ARNOLD, Matthew (1822-1888):
son of THOMAS ARNOLD he was an English poet,
essayist, and critic who has been described as "the great English APOSTLE of
CULTURE." Although he professed an INTELLECTUAL appreciation for the ideals of the
French REVOLUTION, he was shocked by DEMOCRACY in America and propounded a sophisticated
snobbery in the guise of an attack on the "philistinism" of the English middle
classes. In fact, his ideals are a continuation of the destructive social views of his
father. He dabbled in THEOLOGY opposing TRADITIONAL ORTHODOXY in a desire to dispense with
the miraculous and SUPERNATURAL elements of RELIGION which he believed conflicted with
modern SCIENCE.
