What do you think?
Rate this book
London Writings: The Spiritual & Theological Journal of Johann Georg Hamann
The first complete English translation of this seminal work by Johann Georg Hamann, the recently rediscovered 18th century German philosopher, hailed for his critique of the Enlightenment, his anticipation of postmodernism, and his relevance to contemporary theology. In this journal from his time in England at the very beginning of his career, Hamann recounts his early life, his conversion to Christianity, his thoughts upon reading the Bible, and reflections on other topics that he would develop throughout his life. The London Writings, written in an easily accessible style unlike his later work, is considered the best introduction to Hamann’s thought and, as a spiritual autobiography, has been compared to Augustine’s Confessions. The translator is Australian theologian John W. Kleinig (Ph.D., Cambridge), who provides extensive introductions, annotations, and indexes.
- GenresPhilosophyTheology
448 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2021
12 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Johann Georg Hamann
134 books42 followersJohann Georg Hamann (August 27, 1730, Königsberg – June 21, 1788, Münster) was an important German philosopher, a main proponent of the Sturm und Drang movement, and associated by historian of ideas Isaiah Berlin with the Counter-Enlightenment. He was Pietist Lutheran, and a friend (while being an intellectual opponent) of the philosopher Immanuel Kant. He was also a lutenist, having studied this instrument with Timofey Belogradsky (a student of Sylvius Leopold Weiss), a Ukrainian virtuoso then living in Königsberg. He was known by the epithet Magus im Norden ("Magus of the North").
His distrust of reason and the Enlightenment ("I look upon logical proofs the way a well-bred girl looks upon a love letter" was one of his many witicisms) led him to conclude that faith in God was the only solution to the vexing problems of philosophy.
His distrust of reason and the Enlightenment ("I look upon logical proofs the way a well-bred girl looks upon a love letter" was one of his many witicisms) led him to conclude that faith in God was the only solution to the vexing problems of philosophy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 17, 2025
I read a solid chunk of this. It's a lot of meditations and needs not be read as a unit. If you're reading the reflections on the Bible, keep a Bible on hand as the texts are not included, just the verse numbers. Hamann offers excellent devotional material, a compelling life story, and critiques of contemporary rationalists.
December 8, 2025
Vollkommen bemerkenswert. Utterly remarkable.
From the pen of one of Germany's greatest geniuses we have hundreds of pages of brilliant meditations on Bible verses, deeply thoughtful commentary on Lutheran hymns, beautifully personal prayers, and richly introspective diary entries. The "London Writings" (penned mostly in the Spring of 1758) awaited 200 years for full collection and publication by Josef Nadler, 230 years for a critical edition with commentary by Oswald Bayer and Bernd Weissenborn, and nearly 270 years for this English translation by John Kleinig, an Australian theologian. Before 2022, very small portions of Hamann's Biblische Betrachtungen ("Biblical Meditations" - the first part collected in this edition) and "Thoughts on the Course of My Life" (the major autobiographical part of these writings, forming the center of the work) had been translated by Ronald Gregor Smith and others, but this edition published by Ballast in Indiana is the only full, complete, and annotated English translation that exists. As such, it marks a new era in engagement with Hamann for Anglophone students and scholars.
Johann Georg Hamann (1730-1788) is a singular figure in the realm of German literature and philosophy. The son of a barber surgeon, Hamann dropped out of the study of theology and law at the University of Königsberg, spent a short amount of time as a private tutor in the Baltic region, worked for the Berens merchant family (during which time he wrote these meditations), and ultimately became a minor civil servant in Prussia, where he spent most of his energy writing for a newspaper and engaging with the most famous minds in Germany at the time: Lessing, Kant, Mendelssohn, Jacobi, and Herder.
Hamann never wrote a large treatise or novel, and he never lectured or preached. What he published was highly concentrated, oddly private, usually incendiary, and brilliantly allusive. Most individual pieces amount to ten to thirty pages, and since the 1950s, scholars in Germany have begun publishing book-length commentaries on each of Hamann's individual writings. His first two works, "Socratic Memorabilia" and "Aesthetics in a Nutshell" are probably his most quoted, especially because the former imfluenced Kierkegaard and the latter impacted the Sturm und Drang movement.
