George Ripley, one of the more influential men of his time, left an impact on theology, politics, science, and literature. He appeared as many different personalities to different groups. Ripley seemed a radical thinker to theologians, a vigorous activist to conservative politicians, an articulate spokesman among Transcendentalists, and a steady supporter of burgeoning scientific, philosophical, and literary achievements. Ripley's activity in literature began early, and he directed it, from the beginning towards the deepest problems.
For a short time early in his life he edited the Christian Register, which spoke of his liberal views in theology. Between 1830 and 1837, he wrote ten articles in the Christian Examiner, all either stating or foreshadowing his later conclusions. His first paper on Degrando (September, 1830), indicated the theory of self-education as self-development. His second paper, Religion in France (July, 1831), contains a enthusiastic plea for spiritual Christianity, without priest, dogma, or intellectual limitation. This last piece was followed by Pestalozzi (January, 1832), and by a notice of Follen's Inaugural. The remarkable article on Martineau's Rationale of Religious Inquiry appeared in the Examiner for November, 1836. In this piece a distinction is made between liability to error and absence of that inspiration, which, in spite of incidental error, is claimed for the soul of man, but for Christ alone, "in entire and absolute completeness." This was the last important paper that he sent to the Examiner, for the translation from Ullman of Herder's Theological Aphorisms (January 1837) contained nothing suggestive. He then, in 1836, published the Discourses on the Philosophy of Religion Addressed to Doubters who wish to Believe, which contained six sermons. In 1838 appeared the first two volumes of the series entitled Specimens of Foreign Standard Literature, that extended to fourteen volumes, by J.S. Dwight, Margaret Fuller, C.C. Felton, W.H. Channing, J.F. Clarke, Samuel Osgood, and C.T. Brooks.
Ripley, more or less became a Man of Letters, for the last half of his adult life, which was between 1850 and 1880. Ripley became a literary critic, political commentator, newspaper philosopher, and popularizer of the newest scientific and psychological discoveries daily. Ripley earned praise from many different critics, newspapers, and magazines. His praise was primarily devoted to his articles in the New York Daily Tribune, which mounted in the thousands. He also helped to found Harper's Magazine in the 1850, and contributed towards it until his demise. In 1852 he and Bayard Taylor published a Handbook and Literature and the Fine Arts in July of 1862. He conceived, after being so pleased with his last work, another anthology, Book and Men: A Series of Critical and Biographical Sketches, but this project was ended, partly because he became enthralled with another project. This other project was the publication, from 1859 to 1862, of the sixteen volumes of the New American Cyclopedia. Ripley wrote no other major novels or papers before he died, he was mainly just a newspaper and magazine critic for the rest of his life, advising others on their works.
Works Cited:
Frothingham, Octavius Brooks. George Ripley. New York N.Y: AMS
Press, INC., 1970
Golemba, Henry L. George Ripley. Boston: Twayne Publishers,
G.K. Hall & CO., 1977
Allison Loconto
