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Of all the wide-ranging interests Coleridge showed in his career, religion was the deepest and most long-lasting; and Beer demonstrates in this book that none of his work can be fully understood without taking this into account. Beer reveals how Coleridge was preoccupied by the life of the mind, and how closely this subject was intertwined with religion in his thinking. The insights that emerge in this collection are of absorbing interest, showing the efforts of a pioneer to reconcile traditional wisdom, both inside and outside orthodox Christianity, with the questions that were becoming evident to a sensitive enquirer.
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Coleridge’s Writings Volume 4: On Religion and Psychology Edited by John Beer COLERIDGE’S WRITINGS General Editor: John Beer Volume 4: On Religion and Psychology COLERIDGE’S WRITINGS Myriad-minded in his intellectual interests, Coleridge often passed quickly from one subject to another, so that the range and mass of the materials he left can be bewildering to later readers. Coleridge’s Writings is a series addressed to those who wish to have a guide to his important statements on particular subjects. Each volume presents his writings in a major field of human knowledge or thought, tracing the development of his ideas. Connections are also made with relevant writings in the period, suggesting the extent to which Coleridge was either summing up, contributing to or reacting against current developments. Each volume is produced by a specialist in the field; the general editor is John Beer, Professor of English Literature at Cambridge, who has published various studies of Coleridge’s thought and poetry. Volume 1 On Politics and Society edited by John Morrow Volume 2 On Humanity edited by Anya Taylor Volume 3 On Language edited by A. C. Goodson Volume 4 On Religion and Psychology edited by John Beer Coleridge’s Writings Volume 4 On Religion and Psychology Edited by John Beer Emeritus Professor of English Literature University of Cambridge and Fellow of Peterhouse Editorial matter and selection © John Beer 2002 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2002 by PALGRAVE Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St. Martin’s Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd). ISBN 0–333–73490–4 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalogue record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. 10 11 9 10 8 7 09 08 6 07 5 06 4 05 3 2 04 03 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire 1 02 Contents Foreword vii List of Abbreviations ix Coleridge’s Life x Introduction 1 <