A Journal

of

Political

Philosophy

Volume
page

8/2, 3
In Honor
and

May, 1980
Memory
of

Martin Diamond

William Schambra Marvin Meyers

The Writings

of

Martin Diamond: A

Bibliography

The Least Imperfect Government: On Martin Diamond's "Ethics

Politics"

and
of

16
22

Thomas J. Scorza
Martin Diamond
William Schambra

Comment: The Politics

Martin Diamond's Science

Greatness"

An Excerpt from "Lincoln's

Martin Diamond
on

26

"Lincoln's

Greatness"

29

Robert Sacks

The Lion

and

the

Ass: A

Book of Genesis (Chapters 102 114 Judith Best

Commentary 1-10)

on

the

What Is Law: The Minos Reconsidered Rousseau's Civil Religion Sartre

and

Charles M. Sherover
Edith Hartnett Laurence Lampert
Nathan Rotenstreich

123 141 156

174

the

Decadents

Zarathustra's
Aspects
of

Dancing Song
and

Identity
and

Alienation

Glenn N. Schram

Progressivism
of

Political Science: The Case

Charles E. Merriam
of

188

Glen E. Thurow

Discussion: The Defense

Liberty,
Political

Anastaplo's The Constitutionalist 204

Joseph J. Carpino

Frederick D. Wilhelmsen's

Christianity

and

Philosophy
223
Will

Morrissey

Thomas J. Scorza's In the Time Before Steamships:

Billy Budd,

The Limits of Politics

and

Modernity

QUEENS COLLEGE PRESS

INTERPRETATION
A Journal
Volume 8

of

Political

Philosophy
Issue

2, 3

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Hilail Gildin

EDITORS
Seth G. Benardete
-

Hilail Gildin

Robert Horwitz

Howard B. White

(1912-1974)

CONSULTING EDITORS
John Hallowell
Wilhelm Hennis
-

Erich Hula

Arnaldo Momigliano
-

Michael

Oakeshott

Ellis Sandoz

Leo Strauss

(1899-1973)

Kenneth W. Thompson

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Larry Arnhart Patrick Coby Christopher E. Goldberg Pamela Jensen Will Morrissey
-

A. Colmo
-

Maureen Feder

Joseph

Thomas West

ART EDITOR

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Hale

ASSISTANT EDITOR
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Grey
COLLEGE PRESS

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Authors
requested

submitting
to

manuscripts

for

publication
and

in INTERPRETATION
of

are

follow

the

MLA Style Sheet

to send ribbon copies

their

work.

All

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addressed

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Editor-in-Chief; INTERPRETATION, Building G 101, Queens College, Flushing, N.Y. 11367, U.S.A.
Copyright

1980

Interpretation

QUEENS COLLEGE PRESS, FLUSHING, N.Y. 11367

THE WRITINGS OF MARTIN DIAMOND: A BIBLIOGRAPHY

William Schambra
American Enterprise Institute

Writings

on the

American Regime
The Federalist: A Reconsideration
Framers'

"Democracy
tent."

and

of the

In

American Political Science Review, 53 (1959), 52-68.

Greatness."

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ses on

In "With Firmness in the Right

.":

Two Addres

Abraham Lincoln. Claremont: Claremont Men's College, 1960,

pp.

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"The Federalist's View

son et al.

of

In Essays in Federalism. Ed. Ben

pp.

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"The American Heritage
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of the Claremont

the Quarrel

Among

Heirs."

the

In the 27th
1963.

Yearbook of the Claremont "Notes

on

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Fathers."

the Political

Theory

of

pared

for the Center for the

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the

Temple University. Mimeographed. "The

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History

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ed.

and

Joseph Cropsey. 2nd

Chicago:

Rand

McNally

and

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1972,
on

pp.

631-51.

"What the Framers Meant

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by

Federalism."

Chicago: Rand
42.

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College

Publishing Company, 1974,

pp.

25-

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ment.

With Winston Mills Fisk Rand

and

Herbert Garfinkel. 2nd

ed.

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cago:

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and

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Constitution."

'"Conservatives, Liberals
Essays
ert
pp.
on

and

the

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and

Center:

Liberalism

arid

Conservatism in the United States. Ed. Rob

A. Goldwin. 2nd

ed.

Chicago: Rand

McNally

and

Company, 1967,

60-86.

Introduction to The Thirties: A Reconsideration in the Light of the Ameri can Political Tradition. Eds. Morton J. Frisch and Martin Diamond.

De Kalb: Northern Illinois

University Press, 1968,

pp.

3-5.

Interpretation

"On the
and

Relationship

of

Federalism

Decentralization."

and

In Cooperation

Conflict: Readings in American Federalism. Eds. Daniel J. Elazar

et al.

Itasca: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc., 1969,

on

pp.

72-81.

"Second Thoughts
zation."

Tocqueville's Concept
the Annual

of

Administrative Decentrali
of

Paper

read at

Meeting
of

the American Political

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Association, 1970,
and of

in Los Angeles. Mimeographed.

Self-interest."

"Virtue, Idealism,
at

the American Regime

Paper

read

the

Meeting
of

the Northeast Political Science

Association, 1973,

in Buck Hill "The Ends

Falls, Pennsylvania. Mimeographed.

Publius, 3,
no.

Federalism."

(1973), 129-52.
on

"The Revolution
the

of

Sober

Expectations."

Distinguished Lecture Series

Bicentennial. Washington: American Enterprise Institute for Pub

lic

Policy Research,

1974. Also included in America's

Anchor

Continuing
pp.

Revolution. 25-41.
"The Problems

Garden City:

Press, 1976,

and

Washington:

American Enterprise Institute for Public

Policy Research, 1975,

One."

of

the

Socialist Party: B. After World War

In

Failure of a Dream? Essays in the History of American Socialism. Eds. John H.M. Laslett and Seymour Martin Lipset. Garden City:
Anchor

Press, 1974,
and

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362-93.
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"The Declaration
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the Constitution:

The Sol M. Feinstone

Lecture, September 1975,

at

Syracuse University. Mimeographed.

"The Declaration
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Liberty, Democracy, and the (1975), 39-55. Also included in The American Commonwealth 7976. Eds. Nathan Glazer and Irving Kristol. New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1976, pp. 39-55.
and

the

Constitution:
no.

Public

Interest,

39

"The American Idea

of

Man: The View from the

Founding."

In The
Paul

Americans, 1976: An Inquiry

into Fundamental Concepts of Man

Underlying

Various U.S. Institutions. Eds.

Irving
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Kristol

and

Weaver. Lexington: Lexington Books, 1976,

"The American Idea
of
of

1-23.
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Equality: The View from the

Review

Politics, 38 (1976), 313-31.

of

"The

Forgotten Doctrine

Enumerated

Powers."

Publius, 6,
Context."

no.

(1976), 187-93.
"The

Military
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and the Democratic Republic: The Political 15 November 1976. Mimeographed.

Paper

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"Ethics
the

and

Politics: The American

Way."

In The Moral Foundations of

American Republic. Ed. Robert H. Horwitz. Charlottesville: Uni

of

versity Press

Virginia, 1977,
and the

pp.

39-72.

The Electoral College

American Enterprise Institute for Public

American Idea of Democracy. Washington: Policy Research, 1977.

Testimony
ton:

in Support of the Electoral College. Reprint No. 76.

American Enterprise Institute for Public

on
a

Washing 1977. Research, Policy

a

"The Federalist

Federalism: 'Neither
Both.'

a
"

National Nor
Yale Law

Federal Consti

tution, But
1273-85.
"The Separation

Composition

of

Journal, 86 (1977),
Publius, 8,
3

of

Powers

and

the Mixed

Regime."

no.

(1978), 33-44.
Writings
on

Political

Theory

and the

Teaching

of Politics

"Comment

McCloskey."

on

American Political Science

Review, 51 (1957),
In the 34th

130-34.
"The Problem
of

Reading
Politics in

in

an

Age

of

Mass

Democracy."

Yearbook of the Claremont "On the

Reading Conference, Claremont, 1970.

Education."

Study

of

Liberal

The

College, December,
3 (1972),

1971,6-10.
"The Dependence
of

Fact

'Value.'

"

upon

Interpretation, 2,

no.

226-35. "The Utopian Grounds for Pessimism

Optimism."

and

the

Reasonable Grounds for

In Causes for Optimism. Ed. John A. Howard. Rockford:

pp.

Rockford

College, 1973,
as an

40-50.
Discipline."

"Political Science
the

Undergraduate

report prepared

for

Academy for Educational Development, 1973, in Washington. Mimeographed.

Politics."

"On the

Study

of

Paper

read

at

the Small College

Conference,
at Sham-

1973,
"The baugh

American Political Science Association. Mimeographed.

of

Teaching

Political Science

Vocation."

as

Paper

read

Conference, 1974, at University of Iowa. Mimeographed. Also included in Teaching Political Science. Ed. Vernon Van Dyke. High land, New Jersey: The Humanities Press, 1977, pp. 89-1 15. "Teaching
Government: DEA

The Political

and

Ethical Implication for

our

Students."

News, (Summer 1975), 3.

Interpretation
on

"Reflections

Teaching Political
and

Science."

DEA

News, (Fall 1975).

Paper
at
read at

"Opinion, Passion,

Interest in Political

Life."

The Wil

liam Benet Munro Memorial Lecture, 1975, Mimeographed.

Stanford University.

"Teaching About
Books, 1977,

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Vocation."

as a

Scientific Research. Eds.

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Sidney

Hook

In The Ethics of Teaching and et al. Buffalo: Prometheus

3-22.

Book Reviews

Rev.

of

An Economic

of Political

Theory of Democracy, by Anthony Downs. Journal Economy, 67 (1959), 208-11.

Rev.

of

The Age of the Democratic Revolution,

Political Science Review, 24

Rev.
of

by R. R. (1960), 747-48.

Palmer. American

Six

the

Crises, by Richard Nixon. The Individualist, a Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of Claremont Men's College, November 1962.
Court."

"Challenge to the
the

Rev.

of

The Warren Revolution: Reflections

on

Consensus Society,

by

L. Brent Bozell. National

Review, 13 June

1967, 642-44.

My
this

special

thanks to Diana J. Poznanski for her

assistance

in the preparation

of

bibliography.

THE LEAST IMPERFECT GOVERNMENT:

ON MARTIN DIAMOND'S "ETHICS AND

Marvin Meyers Brandeis

POLITICS"

University
my least imperfect friend through of luminous intelligence and saving

In memory
some

of

Martin

Diamond

forty

years and always a model

human
more

grace

can

securely
clarify

what

only try to do two modest things: to grasp a little he taught all of us about the nature of the Founding; in
our own

and to

some unanswered questions

fragmentary
found

dialogues

on politics and
and partings of

history,

spoken and

unspoken,

with

their

perpetual meetings

the minds that

drifted toward

yet never

a resolution.

If I
more

speak more of

the questions we

probed

and worried

than of the

he has settled, it is simply because Martin's lucid writings have left very little need for commentators to discover what he meant to say. Perhaps by continuing our own unfinished conversation on important
answers

the

Founding,

even with one voice

better one, I can suggest a work. For brevity and focus, I later
essays

sadly summoning the distinctive and I hope useful

shall

echo of

the other,

perspective on
one

his his

address

myself

chiefly to
Way"

of

"Ethics
much
of

and what

Politics:

The American

that

at

once

epitomized

he had been writing

and pointed

and

teaching
next

about

the

Founding
A

since

Chicago days

toward the

work

that we

shall never see.

rough

first

sketch of our points of are not always

departure may
shared:

help

to

put our
odd

dialogues in focus. Trivia

youthful passions and

trivial. I

cannot omit some

diversions that

we

for

wobbly

sort

of

Trotskyism marvelously cleansed of tyranny and terror burden of guilt to Stalinist monstrosity; for Nellie Fox and
all

by shifting Billy Pierce

the
and

the

hitless

wonders of

Comiskey Park, loved

and

makeshift

virtues; for early Partisan Review

and

precisely for their motley, its canon of high mo

Borscht-Belt

dernity,
vintage
and

Danny Leadbelly and

young

Kaye

his

spontaneous

his

rueful

prison-humor,

unbuttoned

foolery, Bobby Burns

the eternal

comedy

of sex.
our

Even,
kid
and
ground world.

or

especially,

strong

contrasts

bound

us a

for life. Brash city

spacious common
or

backward country

innocent,

we never

lacked

for talking, joking, teaching, helping, goofing-off, Time and distance and a multitude of changes in
barbarians

saving the
and

ourselves

in the

world never seemed

to shake the foundations. Thus in recent years the march, in the universities and

whenever

were on

we

knew

instinctively
no

that the old alliance

in the world, held. This fragment of personal

offers

history

has

significance

beyond the hint it

that

friendship,

and

6
even
never

Interpretation

intellectual affinity, have

causes

and

consequences

our

philosophy
played

dreamed

of

theme that Martin above all could have

out

with virtuoso art.

In I

our

conversations

on

the

Founding, quickly
I the
small

epitomized,

he

defined the large

choose

philosophical point and

historical

counterpoint.

the image deliberately. There

with

was no simple clash of philosophical

abstraction

historical

concreteness.

Martin had little

with

more

use

for

studies

that locked the Founders in the closet

of

library

of political

philosophy, making
the

them

gifted

but clumsy schoolboys, than I had for

men and minds

histories that
and

reduced

extraordinary

to their

common

baggage

He gladly drew upon the rich historical necessary sense and sensibility of Douglass Adair as I gleaned what I could surely not enough from his master, Leo Strauss. Together we understood that
expedients.

the

Founders had

created what was

permanently best

and

truly worthy in

a nation

that commanded

our profound

loyalty;

their

ultimate

responsibility for
coin.

America's

and equally we understood intrinsic imperfections: the

other side of

the

Above all, perhaps,

acknowledged

we shared a view of politics and ethics

of

that both
and

the salutary wisdom

laws

suited

to the

principles

character of the particular regime and yet and measure

imposed the
an

obligation

to

weigh

those laws

and good

that regime

the good

society, the

citizen, the

finally by good life,

enduring indeed the best that

standard of

human

nature permits us

to imagine. And we discovered in the Founders

had done exceedingly well at accomplishing former task, yet had never forgotten what was lacking,
men who was

permanently
and

vulnerable

in their

achievement.

interpreting the what was lost, what We found them justly

and

proud

wisely humble. In a word, we found them statesmen and teachers worthy of a lifetime's study, severely critical yet profoundly re spectful. With little debt to our dialogues, Martin's own work, unfinished
as

it is, has

almost

single-handedly

compelled serious men of our

American

generation

to search for the roots of our strength, and of our weakness, in

the mind of the

Founders.
on as

ours.

One further preliminary observation Martin loved and studied philosophy

served

this

point-counterpoint

of

his training

and conviction

demanded. It

him wonderfully well, I hardly need to say, in under standing the American regime. And yet his peculiar temperament, his unique gift and he would not have thanked me unequivocally for the
was

compliment

to

stay in
spirit, to
a

sympathetic

touch

with

his world, to feel

keenly

its

moods and

see

its

quirks and twists with a

fresh,

clear

eye, to find for himself

voice

that could

delight

and

instruct friends,

students, learned colleagues, politicians, pany

of all

men of

affairs,

and a mixed com

degrees

and

kinds.

Martin Diamond 's "Ethics

and

Po

litics"

7
careless

Thus if Martin
of politics

could

austerely

raise

the casual and

discussion

to the level
with

tion to

bear

principle, he could bring abstract specula exhilarating impact upon the knotty detail, the messy
of grand

confusion,

the

simple, practical, too easily

not

neglected
natural

point

of

political

business. In that sense, he,

censor

I,

was

the

historian. He

could

well-intentioned

fools
wit,

with

affectionate

understanding,

tease

himself in many human high and low. The human and as he insisted when breeds, comedy the gloomy friends unduly praised his light-heartedness and high spirits human tragedy as well were never alien to him. In my imagination I some
righteous prigs with playful
and see a

bit

of

times picture another kind of serious writing that he might have come to when, sure at last of his acquired Greek and Latin, he could have
given

full play to that uncommon grasp of the common American things. He had a loyal philosopher's quarrel with his country that set him above from it
all.

and apart

But he

also and

had

lover's

quarrel that pleaded

was

for

its better nature, taken exactly

perfect of possible

worlds,
on

and

wholly for what it unalienably his own.

Politics,"

the

least im

Martin's essay from

a

"Ethics

and
and

venture
ways

to suggest,

springs

already hinted at, personal. In his systematic view, political had philosophy truly denned in ancient Greek the nature of justice and the corresponding forms of polity,
the scale of

dilemma, theoretical, historical,

in

human
The

excellences
rest was

and

the requisite

political

modes

of

cul

tivating
and

virtue.

commentary, through all the ages of classical nation, in

Christian predominance, and, in modern times, declension. America was created as an independent political society,

the

late

eighteenth

century, the very model of

were

modernity in its

purest

form.

America's Founders
through
minds

schooled

in the

political

tradition that passed

i.e., by essentially from Machiavelli to Locke and Montesquieu

yet contrast

diverse

to the ancients
and

kindred

their
an

brothers,
emerging
and

heirs,

and

inner-family

critics.

The Founders
to the twin

were

bred in
of

modern

world,

singularly

attuned

spirits

commerce
a new

republican government.

Confronting

the task of shaping

republic,

they

could not and would not project

their ends beyond the

modern

limits
mild,

of comfortable preservation under the conditions of equal rights and equitable

law. The

representative citizen

of their

new republic

would

be

the acquisitive man, constrained

petitors

by

a mixed

multitude of watchful com

and

for petty gain; tempered by the intrinsic disciplines of commercial democratic life; and elevated just a little, just enough for political

union,
and

by

his

calculations of

the necessary connections

between
of

self-interest

the

public

interest, between

the safety and

and

prosperity

self, house

hold,

neighborhood, state, nation,

remotely

all mankind.

Interpretation

To

aim

for

a nobler order of political

justice

and

human

excellence,

the classical and Christian ends, would the capacities of human nature,
quarrels over
and

be

at once

tragically

beyond vainly Utopian, reckless, provoking fatal

objects

irreconcilable differences

of opinion and

of passion.

