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In his own creations are made manifest a lively
imagination, guided and checked by the keenest critical
judgment, and a refined and cultivated taste connected
with a clear and penetrating perception of the true and
the beautiful in all forms of life. To this may be
added a profound knowledge of his own native language,
and great force and elegance of style. According to
his idealistic conception, language is an essential form
of national life. He has, therefore, given an almost
devout care to the Swedish language in purifying it from
foreign words and phrases, and in zealously gathering
up neglected or half-forgotten words, appreciating every
single word of pure idiomatic origin as too precious a
grain of gold to be wasted or even alloyed with those of
foreign extraction. Hence the peculiar charm of his
style to Swedish readers, but also the difficulty in
transferring the beauty of his creations into a foreign
language.
The leading principles in his authorship can be best
exhibited in the following quotation from one of his
own works: “In science to believe in liberty, is to
believe in the human reason; in politics to believe in
liberty, is to believe in an ethical order of the world; in
religion to believe in liberty, is to believe in God.” If
to this be added another quotation from himself, “the
true love of human kind manifests itself first in the love
of one’s country,” we have before us the main features
of his personality in all phases of his life and writings.
It would lead me far beyond the limits of this sketch,
were I to go into the details of a literary work that deals
with so many different topics. Especially may this be
said with regard to his more exclusively scientific works.
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