of new-ooined double epi
thets.• The first is the fault which a writer is the least able· to
det.ect in his own compositions; and my mind was not then BUffi.
ciently disciplined to receive the authority of others aa a substitute
for my own conviction. Satisfied that the thoughts, such aa they
were, could not have been expreaaed otherwise, or at least more
perspicuously, I forgot to inquire whether the thought.a them
selves did not demand a degree of attention unsuitable to the
nature and object.a of poetry. This remark, however, applies
chiefly, though not exclusively, to the "Religio111l1ll lllinga." The
remainder of the charge I admitted to it.a full extent, and not with
out sincere acknowledgment.at o both my private and public censors
for their friendly admonitions. In the after editions I pruned
the double epithets with no sparing hand, and ll8ed my best effort.a
to tame the swell and glitter both of thought and diction; though.
iJi truth, these paraeit.e plant.a of youthful poetry had insinuated
themselves into my longer poems with iruch intricacy of union,
that I was often obliged to omit disentangling the weed, from the
fear of snapping the flower. From that period to the dat.e of the
present work I have published nothing with myname which could
by any pouibility have come before the board of anonymous
criticism. Even the three or four poema,p rinted with the works
of a friend, as far as they were oenaured at all, were charged with
the same or similar defect.a,t hough I am persuaded. not with equal
justice; with an excess of ornament, in addition to strained and
elaborat.e diction.t llay I be permitted to add, that, even at the
• The autborl&7o f Kilton IIDll Slial<Mplll'I, - II llldeed ID lte very ge,!111 IID&tal for
may be IINfa1ly pointed oat to ,...... -poandl. If a WTlll!r,f 1fflf7 Ume a COID•
authom. In tbe Oom111, and earUer .,._ ponnded word IU@ll!IIIIl tlelf t.o him, woulcl
I of KUion there ta a anperllulty of double leek for aameo ther mode of es:preoslngt he
• epltbela; while ID tbe Pliradlae la& we fllld --tbe ~ are al-,a ~1
very few, ID tbe Paradlae B,olned - ID favour of hla flDdlllg. .ua . beUer word.
• any. Tbe ame remark bolda afmoii0t ll1l&llY • ~...,..,._Ii,: itUOlffll ,,.,..
true, of tbe Love'• Labour'• Looi, BoineoI IDll Illa,· la Ille .... advlee of Oaeear to the
Juliet, Vmue Uld. Adonlt, Uld. Ln.._ com- Boman Oralon. and tbe ,-.pt applleew ith
1 lpfaamreida witohf tohaer Lsreeeer,t KDAroambeu&llbt.,O thTelbloe, raunlde dlloUuIIb&le foRrcme ut.o mthae wPrit .enb eI nf oolagro Uoewnn. tlh&ant
for the admillkla of double eplt.beta ....,.. to tbe i11meC lear wrote a grammat.lcal trea&l9e
. ,1,e tbta, eitber lhd Ibey abould be aJreaq for the pnrpoee ef nform!Dg the ordinary
, 1 -denll.eu of our langnap, euch • llloarl 1111guagbeJ brlnglogU to•~-
dG'11«1,~ u«f~; or daooe with tbe priDclplel of lagk: or anher
owohleyn, laa bnueawid eepdlt,, betlat.a otr. Iotn, ea tl liii-m, d IDb eli o-oa lalt lYl!IlIdJlell l&tl'h-e erlddlma on the .Alldenl
~Old, 00$ two woi.i. made one by ,.... llufner la uaeK omhl:J IIDllC rtlleal llnie••
Ylrtne of tbe prl111n·1b Jpben. A ....... "' .. 1111'11&'< 11-ofibe ~ BaJladL
wllid&, 11.u Ille ~II._. dbH&