Thus the Founders consciously designed a regime the large commercial republic for general ease and comfort, safety, peace and order, broad freedom narrowly employed; for the enduring reign of those "low but
solid"

human

excellences

"the bourgeois bilities to

citizens summer
great and

virtues."

escape the

according to
of

lately, with unwarranted contempt, as Deliberately sacrificing the best of human possi terrible worst, they secured a decent life for ordinary the short their common nature. After the Founding
there would be no need, no
great room

known

creation great

for

great

men,

cities,

thoughts,
of

faiths,

great

deeds. All

would

be

busily

endlessly
the

engaged

and

pursuit

in securing their inalienable happiness a joyless, middling

rights

to
of

life, liberty,
happiness.

grade

Their
of

left only a remnant, a vestige, happiness for the fulfillment of the higher needs of mind
pain-pleasure calculus

an odd corner and soul.

What then is the dilemma I have

essay?

marked

as

the

source of

Martin's

Beginning
not

on personal

grounds, I have

suggested

that Martin
men of

himself
nature

had

a measure of

love
to

and

loyalty

for his country that be

to
one

his

simply do
and

give

petty, paltry, merely

cheers would

respectable

and

grudgingly
citizen,

tolerable things. Even two

too

many.

good

Martin

was

according to its
and

surely that, own best

might choose

support a second-rate

country
alterna

i.e.,

second-best or even third-best

standards

traditions, particularly
he
remarks

when

it

was threatened

by

abominable

tives. As

in effect,

even

humble bourgeois

virtues

can cast

lovely

light in the

moral

darkness.
to me enough to explain the depth the
perpetuation of our of political

Yet that does

not seem

feeling,

the

enduring

concern with

political

insti

tutions that grew stronger

hours. It does
not

not explain

in his last years, and even occupied his last for me his scholarly devotion to the Founders

merely as curious subjects for the detached study of modernity but as forgive me heroic men, exemplary leaders, essential political teachers. There was something more to the Founding and the nation it created

something that

moved
all

his

soul

than

world
civic

jockeying factions, of self-regulating institutions,

When Martin
nation with a wrote

fenced

and

tamed to

jostling competitors, decency within a system

of
of an

political and economic.

we

that

know formed

instinctively
a of an

American
charac

distinctive
wrote

ethos that

distinctive American

ter

when

he

that we sense the

presence

authentic political

community beneath the bare skin of a mere association for the sake of life to complete his when, in short, he introduced "The American
Way"

Martin Diamond 's "Ethics thought about the place

and of ethics

and

Po litics

' '

9
political order

in the formal American

said

its

universal principles:
personal sense

When Martin

these things he
acknowledge

was

in

deeply
and

asking The Philosopher to

and a people

the
own

sub

stantial worth of a

loyalty
It

and

country best service.

the

that could command

his

love

nor could it ever be. It had become some less than the American Republic as it was conceived in the beginning thing and as it might be in the end. Yet I believe that Martin would gladly have was not

"Republic,"

joined Madison
in reflecting
The
at

author of

the quintessential

pattern of political

the end

on

his country
and

and the cause of

modernity its liberty:

advice nearest to political open

my heart

in his

testament] is
as

that the

deepest in my convictions [Madison wrote union be cherished and perpetuated.

...

Let the

enemy to it be

regarded as

Pandora

the disguised one,

the serpent creeping with his

her box opened; and deadly wiles into Paradise.

with

Thus in the final reckoning do Greek to the land of acquisition, the realm
calculation, the

and

Judaeo-Christian images

return

of

insatiable

appetite

and

cunning

low-slung city of modernity.

modest exercise

So

much

for my

in psycho-history,

little antiquated,

character and fact, contemporary honored I have theoretical suggested and subject, my necessarily historical aspects of the dilemma underlying Martin's essay on "Ethics standards.

I confess,

by

In

given

the

mind of

Politics."

and

shall complete the

thought summarily.
refined

Although Martin leaned surprisingly close to Beard, as Hofstadter, in interpreting the intention and the method of the
politics

by

Founders'

reserving his hardest blows for Hofstadter's loose moral criticism, the short case for virtue without tears by grace of modern science he

proved ers.

clearly formulated the decisive differences. First, of course, he long ago beyond a reasonable doubt the democratic legitimacy of the Found
Those
who repeat

the

old

story

are

simply

unteachable.

Beyond that,
own

Martin

refused

to

permit

the Founders to be caught in their

net,

confounding fish with fisherman. If interest and passion are the dominant motives in most men, and if property is the most common and durable source of factional interest, it does not follow that Founders who learn
this harsh fact of
permanent
political

life

and put of

it to salutary
the

use

in

defending

the

and

aggregate

interests

community thereby become

servants of

themselves the creatures of interest and passion, tial property-interest, a faction

their own par

like

all others.

ends

At the very least they acted on a rational and systematic view of the of political society in the face of human limits evidenced in the sad
of political

story

experience, in the cautionary tales

of

history. Self-interest

10
and

Interpretation

factional behavior

represent

inevitable

problems

to be

mastered

for

the sake of

liberty

and

self-government,

not norms

for Founding,
and

ready-

made excuses

for making

government and

law the

pliant tools of avarice,

ambition,
of

and class-rule.

The language

of

their reasoning

the

record

their conduct, tested to the

establish

limit

by

the

hard

years

of

Founding
and

and

Revolution,
intention
of of

the distinction between the

on

character

political

the

human
And

nature

Founders, (as they

the one side, and on the other, the qualities

conceived

it)

that made their revolutionary en

terprise

so problematic.

yet

the dilemma

remains

for Martin.

Cheap debunking

aside,

do the
of

ends of

the Founders incorporate so

of

much of

their understanding

the limitations

human nature,
political view

of

the quest for an

standards?

authentic

human reason, that they abandon community, defined by Aristotelian

reduce of

Does their
of

of

justice

itself to
good

bundle
and
gross

of

timid to

negatives, devoid
secure against

any

significant

view

the

life

content

the

safety

and

prosperity

of

individuals

against

injustice:

theft, injury, fraud,

unspeakable

abomination;

against absolute and

arbitrary power; against internal chaos and foreign invasion? Does the Republic they founded, in brief, breed citizens distinguished by a certain

truly

respectable

degree

and

kind
an

of virtue suited aggregate of

to the

principles of

the

regime?

Or does it

represent

stunted

creatures,

barely

literate in the language

association

of genuine

civility,

of

civilization, bound in

political

served?
mand

only insofar as their own necessities and conveniences are Again, in personal terms, does the Republic of the Founders com
and

love

loyalty

and

devoted

service of

its best men,

or prudent acqui

escence

because it is the only Republic we have or can hope for? Martin's answer is tentative and full of doubts. There is
or

of

course
meant

no

Rome

Greek Athens
perhaps

or

Holy
year

See in

America,
as

nor was

there

to

be. (Martin

first learned that

or so and

very young

man

when,

as

I recall, he
about the

spent

a wayward

in

principles of natural

rights, the

soul

Athens, Ohio.) The spirit of the Founding,

realize

modern aim

for
ra

lowest brutes
of

point where man

begins to

his

humanity,

his

tional and moral nature. To secure that the life

of

humble but

precious

step beyond
and republic

and savages

and slaves,

beyond the

state of nature

the state
with

war, the Founders designed the large

system
of

commercial

its

complex

checks

and

balances,

of

watchmen

watching
con

watchmen,
stitutional

incorporated in self-sustaining institutions. Within that

satisfy happiness in any paths they chose even paths toward true wisdom and lofty virtue, if any cared to find them for themselves. The laws, however, led men in another common way: toward the life of
pursue

framework,

men

could

their wants, secure their rights,

their

commerce

in the

spirit of acquisitiveness.

Martin Diamond's "Ethics

Politics"

and

11
a

Engaged in governing their

such

pursuits,

men

would sake

discover
of

kind

of

virtue

in

own

passions

for the
useful

gain.

Industry,
felt

enterprise,
of

foresight, calculating honesty, others, even a touch of liberality

mas

accommodation

to the interests
at

such as merchant-Scrooge

Christ
would

time

to

his

profit

(that is Martin's harsh image):

These

become habitual in the ordinary course of life, form a distinctive charac ter, define and sustain a decent American Republic. Anything less would be utterly contemptible. Anything more would be Utopian, denying the
nature and

limits

of

the

regime

given

to

us

by

the

Founders,
Martin

and

thus

inviting

chaos and ruin.

Aristotle's

ghost never quite answers the question

an

put

to him:
would would man's

Is this America

authentic

political

community?

find it sadly incomplete and far less than recognize at least the shadow and echo of "ethical
would
need"

admirable. a political

Certainly Probably

he he

life expressing

a partnership that aims above survival. Possibly he Martin did in fact, a country that demanded one's best it, thought and drew one's life steadily and finally toward I

for

find

as

"Washington."

doubt it. On Aristotle's grounds, Martin gave to America far more than his classical interpretation of "The American requires or, I think,
Way"

permits.

Part

of

the dilemma

of

"Ethics

Politics"

and

remains.

Let
on and

me

turn quickly to some more

particular points

in

our

dialogue
"Ethics

the American
Politics."

Founding,
resolution

aimed

at

clarifying the dilemma

of

(A for

more

directly

myself.

is beyond my powers.) Here I shall speak Martin, after all, has spoken his mind convinc
further
efforts of mine at explication and

ingly

and memorably.

Any

inter

pretation can

only Viewed from my side, the great antithesis of Ancient and Modern grants too much to sweeping the controlling context of Martin's argument
philosophical

obscure

his

position.

abstraction

and

so

leaves too little

room

for

historical Martin
and

particularity.
recognized ways of

I do

not

mean

to be perversely literal.

Of

course

and

understood

the vast range of philosophies,

polities,

life that falls

within some

two millenia of "Classical and

crucial

Christian"

ethos and character that

history. Indeed, Martin himself insisted upon the identify "authentic political

distinctions

of

communities."

distinguishing, say, Machiavelli's Florence from John Cotton's Boston, Bacon's New Atlantis, Locke's London, Montesquieu's Paris, Jefferson's Monticello, or Madison's Philadel phia. I understand, or think I do, why he could employ the essential Aristotle Similarly, he
would

have

no

trouble

to

represent all all

before the Modern

Simple
antitheses

and

Madison's Federalist 10 to
on

repre

sent

after.

grounded

first

principles

of

politics

may

point

the way toward

complex

historical truths.

12

Interpretation

And

yet as

finally
he

must

lightening
some war we

makes

Martin's scheme, compelling and the greats it. The Founders I know best
resist

en

and

universal simply did not cast themselves in a between the Moderns and the Ancients. Perverse literalism? Perhaps

lesser lights

as well

know them better than they knew themselves? Perhaps we should be doubleready to read between the lines, find the secret writing and the

meanings, draw interpretations from their

sages

libraries,
I
a catch of

reveal

the silent mes

hidden for
and

us

beneath the

public rhetoric?

cannot glint of

deny

the

pos

from time to time I actually Well-earned humility before the masters

sibility,
speak
mend

it for

myself. me

philosophy

cautions

to

quietly
that

and slowly.

On very

good

authority,

we

at

least begin
eyes and

where

the Founders

however, I can recom began, try faithfully to

look through their

masters,

texts,

acknowledge

friends,

and

adversaries. political

In short,
and
moral

we

provisionally their chosen might do well to borrow

of

their map to

the great
our own.

campaign
with

history

before
of

superimposing

Recent

experience

the imperial

designs

bio-history psycho-history class-history is not entirely irrelevant to my science has its corresponding levellers point, although I would not for a moment abandon my adversary-friends
and cliometrics and

and

political

to such low company.

I agree,
planned and

and

I
a

insist,

that

it

was

great

campaign

the Founders

led:

campaign

against

the

Old Regime. Not Aristotle's

of the noble Romans. Only remotely and sym despotic bolically popery and gorgeous pomp, mystery and Jesuitical plots and Franciscan begging. And that was an superstition, ancestral hatred bequeathed to them by those most pious first founders

Athens. Not the Rome

the Rome
of

of

the

brave

new

American

world.

Their

evil

Old Regime

was rather
and

Early Modern polity that blended remnants of the canon feudal law, loosely conceived (by John Adams, for example) as forms of clerical and aristocratic oppression, with a new kind
model of

the

general

of

en

lightened
power of

despotism,
the
state

concentrating
that

and

through its

monarchical

rationalizing and enlarging the head. A catch-all notion, to be

sure, but it

was one

served their purpose of

drawing
all

many
of

enemies

into

one

decisive battle.

More
and

broadly

still, it

was

a campaign

against

kinds

absolute and and

arbitrary,

cruel and

present:

against

Alexander
and

deceitful, corrupt and corrupting power, past and Caesar, Turk and Norman, Borgia
second,
and not

Bourbon, Stuarts first George. This was the

mankind

least

against

their own

King
of

many-headed

monster
of

that had

reduced

most

ignorance, perpetual war, and abject dependence: a life poor, nasty, brutish, and short under the mighty Leviathan or some other mortal god. (Hobbes, I should note in
misery,

through the ages to a life

Martin Diamond's "Ethics

Politics"

and

13

for the Founders Locke's hard-fisted brother in modernity but the apologist for naked power. Their philosophy might have been
passing,
was not

weak, but their

political

instincts

were sound.

)
insist
upon

immediately and concretely I must they fought a Revolutionary War against the
and a people common

More

the

obvious

British Empire:

regime

that

had betrayed
of

heritage

liberty

and

only law. Driven

their Old

not

the trust of government

but the

British

at

home had

abandoned

by ambition and avarice, the Cause, perverted their balanced

constitution,

corrupted politics and morals.

fleets

and swarms of royal vultures

And they had sent troops and to enslave America and pick its bones.
have been
weak

Again,

the

Founders'

history

might

and

tendentious, but
that this

their political instincts were sound.

With

all

due

apologies

for

rough
a

brevity, then, I

propose

familiar,
question
scale

old-fashioned

view casts
war

project than
of

does Martin's
the
Founders'

very different light on the Founding between Ancients and Moderns. The first
Politics"

"Ethics

and

was

not:

How

can

we

down the
or

great ends of classical

of

justice,

the

great models of ancient

a safe

character,

the Table

Divine Commandments to

and

rather

sorry level of respectability? It was rather: How can we elevate America and Americans to the full dignity and, teaching by example, all mankind
of

human

nature

(they

did

use

that expression)

such

as

few

glorious

societies

law,
large

have known for tragically brief moments through all of history? Their second question was: If broad freedom under wise and salutary if self-government is the way, both right and necessary, to achieve a
measure of

human

dignity,
high

what particular

laws

and

institutions

shall

we choose

to sustain

such ordered

Precisely dently attend

and

because

we seek

ends

liberty for ourselves and our by daring means, we must

nature

posterity?

most pru

to the limits of human

reason and

and

thus of

politics. not

Passion

interest, fallible

neglectful

conscience,

will

disappear

in the best
noble great

of republics. of

liberty

They destroyed the shining cities of antiquity, the England, and they can get us, too. America has been given
material and

advantages,
self-evident.

moral,

and

holds the

great political

truths

to be
and

sacred

country honor. But it is not exempt from

us

It is

well worth

the pledge of
man's

republics.

Therefore let

build

on secure political

lives, fortunes, fate, the fate of all foundations, as far as

can

republican principles admit.

Here my thought

almost

joins Martin's. The link

be

stated

in his

terms. The high ends of the ancients presupposed

and perpetuated

human

inequality in the most important things. Giving every man his due, I need hardly tell this audience, meant giving radically different things to radically
different
slaves men

for the best

numbers

of reasons:

reasons

of

justice. There
of men were

would

be

in large

because large

numbers

naturally

14
slavish.
rare

Interpretation

There

would

be

philosophers and

kings in

single numbers

because

few

could achieve wisdom and virtue

in the highest degree. In between,

shares

there would
and

be

graded ranks of citizens

meriting different

of offices

the

honors according to their nature, education, and condition. I defer to learned in these matters, if only I am granted the simple point of ine
point.

quality, Martin's

And its direct

consequence:

that the highest ends,

the noblest patterns

citizens are

of character, the most demanding modes of educating designed for the few. No dirt farmers, sweaty artisans, let alone grunt-laborers need apply. They will be called when needed, and take their

orders.

In the meantime, let them do the humble

work

befitting
will

humble

men.

am not

preaching

slave revolt

in Rome

or

Athens. I
cannot

gladly take

them in all their the comparison

glory between the

and their

inequality. But I

character and education

readily assent to designed for the noble

few

antiquity and that designed by the Founders for the great mass of Americans, black slaves excluded at least for the moment. Martin, I fear,
of

having

marked

this distinction very carefully,

argument

proceeds

to

use

it

rather

loosely. As the
own, the

flows,

as

the great

antithesis acquires a

life

of

its

American Everyman is brought to trial before the

the law suited to philosopher-kings and

court of political

justice

under

guardians:

the rare
of

few

capable of

achieving
test
an

wisdom and virtue

in the highest

degree, worthy

defining
in the
this

and

directing

ultimate

and commanding the conduct of the polis, meriting invitation to Akademia. It is not surprising, then, that

ordinary fellow

raised

by democracy

to the

rank of citizen and endowed

with an equal share of

humble "bourgeois

virtues."

sovereignty is found wanting in everything but the Nor is it unexpected that Martin should ac
ancient

cordingly attribute to the Founders a deliberate design to unseat the judges and the ancient law, reduce the ends of politics and ethics to
six

a scant

feet

above ground
as you

level.

