More important than 'The Friend,' indeed his most valuable work, is the
The remaining literary work of this period is of less importance. It comprises some de.sul tory and comparatively colorless articles for the Courier in 1808 and 1811, chiefly against Bona parte, the recasting and acting (1813) with some success of his drama (Remorse) and the writing of the pastoral play (Zapolya' (1817), (The Statesman's Manual) (1816), a challenge to "all the critical benches of infidelity to point out any one important truth, any one efficient practical direction or warning, which did not pre-exist (and for the most part in a sounder, more intelligible, and more comprehensive form) in the Bible," and "A lay sermon ad dressed to the higher and middle classes on the existing distresses and discontents" (1817), an earnest and eloquent appeal to his readers to live by reason and wisdom and to refer con duct to ultimate principles.
The last named titles anticipate the chief subject of the so-called last period of Cole ridge's career— his interest in theology and metaphysics. His writings on those subjects are embraced in three chief titles— (Aids to Reflection' (1825), (On the Constitution of the Church and State' (1830) and the posthumous (Confessions of an Enquiring Spirit' (1840, written between 1824 and 1834). Though these
writings probably did more than any other of the author's to give him the great reputation which he had in the contemporary and suc ceeding generation, they add little to our Icnowl edge of the great principles which dominated Coleridge's intellectual life. The (Aids to Re flection,' his most important spiritual work, is a series of aphorisms designed to help the reader to think and feel rightly, that is, in an orthodox, Anglican way, on spiritual matters. In his own words, he aimed "to direct the read er's attention to the value and science of words— to establish the distinct characters of prudence, morality, and religion —to substan tiate and set forth at large the momentous dis tinction between reason and understanding— to exhibit a full and consistent scheme of the Christian Dispensation, and more largely of all the peculiar doctrines of the Christian Faith." His point of view is characteristically theoret ical, introspective and mystical, rather than ob jective and historical, and his exposition is, as usual, fragmentary and unsystematic. 'On the Constitution of the Church and State,' a more regularly sustained thesis, contains much the same premises, and is a piece of special plead ing, ostensibly designed to show the people of England how to think and vote rightly on the question of Catholic emancipation. It is sub stantially an argument in favor of the national Church. The 'Confessions' is one of the most striking expressions of a well-known doctrine of the 19th century that the Bible, the only suffi cient rule of faith and practice, is nevertheless not to be taken literally but in what Arnold later called a literary way and Coleridge here called "according to reason." The demonstra tion of its truth is internal, not dogmatic. To this period also belongs Coleridge's (Table Talk,' published after his death from the notes made by H. N. Coleridge between 1822 and 1834, and containing a rich and varied array of ob servations, chiefly philosophic in character, from the most brilliant talker of the time.
Critics of Coleridge are pretty well united in calling him one of the great sources of intellectual stimulus of his generation. His supporters, like Mill, point out the fundamental fact of his vast influence in fecundating the mind of his contemporaries. His detractors, like J. M. Robertson, lay stress on his desul tory habits of mind, his weakness of character and his vast plagiarism, "unparalleled in lit erary history." The truth is probably that he so keenly and genuinely desired to find funda mental principles and sanctions for belief and action that he did not mind where he got his principles so long as they impressed him. Set ting aside the question of his influence, his work (aside from his poetry) is, as it stands, remarkable for its avoidance of history in all its forrns, of science as we know the term and for its confinement to the fields of philosophy, metaphysics, theology and criticism. In these fields it is almost wholly introspective, it con sists of an examination of the contents of his mind and is noteworthy for an almost com plete lack of sense for external fact. Within these limits, few writers have scattered broad cast so many stimulating ideas; his apotheg.ms and pregnant sayings are enormous in number, as well as recurrent. Added to this is an acute logical sense for detecting flaws in the argu ments of an opposing view, a feeling for axiomatic proof, and a style, which, though desultory and essentially a monologue, is often marked by jgrandeur and charm. See ANCIENT