the early 1800s, however, the dream faltered and Bacon’s empire retreated. There were two reasons. First, although scientists were generating discoveries at an exponential pace, they were nowhere close to meeting the expectations of the more optimistic Enlightenment thinkers. Second, this shortfall allowed the founders of the Romantic tradition of literature, including some of the greatest poets of all time, to reject the presumptions of the Enlightenment worldview and seek meaning in other, more private venues.