I would,

know justice

by now,
nor

put

the case quite differently. The judges

that the Founders

saw on

the bench of the

and

dispensing
The judges

classical were

history were not the ancient sages holy priests dispensing pure religion.
typically
and

predominantly
gifts

therefore, for
serve

practical

purposes, predictably

men of great

ambition, consuming appetite,

to be employed to

extraor and

dinary

gifts

perhaps, but
ends

likely

interested
and

passionate

lacking

due

restraint

by

laws

and

institutions

so,

extraordinarily dangerous gifts. Their law was typically, therefore predict ably, the law of domination, the law of exploitation, the law of holding the
great
of society in subjection and darkness, the law of denying to human nature its rightful share of and happiness. ordinary liberty, dignity, Founders' Seen in this light light the my light and, I propose, the

body

ends

of the

Revolution

and

the Constitution were not

minimal, negative,

Martin Diamond's "Ethics

apologetic: not the

Politics"

and

15

Justice
in
a

last least hope for mankind after the Fall from Ancient Divine Grace. Shortly following Federalist 10, Madison spoke different key to and of the people of America:
and

Happily
a

for America, happily,

in the
annals of

we

trust, for the

whole a

human race, they

revolution which

pursued

new and more noble course.

They
of

accomplished

has

no

parallel
which

human

society.

They

-reared

the fabrics

of governments of a great
and per

have

no model on which

the face

the globe.
on

They

formed the design

confederacy,
petuate.

it is incumbent

their successors to

improve

Counsels

of

despair,

of

timorous prudence in the face

more

of great risks

and

opportunities, deserved nothing Hearken

not

than

Madison's

contempt:

to the unnatural voice

as

which tells you that

the people of
no

America,

knit together dians

they

are

by

so

many

cords of

affection, can

longer live to
mutual guar

gether as members of
of

the same

their mutual
and

family; can no longer continue the happiness; can no longer be fellow-citizens

empire.

of one

great,

respectable,

nourishing

commercial republic
of

animated

by

the acquisitive spirit?

Yes, but:

the

business
worth

America

was

to be far more than business. It

was an enterprise

forty

years of a wise and good man's

life

and

twenty
of

years more of

searching,

prayerful reflection.

As
the

Madison, nearing
"the

the end of

life,

wrote

in defense

his Old

Cause,

democratic

principle and

its finely-wrought

embodiment

in the Ameri
of government

can regime:

problem to

be

solved

is,

not what
. .

form

is perfect, but
the "least

which of the

forms is least imperfect.

service,

May
and

it be

so that

long, devoted, painfully exacting

imperfect"

enlightened

enlightening, to

government represents statesmanship and virtue in a high degree? very May it be so that such qualities drew Martin to his Madison and the work of his mind and hand? May it be life-long study of so that we are led to study Martin, and to honor him, because he not only defined uncompromisingly the dilemma of "Ethics and in America, but lent his gifts of wisdom and virtue to that "least government,
Politics"

imperfect"

his own, beyond the demands I hope this recollection memory

of

of

his

argument?
not

of a

broken dialogue is

unworthy

of our

Martin Diamond. I

shall not

forget.

This

paper

was

prepared

while

was

Humanities Fellow
a

Institute for Public

Policy Research,
originally

under

grant

from

the

Humanities. It
Martin

was

presented at the session of the

at the American Enterprise National Endowment for the APSA honoring the memory of

Diamond, Sept. 1, 1978.

16

COMMENT: THE POLITICS OF

MARTIN DIAMOND'S SCIENCE
Thomas J. Scorza

I
a

wished

to

show what

democratic

people

really

was

in

our

day;

and

by

rigorously To those who have fancied

accurate picture

to produce a double
an

effect on

the men of
and

my day.
realized

ideal

democracy,
they

brilliant

easily

dream, I
that the

endeavored
republican

to

show

that

they had
can

clothed

the picture in false colors;

though

government

which

extol,

even

substantial

benefits be

on a people

that

bear it, has

none of

the

elevated

it may bestow features

with which

their imagination would

endow

it,

and moreover

that such a govern

of private

ment cannot

maintained without certain conditions of

intelligence,
not

morality,
we must

and of religious attain

belief that we,

the word

as a nation,

have

reached, and that

labor to

before

grasping their political results.

To those for

whom
and

democracy is
rights

synonymous with
show

destruction,
democratic

anarchy, spoliation,
government

murder, I have tried to

and

that under a

the fortunes

the

preserved,

and religion

honored;
the

society may be respected, liberty that though a republic may develop less than
of

other governments some of

noblest powers of

the human mind, it

yet

has

nobility

of

amount of

its own; and that after all it may be God's will to spread happiness over all men, instead of heaping a large sum
a small

a moderate
upon

few

by

allowing only

minority to

approach perfection.

attempted was no

to

prove

to them that whatever their opinions might their power; that society was
and

be, deliberation
more and more

longer in

tending every day

towards equality,

dragging
have

them and everyone else along

with

it;

that the only choice

ceased

lay

be

tween two inevitable evils; that the question had

would an

to be whether

they

without ciplined

democracy, and now lay between a democracy or elevation indeed, but with order and morality; and an undis poetry and depraved democracy, subject to sudden frenzies, or to a yoke
aristocracy
or a

heavier than any that has galled mankind since the fall of the Roman Empire. I wish to diminish the ardor of the republican party and, without disheart
ening them, to point out their only wise course. 1 have endeavored to abate the claims of the
aristocrats and

to make them
and resistance

bend to

an

irresistible future;

so that

the impulse in one quarter

in the

other of

fillment

being less violent, society may march on peaceably towards the ful its destiny. This is the dominant idea in the book [Democracy in
an

America]

idea

which embraces all

the others, and which you ought to have

please

made out more clearly.

Hitherto, however, few have discovered it. I

because they
my
work,
penetrate side of

many

persons of opposite opinions, not

my meaning, but be

cause,

looking

arguments

at only one in favor of their

they
see

think that

they

can

find in it
and

own convictions. all

will

But I have faith in the clearly

what now

future,
only
a

I hope that the

suspect.
. . .

day

will come when

few

Alexis de 21

Letter to M.

Tocqueville, Stoffels, (Paris. February 1835).

Politics of Martin Diamond's Science

17

One Diamond
had

day several years finally persuaded

was

ago,
me

about a year after

received

my

Ph.D., Mr.
He
while

to refer to and address him as

without

"Martin."

suggested several

times previously,

success, that

"Mr.

Diamond"

necessary

and proper when

as a professional colleague

had

authorized

his student, my new status my using his first name. On the

was

in question, in my last, desperate "Martin," him as I told him a story

day

attempt to avoid
about

actually addressing
while
when
Snider"

my

baseball-playing boyhood,
I told him that
"Gil"

foolishly

using for

anecdotal purposes

his

sport.

I had I had "Mr.

always called
spoken about
Hodges"

and my Brooklyn Dodger heroes them, I found myself saying hello to "Mr.

"Duke"

and

contest, I actually got to meet them. To winning Mr. Diamond responded that while I had to speak both of and to him this, Diamond" as "Mr. when I was a Little League political scientist, I could when,
after
a speak

both

of and

to him as

"Martin"

now scales and

that I was playing triple-A

me

ball.

This

happy

analogy tipped the for

some

led

to accept my calling him

addressing him by In any case, I took his argument to be quite a compliment until, that is, I realized that he had located me securely in the minor
although

"Martin,"

time afterward I

avoided

name at all.

leagues.
It

would

be nice,

of

course, to

enter

the major

leagues,

and what

better

way than
work of

by

my Diamond for
minors

major

using this opportunity to show the league hero? And some days
sure:
at

error or weakness ago

in the
the
of

I thought I had Mr.

the

APSA

convention

in New

York, I'd leave

critique

forever! But, alas, I

must report

that my

devastating

Martin Diamond has recently fallen apart, and far from discovering why I should be admitted to the majors, I have come to see more clearly than ever
why Martin Diamond was a star in the biggest league of all. After reviewing Mr. Diamond's writings, I had concluded that there is a discrepancy between his descriptive account of the principles of the

Founders

and

Meyers,

saw a

his later apology for the republic they had founded. Like Mr. tension between Mr. Diamond's picture of the Founders as
realistic a

thoroughly modern, wholly

American
ascent republic

democrats

and the argument that

regime

the

quote

an character-forming towards excellence is encouraged or fostered. I had concluded, to Mr. eloquent paper, that Mr. Diamond had given "to constitutes
which
Meyers'

in

America far
permits."

more than

his

interpretation

of

'the American

Way'
. . .

With this satisfying

conclusion

in

hand, I

outlined

three-pronged

strategy for my presentation of this commentary. First, I would detail the tension between the quasi-regime that emancipates and harnesses selfinterest
citizens:
secures and

the

real regime which

seeks

to

inculcate
be
said

virtue

in

all

its free
that

would show

that

whatever might

in favor

of a plan

civil

liberty by

a stupendous

feat

of

modern,

realistic

engineering,

18

Interpretation

it

could not

be
at

said that such

a plan

is

conducive

to true human
of the

virtue.

Secondly, I
republic

would argue a

that the best

of

public possibilities

American
and

are

level

decency decidedly
of

below true

excellence

further that the

things like

possibilities

both this
republic

public

decency
upon

and true

private

excellence within

commercial

depend
and

the

preservation

of

deference, familial
the

authority,
and exist

religious

conviction,

things
of

which predated

Founding

in the

nonpolitical

fraction

the

complex
would

of

things which

constitute

the American way of

posed

life.

Finally, I
in society

argue

that the

essential

problem

by

the American republic

is that its
which

founding
and

principles

tend to consume the very things

political order:

nourish

sustain

the

the

extended

commercial

republic

tends to

undermine

deference,
units

parental

authority,
such

religious convic

tion,

and

the local
and

governmental

in

which

things both support

and

public

decency
virtue.

invite the
problem

pursuit of
of

repute,

honor,

therefore

indi its its

vidual

The

the

Founding, I
we need

would goal

argue, is that it
possible

threatened the very things

that made its

targeted

and

untargeted possibilities admirable. original

Thus,

to praise not the

possibilities

republic's

goals

but

enlightened

efforts

to realize its

against

own problematic

tendencies.

It

was

when

went

about

my how tentative

picture of

glorious triumph and qualified

following my outlined strategy that the disappeared before my eyes. I noticed first were Mr. Diamond's highest praises of the
And then things really fell Martin Diamond. To I
apart.

highest American
virtue, I found

excellences.

To

show

the profound difference between the home

of

of acquisitiveness and

the regime

myself

quoting

support

my

argu

ment

that the Founders of the American

rather

republic aimed at modest public recurred

decency
of

than at true individual nobility,

to lessons I had

learned from

the problem

following

my understanding that I was merely I found above, Founding Martin the understanding of Tocqueville that I had learned from
of

Martin Diamond. And

the

when

examined

sketched

my own qualifications for big league status. I felt then roughly like Mr. Diamond must have felt when, as a boy, he caught but then dropped and lost a home
and

Diamond. In short, I realized that Martin Diamond had taught things by which I had planned to demonstrate his inadequacies

me

the very

run

ball hit
I

by

Babe Ruth.

would

like to his

suggest

that the connection between

Mr. Diamond's

descriptive fore his

and

apologetic work

is

provided

by

his

pedagogic and there

political

intention,

much more than

by

the psycho-personal calculus

was a
"need"

suggested

by

Mr. Meyers. I believe that if there

work, it
was a need

beneath Mr.

Diamond's

apologetic

dictated
as

by

professional obliga

tion and not

by

personal considerations.

For

Mr. Diamond interpreted

of political

the nature of

political science and

his

role as a

teacher

science,

Po litics of Martin Diamond 's Science

19
of

he had
republic republic
of

positive

duty

to

present

sympathetic

defense

the

decent

he in

so well understood.

His

was a political science of the

American

which a critical question concerned the political consequences

his

scientific

discoveries.
Mr. Diamond's
pedagogic

I do American
that in a
on

not suggest that

intent

gave

him license
the the fact

to portray certain impossible excellences as

republic.

likely
to

achievements within upon

and

Rather, I believe
can

that Mr. Diamond seized

liberal society nothing

celebrate the
would

be

said

be impossible,

he

went

from there to

unlikely best

possibilities

precisely because

the celebration

itself

make

those possibilities more

was some

likely

and

the
was

worst possibilities

less likely. If there

of

dissembling

in this, it

surely dissembling American republic for the

a

the noblest
and

kind. Mr. Diamond

again,"

sought

to make the
care

"young

beautiful

thereby indicating his

reside.

political survival of of enforced

the

leading

modern

polity which,

perhaps out of

kind

carelessness,

permits

Madison's republic, after all, which of Leo Strauss. I think that Mr. Diamond did not take irresponsible refuge among the
ancients political

philosophy to became the refuge

It

was

James

precisely because he understood and followed them. Platonic philosophy and Aristotelian political science are centered upon

the tension

between

pure

philosophy

and pure science on the one

on

hand

and

the requirements and limitations of the city

the other;

therefore, properly
coming to
political seek about political

understood, the
terms
with

example of

the ancient writers

of

is

an example of wisdom

the political

dimension

the love

of

things. This is why it is a

reformer must never reform:

cardinal principle of character of

Aristotle that the

regime

forget the

the

he

would

to

enlightened reform must

be tailored to the
when

nature of the

defective

actual.

By

extension,

we should

say that

Mr. Diamond tried to

polity

bring

about the

best

possibilities of a problematic modern

by

encouraging

our sympathetic attachment

to its strengths,

by

giving

us a concerned under

adjust its standing of its limitations, and by suggesting to us the way to sense. It fullest scientist in the faults, he was being an Aristotelian political

would

have been

easier

to

falsify
of

Aristotle

and

to use

his

writings

in

support

of a self-righteous

disdain
use

the actual, and it would have been

easier

to

falsify

Plato

and

to

his

writings

in

support of a as

self-aggrandizing

con

it were, the honor of drinking impure, desperately inviting, difficult path and entered more took the the hemlock. But Mr. Diamond the modern trenches to make the best of the modern world, having learned
tempt for the the

direction

of

better

and worse

from the

ancients and

having

learned from

them too the

political

responsibility that
not

attends the

love

of wisdom. apparent

Despite the fact that he did

subscribe was

to Tocqueville's

historical fatalism, Mr. Diamond, I believe, Tocqueville's. As a scientist, Mr. Diamond

in

a position analogous

to

accur

offered a

"rigorously

20
picture of what

Interpretation

democracy
a political

necessarily had standing

of

in America really is. But this scientific offering dimension. In the first place, contrary to the
political

major premise of most

contemporary in light
of

science,

descriptive

under

the true character of the

principles

Founders'

principles required an eval

western

uation of

those

the tradition of
an

thought,
came of

and

this evaluation
possession of engendered

in turn had to have

science.

effect upon those

who

into

Mr. Diamond's

Secondly, independently

the effect

directly by

Mr. Diamond's science, that

work was

science entered a world

in

which

there was already contention about

democracy

and

its

merits. reason

Thus, Mr. Diamond's descriptive

of

both its inherent

effect and

its

mere

necessarily political existence in an already

by

politicized

milieu.

Understanding

the Founders meant understanding them as

they

stood

against classical and

Christian thought, for

of

even

if Mr. Meyers is

correct

about the proximate political orders

upon which

the Founders sought to

understandable

improve,
as

their notion to

improvement is
notions
of

not

fully

except

it

compares

prior

improvement.
love

In
an

any event, unsettling

Mr.
effect

Diamond's
upon

picture of modern and secular

Founders had

those who wished to be loyal but

could not a saint.

what could not pass

muster urged

before

philosopher-king
not

or

From these Mr. Diamond Founders

own."

patriotism,

by
or

the unscientific argument that the

were

secretly Aristotelian
that the
other
Founders'

Christian statesmen, but by the political modern democracy had a "nobility of its
portrait of

argument

On the

side, Mr. Diamond's

those
modern

the

Founders'

modern realism

disap

pointed

"idealists"

who would

formed according to the promise of From these Mr. Diamond also

dream."

be loyal only to a democracy their own "brilliant and easily realized

urged

patriotism,
was

not

by

the unsci

entific argument

that the

Founders'

democracy

the immature prelude

Founders'

to their own,

but

by
in

the

political argument

that the

very
possible

sober

democracy
. .

offered
and

the only form in which real freedom was

which

in the

modern world

equality

would not
or

lead to "an

undisciplined

democracy,
has
galled
of

subject

to sudden
since

frenzies,
of a

to a yoke heavier than any

Empire."

that

mankind

the fall

the Roman

It is the
of

measure

Mr. Diamond's standing

as

teacher that

his study

the

republic speaks so well to the disparate elements of his audience, way that is both scientific and politic, and in a way that allows the committed to benefit and the uncommitted yet to learn. My portrait here of Mr. Diamond allows me to avoid the unselfish

American
a

in

sadness of
yet

Mr.

Meyers,

who

believes that Mr. Diamond's

which

greatest work was

success whether

to come,

presumably
Founders'

the work in

Mr. Diamond would

and

fully overcome by raising his

the tension between his science

sights or

his apologia,
praise,

by lowering

his

own

we can

only

Politics of Martin Diamond's Science

speculate.

21

In my

view

Mr. Diamond
of

completed

his

work:

he

gave us

an

essentially
of

accurate

understanding

the

Founders

and a completed picture

the task of political science. To

Founders'

be sure,
will

much remains

to be done

on

the
of

work and on

the connections between the this

constitute

various elements of

their

system;

but

all

of

extrapolations articulated

Mr. Mr.

Diamond's basic insights. And the

Diamond
gated as will
will always need

pedagogic

task

by

adjustment

the

rhetoric of

teaching is

as varie

the audience to

simply be
Meyers'

following
unselfish

be taught; but here too Mr. Diamond's students his fully developed example. But while I thus avoid
am

Mr.

sadness, I

left

with

an

immodest
a

and

selfish and

sadness

that I am a willing follower

of someone

in it.

bigger
hit
a

league,

with

the more modest

but

still selfish sadness

that if I
of

ever

homer here

in the minors, my

major

league hero

will not

hear

22

An Excerpt from
GREATNESS"

"LINCOLN'S

Martin Diamond

What

constitutes

Lincoln's

greatness?

In

what

does Lincoln's

greatness

lie?
That
stand

we

love him is

good

for us,

and

it does

us credit.

