George Ripley (writer)

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George Ripley in later years

George Ripley (born October 3, 1802 in Greenfield, Massachusetts, † July 4, 1880 in New York) was an American writer, reformer and one of the leading exponents of transcendentalism, the founder of the socially utopian colony Brook Farm . After their failure, he turned to journalism and made a name for himself as an editor of encyclopedic works.

youth

George Ripley came from one of the oldest settler families and was distantly related to Benjamin Franklin on his mother's side . Jerome Ripley's father was a merchant and a respected member of the community. He was a Unitarian and urged his son to become a clergyman. After attending Harvard College , Ripley began studying theology at Harvard Divinity School, which he graduated in 1826. That same year he became a preacher in a Unitarian congregation in Boston. In 1827 he married Sophia Dana, whose family roots also reached back to the first settlers.

Theological work

Like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ripley was one of the young, cosmopolitan churchmen who were particularly interested in the intellectual and literary trends in Europe. The work of the German religious philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher , about whom he wrote a lengthy article in the Unitarian newsletter The Christian Examiner in 1836 - two years after his death - was of great influence on Ripley . Another contribution by Ripley in the next issue about the English Unitarian philosopher James Martineau sparked a dispute over the direction of the Unitarians of New England. After the great upheavals ( Copernican change and Enlightenment ), which brought all churches equally into need of explanation, the question was now raised whether one could still believe in the biblical miracles. The dispute, which dragged on for several years, resulted in the liberal clergy distancing themselves from the church and, together with like-minded people, forming a loose community that outsiders referred to as the Transcendental Club . Emerson had resigned from his ministry in 1832 for reasons of principle. Ripley delivered his last sermon on March 28, 1841.

Transcendental Club

The emerging group of men and women of the younger generation rejected any tutelage by institutions and ideologies and could also refer to the natural law principles of the American Declaration of Independence , which were partially restricted in the later constitution of the United States . The main representatives alongside Ripley and Emerson were Amos Bronson Alcott , Henry David Thoreau , Theodore Parker , Frederic Henry Hedge, James Freeman Clarke , Orestes Brownson , Charles Anderson Dana , Margaret Fuller and Elizabeth Palmer Peabody , who represented the whole range of reform demands: Manufacturing and observance of human rights, equality between men and women, rejection of slavery, return to nature, equal appreciation of manual labor and intellectual work, equal opportunities in school and work, rejection of dogmas of all kinds. The magazine of the movement The Dial was in the first two Published by Margaret Fuller years ago. Then George Ripley took over the editing. As a proponent of a practical test of the transcendentalist ideas, he founded the socially utopian settlement Brook Farm in 1841 , which existed for six years and was also called Ripley's Farm by insiders because of Ripley's great personal commitment.

Brook Farm

The idea for the foundation came to him while reading The Social Destiny of Man by Albert Brisbane, who wrote about the theories of the French social utopian Charles Fourier . He received support from his wife and other transcendentalists. One of the first residents was Nathaniel Hawthorne , who processed his time in the commune in his novel Blithedale Romances . Brook Farm became known nationwide through publications in the press. Horace Greeley played a major role in this with his liberal newspaper New York Tribune , which he had founded a year earlier. He belonged to the Friends of the Transcendentalists and ensured constant visitor interest and a modest amount of donations. He watched the experiment with sympathy and visited Brook Farm more often.

Brook Farm was financially weak from the start. The main burden was borne by Ripley, who also brought his extensive library there. There were also insufficient technical requirements. There were also problems in the group's coexistence. The economic difficulties increased and the proceeds from the sale of Ripley's library could not stop the decline. Shortly before the end, a fire broke out on the farm that destroyed several houses. The experiment failed with great losses in 1847. It took George Ripley thirteen years to pay off the debt.

Writing

New York Tribune editorial staff, circa 1850. Seated from left: George M. Snow, Bayard Taylor , Horace Greeley , George Ripley. Standing from left: William Henry Fry , Charles A. Dana, Henry J. Raymond

Already during his time as a preacher, Ripley developed an active activity as a writer, translator and editor. In addition to his regular work on the Unitarian magazine The Christian Examiner , he began to translate the works of the German idealistic philosophers, which he then brought out from 1838 together with Frederick Henry Hedge in a 15-volume edition. In 1839 his main work, Discourses on the Philosophy of Religion, appeared . Ripley was also the founder of the social reform magazine The Harbinger . After the disaster with the farm, Horace Greeley enabled Ripley to start over as a journalist. In 1849 he became a permanent member of the Tribune . In addition to his work there, he edited the Handbook of Literature and Fine Arts from 1852 together with his editorial colleague Bayard Taylor . From 1857 to 1863, the New American Cyclopaedia, comprising 16 volumes, followed with the assistance of Charles A. Dana . Charles Dana was a pioneering transcendentalist and long-time member of Brook Farm Commune, who had also been brought to the Tribune by Horace Greeley .

Personal

The failure of Brook Farm hit Ripley hard, not only ideally and financially, but also personally. His wife Sophia had turned to Catholicism. After her death, Ripley married a second time. Through his successful work as a publisher of encyclopedic works, he was able to pay off Brook Farm's debt and lead his later life as a respected member of society.

literature

  • Charles Crowe: George Ripley: Transcendentalist and Utopian Socialist . University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA 1967.
  • Octavius ​​B. Frothingham: George Ripley . AMS Press, New York 1970, ISBN 0-404-02625-7 (reprinted from Boston 1882 edition).
  • Henry L. Golemba: George Ripley . Twayne, Boston, Mass. 1977, ISBN 0-8057-7181-6 .

Web links

Commons : George Ripley  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Brockhaus Encyclopedia. FA Brockhaus, Mannheim 1992, vol. 18, p. 437.
  2. ^ Specimens of Foreign Standard Literature
  3. ^ Meyer's Lexicon. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1929, vol. 10, columns 382/383.
personal data
SURNAME Ripley, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH October 3, 1802
PLACE OF BIRTH Greenfield (Massachusetts)
DATE OF DEATH 4th July 1880
Place of death new York