ABSTRACT
A consideration of Taine's method in criticism begins with its philosophical foundations, since he illustrates so well both the strengths and weaknesses of criticism resulting from the fusion of a consciously held philosophic position with sensitive and penetrating analyses and perceptions. Taine found in Baruch Spinoza not only an example of rational and scientific method, but also a pantheistic solution of his religious problem, which helps account for the intensity of his devotion to the philosophy of the Ethics. However, though Spinoza's philosophy was an early, profound, and persistent influence on Taine's thought, he did not accept it without criticism, such was not his way. Taine's transition to empiricism required both metaphysical and methodological criticisms of the rationalist tradition. All the chief elements of his philosophy had already been explored: considereden masse, they constituted a unified and powerful system, whose utility as a critical tool must, in the last analysis, be judged by the works which it produced.
