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Unit 14: Hazlitt-On Genius And Common Sense-Introduction

is an age of talkers, and not of doers; and the reason is, that the world is growing old. We are so Notes
far advanced in the Arts and Sciences, that we live in retrospect, and doat on past achievements”.
Some critics have thought the essays in The Spirit of the Age highly uneven in quality and somewhat
hastily thrown together, at best “a series of perceptive but disparate and impressionistic sketches
of famous contemporaries”. It has also been noted, however, that the book is more than a mere
portrait gallery. A pattern of ideas ties them together. No thesis is overtly stated, but some thoughts
are developed consistently throughout.
Roy Park has noted in particular Hazlitt’s critique of excessive abstraction as a major flaw in the
period’s dominant philosophy and poetry. (“Abstraction”, in this case, could be that of religion or
mysticism as well as science.) This is the reason, according to Hazlitt, why neither Coleridge, nor
Wordsworth, nor Byron could write effective drama. More representative of the finer spirit of the
age was poetry that turned inward, focusing on individual perceptions, projections of the poets’
sensibilities. The greatest of this type of poetry was Wordsworth’s, and that succeeded as far as
any contemporary writing could.
Even if it took a century and a half for many of the book’s virtues to be realised, enough was
recognised at the time to make the book one of Hazlitt’s most successful. Unsurprisingly the Tory
Blackwood’s Magazine lamented that the pillory had fallen into disuse and wondered what “adequate
and appropriate punishment there is that we can inflict on this rabid caitiff”. But the majority of
the reviewers were enthusiastic. For example, the Eclectic Review marvelled at his ability to “hit off
a likeness with a few artist-like touches” and The Gentleman’s Magazine, with a few reservations,
found his style “deeply impregnated with the spirit of the masters of our language, and strengthened
by a rich infusion of golden ore...”

European tour
On 1 September 1824, Hazlitt and his wife began a tour of the European continent, crossing the
English Channel by steamboat from Brighton to Dieppe and proceeding from there by coach and
sometimes on foot to Paris and Lyon, crossing the Alps in Savoy, then continuing through Italy to
Florence and Rome, the most southerly point on their route. Crossing the Apennines, they travelled
to Venice, Verona, and Milan, then into Switzerland to Vevey and Geneva. Finally they returned
via Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France again, arriving at Dover, England, on 16
October 1825.
There were two extended stops on this excursion: Paris, where the Hazlitts remained for three
months; and Vevey, Switzerland, where they rented space in a farmhouse for three months.
During those lengthy pauses, Hazlitt accomplished some writing tasks, primarily submitting an
account of his trip in several instalments to The Morning Chronicle, which helped to pay for the trip.
These articles were later collected and published in book form in 1826 as Notes of a Journey through
France and Italy (despite the title, there is also much about the other countries he visited, particularly
Switzerland).
This was an escape for a time from all the conflicts, the bitter reactions to his outspoken criticisms,
and the attacks on his own publications back in England. And, despite interludes of illness, as well
as the miseries of coach travel and the dishonesty of some hotel keepers and coach drivers, Hazlitt
managed to enjoy himself. He reacted to his sight of Paris like a child entering a fairyland: “The
approach to the capital on the side of St. Germain’s is one continued succession of imposing
beauty and artificial splendour, of groves, of avenues, of bridges, of palaces, and of towns like
palaces, all the way to Paris, where the sight of the Thuilleries completes the triumph of external
magnificence....”
He remained with his wife in Paris for more than three months, eagerly exploring the museums,
attending the theatres, wandering the streets, and mingling with the people. He was especially
glad to be able to return to the Louvre and revisit the masterpieces he had adored twenty years

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