Originally published in 1951, this ambitious volume constitutes an exploration into the roots of European thought. Whilst it predominantly examines Greek and Roman ideas, the text also contains allusions to Norse, Celtic, Jewish, Indian, Chinese and Christian sources. Through careful analysis a synthetic approach is developed, one which emphasises the abiding relevance of ancient thought for interpreting the fundamental questions of existence. Exhaustive notes, a large general index, and an index of translated words are included. This is a complex and fascinating book that will be of value to anyone with an interest in classics, literature, philosophy, or the history of ideas.

A rich collection of ideas and explanations of cultures as diverse as the Greeks and the Norse, the Celts and the Jews, and the Chinese and the Romans.

Presents an authoritative and comprehensive survey of the major themes, thinkers, and movements in modern European intellectual history.

An authoritative and comprehensive survey of the major themes, thinkers, and movements in modern European intellectual history.

The Cambridge History of Modern European Thought is an authoritative and comprehensive exploration of the themes, thinkers and movements that shaped our intellectual world in the late-eighteenth and nineteenth century. Representing both individual figures and the contexts within which they developed their ideas, each essay is written in a clear accessible style by leading scholars in the field and offers both originality and interpretive insight. This first volume surveys late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European intellectual history, focusing on the profound impact of the Enlightenment on European intellectual life. Spanning twenty chapters, it covers figures such as Kant, Hegel, Wollstonecraft, and Darwin, major political and intellectual movements such as Romanticism, Socialism, Liberalism and Feminism, and schools of thought such as Historicism, Philology, and Decadence. Renouncing a single 'master narrative' of European thought across the period, Warren Breckman and Peter E. Gordon establish a formidable new multi-faceted vision of European intellectual history for the global modern age.