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He believed personal liberty might lead to anarchy because “[f]reedom…was one of those things which we worshipped in itself, without enough regarding the ends for which freedom is to be desired.”
Having a society full of Browning’s proud dukes, greedy bishops,
and controlling lovers would not exactly bring about
progress. What really bothers Arnold is the feeling of insignificance brought on by social progress. Arnold
argues that the social changes, brought on by the purposeless
individualistic approach to progress, have left the individual alone
and, “wandering between two worlds, one dead, the other
powerless to be born.”
The Christian cultural bond was beginning to break apart due to scientific advances.
This bond had given and connected every man with the same
purpose. Arnold did not lament over losing the specifics of the Christian religion; instead, he was dejected over losing a purpose that could be shared by all.