Nor any longer can “negative criticism” enlist the utmost interest.  It is construction that is now desired; and he who studies history only that he may vanquish belief in the interest of knowledge cannot command the attention of those whose attention is best worth having.  That fable is fable and mythus mythus no one need now plume himself on informing us, provided he has nothing further to say.  Of course, we raise no childish and sentimental objection to what is called “negative criticism.”  It may not be the best possible policy to build the new house in the form of certain stories superimposed upon the old one, which, perhaps, is even now hardly strong enough to sustain its own weight.  Let there be due clearing away; let us find foundations.

But the essence of the new point of view in the contemplation of history consists in this, that we no longer seek these foundations in the mere outward and literal history of man; we look, on the contrary, to his inward history, to perennial hopes and imaginations, to the evidence of his spiritual impulses and attractions, and just here find not only his real history, but also the basis for theoretical construction.

We see, indeed, as clearly as any Niebuhr or Strauss of them all, that the imagination so pours itself into history as to supersede, or to disguise by transfiguration, the literal facts.  The incessant domination of man’s inward over his outward history is apparent enough.  What then?  Does that make history worthless?  Nay, it infinitely enhances the value of history.  Who are more deserving of pity than the distracted critics that discriminate the imaginative element in the story of man’s existence only to cast it away?  “Facts” do they desire?  These are the facts.  What is the use of always mousing about for coprolites?  Give us in the present form the product of man’s spirit, and this to us shall constitute his history.  Let us know what pictures he painted on the skies over his head, and he who desires shall be welcome to the relics which he left in the dust under his feet.

In our own country some worthy efforts have been made to set forth certain grand provinces in the spiritual history of the human race.  Such was Mrs. Child’s most readable book,—­does she ever write anything which is not readable?—­“The Progress of Religious Ideas.”  We have seen also some fine lectures on “Eastern Religions,"[53] which ought to go into print.  And now Mr. Alger comes forward with his large and laborious work, seeking to contribute his portion to these new and precious constructions.

Mr. Alger’s book is a real work.  It is the result of no light nor trivial labor, of no timid nor indolent essay of thought.  His aim has been to pass in judicial review the thoughts and imaginations of mankind concerning the destiny of the human soul.  It is an instruction to the jury from the bench, summing up and passing continuous judgment upon the evidence on this subject contributed by the consciousness of the human race.