Jesse Norman

The Enlightenment was a many-splendoured thing

Ritchie Robinson describes how its philosophy spread to literature, the arts, commerce, agriculture, science and medicine

Robert Edge Pine’s portrait of Catharine Macaulay, whose History of England rivalled that of Hume. Credit: Bridgeman Images 
issue 19 December 2020

History used to be so much easier. There were the Wars of the Roses, then the Reformation, the Civil War, the Enlightenment and finally the Victorians. Each one had its own century and its distinctive tag. Throw in Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, garnish with a few zealots and adventurers, some glorious triumphs and some grisly deaths.

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY A MONTH FREE
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Try a month of Britain’s best writing, absolutely free.

Comments

Join the debate, free for a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.

Already a subscriber? Log in