What makes his London Writings so unique, then, is at first consideration, their sheer length. Whereas Hamann peppers his other writings with brief allusions to Bible verses, from which the reader must deduce what Hamann is trying to do with them, the London Writings contain extended, sometimes multi-page reflections on individual verses.
Another remarkable aspect of these writings is how personal and to-the-point they are. Hamann wrote these meditations and reflections for himself and perhaps, for his closest relatives (i.e. his father and brother) and friends, particularly his friends Berens and Kant who wished to "re-convert" him back to freethinking, deist ideals. Indeed, these latter two men found Hamann's newfound faith deeply troubling. Yet these writings are not 'veiled' as Hamann's published writings are. The writings here are direct and open, honest and personal. One is reminded of Pascal's famous prayer which he sewed into his garments when one reads these reflections, except that Hamann's reflections here amount to dozens and dozens of Pascal-prayers. Hamann intentionally adopted a 'veil' and 'disguise' as David did before Achish at Gath; these masks served his purpose in his polemics. In these devotional writings, Hamann has no such need.
What also strikes me about all of the London writings are several Hamannian themes that come back again and again, whether Hamann is commenting on a Bible verse or hymn, or reflecting on his difficult weeks in London. I'll lay out Hamann's striking themes that he returns to frequently, and then offer some comments and quotations:
- *God's radical condescension: Perhaps the most significant and apparent theme in all of Hamann's Biblical meditations, reflections on church hymns, and other fragments. This is also the central theological theme of the works that consist of his "authorship," from Socratic Memorabilia (1759) to his Flying Letter. In his London writings, Hamann reflects on God's lowering of Himself on virtually every page. His general observation is that the Father condescends in the act of creation; the Son condescends in the act of incarnation/redemption; the Spirit condescends in the authorship of Scripture. E.g., "God has accommodated and lowered Himself as much as possible to human inclinations and notions, yes, even to human prejudices and weaknesses. This hallmark of His love for humanity, which fills the whole of Holy Scripture, is the cause of mockery by weak minds who presuppose that they will find some human wisdom in the divine Word, or some satisfaction for their curiosity, their wit, and some agreement with the taste of the time in which they live or the sect to which they belong" (8). Sometimes God's condescension is so great that He forgets He is God (!), so Hamann can write in a reflection on Judges 10:16, "God feels human sympathy when someone wrestles with Him. He forgets that He is God. He forgets His omnipotence and cannot prevail against that person. He has yielded so much power to him over His love that the whole of creation almost regards it with envy and as a weakness of the great God for this perverted generation" (86).
- The saturated typology of all Scripture (and history and creation): Hamann saw Scripture, history, and creation (i.e., Nature) as the three 'books' that God uses to communicate to creatures. For Hamann, all of Scripture is typological and contains patterns and prophecies that apply to Christ and the Church corporately but also to every single soul individually. Thus Hamann saw himself as Cain murdering Abel, who for him represents Christ. Likewise, history was filled with patterns as the Spirit guides human history and orchestrates all events across the world for the benefit of the saints. Finally, Hamann notes that all of nature is nothing but shadows, outlines, and allegories of hidden, spiritual truths. He writes in his Fragments, "We are all able to be prophets. All natural phenomena are dreams, visions, riddles, which have their meaning, their secret sense. The book of nature and the book of history are nothing but ciphers, hidden signs, which require the same key that interprets Holy Scripture and is the purpose of its inspiration" (355).
- God's 'need' of us and our spousal relation to Him: This is reminiscent of Eckhart's notion and, indeed, many other mystics. Hamann means that God's spousal love for us is so strong that He speaks and acts as if we are indispensable to Him. Hamann connects Esther, Ruth, Song of Songs, and Ephesians 5.
