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Addisonian Afterlives: Joseph Addison in Eighteenth‐Century Culture
Author(s) -
KLEIN LAWRENCE E.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal for eighteenth‐century studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.129
H-Index - 11
eISSN - 1754-0208
pISSN - 1754-0194
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-0208.2011.00416.x
Subject(s) - elegance , admiration , literature , philosophy , character (mathematics) , embodied cognition , politeness , aside , art , epistemology , linguistics , geometry , mathematics
Eighteenth‐century commentators often used the Bible and sacred inspiration as a tool for measuring the significance of Joseph Addison and his writings. The quasi‐scriptural character of Addison's writings was more than a matter of their popularity; it was an effect of Addison's role in the culture. Aside from being a widely read author and respected normative guide, Addison was taken as a model of social being. The esteem for his writings shaded into an admiration of his personality. While Addison's virtue and elegance embodied polite culture, he could also represent the other‐worldly and pious aspirations invoked by the Scriptures themselves.