Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/217

Rh began to invade Denmark from abroad. The taste for old popular books gradually passed away, and they were supplanted by French and English books for entertainment. First appeared Sören Terkelsen's translation of the novel Astræa, which was mentioned in the preceding chapter, and which remained for some time almost alone. Then followed Fénelon's Tèlémaque (1727), Robinson (1744-45), Richardson's Pamela (1743-46), to which there was afterwards added a multitude of similar books containing stupid and affected stories.

Much greater importance was attained by the which also was introduced from abroad about this time. The first Danish journal of any account was "den danske Spectator" (1734—45), a moralizing and critical weekly paper of the same character as the English periodical of the same name. This journal was followed by others, and toward the close of the century the periodical press played a very influential part in Denmark.

(1725-50) was a man who, like Holberg, maintained that knowledge ought not to be kept away from the people, but rather made as accessible and popular as possible. He proposed to expound philosophy in a series of Danish books, and his chief aim was to popularize the philosophical and religious views of Leibnitz and Wolff, but an early death prevented the execution of his plan, and he was only able to make a beginning by the publication of such works as "Philosophiske Breve" and "Forsög til en Fruentimmerphilosophie." Still his influence on the development of Danish literature was very great, for in a pure, terse language he introduced a science, hitherto utterly unknown in Danish literature. Thus he forms, as it were, the connecting link between Holberg, one of whose most ardent admirers he was, and the following period, when the popular enlightenment, to which he was enthusiastically devoted, became the watchword of the age.