Rousseau and Revolution
Durant's purpose in writing The Story of Civilization was not to create a definitive scholarly production but to make a large amount of information accessible and comprehensible to the educated public in the form of a comprehensive "composite history." Given the massive undertaking in creating these 11 volumes over 50 years, errors and incompleteness have occurred; yet for an attempt as large in breadth of time and scope as this, there are no similar works to compare. As Durant says in the preface to his first work, Our Oriental Heritage: I wish to tell as much as I can, in as little space as I can, of the contributions that genius and labor have made to the cultural heritage of mankind - to chronicle and contemplate, in their causes, character and effects, the advances of invention, the varieties of economic organization, the experiments in government, the aspirations of religion, the mutations of morals and manners, the masterpieces of literature, the development of science, the wisdom of philosophy, and the achievements of art. I do not need to be told how absurd this enterprise is, nor how immodest is its very conception ... Nevertheless I have dreamed that despite the many errors inevitable in this undertaking, it may be of some use to those upon whom the passion for philosophy has laid the compulsion to try to see things whole, to pursue perspective, unity and time, as well as to seek them through science in space. ... Like philosophy, such a venture [as the creation of these 11 volumes] has no rational excuse, and is at best but a brave stupidity; but let us hope that, like philosophy, it will always lure some rash spirits into its fatal depths.
BOOK I: PRELUDE
Chapter I. ROUSSEAU WANDERER: 1712-56
I. The Confessions
II. Homeless
III. Maman
IV. Lyons, Venice, Paris
V. Is Civilization a Disease?
VI. Paris and Geneva
VII. The Crimes of Civilization
VIII. The Conservative
IX. Escape from Paris
Chapter II. THE SEVEN YEARS’ WAR: 1756–63
I. How to Start a War
II. The Outlaw
III. From Prague to Rossbach
Chapter III. THE PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY: 364–451
IV. The Fox at Bay
V. The Making of the British Empire
VI. Exhaustion
VII. Peace
BOOK II: FRANCE BEFORE THE DELUGE:1757-74
Chapter III. THE LIFE OF THE STATE
I. The Mistress Departs
II. The RecoVery of France
III. The Physiocrats
IV. The Rise of Turgot
V. The Communists
VI. The King
VII. Du Barry
VIII. Choiseul
IX. The ReVolt of the Parlements
X. The King Departs
Chapter IV. THE ART OF LIFE
I. Morality and Grace
II. Music
III. The Theater
IV. Marmontel
V. The Life of Art
VI. The Great Salons
Chapter V. VOLTAIRE PATRIARCH: 1758-78
I. The Good Lord
II. The Scepter of the Pen
III. Voltaire Politicus
IV. The Reformer
V. Voltaire Himself
Chapter VI. ROUSSEAU ROMANTIC: 1756-62
I. In the Hermitage
II. In Love
III. Much Ado
IV. The Break with the Philosophes
V. The New Héloïse
Chapter VII. ROUSSEAU PHILOSOPHER
I. The Social Contract
II. Émile
Chapter VIII. ROUSSEAU OUTCAST: 1762–67
I. Flight
II. Rousseau and the Archbishop
III. Rousseau and the Calvinists
IV. Rousseau and Voltaire
V. Boswell Meets Rousseau
VI. A Constitution for Corsica
VII. Fugitive
VIII. Rousseau in England
BOOK III: THE CATHOLIC SOUTH: 1715-89
Chapter IX. Italia Felix: 1715-59
I. The Landscape
II. Music
III. Religion
IV. From Turin to Florence
V. Queen of the Adriatic
VI. Rome
VII. Naples
Chapter X. PORTUGAL AND POMBAL: 1706-82
I. John V
II. Pombal and the Jesuits
III. Pombal the Reformer
IV. The Triumph of the Past
Chapter XI. SPAIN AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT: 1700-88
I. Milieu
II. Philip V
III. Ferdinand VI
IV. The Enlightenment Enters
V. Charles III
VI. The Spanish Character
VII. The Spanish Mind
VIII. Spanish Art
IX. Francisco de Goya y Lucientes
Chapter XII. Vale, Italia: 1760-89
I. Farewell Tour
II. Popes, Kings, and Jesuits
III. The Law and Beccaria
IV. Adventurers
V. Winckelmann
VI. The Artists
VII. I Musici
VIII. Alfieri
Chapter XIII. THE ENLIGHTENMENT IN AUSTRIA: 1756-90
I. The New Empire
II. Maria Theresa
III. Joseph Growing
IV. Mother and Son
V. The Enlightened Despot
VI. The Emperor and the Empire
VII. Atra Mors
Chapter XIV. MUSIC REFORMED
I. Christoph Willibald Gluck
II. Joseph Haydn
Chapter XV. MOZART
I. The Wonderful Boy
II. Adolescence
III. Music and Marriage
IV. In Paris
V. Salzburg and Vienna
