The Enlightment is the name of the period succeeding the Renaissance and followed by Romanticism. The Enlightment believed in the universal authority of Reason.
It favoured toleration and moderation in religion, believed in the rational perfectibility of man. For 18th century England Sense is a better watchword than Reason. Sense embraces practical reason, common sense (common opinion). At first it was related to Sensibility – a capacity for moral feeling. Gradually Sensibility became more aesthetic and sentimental and contrasted with sense.