- The union of nature and super-nature, or, the realization that each moment is a miracle: Hamann, commenting on Nahum, says, "Miracles are all daily events, hourly experiences of life in God" (198).
- God's gift of "grace upon grace": This phrase is sprinkled throughout the writings from Hamann's stay in London. John 1:16 must have been one of his favorite verses: "From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace." For Hamann, the superabundance of God's grace is responsible for every moment of his life. The 28-year old looks back at his fortunes and failures and sees that in everything, God has been gently leading him through no merit or worthiness of his own. It's all been God's "grace upon grace."
- The regulated power and continual threat of the devil: The role of Satan is a frequently overlooked aspect of Hamann's authorship. In his London Writings, virtually every page considers Satan and Satan's body: the members who knowingly or unknowingly oppose God. These are the bloodlines prophesied in Gen. 3:15: the offspring of the serpent and of the woman. Today, the offspring of the serpent are all scoffers and enemies of God while the offspring of the woman are the brothers and sisters of Christ. Hamann favors this brotherhood language, emphasizing the closeness of Christ to the individual believer. Additionally, like all other bad things in Hamann's view, even the devil serves God, and the Book of Job shows this mysteriously. For, if it weren't for the devil, then the Father would not have had the opportunity to demonstrate his radical love in the abasement and sacrifice of the Son on the cross. In a strange and paradoxical way, even the devil continues to serve God's purposes.
- The severe limitation of reason: Hamann has several paradoxical things to say about reason. One wonders whether or not he had a higher view of reason than has subsequently been attributed to him,
perhaps because his writing was responsive and even polemical. In other words, he never set out to write a treatise like Locke or Kant. He opposed reason's overreach and man's cognitive pride. In an interesting passage, he suggests that reason is to live in a fruitful marriage with faith. Hamann also has an interesting view of the senses; while they are responsible for receiving information and leading toward cognitive knowledge (in a more or less Lockean or empiricist style), faith surpasses this in every sense.
- Faith in Christ is necessary for all human flourishing: Throughout the London Writings this is apparent. God is the Author of existence, of the book of the individual's life. Faith is not a 'leap,' for Hamann never once discusses doubt/uncertainty in relation to faith. Neither is it purely mental assent to various doctrines. Faith is not gained by any effort; rather, it comes as a gift. Hamann also thinks it is linked to love, so that as faith increases in strength, love does, as well. I hesitate to define Hamann's definition of faith as an "awareness" of one's relationship to God, because this makes it sound purely gnostic. It is a lived thing and an increasing thing. It is also multi-dimensional, involving the mind, heart, will, emotions, and imagination. It is the fidelity, given by the Holy Spirit, of the entire person in his creaturely reality to the Triune God through the God-Man.
- Brevity and economy of language as the sign of genius: Hamann will later make this point to his son in a well-known letter. In his meditations he writes, "Thus, brevity is the mark of a genius even in human creations; and everything big, all excess, is a learned sin" (170). The piling on of words is for pharisees in market places; verbosity cheapens language and leads to distraction and fragmentation. Kierkegaard famously wrote later that if he could have, Hamann would have reduced his writings to a single word. This is one of the most perceptive things any reader of Hamann ever said.
From the pen of one of Germany's greatest geniuses we have hundreds of pages of brilliant meditations on Bible verses, deeply thoughtful commentary on Lutheran hymns, beautifully personal prayers, and richly introspective diary entries. The "London Writings" (penned mostly in the Spring of 1758) awaited 200 years for full collection and publication by Josef Nadler, 230 years for a critical edition with commentary by Oswald Bayer and Bernd Weissenborn, and nearly 270 years for this English translation by John Kleinig, an Australian theologian. Before 2022, very small portions of Hamann's Biblische Betrachtungen ("Biblical Meditations" - the first part collected in this edition) and "Thoughts on the Course of My Life" (the major autobiographical part of these writings, forming the center of the work) had been translated by Ronald Gregor Smith and others, but this edition published by Ballast in Indiana is the only full, complete, and annotated English translation that exists. As such, it marks a new era in engagement with Hamann for Anglophone students and scholars.
