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The History of Civilization in Europe
Originally given as a series of lectures at the Sorbonne, Francois Guizot's
History of Civilization in Europe
was published to great acclaim in 1828 and is now regarded as a classic in modern historical research.
History
was particularly influential on Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, and Alexis de Tocqueville. Tocqueville, in fact, requested that a copy of
History
be sent to him when he arrived in the United States.
This volume offers what Guizot himself describes as a "philosophic history" of Europe, one which searches for the underlying general causes and effects of particular events. Guizot considers European civilization in its broadest senses, encompassing not merely political, economic, and social structures, but also the ideas, faculties, and sentiments of "man himself." Guizot understood a two-way relationship between external conditions affect the inner man, whose moral and intellectual development eventually shapes social and other external conditions.
Guizot's History describes the development of European civilization in terms of the inevitable advance of equality of conditions, due to many factors, including a new emphasis on the individual. The author explores the decentralization of power that characterized feudalism, the centralization of power after the fifteenth century, and finally the rebuilding of local autonomy necessary for representative and free government. As editor Larry Siedentop describes, "The [ History's ] moral is about the social and political consequences of destroying local liberty . . . excessive concentration of power at the center of any society is, in the long run, its own undoing."
Francois Guizot (1787-1874) was a French historian, political philosopher, and politician.
Larry Siedentop was educated at Hope College, Harvard, and Oxford. He is Emeritus Fellow of Keble College, Oxford, and was for many years faculty lecturer in political thought in the university. His publications include The Nature of Political Theory, Tocqueville, and most recently, Democracy in Europe.
This volume offers what Guizot himself describes as a "philosophic history" of Europe, one which searches for the underlying general causes and effects of particular events. Guizot considers European civilization in its broadest senses, encompassing not merely political, economic, and social structures, but also the ideas, faculties, and sentiments of "man himself." Guizot understood a two-way relationship between external conditions affect the inner man, whose moral and intellectual development eventually shapes social and other external conditions.
Guizot's History describes the development of European civilization in terms of the inevitable advance of equality of conditions, due to many factors, including a new emphasis on the individual. The author explores the decentralization of power that characterized feudalism, the centralization of power after the fifteenth century, and finally the rebuilding of local autonomy necessary for representative and free government. As editor Larry Siedentop describes, "The [ History's ] moral is about the social and political consequences of destroying local liberty . . . excessive concentration of power at the center of any society is, in the long run, its own undoing."
Francois Guizot (1787-1874) was a French historian, political philosopher, and politician.
Larry Siedentop was educated at Hope College, Harvard, and Oxford. He is Emeritus Fellow of Keble College, Oxford, and was for many years faculty lecturer in political thought in the university. His publications include The Nature of Political Theory, Tocqueville, and most recently, Democracy in Europe.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1828
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About the author
François Guizot
2,131 books29 followersFrançois Pierre Guillaume Guizot was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848, a conservative liberal who opposed the attempt by King Charles X to usurp legislative power, and worked to sustain a constitutional monarchy following the July Revolution of 1830.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 28, 2023
雖然不是第一次閱讀通史類的歐洲史讀物的，但是依然被作者博大的視野所折服。不論內容中主觀性的多少，沒有對歷史淵博的知識與深刻的理解，是無法用如此簡單的語言高度概括並總結出文明發展的核心要素與重大事件。更重要的是，作為一本編成與十九世紀中葉的講稿書，作者的看法也有著獨特的時代烙印的價值，確實為今天的歷史愛好者提供的新鮮的觀點。
February 15, 2017
It's a brilliant work, but a bit too philosophical. Guizot has a view of civilization that he wants to propound, but what's most fascinating is the emphasis he places on class struggle in history. The excellent introduction here suggests that it was of Guizot (and folks like him) that Marx was talking about when he admitted (in the Manifesto I believe) that he was not the first historian to recognize the importance of class struggle, but only the first to recognize, among other things, that the end of class struggle will be the victory of the proletariat and the emergence of a classless society at last.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews