Relates The History Of England: Goldsmith's historical writings include the 2-volume History of England in a Series of Letters from a Nobleman to His Son (1764), the 4-volume History of England (1771), a 2-volume history of Rome (1769), and a 2-volume work on Greece (1774). None of these were products of original research; Goldsmith merely read through the authoritative histories in print and digested them in his own more readable style.
The Bard relates the history of England and 'ales from the prophetic viewpoint of the last 'elsh bard, who finally kills himself after hav-g provided a visionary account of poetry's po-ical power. Even larger in scope, The Progress Poesy tells of poetry's force in various eras id places, concluding with a poignant sugges->n of the difficulty of writing good verse in odern times. Dense with literary allusion, con-?nsed to the point of obscurity, and rich in etorical artifice, these poems are important itements of belief in the emotional and, conse-lently, moral power of poetry. They are in-llectually controlled and highly wrought, yet ey vibrate with conviction.
The scientific writings range from short essays on methodology to a survey of color theory since antiquity, a study that relates intellectual history to the history of science instead of to that of philosophy, as had been customary. His scientific writings document extensive knowledge of and active work in physics, geology (mineralogy, paleontology, seismology, and glaciology), meteorology, zoology (comparative anatomy, entomology and osteology), and botany (plant physiology, and morphology)-all reflecting Goethe's lofty vision of a totally integrated natural order of being. For discussions of individual works, see Index entry Goethe.
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Photography