But to

under

rightly

what

it is in Lincoln that

warrants

love

would

do

us still more

good,

and would even greatness.

do

us

honor. I do

not pretend

fully

to understand

Lincoln's
some of

But I

propose viewed

to examine with you

tonight, briefly,
a critical

the ways men

have

Lincoln

and

to

learn, from

examination of
move

those views, the

direction in

which our minds will

have to how my
some

if

we are

to comprehend and thus appreciate this man.

How do
own

love Lincoln? As what, for what? love for him was kindled? Perhaps you will
we

May
in

I tell

you

recognize grade

in this

thing

of your own experience.

When I
a

was

boy

school, there
was always

was always

in my

classrooms

framed

picture of

Lincoln. It

located just

over one of

the

blackboards. I

remember

distinctly

that it

was

always covered with chalk-dust.

And there
sad,

as

in

Hollywood heroine Mr. Lincoln. This

was

the silent,

infinitely

gauzy film shot of a kind countenance of

eyes

countenance with

its soft,
of

deep, brown

instantly

confirmed the stories one condemned

had heard
saved

to

death, but

when of

sentry boys fallen asleep on duty, Mr. Lincoln tearfully answered a

mother's prayer.

This is the Man

Sorrows

Lincoln,

the gentle, the tender

Lincoln. But the harsh fact is that

sixty-seven

during
for

the Civil War two hundred and

soldiers were executed

various

derelictions

of

duty

and all

this with Lincoln's tacit approval. terrible circumstances of the war

of

it be otherwise, given the he had to fight? Do I scoff at the Lincoln

should

How

my classroom, whom I have portrayed deliberately with an exaggerated bathos? Not in the least. But the view of the tender Lincoln must be en larged to
comprehend

the hard

Lincoln, in

whose armies

two hundred

and

sixty-seven men were

executed,

who slapped men

into jail

and suspended

the writ of

habeas corpus, who drew unto himself extraordinary executive power, and who pressed his generals to vigorous attack, to destroy armies
to take cities.

and not

The tender Lincoln

other side of

of

tears is a

true, but only partly

lessens him. It
gentle men.
constitute

true

Lincoln;
not

it ignores the
greatness alone

the man,
all

and thus and

does
But

do his
If

justice. We have Lincoln in

the

known

loved

gentleness

no

more than strength alone

a

does

not

greatness.

we are

to see

way that

squares with the greatness

Printed in "With Firmness in

Right,"

Claremont Men's

College, Claremont,

California; 1960.

Excerpt from "Lincoln's

we assign

Greatness"

23
the tender

to

him,

then we must

go

beyond the

popular view of

Lincoln. We it that

must go

beyond that view, preserving its

truth

which renders more

fully

the man's greatness. In this way.

but adding to Yes, he

this
was no

was a gentle

man, but he
to

was steel when steel was needed.

He forced the

crisis of

the Union with his famous House Divided policy,

and

tender

thing

do. He fought

But the

soul of a nation
of soul

the gentleness that

war, by is saved, and the peace that follows war is won by of him who does the implacable and terrible things
a and wars are not won
gentleness.

have to be done in

crises

and wars.

prayer, he had the

intellect,
as

the wisdom
call

vary a famous modern to distinguish the things that call

And,

to

for

strength

from the things that hard

for

gentleness.

Lincoln

was

hard only
was

when and

only insofar

measures were

truly

required.
of

It

thus,
it
re and

by his
quired,

profound

situation

understanding of the nature of politics and he faced, that he could meet every test with the
yet

the political

strength

and

bequeath to his

nation

heritage

of

moderation

kindness. This is why

its
utmost
we

tend to forget that Lincoln pressed the Constitution to

perhaps man

limits,
as

and as

beyond. It is because
what was

we

know he wisely
or

discerned,
only
as

it

vindicate

can, any necessary necessary to his great purposes. We forget, his conduct because we know that he never was
was
came

far

and exerted power

better,
apart

we

victimized

by

the exertion of power, never

the great ends to which to support my point.

to enjoy it for its

own

sake,

from

he

was

dedicated. I
remember
with

offer one quote

from Lincoln
We

You

all

these words

from The Second

all."

Inaugural: "With
forget the
to see the
words

charity for that follow: "With firmness in the right

malice

toward none,

sometimes

as

God

gives us makes

right."

It is the combining
point with one

of

charity

and

firmness that

Lincoln Lincoln
You
all

great.

Let

me

leave this

further indication

wielded great

power,

and at

times wielded

of my meaning. it nearly dictatorially.

know Lord Acton's famous

and valuable statement.

"Power tends

absolutely."

to corrupt and absolute power corrupts

There is something
against too simple
wisdom of

in Lincoln

which goes against

an agreement with
a wiser man

Acton or, rather, Acton. I think Lincoln shows I

mean

warns us

the greater

than Acton.

the great French writer on

America,

Tocqueville,
or

who wrote:

"Men

are not corrupted

by
to a

the

exercise of power

debased
to be
must

by

the habit

of

obedience, but
and

by

the exercise of a power which

rule which

they believe
sider

to be

illegitimate,
and

by

obedience

they

con

oppressive."

usurped

There is

much more and

to this problem
compound
of

but I

leave it

at this.

Lincoln, by his

superb

just

the tender and the strong has taught

Americans how
to

not

to be corrupted

by

the

exercise of power or

by

obedience

it. He teaches

us

how to face

24

Interpretation

with a proper men

fear

and yet with a reasonable

hope

the task of governing

in

free

republic.

ness

to be

both

gentle

It is easy to be soft, it is easy to be hard. It is great and strong and to know when and how to be each.

John Drinkwater in his play has Lincoln say, "I accepted this war with a sick Yes, his heart shrank, but his head and hand were ready to the
heart."

task. That is

his greatness,
to

and we must

love it in its fullness.

Lincoln

I turn Man. He
of a man.

now

another popular view of

Lincoln,

the

Common

was one of

us, this
view of

loud-laughing,
Lincoln
as

sometimes

rowdy, tall galoot

This is the

the wisecracker, the

joke teller,
without a

the simple man of

homely

truths. The poor

who was

boy,

without
folks"

education,

advantages,

who made

good,

"plain

writ

large. Is this

true view? Will the Lincoln thus portrayed

fit the

mantle of greatness we

lay

upon

him? Again I do

not scoff.

But

we must go

beyond this. There

were a

thousand, ten thousand men then, and ten thousand men now who fill this bill joke tellers as funny, men without advantages who have made
It is wrong and it is demeaning to Lincoln to exaggerate his com monness. Let me paraphrase Lincoln to make my point. He was of us, and
good.

he

was

for us, but he

well-being, he
and was.

was not

by

us.

He

was

of us,

yes. us.

He had

our

ways,
efforts

our

speech, he sprang from this

gave

soil.

And he
to

was

for

He bent his

to

our

infinite
us.

dignity

our principles of popular gov

ernment,
what

he

cared was

for

But he

was not

by

us.

We did
of

not make

him

he

He

greater

than that. His greatness

soul

and mind

belong
society

not

to us,

but to

man as man.

He transcended the
claim we

conditions of
we

any

as such.

But

what we can

everlastingly

is that

did

accept

this prince of men, we gave ourselves to

him,

let him lead us,

and we

have
the

the sense to

love him. It is the from

noblest claim of our

democracy

that this

man of

humble
of

origin could rise achievement.

ranks,

and

through our ways, to

height Let

human

me

be

specific.

Common

man?

Uneducated? We

all remember

the

story of his scratching his sums on a shovel, by the light of the fireside. True. Fine. But if we flatter ourselves that that is all, that a simple educa

tion,

a good clear

greatness which about

is

head, and lots Lincoln, we go

I do
and
as

of practical experience

is

enough

for the
things

wrong.

Let

me remind you of some

his

education.

not of course mean

the

schoolroom.

mean

his

studies.

Unfortunately,
but

studies are not always synonymous.

I know only too well, schoolrooms and As it were, you can lead the student

to the schoolroom,

you can't make

him think. Lincoln

was an extraor

dinarily well read man. I have been going over the list of books he read. Merely to name some will make my point. The Bible, Shakespeare, Aesop's Fables, Robert Burns, Lord Byron, Milton, Gibbons, Paine, Euclid, Bacon, Feuerbach, Fichte, Paley, Homer, Plutarch, Cervantes, Blackstone, Story's and Kent's Commentaries, and dozens more. He read lots of history. He

Excerpt from "Lincoln's

mastered some science.

Greatness"

25

He

even

devoured

Greek he

grammar.

And

of course

he

read

and much

nearly American history. And

than I could
mean

all

the great speeches and writings of American statesmen,

of course read more when

journals,

papers,

periodicals
great

here list. Let

read

me add

this;

I say he

read these

books, I

he really

them. He read

intensely,
read.

studiously.

He

committed

to memory

endless pages of what

he had

He

was

in the

deepest sense, a learned man. What is my point? I want to show what is lacking in the view of Lincoln as Common Man. Certainly Lincoln had frontier wit, but he had
also

the

brilliance

and

depth

of

Shakespeare. He had the best

also

of cracker

barrel

commonsense and

he had

that

philosophical wisdom

that

comes

only from intense scholarly, intellectual

study.

He had the

richness

and
and

flexibility
rigor of

that comes of

practical

experience

and

he had the depth

the trained

philosophical

mind, the depth

and rigor

that comes only

to the

uncommon mind and reflection.

that comes only with an uncommon devotion

view of

to intellectual

The

only partly true. Frontier wit, ience honed

ness.

cracker

these

make

him

splendid

Lincoln as common man is true, but barrel commonsense, practical exper fellow. When to this is added genius

intense study and reflection we begin to perceive Lincoln's great Frontier wit, cracker barrel commonsense and practical experience

by

this was
all

by

us.

This

we gave some

him,

and

in this he

was

only the best

us. us

of what

Americans had in
of great minds

degree. But

the genius reaching out to the com

pany
give

in every age and place, that is beyond thanks that he happened among us and that we had it in
me put

We may
to
accept

him. Let
human We

it this

way.

He

was

not,

as some would

humanity,"

section of

but

rather a man who shows us

have it, a "crossto what height the

nature can

reach.

He

was

the Common Man's Uncommon Man.

and

must

learn to love his

again,

uncommonness

pray that

such

will

rise

among

us

and prepare ourselves

to

accept and not reject

it.

26
GREATNESS"

MARTIN DIAMOND ON "LINCOLN'S

William Schambra American Enterprise Institute

In the bleakest days

peared

that

concerns at

democracy, home, would be

for

when it ap Nixon-Kissinger foreign policy rendered been unmanly by petty bourgeois having

of

swallowed

up

by

totalitarian forces abroad

challenge

it

was not uncommon

graduate students

to throw this

up to the

late Martin Diamond: Granted that the American how

can

regime

is democratic,

it

at the same time overcome

the

"softness"

to elicit? How can

sustain mercial

it foster the

spirited

and wise

democracy seems leadership necessary to

that

America in its

struggle against

the self-indulgent excesses of com

materialism, and the military adventures of dialectical materialism? Mr. Diamond had turned to this question increasingly in his later
and

essays,

"Ethics

and

Politics: the American

statement on

Way"

probably
on

represents

his Mr.

most comprehensive

the issue. But

one

occasion, in
was too

response

to this graduate
produced

student's charge

that his
a

democracy

soft,

Diamond

from his

files

little-known

speech

entitled
a gath

"Lincoln's ering
of

delivered considerably earlier, in Republican Party faithful. It shows that he had

Greatness,"

1960,

to

wrestled with
unearthed

the

problem of

democracy's

softness same

long
to a

before it had been

a

by

his

graduate students. of

At the it

time, it is

lessons,
group

addressed as
of

is,

not

delightful lesson in the giving professional academic audience, but

to a

partisan, though educable,

laymen. It is, perhaps,

a piece

more representative of

his

work

than are his scholarly writings, since, as

the

late Herbert The

Storing reminded

us, Mr. Diamond

was above all a teacher.

speech

consideration of

opens, in the best Diamondian fashion, with respectful the familiar and beloved. We love the familiar Lincoln,

Lincoln the be
good

gentle
us.

democrat,

and

Mr. Diamond
us

acknowledges

this love to
even

for

But it

would

do

more

good,

and

would

do

us

"honor"

a subtle

blandishment for his

rightly.

highly

political audience subject

were we
exami

to understand
nation,"

Lincoln
of

"some

the ways

And so, we must men have viewed

to "critical

Lincoln."

We

must come

to

see that common opinion about

Lincoln,

as

is true

of common opinion

in

general, is only partially

scoff

sound.

But

we must

at

our

initial,

untutored

impressions,

do so, not so that we come to but so that those impressions

Lincoln. Faithful

become the foundation for

to

a more comprehensive view of

everything he taught about teaching, Mr. Diamond urges us to "go beyond that [initial] view, preserving its truth but adding to it that which
renders more

fully

the man's

greatness."

What

constitutes

Lincoln's greatness,
softness?

and what

does

that tell us about

the problem of

democratic

Mr. Diamond

suggests

that,

as Amer-

Martin Diamond

on

"Lincoln's

Greatness"

27
all

icans,
loved

we are prone gentle

to love the gentle, the

soft:

"We have

known

and

men."

There is

an

undeniable

regime

to honor gentleness,

and so
was

to

produce

tendency for the American individuals with that quality.

the American
an
regime

Mr. Diamond taught that it

tamed
given put
or

the

genius of

to have

harnessed human
sway. of an

passions to such

extent that

they
when

could

be

full, democratic

Nonetheless, he

reminds

us, that

same regime

itself in the hands

Abraham Lincoln,

who was

hard

hardness

was required:

and sixty-seven of

he unflinchingly acquiesced in the execution of two hundred his own soldiers. Properly to appreciate Lincoln is to see
the soft, side of his nature;
we a task made

the

hard,
as

as well as

difficult, be

cause,

democrats,
of

"tend to

forget"

the hard

deeds necessary to insure

the preservation

democracy.
alone constitutes greatness no

But Mr. Diamond insists that hardness

more

than

does

softness alone.

to discern when
compassion.

hard

measures
as

Wisdom is necessary for greatness; wisdom are required, and when it is better to show
we are
prone

Again,

Americans,
and

to

honor

rough-hewn

"cracker barrel
oretical
ophy.

experience"

commonsense

practical

more

than the

wisdom; something in the American regime is tilted against philos But again, that regime produced and elevated to political power a

man who

had

steeped

himself in the Great Books. Lincoln's

the

wisdom was

such that stitution queathed

he had
to

undertaken utmost

harshest
and

measures

had "pressed the Con

and yet

its

beyond"

limits,

perhaps of moderation and

had be
Wisdom

to Americans a "heritage

kindness."

had

allowed

Lincoln to be hard in

such a

way

that we

forget his hardness.

notion regime come a

Abraham Lincoln is the unyielding,

of

empirical

fact that belies the

the

irreconcilability

of

democracy

and

excellence.

Somehow,
elevated

allegedly dedicated to the satisfaction of base forth with a man of spiritedness and wisdom,
position of preeminent political

material

desires had

and

had

him to

importance. A fuller
explanation
would

But how did this

come

about?

come

in

later essays; the fullest was never written. Nonetheless, we find clues here. Lincoln, Mr. Diamond claims, was "o/ us, and he was for us, but he was not by He was not by us, because, as a modern democratic regime, we
us."

cannot set out to produce

tion of

ernity,

Lincolns; character formation, especially forma spirited or wise individuals, was considered by the fathers of mod and by our own founding fathers, to be beyond the purview of
political
polis

government.

Those fathers believed that the soul-shaping ancients according to which every facet of the
the

doctrines
to

of the

was

be bent to

fostering

of certain

human

excellences

to the soul-saving

autos-da-fe of

had lent themselves too readily the Inquisition.

a modern

But Lincoln
mold a

was

of

us.

While

democracy

cannot

Lincoln, nevertheless, it

can allow a

Lincoln to

arise

in its

explicitly midst. It

28
was an

Interpretation
element
of

early

modern would

thinking,

perhaps

best
of

exemplified

by
be

be the democracy democracy gave the freest reign to nature, and so to the full range of human types, including the philosopher, mandated by nature. This was
unforced

Spinoza,
cause

that

home

excellence,

reflected

in Jefferson's belief that

"natural

would

flourish

and

be
the

accorded

honor

within

the American democracy. Mr. Diamond to consider that

our

echoes

this

theme, when he home of a man

man as

urges us

democracy

was

peculiarly
not

whose

"greatness

of soul

and mind

belong

to us,

but to
racy

man."

Far from

dwelling
humble

on an antagonism

between democ
claim of

and

excellence, Mr. Diamond

that it allowed
of as a

argues

that it

is the "noblest
to
rise through

democracy"

commoner

its

ways

"to the height

human

achievement."

As
and one of

long

democracy

does

not

submit

to the "debased taste for

equality,"

Mr. Diamond is telling us, it can wisdom to come to the fore in times of
never

count on men of spiritedness crisis.

A decent

democracy
have
stocks enemies.

that

loses

sight of

the horizon

of

liberty

will always and

hardness to draw on, in its

the

struggle against

domestic

foreign
of a

But

no one appreciated more

than Mr. Diamond the

of

fragility

"decent

democracy,"

susceptibility

democracy
or

to

an

resentment

of

hardness,

wisdom,

excellence

see a certain
learn"

tentativenness about

our prospects

overweening in any form. Indeed, we in this speech: we "must

egalitarian

to love Lincoln's

uncommonness

in

spite of our

democratic antipathy
accept and not reject

to uncommonness. We "must
men

prepare"

ourselves

to

like Lincoln. Indeed,

again."

perhaps we can

only

"pray

that such will rise

among us But the very fact of this speechthat it could have been composed by an American scholar, and delivered to a receptive American audience
would
our of

be Mr. Diamond's final,

institutions
of

optimistic

comment

on

the

prospects

for like

democracy. American
excellence"

democracy
liberal

continues

to support the "enclaves that

nurture

education

men

Mr. Diamond. Within those enclaves, the horizon of liberty and horizons view beyond that are restored to the of the best students. Outside those
enclaves, Americans
gather

to hear the

speeches of men of soul and

who recall to their attention the

"greatness

mind"

like Mr. Diamond, of men like

fact

Abraham Lincoln.
The teaching
that belies for us
and
excellence.

of

Martin Diamond is the unyielding,

the
notion
of

empirical of

today

To

paraphrase

Mr.

democracy, Mr. decent, free democracy, he was of us, and in all his scholarly en deavors, he was for us. If we are to remain a free and decent democracy,
cause we are a

irreconcilability democracy Diamond, paraphrasing Lincoln: be Diamond was not by us; but because we

the

are

we can

only

"pray

that

such will rise

among

us

again."

