Publisher Description

Preserved Smith (1880-1941), a professor in the history department of Cornell University, owed his unusual first name to Puritan ancestors who could be traced back to the seventeenth century. His great interest was in the Protestant reformation, and its wide-ranging political and cultural effects in Europe and America. An obituary remarks that his writings 'reveal a remarkable breadth of knowledge and interest and a consistent devotion to high standards of scholarly integrity'. This two-volume work of 1930-4, discussing 'modern culture' from 1543 to 1776, displays these qualities in abundance. Volume 2 deals with the Enlightenment from 1687 to 1776, and, like Volume 1, starts by considering the role of science as the driver of rapidly evolving cultural, social and political change. The work is a remarkable and readable overview of the emergence of modern society.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. The background and character of the Enlightenment; 2. Newtonian science; 3. Linnaean science; 4. The place of science in eighteenth-century thought; 5. Philosophy; 6. Political and economic theory; 7. Historiography; 8. Scholarship; 9. The modern prose style; 10. Poetry and drama; 11. The propaganda of the Enlightenment; 12. Education; 13. Religious reaction and revival; 14. Deism and skepticism; 15. The decline of superstition and persecution; 16. Laws, morals, and manners; 17. Art and music; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional "Headline"

Published 1930-4, this two-volume work considers the emergence of modern society in the wake of the Protestant reformation.

Description for Bookstore

This two-volume work, published in 1930-4, is a remarkable and readable overview of the emergence of modern society in the wake of the Protestant reformation. Its starting point is the scientific revolution which, from the mid-sixteenth century, became the driver of rapidly evolving cultural, social and political changes.

Description for Library

This two-volume work, published in 1930-4, is a remarkable and readable overview of the emergence of modern society in the wake of the Protestant reformation. Its starting point is the scientific revolution which, from the mid-sixteenth century, became the driver of rapidly evolving cultural, social and political changes.

Details