Classic, Romantic, and Modern

EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! Three enthusiastic cheers for the wisdom contained in this book, and of course its author, Jacques Barzun. Coming from the point of view of a thoughtful newcomer to the discourse of culture and society, this book is an eye-opening, and incredibly useful find. I must also acknowledge my gratfulness to the unknown reviewer from Dallas, Texas who recommended this book as further reading for those who had read THE ROOTS OF ROMANTICISM by Isaiah Berlin. CLASSIC, ROMANTIC, AND MODERN grapples with the questions concerning Western Culture: "Who were we, who are we, and who will we be?," not only in the arts, but in history, politics, economics, science and society in general. The last chapter seems to predict the current post-modern culturual revolution, and not only identifies its impetus, but puts it in a context that is intelligible and sensible. Nihlism has a point. It has a motivation. And with this, Mr. Barzun gives us hope, with much evidence, that because we are human and carry with us the impulse to create, culture and civilization can never die. Out of the nothing will come something... new.In order to illustrate to the reader the cycle of Western culture and history, Mr. Barzun first addresses the ill-labeled and misinformed opinions and meanings upon the term "romanticism." He shows in great detail how the word came to be used synonymously with the word "unreal," and goes on to demonstrate how romanticism, and its aims, is anything but un-real. He writes in eloquent detail how the Classicists and Rationalists of the Enlightenment were far more unrealistic and dreamy-eyed than the later Romanticists. Barzun shows how the Enlightenment was in fact the cause of Romanticism, and how Romanticism utilized and expanded upon the notions of the Enlightenment. The Romanticists did this not by rejecting reason, as some would lead us to believe, but by expanding the over-generalized and reductionistic definition of mankind and life from merely reason and ideas to also include emotion, instinct, faith, will, and all of the other aspects of reality (for the idividual and society) that the rationalists ignored. In short, Mr. Barzun shows us the bredth of history and attempts to correct our common misapprehensions. He seems to admire both the Age of Enlightenment and the Age of Romanticism, while at the same time recognizing their weaknesses. And lastly, he shows how the modern period direclty flowed and was influenced by both of the preceeding Ages. We are a product of history.I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a comprehensive view of cultural history and philosophy, or to anyone who simpy wanted to know what "Romanticism" meant and how that age relates to ours. The book is especially useful for combating anti-romantic sentiment, and for putting so called "irrational" philosophies in a context that allows the reader to appreciate them and their alleged antithesis, the philosophies of Reason. Well wri

EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! EXCELLENT! Three enthusiastic cheers for the wisdom contained in this book, and of course its author, Jacques Barzun. Coming from the point of view of a thoughtful newcomer to the discourse of culture and society, this book is an eye-opening, and incredibly useful find. I must also acknowledge my gratfulness to the unknown reviewer from Dallas, Texas who recommended this book as further reading for those who had read THE ROOTS OF ROMANTICISM by Isaiah Berlin. CLASSIC, ROMANTIC, AND MODERN grapples with the questions concerning Western Culture: "Who were we, who are we, and who will we be?," not only in the arts, but in history, politics, economics, science and society in general. The last chapter seems to predict the current post-modern culturual revolution, and not only identifies its impetus, but puts it in a context that is intelligible and sensible. Nihlism has a point. It has a motivation. And with this, Mr. Barzun gives us hope, with much evidence, that because we are human and carry with us the impulse to create, culture and civilization can never die. Out of the nothing will come something... new.In order to illustrate to the reader the cycle of Western culture and history, Mr. Barzun first addresses the ill-labeled and misinformed opinions and meanings upon the term "romanticism." He shows in great detail how the word came to be used synonymously with the word "unreal," and goes on to demonstrate how romanticism, and its aims, is anything but un-real. He writes in eloquent detail how the Classicists and Rationalists of the Enlightenment were far more unrealistic and dreamy-eyed than the later Romanticists. Barzun shows how the Enlightenment was in fact the cause of Romanticism, and how Romanticism utilized and expanded upon the notions of the Enlightenment. The Romanticists did this not by rejecting reason, as some would lead us to believe, but by expanding the over-generalized and reductionistic definition of mankind and life from merely reason and ideas to also include emotion, instinct, faith, will, and all of the other aspects of reality (for the idividual and society) that the rationalists ignored. In short, Mr. Barzun shows us the bredth of history and attempts to correct our common misapprehensions. He seems to admire both the Age of Enlightenment and the Age of Romanticism, while at the same time recognizing their weaknesses. And lastly, he shows how the modern period direclty flowed and was influenced by both of the preceeding Ages. We are a product of history.I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a comprehensive view of cultural history and philosophy, or to anyone who simpy wanted to know what "Romanticism" meant and how that age relates to ours. The book is especially useful for combating anti-romantic sentiment, and for putting so called "irrational" philosophies in a context that allows the reader to appreciate them and their alleged antithesis, the philosophies of Reason. Well wri