Last and First; Being Two Essays the New Spirit and Arthur Hugh Clough

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1919. Excerpt: ... ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH It is not our purpose to dwell upon the biography of Mr. Clough, but rather to examine his works, and to show in what their real and vital excellence consists. Yet in order to understand these works, and to explain away some misconceptions which have arisen as to the alleged wasted genius, baffled intellect, unfulfilled purpose, and disappointed life of Mr. Clough, which many of his critics bitterly deplore, we may preface our review of his poems by a short notice of this biography. His life, which was in no sense of the word an eventful one, falls naturally into three periods. The first embraces his childhood in America; his education at Rugby, under Dr. Arnold, by contact with whose character his own singularly conscientious tone of mind was strengthened to an almost morbid degree; and his Oxford career. Clough entered upon his life at Oxford during the great Tractarian movement; and at an early period of his course he fell under the influence of Ward, the celebrated convert to Romanism. The struggles of this time seem to have entirely shaken his mind upon the most fundamental points of religious belief, and to have caused in him a painful and perturbed state of feeling, from which he was long in recovering. The immediate result of this disturbance appears to have been that he failed to take a first-class in the final examinations, greatly to the surprise and disappointment of his friends, and especially of Dr. Arnold, who expected the highest things from him. Gradually, however, he wore off this depression, and decided upon following up his career at Oxford. In pursuance of this resolve, he sought and obtained a fellowship at Oriel, and threw himself with energy into the educational work of his college for some years. But doubts as to the honesty of his...