Conclusion

Abstract

The long and rich heritage left by Burke, as well as that of Longinus and Kant, greatly contributed to the gothic movement. The idea of the sublime and its relation to the beautiful, the awful and the terrible also had a complex influence on the writing for and about children. Edgeworth considered simplicity as ‘a source of the sublime peculiarly suited to children’ and noted their ‘accuracy of observation’, as well as the ‘distinctness of perception’ in children and their sincerity, which ‘are essential to this species of sublime’ (Practical Education, 33:147). However, the Edgeworths were not the first to mention the link between the child and the sublime in their conduct manuals. In 1793 appeared Knowledge of God: The Best Foundation for a Good Education, which intended to refute Rousseau’s educational practices. The author insisted that children have immediate and innate access to the knowledge of good and evil, and declared that nothing is ‘too sublime for children’ (Kentish Register, 1:187). The reasoning the author follows is that because the child is easily perfectible, and because it is created by the same Creator who made everything on Earth, the child is capable of understanding the most complex concepts. The child is able then to experience and comprehend greatness and infinity on account of its capacity to learn quickly and effectively.