Johann Georg Hamann (1730-1788) is a singular figure in the realm of German literature and philosophy. The son of a barber surgeon, Hamann dropped out of the study of theology and law at the University of Königsberg, spent a short amount of time as a private tutor in the Baltic region, worked for the Berens merchant family (during which time he wrote these meditations), and ultimately became a minor civil servant in Prussia, where he spent most of his energy writing for a newspaper and engaging with the most famous minds in Germany at the time: Lessing, Kant, Mendelssohn, Jacobi, and Herder.
Hamann never wrote a large treatise or novel, and he never lectured or preached. What he published was highly concentrated, oddly private, usually incendiary, and brilliantly allusive. Most individual pieces amount to ten to thirty pages, and since the 1950s, scholars in Germany have begun publishing book-length commentaries on each of Hamann's individual writings. His first two works, "Socratic Memorabilia" and "Aesthetics in a Nutshell" are probably his most quoted, especially because the former imfluenced Kierkegaard and the latter impacted the Sturm und Drang movement.
What makes his London Writings so unique, then, is at first consideration, their sheer length. Whereas Hamann peppers his other writings with brief allusions to Bible verses, from which the reader must deduce what Hamann is trying to do with them, the London Writings contain extended, sometimes multi-page reflections on individual verses.
Another remarkable aspect of these writings is how personal and to-the-point they are. Hamann wrote these meditations and reflections for himself and perhaps, for his closest relatives (i.e. his father and brother) and friends, particularly his friends Berens and Kant who wished to "re-convert" him back to freethinking, deist ideals. Indeed, these latter two men found Hamann's newfound faith deeply troubling. Yet these writings are not 'veiled' as Hamann's published writings are. The writings here are direct and open, honest and personal. One is reminded of Pascal's famous prayer which he sewed into his garments when one reads these reflections, except that Hamann's reflections here amount to dozens and dozens of Pascal-prayers. Hamann intentionally adopted a 'veil' and 'disguise' as David did before Achish at Gath; these masks served his purpose in his polemics. In these devotional writings, Hamann has no such need.
What also strikes me about all of the London writings are several Hamannian themes that come back again and again, whether Hamann is commenting on a Bible verse or hymn, or reflecting on his difficult weeks in London. I'll lay out Hamann's striking themes that he returns to frequently, and then offer some comments and quotations:
- *God's radical condescension: Perhaps the most significant and apparent theme in all of Hamann's Biblical meditations, reflections on church hymns, and other fragments. This is also the central theological theme of the works that consist of his "authorship," from Socratic Memorabilia (1759) to his Flying Letter. In his London writings, Hamann reflects on God's lowering of Himself on virtually every page. His general observation is that the Father condescends in the act of creation; the Son condescends in the act of incarnation/redemption; the Spirit condescends in the authorship of Scripture. E.g., "God has accommodated and lowered Himself as much as possible to human inclinations and notions, yes, even to human prejudices and weaknesses. This hallmark of His love for humanity, which fills the whole of Holy Scripture, is the cause of mockery by weak minds who presuppose that they will find some human wisdom in the divine Word, or some satisfaction for their curiosity, their wit, and some agreement with the taste of the time in which they live or the sect to which they belong" (8). Sometimes God's condescension is so great that He forgets He is God (!), so Hamann can write in a reflection on Judges 10:16, "God feels human sympathy when someone wrestles with Him. He forgets that He is God. He forgets His omnipotence and cannot prevail against that person. He has yielded so much power to him over His love that the whole of creation almost regards it with envy and as a weakness of the great God for this perverted generation" (86).
