Arnold and God: Two Reviews

Abstract

Reviews by a distinguished literary critic and a noted theologian of a book that crosses disciplinary lines. Both praise apRoberts for focusing on an issue central to understanding Arnold, but one often ignored by critics. Both laud her ability to explain Arnold’s debt to German scholars. Neiman is happy to see her personalizing these scholars and Thomas Carlyle, who introduced many of them to the English. Livingston is critical of apRoberts, however, for overstressing German thought at the expense of the English theological tradition which also influenced Arnold. Expresses concern that at times apRoberts’ rhetoric masks her inability to be thorough and precise in her analysis.