29

THE LION AND THE ASS A COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF GENESIS

(CHAPTERS

1-10)

Robert Sacks St. John's College

Preface This book began in Jerusalem

years ago at

one

Saturday

afternoon about seventeen

the

home

of

Professor Leo Strauss. Since I had

met

him

briefly
to talk

the previous year while still an undergraduate, we

about

had

occasion

many
you

common

friends,

and

the talk

soon

centered on

Genesis. At

the end of our

Sacks,
come

discussion Dr. Strauss looked up and said, smiling: "Mr. don't understand anything about the Book of Genesis. Please
Shabbat."

to my house next

And

so

it

was

every Shabbat that

year.

This book

contains
us

tions,
I

which

brought

my up to Noah
to add

all-too-poor recollections and

of those conversa

the

Flood,

together with whatever

years.

thoughts I

have been

able

during

the

intervening

At this

point

could not even

should

try

to distinguish those memories from my

reader

own

thoughts,
to that

but I

like the

to know the great debt this book

owes

kind friend.
When I first began to think
reminded of the claim

recording these reflections I was that the Bible cannot be understood apart from the
about

tradition

which surrounds

it,

tradition with which I

on

have little familiarity.

I had just
passage

about

decided

not

to take

this venture when I remembered a

and

familiar both to Professor Strauss

taught you statutes and

to

his teacher Maimonides:

the Lord my God to possess it.

Behold, I have

judgments,

even

as

commanded me, that ye should

do

so

in the land

whither

ye go

Keep

therefore

the sight of
great nation

do them; for it is your wisdom and your understanding in the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, surely this
and

is

a wise and

understanding

people.

(Deut.

4:5,6)

These last words, "Nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and particu say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding assumption that the traditional that the implied eye. caught They larly my

people,"

Bible These

cannot verses

be

read as one would read another greatness of

book had to be

modified.
men

declare that the

the Torah is visible to

of

all nations.

The

following
part

pages are written

in the light

of

that

claim.

Jerusalem, Lag B'Omer 5732

This is the opening Genesis. The later
of

longer

work

by

Robert Sacks Ed.

on

the

Book

of

parts will appear

in

subsequent

issues.

30

Interpretation

Introduction

Of

recent

times it

has become

the custom to

preface

any

work of

this

nature with a

difficult to

see

discourse concerning Methods of Interpretation, and yet it is how that can be done. To do so would presuppose that we

already know how to read the book before we begin. Unfortunately that is untrue. Each book has its own way about it, and generally we begin to learn how to read a book by stumbling around in it for a very long time
until we

find

our way.

Otherwise
of

we risk

the danger of reading the

book

by

a method

foreign to the intent

a

the author.

Reading
anist asks

book is different from reading a flower. No modern bot the flower how it wishes to be understood, but rather he tries
science of

to find a place for it within the modern

botany. In the

eyes of

the present commentator the principal task of the

attempt

to

discover how the

author wished

any book is to his book to be read. The ques

reader of

tion of whether that assumption should not

must

equally apply to the flower

we can

be left for
If

another occasion.

no method

is

available

in the

beginning,

possibilities

in

an attempt

to

reach

the author.

If

we

only cast about for find that our results

guarantee
approach

begin to solidify into a real whole, we shall have some minor that some contact has been made between reader and author. This
will often
proach written.

lead to blind
in

alleys

and to

disappointments, but any

should

would

essence

dictate to the book how it

other ap have been

We

must proceed with

caution, allowing the book itself to teach

us how to read it. A book haphazardly written may accidentally lead us into many paths of thought, but if these apparent accidents begin to mul tiply beyond the limits of probability and begin to point in a given direction,

we

shall

be forced to
fruit

consider
of

accidental was the

the possibility that forethought.

we

what

appeared

to be

In the commentary, therefore,

a

have thought it necessary to

ramble

bit

at

times in order to see

what would appear.

Trying

to

understand

the

thoughts of another

is

not

an exact science.

Sometimes

we shall miss

be

close

to the author, and

at

other

times we shall

undoubtedly

our goal and

be further

away.

A cknowledgments

Perhaps the only pleasant thing there is about the job sitting down to write is that as one writes the past
names and

of

actually

faces

of

people

whom

one

continually returns, the has known. Apparently unrelated

line
or a

conversations come

back

and

help

to write a

paragraph.

While the

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
would

31

list

of

the names of these people, scholars and peasants,

be

quite

long

and quite meaningless

to the reader, there

are

two

men whose assis

tance I must acknowledge publicly. The

advice on
apart

first is Mr. Simon

Kaplan,

whose

the book constantly reminded me that scholarship does not exist from humanity. I should also like to express my gratitude to Mr.
minute care with which

Werner Danhauser for the

script and

he

went over

the manu

the great

help

which

I derived from his

comments and criticisms.

He

worked

long

hours. I hope
were

that he will excuse me if

a

mention

the fact
con

that these labors

done from

hospital

bed,

where

he had been

fined

after

having

suffered a rather severe

heart

attack.

Note The

on

the Text

verse

numbers as

they

appear

in this text

the chapter
warned

divisions generally

accepted

be according to in the West. But the reader is

will are given with

that the citations in terms

of chapter and verse numbers

according to the Hebrew vary by divided into four

more

text,

which

does

not always coincide

exactly

the verse numbers as given in most

than

few

verse

numbers.

English translations, though they never Traditionally, the Bible was

sections: a) the Torah, which includes the first five books; b) the Earlier Prophets, which includes the books from Joshua through Kings; c) the Later Prophets, which includes the three major prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and the twelve minor prophets, Hosea through Malachi; and d) the Writings, which includes Psalms through

Chronicles.
It is difficult to know exactly how to translate the Hebrew word for Bible, since it is not quite a word but a contraction made up of the names of the three parts: Torah, Prophets, and the Writings. In general, I have
used

the word

Bible, but
would

upon occasion

I have

written

Old Testament
the

when

I thought that it American

reader.

help

make

the meaning clearer to

average

Chapter I

The book

of

Genesis,

which we are about

to read,

we

have

all read

many times before. How This

often

the

stories

it

contains were

told to us when

we were children and could not yet read.

And

so

familiarity

is both

blessing
at us

and

curse.

they became part of us. Prejudices and ghosts of

former thoughts

will peer

from behind every

line,

thoughts passed

down through the ages, thoughts

which were not our own.

Only

with great

32
effort can we
our

Interpretation

learn to treat the familiar

the book we

as

if it

were

foreign, but

such

is

task if we hope to rediscover the author's intention.

The

name of

are about

to

read

is In the beginning. The

other

title Genesis was a

of

later
all

addition

from the Greek. Similarly, the

word or words

books

the Torah are

called

by

the

that happen to appear

names at all.

first in the text. Thus they can hardly even be said to have any Whenever we pick up a book the first things to hit our

eyes are

the

title,

the name of the author,

and

the date
of

of publication.

This is

not
as

a modern convention.

The Book

Amos, for instance, begins

merely follows:

The Words Of Amos, Who Was Among The Herdsmen Of Tekoah, Which He Saw Concerning Israel In The Days Of Uzziah, And In The Days Of Jeroboam, The Son Of Joash King Of Israel, Two Years Before The Earthquake Thus
.

Saith The Lord.

(Amos 1 : Iff)

Here,
date
of

in the Book
and

of

Genesis,
even a

no author's name

publication,

it is

book do

without a

is given, there is no title. The book does not

tell us these
significant? mains

things,
Again

and therefore we
we are not

not

know them. Are these deletions

told,

and again we

do

not

know. There
the

re

only the book that lies open before us. The Book of Amos purports to be an

account of
oh

words

of the

Lord.

Homer, too, begins by

saying,

Sing,

goddess,

the

wrath

of

Achilles. While Genesis includes many speeches of God, it contains no claim for the divine origin of the book as a whole. Since no such claim is
made and yet accounts are given of

the

lives

of men who

lived many
of

years relied

before the time

of

the author, we feel compelled to assume that he

either written or

heavily
But
them.

on older

accounts,

in the memory

the

people.

we no

to see

longer have those older accounts, and therefore we cannot study Our only alternative, then, is to reread the book of Genesis in order whether he fashioned those tales into an integral whole or not and,
that whole means.

if so,

what

In

the

Beginning God Created

somewhat
even

the

Sky

and

the

Earth.

It is

does

not

understand

embarrassing for a commentator to confess that he the first line of the book he has chosen. The
of

syntax
article

is

rather

difficult because the Hebrew counterpart

The Hebrew
exist
reads

the definite

is
of

missing.

bereshith

rather

than bareshith. There

does,
since

course,

the possibility that the original text was

bareshith,

the vowels were not included in the general

such
excellence

writing

at

the time

of

the author.

However,
against

of

the text would seem to merit strongly

any

unwarranted

assumption.

The missing

article would

be

A
permissible

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10

33

in the
of

Hebrew, but then the word bereshith would have to mean beginning of, as in the phrase bereshith ha-tebhu'a (in the beginning
harvest). In that
and

in

the

case one would

have

expected

another

noun

to

follow,

there is

none.

The

beginning

of what?

The

whole?

In Hebrew Is it the
would

such a word would

beginning
seem present

of

have to be stated, and the act implied in the verb

translations :

no such word appears.

created? no

Hebrew
of

syntax

to say no. The present author has

solution

his

own

but

will

two generally God

accepted

In the

beginning
etc.,

created the

sky

and

the earth,

and

the

earth

was

waste

and void:

or:

When God began

void with

to create the
over the

sky

and

the earth, the

earth

being

unformed and

darkness

face of

the

deep

and

wind

from God

over

the

water, God said, Let there be light:

etc.

The
verse.

central problem

is

whether creatio ex nihilo

is implied in the first

remain

If the first translation is accepted, two Either the first verse speaks about the creation
or

possibilities of

open.

a primordial earth and

contents of

sky,
the

it is to be taken
chapter.

as a chapter

heading

summarizing the

first

In Chapter

2,

as we shall

see, the

author will present us

with a second account of creation which chapter

does indeed begin

to

with

such

heading. It
sentence of

would therefore not seem unreasonable

assume

that

the

first

Chapter 1

was

intended

as a chapter

heading

and that

the waste and void existed prior to any act

of creation.

The

alternative

translation,
author's

which

reflects

the thought of medieval

Jewish

commentators such as

Rashi,

would of course exclude the notion of

creatio ex nihilo

from the

intent.

There

are grave

difficulties in

formulating
of

the issue at

stake

for

one

overpowering
readers came philosophy.
more
on

reason.

After the Book

Genesis had been

written

its

into

contact with the great rival

to Biblical thought

Greek

This meeting may have forced those readers to make a decision decisive than any intended by the author. Once the limitations placed Creator

the

by

the

recalcitrance

of

matter

had become

subject an

to

common position.

gossip the tradition may have been forced into

there is
no
reason

extreme

Fortunately,
decision
at

for

us

to feel

compelled

to

reach

this point.

We may

wait

to

see which

interpretation is

more

in

keeping

with

the

remainder of

the text.

God

created a

sky

and an earth.

Had the text been

written

in Greek

perhaps the author would

have

used

the

single word cosmos.

But according

34
to
our author

Interpretation
the world

has two distinct parts,

the unity
mind

the sky and the

earth

and

does

not present

itself do

with quite

expressed

by

the word

cosmos.

Perhaps

we would
word

well

to bear in
used

this dual

character of

the world.

The

sky has been

intentionally

because the theological

connotations of
of

the word heaven seem to play

no role

in the early

stages

the book.

2.

The
the

earth

was without

form,

and

void;

and

darkness
the

was

upon

the

face of

deep. But

a wind sent

by
at

God

moved over

face of

the waters.

Our interest is directed

first to

what

will

eventually become the

lower

portion while

the notion of sky is

temporarily dropped.
this
of

In the

beginning
a

the
and

world was not

home

with which we are all characterized

familiar but

fluid it the
apart

formless

mass

confusion

by

random motion.

Something
spirit

beyond the

waters moved.

Was it

a wind sent

by God,
case

or was

of God? The Hebrew

waters

could mean either.

something

from the

began the

motion of

In any Creation.

3.

And God said, Let

there

be light:

and

there

was

light.

Each

day

of

Creation begins

with

the

words

and

God

said.

This is

for assuming that Verse Three contains the first act of Cre strong ation properly speaking, or in other words, that creatio ex nihilo was not intended to be implied by the author. In addition, the words and God said
ground will

be
six.

repeated once

in the

middle of

day

three and once in the middle of

day

Verse 3

However, this problem will be discussed later. is, in the highest sense, paradigmatic
the world

bringing
than
original

into being. Its force is

a

more

God's activity in readily seen in Hebrew

of

in English due to
text the

peculiarity in the

use of

Hebrew tenses. In the

words which precede

the and are

identical to the

words

follow it, whereas English requires a change from let there be to In this paradigmatic example everything occurs exactly as God has spoken and through his speech alone. Although the Western tradition
which

there was.

has

accepted

this as the general form of Creation we shall see that on

not go so smoothly.

other

days things do

No

material was used

in the

creation of

light, but that will never happen again either. The author seems to have intentionally presented us with this paradigm so that we might understand the work of the following days more fully.
4a.

And God

saw the

light,

that it was good:

At this
meant

point

it

would

be difficult to say

with

any

precision what

is

by

the word good. For the present the most that can

be

said

is that

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
since
. .

35
neither

it is
it

was

quality inherent in the object itself, good, nor called it good, but saw
.

God

decided Little

that

that it was good.

more as

can

be

said until we examine

the things that

God

sees

or

does

not see

being
4b.

good.

And God distinguished between

the

light

and the

darkness.

Paradigmatic

as

this

act of

Creation had

been,

it

was still

in

need of

improvement. The newly created light was confused and mingled with the darkness that was, and God was forced to distinguish them one from the
other.

The

word
as

distinguished is
word

characteristic of

the

first,

second,

and

fourth

days, just
The

the

kind

will

be

characteristic of

days three,

five,

and six.

world which

is

about

to

come

into

being being

distinguishable

and

therefore recognizable

be primarily a world of kinds of things. To the extent

will
composed

that the author presents the world as

parts

of

distinguishable

it is knowable
And God

and therefore trustworthy.

5a.

called the

light day,

and

the

darkness He

called night.

In
gave

addition

to

distinguishing

between the light

God

and

the darkness He
seen

them both
ahead a

names.

The importance

of names can

only be

if

we

look

bit to

compare the names

gives with the things named.

Things light

named

by God

Names

given

by

God

and

darkness

day
sky

and night

(1:5)

expanse
water and

(1:8)
land (1:10)

dry
and

sea and

Light

darkness,

an

expanse,

water and

dry; they

are all shapeless

and could all

be imagined

as

infinite
at

seas.

But the

day

ends when

the night

comes, the sea meets the

land

the shoreline, and the sky stops at the

not mere

horizon.
but
give

According
definite

to this account of Creation words are

handles fright
things

shape

to the things

around us.

world without speech would still contain

friendly

things and
of
all

ening
would

things. There would

be love
would

be

blurred.
The

Honor

hate, but the become pride and

and

edges
pride

merge

into

arrogance.

world

would

be

spectrum, and there would be nothing

solid to grasp.

5b.

And there

was

evening

and there

was

morning,

one

day.

This line

will appear six

times as

steady drone throughout the

chap-

36
ter.

Interpretation

It is

a curious a

line because the distinction between evening

commonplace would and

and morn

ing

is

not

Biblical

in fact
the

will never
phrase

occur read

again

in

Biblical literature. One from?

again.

have

expected

to

and

there
come

was night and there was

day.

Evening
and

and

morning

where

did they
come names

They
In

are the of

times

when

the light and the darkness

together
an

spite

Creation

division

and

the giving of

in-

between land has

And

arisen which was not created

but
us

which

just happened.

by

constant repetition our author will not

let

forget that.
let it

6.

And God said, Let there be an expanse in divide between the waters and the waters.

the midst of the water and

Since the
is to
consider

word expanse appears

in

no other context our

a verb

only

recourse

its

etymology.

It

comes

from

of a coppersmith as

he beats his

copper to make
and

it

referring to the actions spread out into a thin

sheet of

indefinite

shape.

Like the light

the waters, the expanse can

only be endowed with a form by giving it a name. Originally the water had all been of the same kind, but the expanse, in imitation of God's activity in Verse 4, would now divide the water into two parts.
7.

And God
expanse

made the expanse and

it divided

the water which

was

under

the

from

the water which

was over

the expanse: and

it

was so:

God is
The

beginning
to be

to

share

the activity

of

Creation

with

other

things.
come

expanse was

responsible

for protecting the

the
chapter

world about

to

into being. Throughout the

share

remainder of

God

will continue

to

His

role

as

maker

with

others,

and

their

attempts

to fulfill God's

command will

form

a significant part of

the tale.

According
us

to this account, the

expanse which

God has

made protects

from

an outside

filled

with primordial emphasis

water, the

water present as

early

as

Verse 2.

However, little

is

placed upon the

fact that but

our world

is

surrounded

by

water,

and

it

seems

to be mentioned in the text not so

as a reminder

much as of

the threats of an angry God to the simple reader,

more careful reader.

the situation to the

There is
panse and

no

fundamental distinction between the

under

waters above the ex

the waters

the

expanse.

They

differ only

by

virtue of

the

expanse

itself. The angry

are

sea and

the torrential rains, part of our everyday

experience,
that

themselves part of that original chaos, in spite of the fact

name seas

by

giving them the

God

placed

them within bounds.

8.

And God

called

the

expanse

sky:

and

there

was

evening

and

there

was

morning, a second

day.

