90
95 poems (1958)
On Property (24 April 1793)
Poem: The Faithless Shepherdess http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-faithless-shepherdess/
The first Lord's Song.
H.M.S. Pinafore (1878)
A New View of Society (1813-1816)
Context: All the measures now proposed are only a compromise with the errors of the present systems; but as these errors now almost universally exist, and must be overcome solely by the force of reason; and as reason, to effect the most beneficial purposes, makes her advance by slow degrees, and progressively substantiates one truth of high import after another, it will be evident, to minds of comprehensive and accurate thought, that by these and similar compromises alone can success be rationally expected in practice. For such compromises bring truth and error before the public; and whenever they are fairly exhibited together, truth must ultimately prevail.
"Moral Decay" (1937); Later published in Out of My Later Years (1950)
1930s
Context: All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom. It is no mere chance that our older universities developed from clerical schools. Both churches and universities — insofar as they live up to their true function — serve the ennoblement of the individual. They seek to fulfill this great task by spreading moral and cultural understanding, renouncing the use of brute force.
The essential unity of ecclesiastical and secular institutions was lost during the 19th century, to the point of senseless hostility. Yet there was never any doubt as to the striving for culture. No one doubted the sacredness of the goal. It was the approach that was disputed.
Collected Works, Vol. 31.
Collected Works
Canto IV, stanza 92 (tr. Wickert)
Gerusalemme Liberata (1581)
Source: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
