Excerpt from Ernest Renan A study of Renan's life emphasizes the fact that his works, even when apparently most abstract and erudite, are in a surprising degree the product of his character and his experience; and in this experience the external is inseparably blended with the internal. Events, books, friends, dreams, meditations, travels, little incidents and observations, diligent and minute investigations, all combine into a unity amid diversity, which makes up our general impression of this eminent personality. There is an autobiographical tone to all his thoughts, and the "I" and the editorial "we" are copiously employed in his writings, though without producing the effect of egotism. His religion was not a logical system, but an experience and an outlook upon life, and his social and political philosophy also sprang rather from his observation of current and past happenings than from abstract reasoning. His moral and religious nature lay at the bottom of his thinking and gave rise to his seeming contradictions. Which of us does not find in himself antithetical feelings, mingled pleasures and regrets, changing perspectives and varying lights and colors? Renan's unusual frankness in giving vent to his unstable moods, instead of measuring his expression by a fixed, and therefore artificial, standard, is one secret of the charm, the vivacity, and the actuality of his writings. It is also a reason why a review of his life is of exceptional interest. He saw in the development of the individual an epitome of the development of the human race. Biography, like history, is a becoming. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.