Page:Aesthetic Papers.djvu/7

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PROSPECTUS.


The character and purpose of this Work are indicated by its title, and by the articles of the present number. The Editor wishes to assemble, upon the high æsthetic ground (away from the regions of strife, in any bad sense), writers of different schools,—that the antagonistic views of Philosophy, of Individual and of Social Culture, which prevail among the various divisions of the Church, and of the Scientific and Literary world, may be brought together, and a white radiance of love and wisdom be evolved from the union of the many-colored rays, that shall cultivate an harmonious intellectual and moral life in our country. Individuals of all parties have already expressed, by letters and in conversation, their interest in this plan; and the Editor hopes another number may present a practical exemplification of the fact, that all believe that on the æsthetic ground all may meet.

Whether Reviewing shall form a large part of the matter of this Publication is a question to be answered by future numbers. The object is good matter; and no form is prescribed to the author who is alive. One of the Editor's correspondents says upon this head:—"There is one species of periodical which I should like to see established; and that is, a Censor of periodicals, a Review of Reviews, where judgments, unjust or inadequate, expressed in other journals, should be reconsidered and overruled; where articles, written in a bad spirit, should meet with just reprobation. As it is, reviewers, and editors of journals, are a class of men who are never called to account. I would have a court constituted