The Gods of Revolution

Christopher Dawson; Introduction-Arnold Toynbee; Appreciation-James Oliver

ISBN 10: 0283978201 / ISBN 13: 9780283978203

Published by Sidgwick & Jackson, 1972

About this Item

Support Small Business by buying this book! Family-owned bookshop in Steubenville, Ohio: BookMarx Bookstore. Books shipped within 24-48 hours. Introduction by Arnold Toynbee and Appreciation by James Oliver. No marks or writing observed in text other than previous owner's name inside. Binding sound. Some rounding to spine and light wear on cover. Very Good-/Good+ Missing dust jacket. Older edition of Dawson's great work. Sturdy copy, good for personal study. About the book: In The Gods of Revolution, Christopher Dawson brought to bear, as Glanmor Williams said, 'his brilliantly perceptive powers of analysis on the French Revolution. . . . In so doing he reversed the trends of recent historiography which has concentrated primarily on examining the social and economic context of that great upheaval.' Dawson underlines the fact that the Revolution was not animated by democratic ideals but rather reflected an authoritarian liberalism often marked by a fundamental contempt for the populace, described by Voltaire as 'the 'canaille' that is not worthy of enlightenment and which deserves its yoke.' The old Christian order had stressed a common faith and common service shared by nobles and peasants alike but Rousseau 'pleads the cause of the individual against society, the poor against the rich, and the people against the privileged classes.' It is Rousseau whom Dawson describes as the spiritual father of the new age in disclosing a new spirit of revolutionary idealism expressed in liberalism, socialism and anarchism. But the old unity was not replaced by a new form. Dawson insists the whole period following the Revolution is 'characterized by a continual struggle between conflicting ideologies,' and the periods of relative stabilization such as the Napoleonic restoration, Victorian liberalism in England, and capitalist imperialism in the second German empire 'have been compromises or temporary truces between two periods of conquest.' This leads to his assertion that 'the survival of western culture demands unity as well as freedom, and the great problem of our time is how these two essentials are to be reconciled.' This reconciliation will require more than technological efficiency for 'a free society requires a higher degree of spiritual unity than a totalitarian one. Hence the spiritual integration of western culture is essential to its temporal survival.' It is to Christianity alone that western culture 'must look for leadership and help in restoring the moral and spiritual unity of our civilization,' for it alone has the influence, 'in ethics, in education, in literature, and in social action' sufficiently strong to achieve this end.

Seller Inventory # 132568

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Gods of Revolution
• Publisher: Sidgwick & Jackson
• Publication Date: 1972
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0283978201
• ISBN 13: 9780283978203
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket

About this title

Synopsis

The Gods of Revolution is the late Christopher Dawson's analysis of the French Revolution, concluding his series of books which deals with religion as a dynamic force in history.