VI. The Composer
VII. Spirit and Flesh
VIII. Apogee
IX. Nadir
X. Requiem
BOOK IV: ISLAM AND THE SLAVIC EAST: 1715-96
Chapter XVI. ISLAM:1715-96
I. The Turks
II. African Islam
III. Persia
Chapter XVII. RUSSIAN INTERLUDE: 1725-62
I. Work and Rule
II. Religion and Culture
III. Russian Politics
IV. Elizabeth Petrovna
V. Peter and Catherine
VI. Peter III
Chapter XVIII. CATHERINE THE GREAT: 1762-96
I. The Autocrat
II. The Lover
III. The Philosopher
IV. The Statesman
V. The Economist
VI. The Warrior
VII. The Woman
VIII. Literature
IX. Art
X. Journey’s End
Chapter XIX. THE RAPE OF POLAND: 1715-95
I. Polish Panorama
II. The Saxon Kings
III. Poniatowski
IV. The First Partition
V. The Polish Enlightenment
VI. Dismemberment
BOOK V: THE PROTESTANT NORTH: 1756-89
Chapter XX. FREDERICK‘S GERMANY: 1756-86
I. Frederick Victorious
II. Rebuilding Prussia
III. The Principalities
IV. The German Enlightenment
V. Gotthold Lessing
VI. The Romantic Reaction
VII. Sturm und Drang
VIII. The Artists
IX. After Bach
X. Der Alte Fritz
Chapter XXI. KANT: 1724-1804
I. Prolegomena
II. Critique of Pure Reason
III. Critique of Practical Reason
IV. Critique of Judgment
V. Religion and Reason
VI. The Reformer
VII. Posthumous
Chapter XXII. ROADS TO WEIMAR: 1733-87
I. The Athens of Germany
II. Wieland
III. Goethe Prometheus
IV. Herder
V. Schiller’s Wanderjahre
Chapter XXIII. WEIMAR IN FLOWER: 1775-1805
I. Wieland Sequel
II. Herder and History
III. Goethe Councilor
IV. Goethe in Italy
V. Goethe Waiting
VI. Schiller Waiting
VII. Schiller and Goethe
Chapter XXIV. GOETHE NESTOR: 1805—32
I. Goethe and Napoleon
II. Faust: Part I
III. Nestor in Love
IV. The Scientist
V. The Philosopher
VI. Faust: Part II
VII. Fulfillment
Chapter XXV. THE JEWS: 1715-89
I. The Struggle for Existence
II. The Mystic Solace
III. Moses Mendelssohn
IV. Toward Freedom
Chapter XXVI. FROM GENEVA TO STOCKHOLM
I. The Swiss: 1754-98
II. The Dutch: 1715-95
III. The Danes: 1715-97
IV. The Swedes: 1718-97
BOOK VI: JOHNSON’S ENGLAND: 1756-89
Chapter XXVII. THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
I. Causes
II. Components
III. Conditions
IV. Consequences
Chapter XXVIII. THE POLITICAL DRAMA: 1756-92
I. The Political Structure
II. The Protagonists
III. The King Versus Parliament
IV. Parliament Versus the People
V. England Versus America
VI. England and India Revolution
VII. England and the French
VIII. The Heroes Retire
Chapter XXIX. THE ENGLISH PEOPLE: 1756-89
I. English Ways
II. English Morals
III. Faith and Doubt
IV. Blackstone, Bentham, and the Law
V. The Theater
VI. London
Chapter XXX. THE AGE OF REYNOLDS: 1756-90
I. The Musicians
II. The Architects
III. Wedgwood
IV. Joshua Reynolds
V. Thomas Gainsborough
Chapter XXXI. ENGLAND’S NEIGHBORS: 1756-89
I. Grattan’s Ireland
II. The Scottish Background
III. The Scottish Enlightenment
IV. Adam Smith
V. Robert Burns
VI. James Boswell
Chapter XXXII. THE LITERARY SCENE:1756-89
I. The Press
II. Laurence Sterne
III. Fanny Burney
IV. Horace Walpole
V. Edward Gibbon
VI. Chatterton and Cowper
VII. Oliver Goldsmith
Chapter XXXIII. SAMUEL JOHNSON:1709-84
I. Deformative Years
II. The Dictionary
III. The Charmed Circle
IV. Ursus Major
V. The Conservative Mind
VI. Autumn
VII. Release
VIII. Boswell Moriturus
BOOK VII: THE COLLAPSE OF FEUDAL FRANCE: 1774-89
Chapter XXXIV. THE FINAL GLORY:1774-83
I. The Heirs to the Throne
II. The Government
III. The Virgin Queen
IV. Le Roi Bonhomme
V. The Ministry of Turgot
VI. Necker’s First Ministry
VII. France and America
Chapter XXXV. DEATH AND THE PHILOSOPHERS: 1774-1807
I. Voltaire Finale
II. Rousseau Epilogue
III. Marche Funèbre
IV. The Last Philosophe
V. The Philosophers and the Revolution
Chapter XXXVI. ON THE EVE: 1774-89
I. Religion and the Revolution
II. Life on the Edge
III. The Salonnières
IV. Music
V. Art under Louis XVI
VI. Literature
VII. Beaumarchais
Chapter XXXVII. THE ANATOMY OF REVOLUTION:1774-89
I. The Nobles and the Revolution
II. The Peasants and the Revolution
III. Industry and the Revolution
IV. The Bourgeoisie and the Revolution
V. The Gathering of the Forces
Chapter XXXVIII. THE POLITICAL DEBACLE:1783-89
I. The Diamond Necklace
II. Calonne
III. Loménie de Brienne
IV. Necker Again
V. Enter Mirabeau
VI. The Last Rehearsal
VII. The States-General
VIII. To the Bastille
ENVOI
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE
NOTES
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