Reviews for History of the Last Trial by Jury for Atheism in England A Fragment of Autobiography, Submit...

The average rating for History of the Last Trial by Jury for Atheism in England A Fragment of Autobiography, Submit... based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-10-19 00:00:00 Kyle Sellers This was an interesting read. The only Enlightenment history I had tried previously was Gibbon. There is a reason this work of Schiller's is not remembered as well. Perhaps if Gibbon had told the story of the English Civil War it would have come across as oddly as this one does. The history details the brutal fight between the Holy Roman Emperor, his Protestant subjects, and anybody else in Europe who wanted to jump in. Over the 30 years of fighting somewhere between 20-30% of Germans are estimated to have died. There is good writing here, that manages to shine through even the Victorian-era translation into English. The important figures are described well, the horror and intractability of the war itself is made clear, and the opposing sides are made as clear as they possibly can be. The main thing that struck me about this book though, was the gulf between our sensibilities and those of Schiller. The first issue is Schiller's bias towards the Protestants. Though it is admirably even-handed at times, the language used itself makes it clear where his sympathies lie. This may not just be because Schiller's people were protestant. Many Enlightenment thinkers saw the Papacy as superstitious, decrepit and just plain evil. This comes across in the narrative. The excesses of the Catholic armies are described in loving detail, and individual martyrs get their stories told. Similar outrages by Protestant armies are glossed over, and explained as necessary according to the customs of the time. The way that the story itself is approached is also interesting. Schiller really does believe in the glory of battle. The almost sexual way he rhapsodizes on the topic of fallen generals is weird to read. It's even weirder when he's spent a couple hundred pages documenting how awful they and the conflict they encouraged were. It made me realize that in at least one respect, we should be grateful for the 20th century world wars. They helped us to grow up to the extent that we no longer glorify butchers.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-05-15 00:00:00 Anthony Beard Begins with a fair bit of rambling, but once the historical thread begins in earnest, this work becomes fantastic. It is a fine example of Romantic historical writing. Wallenstein! Ferdinand! Gustavus! Be forewarned: if you require precise dating and strict chronological order in your historical texts, ye may well be disappointed.