Commentary on day

Genesis 1-10
than the first

37

The first
established

day

was called one

of

rather

day
no

because it fundamen

the

length

tal measure of time prior to the

time; in other words, there had been first day.

be

9.

And God said, Let

one place that the

the waters underneath the sky

place

gathered together

into

dry

may

appear: and

it

was so.

Even in the
were

primordial

state,

dry

land

and

hidden

underneath

the primordial waters.

solidity existed, but they The first account of the

which

beginning
of

appears

to present a Heraclitean world in

exist

all

is in flux.
the speech

Nonetheless, solidity did

the Maker.

but had to be

made apparent

by

10.

And God

called the

dry
saw

place, earth;
that

and

the gathering of the water,

he

called seas: and

God

it

was good.

11a. And God said, Let the

earth

grass grass,

seed-bearing plants, fruit trees

bearing fruit

according to its

kind, having

its

seed

in it

upon

the

land:

The Hebrew text

It
a

uses a construction

known

as

the cognate

accusative.

says

Let the

earth grass

grass, similar to the English construction to sing

or to think a thought.
earth sent

song, to dance a
response

dance,
and the

As

we shall see
are not can

in Verse
identical.
and

1 2, the

is

forth

grass.

The two

Let

us consider the come

and

differences. If
sit

a man make a chair

chair, he

leave

another

down. The

has

being

wholly
ceased

apart

from its

maker, but
certain

where of
of

is the dance
exists

when

the

dancer has
the

his dancing? A
contrast of

kind

formulation

unity Verse

in the first formulation, in sharp

otherness

to the

12,

which emphasizes

the grass

by
as

the use of the words sent forth.

strange

The

sentence

Let the

earth grass grass

is

in Hebrew

as

it is in English. The
to be
a

verb

the

Bible,

and the verse even seems

is only used once direct reference to our

again

in

passage. not

With
to
a

obvious reference

to

coming time

of peace and

tranquility, if

Messianic era, Joel

ye

says:

Fear not,

beasts

of the
and

field: for the

the

pastures of
vine

the wilderness do grass, the their strength.

tree beareth her

fruit,

fig

and

the

do

yield

(Joel

2:22)

It is
the use of

almost as

if the unity between the actor and the action implied in the cognate accusative was intended to express the kind of
peace-

fulness described
the
earth

to

do,

Joel. Is any man able to tell exactly what God wanted what kind of unity He was looking for? From what follows,

by

it

appears as

though

even

the

earth

did

not

have

a much clearer

idea than

we

do,

for it did

not grass grass

but

sent

forth

grass.

It is hard to say that

38

Interpretation

the earth and not man was the

earth

first

sinner.

Nevertheless, it is
command.

true that the

we shall see

had to find its

even

own

way

later,

God Himself

sees

obeying God's that it is good.

of

As

God's
ways of

original plan called

the earth, proved

unity which, given the to be impossible. A general pattern is established for

a certain

kind

of

here
the

which

develops

throughout the entire

book. God begins

possible. search

by

requiring
a cer

highest, but is

satisfied with

the highest to
contain

The

book, from

tain point of view, may

be

said

the

for

such a mean.

Rabbi Judah Ben Sholom in Bereshith Rabbah (Verse

significance of

9)

saw

the

the change in the verb. "Now why was

(the earth)

punished

17, Chapter 3)? Because she disobeyed (God's) command. For the Holy One, blessed be He, said thus: Let the earth grass grass, fruit trees bearing fruit according to its kind, having its seed in it upon the land: Just as the fruit is edible, so should the tree be edible. She, however, did
(in Verse
not
eaten

do thus, but: but not the.

fruitfulness. I There

and
tree."

the earth sent forth grass, etc.: the

fruit

could

be
in

Rabbi Judah

takes the original

unity

expressed

the cognate accusative to mean that the earth should produce nothing
pure can

but

think

of no

better image.
to be
one

does, however,
made

seem

completely
of making.

successful

attempt

to

have the

beings
as

share

in the activity

Trees

will continue

to make
are

fruits just

God

made

the expanse,

and

these

fruits themselves
differenti

to bear seeds

which will again produce other and

trees. God wishes to see

a world

a world capable of ated

into

separate

perpetuating itself, maintaining kinds of beings. There seems to be

each plant

a stress

here

upon and

the notion of

fruitfulness, both for

to all
other

with respect as

to

itself,

for

each with respect seeds and

living

things, insofar

it

will produce

both

fruits.

lib. And it

was so.

This

phrase appears six

times

altogether

in the first
and

chapter.

In three
appears prior

of these occurrences

the phrase
of

it

was so

unambiguously
refers

to the coming to be two cases the

and

the object to which

it

(Verses

11, 15, 24). In

apply (Verses 9

order

is

ambiguous or the question

does

not

ously
mean
refer

occurs after

30). In only one case (Verse 7) the phrase unambigu the coming to be of the object. These words then cannot
and

anything like
to the
actual

it

was

in deed
of

as

it had been in speech;

they

cannot

existence
so

the object.

The

original

meaning

of

the

word translated

to be

is to

arrange or

something like
of

having
is

a clear and perhaps

this

expression

direct. To be so can only mean definite way in which to he. The sense caught in the English expression he likes from the Hebrew
root

everything to

be just

so.

The

word so comes

koon,

A
which

Commentary
or

on

Genesis 1-10
and

39
or
secure

means

to

be prepared,

ready

fixed,

and

firmly
the

established.

God has direct

has
path

not yet established the existence of the

which

thing but merely

mean

in

it is to

go.

The

words and

it

was so

that God

established

however,
medieval

will not

clearly defined place for the object in this world. Man, be said to be so, for reasons which are related to what
will call

theology

freedom

of

the will.

12.

And

the earth sent

forth

grass, seed-bearing

plants

according to its
saw

kind,
good.

and trees

making fruit

with

its

seed

in it:

and

God

that

it

was

The

phrase that

it

was good occurs on each of six

the six

days,
it

with

the

exception of

moment we
work of

day two, and on days three and disregard the final occurrence on
it
appears as though

it

occurs

twice. If
refers

for the
to the

day

six,

since

the whole,

the missing

statements
order

from
to

day

two were merely

stand

deferred to the

middle of

day

three. In

under

day

this, we must consider the general plan for Creation as a whole. On one light was called into being; on day two the sky was made and the
divided. The third be made,
to
man.

water

day

was

devoted to the

appearance of

dry

land

together with the production of the plants.

stars will
and on

the

fifth
six

day
is

day four the sun, moon, and the denizens of the sky and the
to the

On

water will come

be,

while

day

given
seen

land-dwelling beings,
of a chart.

including
day day day

Perhaps this

can

be better

in the form

1 light

2 sky and water 3 dry land including

of

plants

day 4 lights day 5 birds and fish day 6 land animals including

man

Each
which

the

inhabit the
addition

last three days is devoted to the manifestly moving beings places made on the corresponding first three days.
to this general
plan which general relates

In

the

first

three

days to
to

the last three days there is a

transition from

simple

motion

motion of a more complicated character.

Enough has been

seen so

far

con

cerning the
of

order of

Creation to
it

reach some answer to our original problem

why the words

and

was good

had to be deferred from the

and
elegant seas as as

second

day
is,

to the middle of the third day.

not even

Simple

the above plan

God

was capable of

completing the

land

since

the limits of the sea are the same

mythological accounts, the author
against which

before making the dry the limits of the land.

not

Unlike many
and

tragic necessity
more

nothing
simple

than a

simple problem

imply any great God must struggle. The difficulty is of topology. However, it is a problem
and

does

which even
and

God Himself
most

must

face,

the

plan cannot

be fulfilled in its

immediate

sense.

But in

spite

of

the momentary disrup-

40

Interpretation the sea was

again we see

tion,

when

finally

finished God Himself it

said

that

it

was good.

Here nothing
of

that God was willing to

as good until

accept

a compromise,

but

appeared

to Him

was completed.

In this sense, the

actual completion

word good

does

not mean the

highest imaginable but the

the highest possible.

1 3.

And there from

years.

was

evening

and

there was morning, a third day.

expanse

14.

And God said, Let there be lights in the

night:

of the sky to divide

day
the

they
as

shall

serve as signs

for

the

set

times, the days

and

15.

Let them be
and

lights in

the expanse of the sky to shine

upon

the

earth:

it

was so.

Obviously
there could
not

the greatest
on

be light

the

difficulty first day

with

this

verse

is to

understand

how

although of

the sun and the moon had

been Sun

made until

the

fourth day. Part

the reason for this

is,

of

course,

revealed

in the

general plan

for Creation indicated in the

as

chart.

and moon were

are

not presented

being
for

the sole sources of

plant

light.

Since they

created even after

source of

the coming to be of the

which

world,

they

are not

the

those

great gifts

they

are praised and

deified

by

other nations.

The stars, far from

being

gods whom we

serve,

are

reduced

to servants who tell us the seasons of the year.

I 6.

God

made

the two great

lights,
and

the greater the stars.

light

to rule

the

day

and

the

lesser light
17.

to rule the night

And God
To
saw

set them

in the

expanse

of the sky to give light

to

upon

the earth.
and

18.

rule the

day

and the night and

divide light from darkness:

A fourth day.

God

that it

was good.
was morning.

1 9.

And

there was evening and there

As
In the

we

remember, in the first

verse

both sky

and earth were mentioned.

second

verse, the

author picked
altogether.

dropping

the notion of sky

up the account of the earth while If the early chapters of Genesis are later developments in Judaism
or

compared either with paganism or with

or

Christianity, it
nificant
role.

can

be

seen often

that the sky

called

heaven
or

played a much

less sig
and

God is

the

God,

Possessor,

of

heaven

earth, but there is never any indication that heaven is more particularly His (Gen. 14, 17, 22; also 24:3). To be sure, God is often spoken of as going down, but the word heaven is never used in these passages. The sky

is

often associated with

God in the

sense of and

the place from which

as
well

He

can

send

destructive

rain

(Gen. 7:11

19:25)
are

as

the source of

necessary moisture (Gen. 27:28, 39). On the other hand, the heavens

the unambiguous

home

of

the

A
angels will

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10 see, the

stars of give

41
the heavens

(Gen.

21:17, 22:11,17). As
image
of

we shall
which

form

one

the

blessing
a

God is to
than

to Abraham.

Although it is intended to be
of

higher

blessing

its corollary, the dust

understood as related

the earth,

still

there is no indication that it is to

be

to the

heaven

Divine any particular way. God is never especially until Chapter 28, in which Jacob's dream appears.
of

associated with

This de-emphasis
the fact that
given

the

heavenly
called sun and

bodies

seems also

to be implied
rather

they

are

merely

the two great

lights,

than

by being
the
of as

their proper names

the

the moon. On the

other

hand,

ruling which arises in Verse 16 seems to be somewhat out for place, nothing had been mentioned of that in God's original plan stated in Verses 14 and 15; ruling appears as a kind of afterthought.
notion of

Kingship
and the

came

to

man

in

a similar way.

Samuel's

sons grew

corrupt,

people,

failing
a

to

understand

that all things were liable to

corrup
was

tion, demanded
only

king. Samuel

king

that Israel needed.

displeased. In his eyes, God But the Lord spoke to Samuel:

was

the

Hearken

unto

the

voice of

the people in all

they say

unto

thee:

for they have

them.

not rejected

thee, but have

rejected me that

should not reign over

(I Sam. 8:7)

Partly
Book

because
of

of

this

demand,

Judges
was

proved

partly because the occurrences in the that Israel was incapable of living without a human
and

king, God
that the
pointed

willing to
were and

acquiesce to

human demand. That is

own

people

allowed

to follow their

the

king

laid down many for

our

stipulations

not to say God both ap concerning his rule, but, course.

as will prove critical

inal

notion of

kingship

was

understanding of Genesis as a whole, the orig of purely human origin. Kingship, too, was a
aspirations and

compromise

between divine
of

human

needs.

This interpretation

the

origins of

kingship

fifteenth-century
Genesis

commentator, Don Isaac

our

Abrabanel,1

is primarily due to the and it will continue

the book
of

to play a major role in

as a whole.

understanding

of the motion of

Neither

sun nor moon was

originally
rule upon see

created as

ruler, but their

need

pre

eminence seems to

have forced
of

them.

One

only think of
outside an alternative

the story
was not

of

the Garden
of

Eden to

that law imposed from the

of

part

God's

original

plan.

The development

plan will

form the

major subject of

the present commentary, and the plan,

'

For

an

English translation
and

of

the

relevant

parts

of

see:

Mahdi, Medieval Political Philosophy: A (Glencoe: The Free Press, 1963), pp. 255-57.
R.
Lerner M.

Abrabanel's commentary Source Book

42
as

Interpretation

it is

developed,

will

be

called the new way.

In

a certain sense the

first

eleven chapters of

Genesis

are a cosmic counterpart

to the Book of Judges.

a world which

Their
might

purpose

is to

explain the need

for law

by

exploring

have been better if it had been complete, but which did not take into account human needs. This latter reflection, which culminates in the notion
of

law, is necessarily

an

afterthought,
which

since

human

needs can

only become
those

intelligible in terms
needs not existed.

of

that

would

have been the

highest, had
At that

After the death God

envisaged a

of

Joshua

each

tribe went its

own way.

point

loosely
of

connected

league

of

tribes.

However,

the stories
of

recounted

in the Book

Judges

show

the progressive

degeneration

that

dream. At the

end of the

book

kingship

becomes inevitable.
not seen as a

Nonetheless,
replace

kingship
ment

itself

cannot

be

understood

if it is

necessary

for that

original

dream.

20.

God said, Let the

upon

water

swarm

swarms

of

living

souls,

and

flying

fowl

the

face of

the expanse of the sky.

Here
and

again we note the use of

the cognate accusative

a construction

swarm

swarms,

again
more

there is a reference to

such

in the

words

flying
We

fowl,
an

literally flying
part of

fliers. This time

one can see what

is

meant.

can almost see

the churning waters the

whirlpool.

filling

themselves with
other places

fish that

remain

integral

The only

in the

whole of the

Bible that the Psalms

word swarm

is

used as a

transitive verb are Exodus

8:28

and

105:30,

both

of which concern

the plagues in Egypt. In Exodus

God says, And the rivers shall swarm forth Psalms is a reference to the same incident.

frogs,

and

the passage
strange

from
of

Only

in that
such a

land

Egypt,

which was

noted

for its magicians,

could

form
more

of genesis

actually occur, but the

very
next verse says can produce with other

present account of

the

beginning
take

is

sober,

and

though we can imagine such generation,

it

cannot

place

in fact. The kind

of

that God created,

etc.

Water is

not

the

thing
make

which

fish. Although God's

attempt

to share the activity of

and able

Creation

beings failed, He

up for the
21

deficiency by

both willing merely creating them Himself.

was

to

God

created the great sea monster and all the

living

souls that

creep

which

the waters (were to

have)
that

swarmed

forth,

and all

flying

fowl according to

its kind:

and

God

saw

it

was good.

In general, this both

pagan

account of

the visible universe

is distinguished from
speaks

mythology
and

and modern science

by

the

fact that it
of our

only

in terms

of objects which all of us can see myth

any

day

lives.
be

Both

science

consider

everyday

experience to

lacking

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10

43 along in the
world

intelligibility in its own terms. Most of us are able to get by ignoring about fifty percent of it and concentrating on
fall into
place.

those things which

such a world.

Neither the

poets nor

the

scientists can
of our

live in

The

poets wish

to extend the limits

us a world
us

understanding
our

of even the

commonplace

by

showing

beyond

lives.

They

take

us

to

Byzantium,
stand.

and scientists

take

into laboratories. In

either case a world

without giants or magnetic waves

is

a world which we cannot

fully

under

For the

author of

Genesis,
maker.

the sufficiency of
can

an account which speaks

only

about

the things

we see

source

in

an

intelligent

every day The great

mythical

be

maintained

by having
to be the

its

sea monster seems

one

exception.
reports of of

Throughout Eastern
monsters, many
their

traditions,
great

there
roles

were stories

and

of which played

in their

accounts

the origins of the visible universe. While this role is

present
and

implicitly
was

denied
were

in the
stories

text,

existence
sailors

is

never

questioned.

If there

reports

from

that the great

are part
of

ocean

inhabited

by

monsters, then

perhaps

they, too,
the author

the

visible

universe, but

from the
one of

point of view of

they

must

be

regarded as

just

another

God's

creations and of no particular significance.

22. 23.

And God blessed them saying, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the seas and let the fowl multiply upon the land.

the waters of

And

there was evening and there was morning,

fifth day.

On the fifth
the

day

completely

new
said

first time

a particular

being

was

vocabulary was introduced. For to be created rather than made

the sea, unlike any
other

(Verse 21). In Verse 22 the denizens

thus far brought into

of a

thing

being,
of

received

blessing.

However,

for the first

time the words and it was so will not appear

in the text.

day things will return to normal. The They will be made, not created, and they will not receive a blessing. The only other being which will specifically be said to be created will be man. Man will also receive a blessing, and man, too, will not be said to be so. How is this kinship to be understood? The denizens of the seas indeed live a kind of watery existence. They
On the first half be
said

the

sixth

animals will

to be

so.

neither

follow the

ecliptic

as

does the

sun

nor

are

they
and

restricted

in the

hence they are direction of their motion as are the animals, not said to be so. Man shares this openness of direction with the fish. The way was not marked out for him in the beginning. It had to develop, and even then he was apt to wander from his path. Since man could err,
other

he too
24.

required a

blessing.
according to its
and

And God said, Let the

cattle, creeping things,

earth

send

forth

living

souls

kind,

and wild

beasts of every kind:

it

was so.

44

Interpretation

This is the in His In

work.

second

time that God

has

asked

the earth to participate

However,
uses

this time

God does

not use the cognate accusative.

fact, He

the very words send forth which were used to

describe
that the

the earth's response

world

in Verse 12. God has officially

the
original plan

recognized

is incapable itself

of

type of unity which was

demanded in
which

the

beginning.

The

second

follows

the
earth

exact

course

the
of

earth

chose

in Verse 12. Since the

showed

itself

capable

bringing
25.

forth

plants

the present plan calls for it to

bring

forth the

animals.

And God

made the

living
saw

things of the earth according to

and all

its kind

and the

beast
to

according to
and

its kind

the creeping things of the soil according

its kind:

God

that

it

was good.

is completely incapable of doing anything, and God again obligingly does it Himself. The Bible gives no indication as to how it was done, but apparently there were no grave difficulties. On
This time, the
earth

the other
sufficient.

hand, it does
point

not

seem

to be the

case

that mere

speech

was

Up
the

to this

in the text
thus far

we

have

seen

motion spoken

from the best to

the
on

best possible,
see

and

the

author

has

world around us
we shall

as

it had been before

search

man came

only about into it. From now

quest will

the same

going

on

for

man.

That

occupy
that

time, but the author turned first to the world to the fundamental difficulties are to be found there as well. The
most of our

show us

real problem

is

not whether

God is

omnipotent or even whether

He

created

the

world

ex nihilo.

The

real problem

is

whether and

all of man's sufferings are

due to
can of

his

own guilt.

Many

in fact are,

man

be

encouraged to overcome

only by them. But there

his

awareness are

of that

times when

it is

even greater

Man's been
in

importance to know that suffering is part of the world. inability to live according to God's original plan may have
fault than it
forth
animals.

no more man's

was

the earth's
we

fault that

she could not

grass grass or

bring
a

While

shall

be primarily interested

developing
and

man was not

way for man, it was important to the author to show that the first to depart from the words of God. The earth did its

best

cannot

be

called

sinner.

the most fundamental

of

difficulties lie it

not

But these early verses indicate that in the heart of man, but in the heart
traditional to distinguish

being. Within
rabbinical

circles

was

between

the simple meaning of a text and its

can see what

deeper

sense.

In these

passages we

there

was

in the text

which

led them to

make such a

distinc

tion.

In their terms,

one would

simple

meaning

of the

be justified in saying that according to the text the world was created perfect. Man was given

A
a pristine world

Commentary
to

on

Genesis 1-10

45
responsible

in

which

live,
too

and

he

alone

is

for its ills.

story.

As

we

have seen,

lying

not

deep

under

the surface

is

another

Within the

context of
story.

the superficial
preserves author

everyday human life there is something true about It leads men to take seriously their position and
sense of an

for them the

was

immediate
preserve

goal.

At the

same time

the

felt that it
about

important to

the

deeper

account and men upon

to be
the

as

explicit
are

causes

he could, because ofttimes when in the world, and nothing is gained by placing
as

it

suffer

them the

additional

burden

of guilt.

26.

And God said, Let

us make man
over

in

our own

image

after our own

likeness;

let them have dominion beast

27.
and all the

the

fish of

the sea, the

birds of
earth.

the sky, the

creeping things that

creepeth upon

the

And God

created man

in His

own

image, in

the

image of God He

created

him;
The
with

male and

female he

created them.

question of what so

is

meant

by

the image

of

God has been dealt

speculation

by

many
as

authors add

and

preachers

that further

in this

commentary
ambiguous,

would

little. The
did

verse almost seems

wish man

if the

author

not

to commit

intentionally himself finally and

of

to be

ultimately

as

to the sense in
of

which

is in the image be
clarified.

God. None

theless some aspects

the problem can

The Hebrew
view even

word

for God is

plural

from

a morphological
a

point

of

though it is normally accompanied

by

verb

in the

singular.

Here, however,
arises

the author chose to use a plural verb. A similar

of

difficulty
of

in the

case

His image in the

as

present verse.

The

object

His

creation
are a

is first described

him

and then as

them. These two difficulties

ultimately identical. The image of God appears in two different forms male and a female though both are said to be in the image of God.
part of

And yet, from the first

only limited kind
one thing.
of

Verse

27, it
be
at

appears as though solved

God
a

created

Both difficulties

would

if there

were

certain
allow

duality

in God

Himself,

least

sufficient

duality

to

for the possibility of two separate images. What does this mean? In order to understand this verse, we must consider the alternatives
to Biblical thought. When the Bible
speaks

of

paganism

it usually treats

it

as

foolish

and vain.

gods which should

on our

by

Men worship sticks and stones. They carry those rights be carrying them. However, it would be foolish
that this
reticence

part
was

to

assume
of

necessarily implies
of paganism.

that

the

author

unaware

the deeper
a grave

significance

He
and yet

was

faced

with

difficulty. He
speak

could not praise who

paganism,
of

in

some

sense

he had to

to those

were

aware

its

deeper

significance.

46

Interpretation

Certainly one of the most forceful arguments religion and favoring paganism was the notion that
duality. A
other. god cannot

opposing
generation

the

new

requires

beget

a world without
sense

goddess

of

some

form

or

Monotheism in its

strictest

denies

what would

seem to

be

fundamental truth.

However,

the

fact

that both male and

female

are

in

God's image implies that there is nothing missing in God which would be required for bringing the world into being. On the other hand, the author
seems

to face- the

fact that

this

does

imply

limited form

of

duality.
fill the

28.

God blessed
and master

them and said to

them, be fruitful
over

and multiply;

earth

it; have dominion

the

fish of

the sea and the

fowl of

the

sky

and all the

living

things that

creepeth on

the earth.

The

phrase

which

is translated have dominion

a

over

is difficult to

understand.

It

often

has

the word used to

describe the

harsh meaning and is somewhat different from relation between the sun and the day in
meant

Verse 16. The

man was

word

is probably

to emphasize the

sense

in

which

intended
of

not

the

sake

which

only as the pinnacle of Creation but also as that for Creation took place. As we shall see in Chapter 2,
the
author of
and

this is understood
man's relation

by

to the universe,

Genesis to be only a partial one which is deeply in need

view of
of cor

rection.

29.

And God said, Behold I have

which are on

provided
earth and

you

with

all

seed-bearing

plants

the

face <?f
given

all

the
as

every tree which

has seed-bearing

fruit;
30.

to you

have I

it

food.
earth soul and

And

to every

living being
has
a was so.

of the

to

everything that
given

creepeth

upon the earth which as

living

in it, I have

every

green

herb

food:

and

it

As in Verse
exist

14,
of

the unity of

Creation is
man

again

stressed. animals.

The But

plants man's

for

the

sake

providing for
animals

and

the

domination

over

the animal world does not

extend

to the possibility
as

of

being
must

carnivorous.
of

Since the
relation

will

be

admitted

food

later,

the

full impact

man's

to the
of

animal

kingdom in this early

on

stage

be

understood

in the light
admissible.

the conditions under which the eating this

subject

of meat will

become

A further discussion

will

be found in the commentary to Gen. 9:4.

31.

And God
evening

saw all that

He

made and

behold it
day.

was

very

good.

There

was

and there was morning, the sixth

The

whole

is

said

to be very good in spite

of

the

fact that it is

never

Commentary on

Genesis 1-10
good.

47

specifically a whole in

mentioned which

that man

himself is
whose

Perhaps it is implied that

there is one
a

unknown, is better than

to

being way is open, and to that extent world in which all the inhabitants are known

be

good.

Chapter II
Thus the heavens

2.

And

on the seventh

rested on the

finished, and all the host of them. day God ended his work which He had made; and He seventh day from all His work which He had made.
and the earth were

Nothing
kind
reader,
of

is

mentioned

at this as

point

about

this Sabbath as

of model

for the Sabbath

cannot

it

will

be
such

understood

being any in the Law. The

to

however,
the

help

but have

things in mind. The failure

the author to make such a connection explicit

notion of

is

related

his

general

avoidance of

law throughout the

curious

whole of

these
can

early chap
read much

ters.
of

This

avoidance

is

somewhat
without

since

no

one

the Book of Genesis

concept of

understanding it
and

as

providing

foundation

for the

law in

general

the revelation on Mount

Sinai in

particular.

The first law, in the

after

proper sense of

the word, will be given to Noah

the Flood. In the

following

chapters we shall

try

to

show

the

non-legal

character of
will

life

prior

to the Flood. This period in the development of man

of

be

called

the pre-legal period. From the Biblical point

without reference
of a

view

law

cannot
requires

be
a

understood

to

this

pre-legal

period.

Law

pre-legal

foundation

radically

non-legalistic

character,

since without

this law would be unintelligible.

3.

And God blessed

the seventh

day

and

hallowed it because do.

a

on

it He

rested

from

all

the

work which

God

created to

The
will

blessing,
fruitful

as

in the

other

case, implies
whole.

hope that the

so

world mis

be

and

well-running

The last phrase,

of

often
can

translated,
be

continues

this theme. The subject

the

verb

to do

only

understood as the work which world which

God had

created.

The

verse stresses the

fact that the

be

God

created

is itself full It
was

of activity.

The

whole

shares with man and the

said to
so.

fish two

qualities:

blessed, but it
a number of

was not

The

world which

God

created was

intended to be in

an active

world which was not ways. see

so, but

which could

develop

different
we shall
need pave

Because

of this

openness, it
existence

was
of

in

need of a

blessing. As

later in Genesis, the

this openness

lies behind the necessarily

for

traditions. These are the paths which almost all men

48
for themselves in is
4.
required

Interpretation

a world

in

which

there are no

clear

paths.

blessing

because

not all paths are

equally just

and right.

This is
in

the generation of the sky and the earth in their creation on the

day

which

God

made

the

earth and

the sky.

We
shall

are

now

about

to begin

second

account

of

Creation. As In many
are

we

see, these two

accounts

differ in fundamental
other.

ways.

ways
prime

they simply

contradict modern

each

These two

accounts

of

importance for

Biblical

scholarship.

Modern

scholars

understand

Genesis to be the weaving together of several earlier accounts, and they understand it to be their task to unravel them. In the -present commentary
we shall

try

to face

different

question. author or redactor

Regardless
to include

of their

source, the

thought it

both

accounts.

This decision implies that he did

not

necessary believe

either one of

the accounts to

be

literally true,
account.

for in that

case there would remain open.

have been

no need

for the
one
of

other

Two

possibilities was not

Either he believed
as seems more of

them to be true but

sure

which, or,
possession

likely,

the

author

did

not

believe himself to be in
presented

any simply

true account,

but

rather of

us

with

two accounts,

each

of which reveals

certain

aspects
was not

the foundations while obscuring

others.

Perhaps he thought it
the

possible

for

man

to

give

a single

and complete account of

beginning.
the words this is the generation of. There
which

This
are
and

account

begins

with

many

other sections of

Genesis

begin

with

the

same

formulation,
this
phrase

perhaps

by

comparing them
to begin

we

can

understand

what

means.

The

next section

with

this formulation is Chapter

5,

which

deals primarily with Seth and his descendants. The phrase is used nine times again in the Book of Genesis, and each time it points forward to
what
or

is to

come came

in the text
to

and gives
rather

the story not

of

how Noah

or

Seth

Ishmael
our

be but
to

too,

sentence

seems

point a

the story of their descendants. Here, forward and be the beginning of the

second

account,

rather

than

conclusion

to

the

first

account

as

some

translators have taken it. It

would also seem not rather

to tell the story of how

of

sky and earth be from them.

5.

came

to be but

to tell the story

what came

to

And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon
the earth,
and there was not a man

to till the

soil.

In

contrast

to the watery

beginnings

of

Chapter

One,

the

second

A
permissible

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10

33

in the
of

Hebrew, but then the word bereshith would have to mean beginning of, as in the phrase bereshith ha-tebhu'a (in the beginning
harvest). In that
and

in

the

case one would

have

expected

another noun

to

follow,

there is

none.

The

beginning

of what?

The

whole?

In Hebrew

such a word would

beginning
seem present

of

have to be stated, and the act implied in the verb

no such word appears.

created?

Is it the
would

Hebrew
of

syntax own

to say no. The present author has no solution

his

but

will

two generally accepted translations :

In the

beginning
etc.,

God

created the

sky

and

the earth, and the

earth

was

waste

and void:

or:

When God began

void with

to create the
over the

sky

and the earth, the earth

being

unformed and
over

face of the water, God said, Let there be light: etc.

darkness

deep

and

wind

from God

the

The
verse.

central problem

is

whether creatio ex nihilo

is implied in the first

remain

If the first translation is accepted, two Either the first verse speaks about the creation
or

possibilities

open.

of a primordial earth

and

sky,
the

it is to be taken
chapter.

as a chapter

heading

summarizing the

contents of

first

In Chapter
of

2,

as we shall
which

see, the

author will present us

with a second account chapter

creation

does indeed begin

to

with

such

heading. It

would therefore not seem unreasonable

as a chapter

assume and

that that

the first sentence of Chapter 1 was intended the waste

and void existed prior

heading
of

to any act
which

of creatidn. reflects

The

alternative

translation,
author's

the thought

medieval

Jewish

commentators such as

Rashi,

would of course exclude the notion of

creatio ex nihilo

from the

intent.

There

are grave reason.

difficulties in

formulating
of

the issue at stake for one

written

overpowering
readers came philosophy.
more on

After the Book

Genesis had been

its

into

contact with the great rival to

Biblical thought

Greek

decisive

This meeting may have forced those readers to make a decision than any intended by the author. Once the limitations placed

the

Creator

by

the

recalcitrance

of

matter

had become

subject an

to

common position.

gossip the tradition may have been forced into

there is no
reason

extreme

Fortunately,
decision
at

for

us

to feel

compelled

to

reach more

this point.

We may

wait

to

see which

interpretation is

in

keeping
perhaps

with

the remainder of the text.

God

created a

sky

and an earth.

Had the text been

written

in Greek

the

author would

have

used

the single word

cosmos.

But according

34
to our author the world

Interpretation

has two distinct parts, the sky

unity
mind expressed

and

the earth and

does

not present

itself

with quite the

by

the word cosmos. the world.

Perhaps

we would word

do

well

to bear in
used

this

dual

character of

The

sky has been

intentionally because

the theological

connotations of of

the word heaven seem to play no role in the

early

stages

the

book.

2.

The
the

earth was without

form,

and

void;

and

darkness
the

was

upon

the

face of

deep. But

wind sent

by
at

God

moved over

face of the

waters.

Our interest is directed

lower
portion while

first to
sky is

the

notion of

eventually become the temporarily dropped.

what will

In the

beginning
a

the
and

world was not

this home with

of

which we are all

familiar but

fluid
it the
apart

formless

mass

confusion

characterized

by

random motion.

Something
spirit

beyond the

waters moved.

Was it

a wind sent

by God,
case

or was

of God? The Hebrew

waters

could mean either.

In any

something

from the

began
there

the motion of Creation.

3.

And God said, Let there be light:

and

was

light.

Each

day

of

Creation begins

with

the

words

and

God

said.

This is

strong

ground

for assuming

that Verse Three contains the

first

act of

Cre

ation properly speaking, or in other words, that creatio ex nihilo was not intended to be implied by the author. In addition, the words and God said

will

be
six.

repeated once

in the

middle of

day

three and once in the

middle of

day

Verse 3

However, is, in
the world

this problem will be discussed later.

bringing
original

highest sense, paradigmatic of God's activity in into being. Its force is more readily seen in Hebrew
the
a

than in English

due to

peculiarity in the English

requires

use of

Hebrew tenses. In the

words

text the

words which precede

the and are identical to the

a
change

which

follow

it,

whereas

from let

there
as

be to

there was.

In this

paradigmatic example

has has

spoken and through

his

speech

God exactly everything alone. Although the Western tradition

occurs of

accepted this as the general

form

Creation

we shall see

that on

other

days things do

not go so smoothly. will

No

material was used

in the

creation of

light, but

that

never

happen

again either.

The

author seems

to have

intentionally

presented us with this paradigm so that we might understand

the work of the

following days
the

more

fully.

4a.

And God

saw

light,

that it

was good:

At this
meant

point

it

would

by

the word good.

be difficult to say with any precision what is For the present the most that can be said is that

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
since
.

35
neither

it is
it

was

quality inherent in the object itself, good, nor called it good, but saw
.

God

decided that Little

more

that it was good.

sees or

can

be

said until we examine the

things that God

does

not see as

being
4b.

good.

And God distinguished between

the

light

and

the

darkness.

Paradigmatic

as

this act of

Creation had

been, it

was still

in

need of

improvement. The newly created light was confused and mingled with the darkness that was, and God was forced to distinguish them one from the
other.

The

word as

distinguished is
will

characteristic of

the

first,

second,

and

fourth

days, just
The

the word kind

be

characteristic of

world which

is

about

to

come

into

being

will

days three, five, and six. be primarily a world of

of

distinguishable

and

therefore recognizable

kinds

things. To the extent

of

that the author presents the world as

parts

being

composed

distinguishable

it is knowable
And God

and therefore

trustworthy.

5a.

called the

light day,

and the

darkness He

called night.

In
gave

addition

to

distinguishing

between the light God

and

the

darkness He
seen

them both
ahead a

names.

The importance

of names can

only be

if

we

look

bit to

compare the names

gives with the

things named.

Things light

named

by

God

Names

given

by

God

and

darkness

day

and night

(1:5)

expanse
water and

dry
and

sea and

sky (1:8) land (1:10)

Light

darkness,
meets

an
as

expanse,

water and

dry; they

are all shapeless

and could all

be imagined

infinite
at

seas.

But the

day

ends when the night

comes, the

sea

the land

the shoreline, and the sky stops at the

horizon. but
give

According
definite

to this account of Creation words are not mere handles to the things
around us.

shape

world without speech would still contain

friendly
and

things and
all

fright
things

ening
would

things. There would

be love
would

and

hate, but
pride

the edges of
pride

be

blurred. The

Honor

become
spectrum,

merge

into

arrogance.
solid

world

would

be

and

there would

be nothing

to

grasp.

5b.

And there

was

evening

and there

was

morning, one

day.

This line

will appear six

times as a steady drone throughout the

chap-

36
ter.

Interpretation

It is
is

a curious

ing

not a

line because the distinction between evening and morn Biblical commonplace and in fact will never occur again in
would

Biblical literature. One

was night and

have

expected

the

phrase

to

read

and

there

there was

from?
again.

