The Idea of Historical Recurrence in Western Thought / G. W. Trompf.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Trompf, G. W., Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource (392 p.)

Edition:

Reprint 2020

Place of Publication:

Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The idea that history repeats itself has a long and intriguing history. This volume is concerned with the period of time in the Western tradition when its expressions were most numerous and fervent. The author shows that this idea should not be confined to its cyclical version, for such notions as reenactment, retribution, and renaissance also belong under the wide umbrella of "recurrence." He argues, moreover, that not only the Greco-Roman but also the biblical tradition contributed to the history of this idea. The old contrast between Judeo-Christian linear views of history and Greco-Roman cyclical views is brought into question. Beginning with Polybius, Trompf examines the manifold forms of recurrence thinking in Greek and Roman historiography, then turns his attention to biblical views of historical change, arguing that in Luke-Acts and in earlier Jewish writings an interest in the idea of history repeating itself was clearly demonstrated. Jewish and early Christian writers initiated and foreshadowed an extensive synthesizing of recurrence notions and models from both traditions, although the syntheses could vary with the context and dogmatic considerations. The Renaissance and Reformation intertwine classical and biblical notions of recurrence most closely, yet even in the sixteenth century some ideas distinct to each tradition, such as the Polybian conception of a "cycle of governments" and hte biblical notion of the "reenactment of significant events," were revived in stark separation from each other. The Idea of Historical Recurrence in Western Thought deals with a continuing but not always fruitful "dialogue" between the two great traditions of Western thought, a dialogue that did not stop short in the days of Machiavelli, but has been carried on to the present day. This study is the first half of a long story to be continued in a second

volume on the idea of historical recurrence from Giambattista Vico to Arnold Toynbee. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1979.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

ABBREVIATIONS

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

1. THE POLYBIAN ANACYCLOSIS OR CYCLE OF GOVERNMENTS

2. POLYBIUS AND THE ELEMENTARY MODELS OF HISTORICAL RECURRENCE IN THE CLASSICAL TRADITION

3. NOTIONS OF HISTORICAL RECURRENCE IN LUKE AND THE BIBLICAL TRADITION

4. FROM LATER ANTIQUITY TO EARLY RENAISSANCE

5. MACHIAVELLI, THE RENAISSANCE, AND THE REFORMATION

Reflections

Excursus 1. Polybius on the Constitution of Sparta and Its Decline

Excursus 2. Luke as Hellenistic Historian: Background Comments

Excursus 3. Exegetical Notes on Luke

Excursus 4. Age Theory and Periodization from Joachim to the Early Humanists

Excursus 5. Notes on Machiavelli's II Principe

Excursus 6. Notes on Sixteenth-Century Metabole Theory and Age Theory

Select Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 28. Sep 2020)

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9780520312401

0520312406

OCLC:

1198931003