The Philosophy of History (Classic Reprint)

Lectures on the Philosophy of History are recognized in Germany as a popular introduction to his system; their form is less rigid than the generality of metaphysical treatises, and the illustrations, which occupy a large proportion of the work, are drawn from a field of observation more familiar perhaps, than any other, to those who have not devoted much time to metaphysical studies. One great value of the work is that it presents the leading facts of history from an altogether novel point of view. And when it is considered that the writings of Hegel have exercised a marked influence on the political movements of Germany, it will be admitted that his theory of the universe, especially that part which bears directly upon politics, deserves attention even from those who are the most exclusive advocates of the practical. A writer who has established his claim to be regarded as an authority, by the life which he has infused into metaphysical abstractions, has pronounced the work before us, one of the pleasantest books on the subject he ever read. And compared with that of most German writers, even the style may claim to be called vigorous and pointed. If therefore in its English dress the Philosophy of History should be found deficient in this respect, the fault must not be attributed to the original. It has been the aim of the translator to present his author to the public in a really English form, even at the cost of a circumlocution which must sometimes do injustice to the merits of the original. A few words however have necessarily been used in a rather unusual sense; and one of them is of very frequent occurrence. The German Geist, inH egel snomenclature, includes both intelligence and will, the latter even more expressly than the former. It embraces in fact mans Mr. G. H. Lewes, in his Biographical History of Philosophy, Vol. IV., Ed. 1841. iii.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)A