- The saturated typology of all Scripture (and history and creation): Hamann saw Scripture, history, and creation (i.e., Nature) as the three 'books' that God uses to communicate to creatures. For Hamann, all of Scripture is typological and contains patterns and prophecies that apply to Christ and the Church corporately but also to every single soul individually. Thus Hamann saw himself as Cain murdering Abel, who for him represents Christ. Likewise, history was filled with patterns as the Spirit guides human history and orchestrates all events across the world for the benefit of the saints. Finally, Hamann notes that all of nature is nothing but shadows, outlines, and allegories of hidden, spiritual truths. He writes in his Fragments, "We are all able to be prophets. All natural phenomena are dreams, visions, riddles, which have their meaning, their secret sense. The book of nature and the book of history are nothing but ciphers, hidden signs, which require the same key that interprets Holy Scripture and is the purpose of its inspiration" (355).
- God's 'need' of us and our spousal relation to Him: This is reminiscent of Eckhart's notion and, indeed, many other mystics. Hamann means that God's spousal love for us is so strong that He speaks and acts as if we are indispensable to Him. Hamann connects Esther, Ruth, Song of Songs, and Ephesians 5.
- The union of nature and super-nature, or, the realization that each moment is a miracle: Hamann, commenting on Nahum, says, "Miracles are all daily events, hourly experiences of life in God" (198).
- God's gift of "grace upon grace": This phrase is sprinkled throughout the writings from Hamann's stay in London. John 1:16 must have been one of his favorite verses: "From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace." For Hamann, the superabundance of God's grace is responsible for every moment of his life. The 28-year old looks back at his fortunes and failures and sees that in everything, God has been gently leading him through no merit or worthiness of his own. It's all been God's "grace upon grace."
- The regulated power and continual threat of the devil: The role of Satan is a frequently overlooked aspect of Hamann's authorship. In his London Writings, virtually every page considers Satan and Satan's body: the members who knowingly or unknowingly oppose God. These are the bloodlines prophesied in Gen. 3:15: the offspring of the serpent and of the woman. Today, the offspring of the serpent are all scoffers and enemies of God while the offspring of the woman are the brothers and sisters of Christ. Hamann favors this brotherhood language, emphasizing the closeness of Christ to the individual believer. Additionally, like all other bad things in Hamann's view, even the devil serves God, and the Book of Job shows this mysteriously. For, if it weren't for the devil, then the Father would not have had the opportunity to demonstrate his radical love in the abasement and sacrifice of the Son on the cross. In a strange and paradoxical way, even the devil continues to serve God's purposes.
- The severe limitation of reason: Hamann has several paradoxical things to say about reason. One wonders whether or not he had a higher view of reason than has subsequently been attributed to him,
perhaps because his writing was responsive and even polemical. In other words, he never set out to write a treatise like Locke or Kant. He opposed reason's overreach and man's cognitive pride. In an interesting passage, he suggests that reason is to live in a fruitful marriage with faith. Hamann also has an interesting view of the senses; while they are responsible for receiving information and leading toward cognitive knowledge (in a more or less Lockean or empiricist style), faith surpasses this in every sense.
- Faith in Christ is necessary for all human flourishing: Throughout the London Writings this is apparent. God is the Author of existence, of the book of the individual's life. Faith is not a 'leap,' for Hamann never once discusses doubt/uncertainty in relation to faith. Neither is it purely mental assent to various doctrines. Faith is not gained by any effort; rather, it comes as a gift. Hamann also thinks it is linked to love, so that as faith increases in strength, love does, as well. I hesitate to define Hamann's definition of faith as an "awareness" of one's relationship to God, because this makes it sound purely gnostic. It is a lived thing and an increasing thing. It is also multi-dimensional, involving the mind, heart, will, emotions, and imagination. It is the fidelity, given by the Holy Spirit, of the entire person in his creaturely reality to the Triune God through the God-Man.
- Brevity and economy of language as the sign of genius: Hamann will later make this point to his son in a well-known letter. In his meditations he writes, "Thus, brevity is the mark of a genius even in human creations; and everything big, all excess, is a learned sin" (170). The piling on of words is for pharisees in market places; verbosity cheapens language and leads to distraction and fragmentation. Kierkegaard famously wrote later that if he could have, Hamann would have reduced his writings to a single word. This is one of the most perceptive things any reader of Hamann ever said.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews