...perfection of detail. . . . There will be more wit than erudition, more imagination than profundity. . . . The object of authors will be to astonish rather than...to stir the passions more than to charm the taste." Amusements encourage people to feel in a heightened way, to revel in familiar feelings, but also to...

...vehement and bold. Authors will aim at rapidity of execution, more than at perfection of detail. . . . The object of authors will be to astonish rather than to please, and to stir the passions more than to stir the taste." Tocqueville was responding to, and in fact lamenting, the expansion of the cultural...