Question Details

The line – “He who works for sweetness and light united, works to make reason and the will of God prevail,” occurs in:

Options

A

Raymond Williams’ Culture and Society

B

Julia Kristeva’s Revolution in Poetic Language

C

Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy

D

Sigmund Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents

Show Answer

Correct Answer :

Option C

Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy

Solution :

The correct option is Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy.

Detailed Explanation:
The quotation, “He who works for sweetness and light united, works to make reason and the will of God prevail,” comes from Chapter 1 (titled "Sweetness and Light") of Matthew Arnold's famous work Culture and Anarchy, first published in book form in 1869.

Key Concepts:
1. Sweetness and Light: Arnold borrowed the phrase "sweetness and light" from Jonathan Swift's satire, The Battle of the Books, where it represents beauty (sweetness) and intelligence or truth (light). In Arnold's philosophy, these two elements are the essential components of a well-rounded, civilized culture.
2. The Purpose of Culture: Arnold argues that culture is not merely a passive pursuit of knowledge or an aesthetic hobby. Instead, it is an active study of perfection, driven by the moral and social passion to do good. By striving for both sweetness (artistic and spiritual beauty) and light (scientific and rational truth), individuals help elevate society and make "reason and the will of God" active in human affairs.

Overview of the Other Options:
Raymond Williams’ Culture and Society (1958): This is a landmark work in cultural studies that examines how the concept of "culture" developed in Great Britain from the late eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Although Williams discusses Arnold's ideas, he is not the author of this quote.
Julia Kristeva’s Revolution in Poetic Language (1974): This post-structuralist text focuses on psychoanalysis, semiotics, and linguistics, exploring how poetic language disrupts conventional symbolic structures.
Sigmund Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents (1930): This psychological treatise explores the fundamental tension between civilization's demands and the instinctual drives of individuals, offering no such cultural-theological definition of sweetness and light.

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