Page:Ferrier's Works Volume 3 "Philosophical Remains" (1883 ed.).djvu/557

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biography of schelling.
547

or carelessness, than to wilful plagiarism on the part of the English poet.[1]

Schelling's writings may be classified as belonging to five periods. To the first period, 1795-96, belong—'On the possibility of a Form of Philosophy in general;' 'On the Ego as the Principle of Philosophy, or on the unconditioned in human knowledge;' 'Explanations of the Idealism involved in the Theory of Knowledge;' 'Letters on Dogmatism and Criticism. In these writings he adheres closely to Fichte, who welcomed him as his best expositor. Later in life their relations were less amicable. In the second period, 1797-1801, appeared—'Ideas towards a Philosophy of Nature' (second edition, 1802); 'On the World-Soul;' 'First Sketch of a System of the Philosophy of Nature;' 'Journal of Speculative Physics;' 'System of Transcendental Idealism.' During both of these periods, he also contributed largely to the 'Philosophical Journal' of Fichte and Niethammer. In the second period he devoted himself more to the study of nature, and less to the exposition of Fichte. The third period, 1801-1803, gave birth to 'Exposition of my System of Philosophy;' 'Bruno, a dialogue on the divine and natural principle of things;' 'Lectures on the Method of Academical Study;' 'New Journal

  1. In the article referred to, on "The Plagiarisms of S. T. Coleridge," Mr Ferrier gives full and accurate details of a question possessing not indeed a purely philosophical, but a very remarkable psychological interest. Schelling himself expresses in his lectures a view nearly coincident with that taken by Mr Ferrier in this passage.