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Catholicism , against which they were all directed , but which now , that the Ultramontane phantom no longer threatens , except to the eye of the visionary , separate more and more widely , and dispute with each other . We see Protestantism in all its shades , pure Deism , and the most decided Atheism . It is the same in the world of politics . As long as the feudal system shewed itself formidable , all parties were for the time united to attack it : but its presence alone was the cause of their agreement . Such are the consequences of negative doctrines ; there is no real harmony between them but for the purposes of destruction .
" The state of the fine arts , as indicative of the tone of moral feeling , presents an afflicting . image . What are the poetical accents which find the most ready echo in our souls ? Those of sorrow . Strokes of bitter irony are applauded , and heartlessness , which is nothing else than tgo'isme , is paraded with an impudence whieb , in itself , is a verdict against that society in which it does not excite disgust . We know that in the fine arts the satirical and elegiac forms are preferred , and both these forms attack the social feelings , either by the passionate expression of despair , or by a contempt , whose
infernal laugh tends to the pollution of all that is pure and sacred . To attest what we have said , do we want any farther proof than the kind of complacency with which our inferiority in the fine arts is generally admitted ? This fact seems to us conclusive , when we consider that it is by the sympathetic language of the fine arts that the social conduct of man is influenced , that he is drawn to see his private interest in that of the whole '; that the
fine arts , in a word , which comprise all eloquence , poetry , painting , architecture , and music , are sources of deVotedness , of strong and tender affections , and not mere exercises of technical skill . The tone of modesty with which our age expresses itself on its inferiority in the fine arts , contrasts curiously with its pretension with regard to worts of positive utility , those of science fend industry . "
The want of an organized and progressive scientific system is lamented . In the pursuits of industry , a spirit of rivalry and jealousy leads to the concealment of discoveries and inventions , experiments already made are repeated , works already accomplished are recommenced , and each one surrounds himself with mystery , that his individual interest may not suffer from plagiarism . Thus do selfish interests prevent that diffusion of knowledge , and that co-operation , which would be so valuable , and save so many useless efforts . Each individual , isolated and surrounded by others whom he regards
as his natural enemies , solely because they are engaged in similar pursuits , which ought , on the contrary , to be a source of sympathy , finds his only resource in artifice , let us say the word fraud , to establish his fortune on the ruin of others . Has he a new invention which , given to the public , would receive numerous " improvements ? He either entrenches himself behind a patent , the fruitful source of frauds and lawsuits , or puts his discovery to use with the greatest secrecy ; and he prefers , for fear of robbery , rather to leave his discovery imperfect , than to consult a more skilful inquirer . The same fear prevents his asking information on the wants of consumption . He
remains also here without any other compass than his own observation , always incomplete . Hence arises perseverance in blind and retrograde proceedings , the want of equilibrium between production and consumption—hence , in short , failures without number , and those commercial panics which terrify speculators , and stop the execution of the best projects /' " Ought not this afflicting picture to make us desire a new social doctrine , which , establishing harmony between the different modes of human activity , may assure for the future , to the heart , mind , and energies of man , that peace for which they are created ? Does it not witness to us that the moment is
arrived for the production of a new doctrine ? Is the anarch y we have just retraced the definitive condition of society ? All our sympathies declare the contrary , and the desires of humanity are the prophecies of its future . Humanity has never wished for progression in vain . Science comes here to aid
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182 The Saint Simonitcs .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), March 2, 1831, page 182, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2595/page/38/
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