University Archives
& Special Collections
Raymond Eighteenth Century Collection
"Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect."
~ Samuel Johnson, The Rambler, no.103, March 12, 1751
The words of the 18th century journalist and lexicographer
Samuel Johnson capture his era's developing confidence in man's ability to
question all aspects of human nature and the world around him. The heavy reins
of religion and politics were loosened and man's curiosity and intellect given
freedom to roam and seek truth in the Age of Reason. Truth was sought in the
heavens, in the chemistry laboratory, in travels to the Orient, in the
excavations of Pompeii. A new rational approach to religion, the search for
humane laws to govern men and society, literary texts expounding the virtues of
reason, and the compositions of great music saw the birth of the Enlightenment.
In good sense and civility, in the theatre and in the garden, the new reasoning
flourished.
To assist in the search for truth, dictionaries and encyclopedias were
compiled. Translations of the classics were published. A new system of musical
notation was devised. New religious sects were created as each man sought his
way to Heaven. Scientists began to systematically measure, weigh, test, and
record their results. Travel accounts reported major discoveries in the natural
sciences and led to systematic classification schemes for plants and animals.
Casting aside superstition and theological interpretations, historians
produced works that documented data to provide a balanced and interconnected
view of history. Periodicals sprang up to fill the increasing demand for both
fiction and non-fiction. Poets and prose writers used satire and moral tales to
advance noble values.
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