They
In

are

where did they come day. Evening and morning come together the darkness the times when the light and

spite

of

Creation

and

division

and

the

between land has And

arisen which was not created

giving of names an but which just happened.

us

in-

by

constant repetition our author will not

let

forget

that.

6.

And God said, Let

there

be

an

expanse

in the

midst

of the

water and

let it

divide between

the

waters and

the waters.

Since the
is to
consider

word expanse appears

in

no other context our a verb

only

recourse

its

etymology.

It

comes

from

referring to the actions

spread out

of a coppersmith as sheet of

he beats his

copper

to make
and

it

into

a thin

indefinite

shape.

Like the light

the waters, the expanse can

only be endowed with a form by giving it a name. Originally the water had all been of the same kind, but the expanse, in imitation of God's activity in Verse 4, would now divide the water into two parts.
7. And God
expanse made the expanse and

it divided the
over

water which

was

under

the

from

the water which was

the

expanse: and

it

was so:

God is The

beginning
to

to

share

the activity of Creation with

other

things.
come

expanse was

be

responsible

for protecting the

and

world about

to

into being. Throughout the

share

remainder of

the chapter God will continue to

His

role

as

maker

with

others,

their

attempts

to fulfill God's

command will

form

a significant part of

the tale.

According
us

to this account, the

expanse which

God has

made protects

from

an outside

filled

with primordial

water, the

water present as

early

as

Verse 2.

is

surrounded

However, by water,

little

emphasis

is

placed upon the

fact that

our world

and

it

seems

to

be

mentioned

in the text

not so

much as of

the threats

of an

angry God to the

reader.

simple

reader, but

as a reminder

the situation to the more careful

There is
panse and expanse

no

fundamental distinction between the

the expanse.

waters above

the

ex

the

waters under

They

differ only
chaos, in them

by

virtue of

the

itself. The angry

are

sea and

the torrential rains, part

original

of our spite of

experience,
that

themselves part of that

name seas

everyday the fact

by

giving them the

God

placed

within

bounds.

8.

And God
morning,

called

the

expanse

sky:

and

there

was

evening

and

there

was

a second

day.

Commentary on
day

Genesis 1-10
than the first

37

The first
established the

day

was called one

of

rather

day because it
no

tal measure of

time; in other words, there had been time prior to the first day.
waters underneath the

length

fundamen

9.

And God said, Let the

one place that the

sky be

gathered together

into

dry

place

may

appear: and

it

was so.

Even in the
were

primordial

state,

dry

land

and

hidden

underneath

the primordial waters.

solidity existed, but they The first account of the

in
which all

beginning
of

appears to present a

Heraclitean

world

is in flux.
the speech

Nonetheless,
the

solidity did

exist

but had to be

made apparent

by

Maker.

10.

And God

called the

dry

place, earth;

and

the

gathering of the water, he

called seas: and

God

saw that earth

it

was good.

11a. And God said, Let the

grass

grass, seed-bearing plants,

fruit land:

trees

bearing

fruit according

to

its

kind, having

its

seed

in it

upon

the

The Hebrew text It

a

uses a construction

known

as

the cognate accusative.

says

Let the

earth grass

grass,

similar

to the English construction to sing

thought. As we shall see in Verse
grass.

song, to dance a

dance,

or to think a
earth sent

12,
Let

the response is and the

us consider the come
and

forth

The two

are not

identical.

differences. If
sit

a man make a chair

chair, he

can

leave

and

another

down. The

has

being

wholly
ceased

apart

from its

maker, but
certain

where
of of

is the dance

when

the

dancer has

his dancing? A

kind

formulation

unity exists in the first formulation, in sharp contrast to the Verse 12, which emphasizes the otherness of the grass by
earth grass grass

the use of the words sent forth. The sentence Let the
strange

is

as

in Hebrew
and

as

it is in English. The

verb

the

Bible,

the verse even seems to be a

is only used once direct reference to our

peace and

again

in

passage. not

With
to a

obvious reference

to a coming time of
says:

tranquility, if

Messianic era, Joel

ye

Fear not,

beasts

of the

field: for the

pastures of the wilderness

do

grass, the

tree beareth her

fruit,

and the

fig

and the vine

do

yield

their strength.

(Joel

2:22)

if the unity between the actor and the action implied in the use of the cognate accusative was intended to express the kind of fulness described by Joel. Is any man able to tell exactly what God wanted the earth to do, what kind of unity He was looking for? From what follows, It is
almost as
peace-

it

appears as though even

the

earth

did

not

have

a much clearer

idea than

we

do,

for it did

not grass grass

but

sent

forth

grass.

It is hard to say that

38

Interpretation

the earth and not man was the

earth

first

sinner.

Nevertheless, it is
command.

true that the

we shall see

later,

had to find its own way of obeying God's even God Himself sees that it is good.
original plan called

As

God's
ways of

for

a certain

kind

of

the earth, proved to be impossible.

general pattern

unity which, given the is established

here
the

which

develops throughout the but is

satisfied with

entire

book. God begins

by

highest,

the highest possible. The to

contain

book,

requiring from a cer

tain point of view, may

be

said

the search

for

such a mean.

Rabbi Judah Ben Sholom in Bereshith Rabbah (Verse

significance of

9)

saw

the

the change in the verb. "Now why was (the earth) punished

the

17, Chapter 3)? Because she disobeyed (God's) command. For Holy One, blessed be He, said thus: Let the earth grass grass, fruit trees bearing fruit according to its kind, having its seed in it upon the land: Just as the fruit is edible, so should the tree be edible. She, however, did
(in Verse

do thus, but: eaten but not the.

not

and
tree."

the

earth

sent

forth grass,

etc.:

the fruit could be

Rabbi Judah takes

the original unity expressed in

the cognate accusative to mean that the earth should produce

pure

nothing but

fruitfulness. I There

can

think of no better
seem

image.
one

does, however,
made

to be

completely
of making.

successful attempt

to

have the
make

beings
as

share

in the activity

Trees

will continue

to

fruits just

God

made

the expanse,

and

these fruits themselves

are

to bear seeds

which will again produce other

trees.

God

wishes

to

see

a world capable of
ated

into

separate

maintaining perpetuating itself, kinds of beings. There seems to be

and

a world

differenti here
upon

a stress

the notion of

for

each with seeds and

fruitfulness, both for each plant with respect to itself, and respect to all other living things, insofar as it will produce
fruits.

both

1 lb. And it

was so.

This

phrase appears six

times

altogether

in the first
and

chapter.

In three
appears prior

of these occurrences

the phrase
of

it

was so

unambiguously
refers

to the coming to be
cases

the object to which

or

it

(Verses

11, 15, 24). In two

apply (Verses 9
and

the order is ambiguous

the question

does

not

ously
mean
refer

occurs after the

30). In only one case (Verse 7) the coming to be of the object. These words then
it
was

phrase unambigu
cannot cannot

anything like

and

in deed

as

it had been in
The

speech;

they

to the actual existence of the object.

original
so

meaning
can

of

the

word

translated to be

so

is to

arrange or

direct. To be

only

mean

something like
of

having
is

a clear and

this

expression

perhaps
so.

definite way in which to be. The sense caught in the English expression he likes
from the Hebrew
root

everything to be just

The

word so comes

koon,

A
which means

Commentary
or

on

Genesis 1-10
and

39
or
secure

to

be prepared,

ready

fixed,
of

and

firmly
the

established.

God has direct has

path

not yet established

which

the existence

the

thing but merely

in

it is to

go.

The

words and

it

was so mean

that God

established a
will not

however,
medieval

clearly defined place for the object in this world. Man, be said to be so, for reasons which are related to what
will call

theology

freedom

of the will.

12.

And

the earth sent

forth

grass,

seed-bearing
seed

plants

according to its
saw

kind,
good.

and trees

making fruit

with

its

in it:

and

God

that

it

was

The

phrase that

it

was good occurs on each of

the six

days,
it

with

the

exception of moment we
work

day two, disregard

and on

days three

and six

it

occurs

twice. If for the

refers

the

final

occurrence on
as

day

six,

since

to the

of

the whole, it

appears

though the missing statements from

day

two were merely deferred to the middle of

stand

day

three. In

order

to

under

day

one

water

this, we must consider the general plan for Creation as a whole. On light was called into being; on day two the sky was made and the divided. The third day was devoted to the appearance of dry land On

together with the production of the plants.

stars will

day

four the sun, moon,

and

be made,
to
man.

and on

the

fifth
six

day
is

the denizens of the sky and the

water will come

be,

while

day

given

to the

land-dwelling beings,
of a chart.

including
day day day
1

Perhaps this

can

be better

seen

in the form

light
and water

2 sky

dry
of

land

including

plants

day day day

4 lights 5 birds 6 land

and

fish

animals

including

man

Each
which

the last three days is devoted to the manifestly moving beings

places made on

inhabit the
addition

the corresponding
which relates

first
the

three

days. days to
to

In
the

to this general
there

plan

first

three

last

three

days

is

general

transition

from

simple

motion

motion of a more complicated character.

Enough has been

to

seen so

far

con

cerning the
of

order of

Creation to it

reach some answer

our original problem

second

why the

words and

was good

had to be deferred from the

elegant

day
is,

to the middle of the third day. Simple and

not even

as the above plan

completing the seas before making the dry are the same as the limits of the land. sea land since the limits of the

God

was capable

of

Unlike many
and

mythological

accounts, the
which

author

does

not

tragic

necessity

against

God

must

struggle.

imply any great The difficulty is

a problem

nothing

more than a simple problem of topology.

However, it is

which even simple and

God Himself
most

must

face,

and

the plan cannot

spite of

be fulfilled in its

immediate

sense.

But in

the momentary disrup-

40

Interpretation
when

tion,

the sea

was

finally

finished God Himself

was

said

that

it

was good.

Here
nothing
of

again we see

that God

willing to

accept a

compromise, but

appeared

to Him as good

until

it

was completed.

In this sense, the

actual completion

word good

does

not mean the

highest imaginable but the

the highest

possible.

1 3. 14.

And there

was

evening

and

there was morning, a third

expanse set

day.

And God said, Let there be lights in the

of the sky to divide

day
the

from
years.

night:

they
as

shall

serve as signs

for the

times, the days

and

15.

Let
and

them

be

lights in the

expanse

of the sky to

shine

upon

the

earth:

it

was so.

Obviously
there could
not

the greatest
on

be light

the first

difficulty day

with

this

verse

is to

understand

how

although

the

sun

and

the

moon of

had

been Sun

made until

the fourth day. Part of the reason for this

is,

course,

revealed

in the

general plan

for Creation indicated in the

as

chart.
of

and moon

are not presented

after

being

the sole sources

light.

Since they

were created even

the coming to be of the

plant

world,

they

are not

the source

of

those great gifts for which

they

are praised and

deified

by
to

other nations. servants who

The stars, far from

being

gods whom we

serve,

are

reduced

tell us the seasons of the year.

16.

God

made the two great

lights,

the

greater

light

to rule

the

day

and

the

lesser light
17.

to rule the night and the stars.

And God
To
saw

set them

in the

expanse

of the sky to give light

upon

the earth.
and

18.

rule the

day

and

the night and to

divide light from darkness:

A fourth day.

God

that it

was good. was

19.

And there

evening

and

there was morning.

As In the

we

remember, in the first verse, the

author

verse

both sky

and earth were mentioned.

second

picked

dropping

the

notion of

sky
seen

altogether.

up the account of the earth while If the early chapters of Genesis are later developments in Judaism
or

compared either with paganism or with

or

Christianity,
nificant role.

it

can

be

that the sky

called

heaven
or

played a much of

less sig
and

God is

often

the

God,

Possessor,

heaven

earth, but there is never any indication that heaven is more particularly His (Gen. 14, 17, 22; also 24:3). To be sure, God is often spoken of as going down, but the word heaven is never used in these passages. The sky

is

often associated with

God in the

sense of

the place from

as
well as

which

He

can

send

destructive

rain

(Gen. 7:11

and

19:25)
are

the source of

necessary moisture (Gen. 27:28, 39). On the other hand, the heavens

the unambiguous

home

of

the

A
angels
will

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
see, the
stars of give

41
the heavens

(Gen.

21:17, 22:11,17). As
image
of

we shall
which

form

one

the

blessing
a

God is to

to Abraham.

Although it is intended to be
of

higher

blessing

than its corollary, the dust

understood as related associated with

the earth,

still

there is

no

indication that it is to be

Divine any particular way. God is never especially heaven until Chapter 28, in which Jacob's dream appears.
to the

This de-emphasis
the

of

the

heavenly
called sun and

bodies

seems also

to be implied
rather than
other

fact that they

of

are

merely
arises

the two

great

lights,
to

given

their proper names

the

the

moon. seems

On the be

by being hand, the

out plan

notion

ruling

which

in Verse 16
mentioned of

somewhat original

of as

place, for nothing had been

stated

that in God's

in Verses 14
came

and

15; ruling
in

appears as a

kind

of afterthought.
sons grew

Kingship
and the

to

man

a similar way. all

Samuel's

corrupt,

people,

failing
a

to understand that
was

things were

liable to corrup
was

tion, demanded
only

king. Samuel

king

that Israel needed.

displeased. In his eyes, God But the Lord spoke to Samuel:

in
all

the

Hearken

unto

the

voice of the people rejected me

they say

unto thee:

for they have

them.

not rejected

thee, but have

that I

should not reign over

(I Sam. 8:7)

Partly because
Book
of

of

this

demand,

Judges
was

proved

partly because the occurrences in the that Israel was incapable of living without a human
and acquiesce

king, God
pointed

willing to
and

to human demand. That is

own

that the people were the

allowed

to

follow their

king

laid down many

for
our

stipulations

not to say God both ap concerning his rule, but,

course.

as will prove critical

inal

notion of

kingship

was of

understanding of Genesis as a whole, the orig purely human origin. Kingship, too, was a human
needs.

compromise

between divine
of

aspirations and

This interpretation

fifteenth-century
to play Genesis
a
major

kingship is primarily due to the Abrabanel,1 and it will continue Don Isaac commentator, motion the of the book of role in our understanding of
the origins of

as a whole.
sun nor moon was

Neither
eminence

originally
rule upon

created as

ruler, but their

need

pre

seems

to have forced

them. One

only think of
an
alternative

the story of the Garden of Eden to see that law imposed from the outside
was
not
part

of

God's

original

plan.

The development
present

of

plan will

form the

major subject of

the

commentary,

and

the plan,

'

For R.

an

English translation
and

of

the

relevant

parts

of

see:

Lerner

M.

Mahdi,

Medieval
pp.

Political

Philosophy:

Abrabanel's commentary A Source Book

(Glencoe: The Free

Press, 1963),

255-57.

42
as

Interpretation

it is

developed,

will

be

called

the

new way.

In

a certain sense

the first

eleven chapters of

Genesis

are a cosmic counterpart

to the Book of Judges.

Their

purpose is to explain the need for law by exploring a world which have been better if it had been complete, but which did not take into account human needs. This latter reflection, which culminates in the notion

might

of

law, is necessarily an afterthought, since human needs can only become intelligible in terms of that which would have been the highest, had those
After the death
of

needs not existed.

Joshua

each

tribe went

its

own way.

At that

point

God

envisaged a

loosely
of

connected

league

of tribes.

However,

the stories
of

recounted

in the Book
end of cannot

Judges

show

the progressive degeneration

that

dream. At the

the book

kingship

becomes inevitable.
not seen as a

Nonetheless,
replace

kingship
ment

itself

be

understood

if it is

necessary

for that

original

dream.

20.

God said, Let the

upon

water

swarm

swarms

of

living

souls, and

flying

fowl

the

face of

the expanse of the sky.

Here
and again
more

again we note

the

use of

the cognate

accusative swarm

swarms,

there is a reference to such a construction in the words

flying
We

fowl,
an

literally flying
the
part of

fliers. This time

waters

one can see what

is

meant.

can almost see

churning
is

filling

themselves

with

fish that

remain

integral

the whirlpool. The only other

used as a

places

in the

whole of

the
and

Bible that the Psalms

word swarm

transitive

verb are

Exodus 8:28

105:30, both

of which concern the plagues

in Egypt. In Exodus
and

God says, And the rivers shall swarm forth Psalms is a reference to the same incident.

frogs,

the passage from

strange

Only

in that
such a

land

of

Egypt,

which

was

noted

for its magicians, it

could

form
more

of genesis

actually occur, but the

present account of the

beginning
take

is

sober,

and

though we can imagine such generation,

cannot

place

in fact. The

very

next verse says

can produce

that God created,

etc.

Water is

not

the kind of

thing
make

which

fish. Although God's beings

attempt to

share

the activity of to

Creation

with other

up for the
21. God

deficiency by

failed, He was both willing merely creating them Himself.

and able

created the great sea monster and all the

the waters (were to

have)

swarmed

living souls that creep which forth, and all flying fowl according to

its kind:

and

God

saw

that it was

good.

In general, this both

pagan

account of

the

visible universe

is distinguished from
speaks

mythology
and

and modern science

by

the

fact that it
of our

only

in terms

of objects which all of us can see myth

any

day

lives.
to be

Both

science

consider

everyday

experience

lacking

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10

43 along in the
those things
world
which

intelligibility in its own terms. Most of us are able to get by ignoring about fifty percent of it and concentrating on
fall into
place.

Neither the

poets nor

the scientists can live in such a world.

of our

The

poets wish to extend the

limits

understanding
our

of even

the

commonplace

by

showing

us

a world
us

beyond

lives.

They

take us to

Byzantium,
stand.

and scientists

take

into laboratories. In is

either case a world

without giants or magnetic waves

a world which we cannot

fully

under

For the
in

author of

Genesis,

the sufficiency of an
can

account which speaks

only

about

the things

we see maker.

source

an

intelligent

every day The great

mythical

be

maintained

by having
to be the

its

sea monster seems

one and

exception. reports of
of

Throughout Eastern
monsters, many

traditions, there
great roles

were stories

of which played

in

their accounts

the origins of the visible universe. While this role

present
and

is

implicitly
was

denied
were

in the
stories

text, their
from
perhaps

existence sailors

is

never

questioned. ocean

If there

reports

that the great

are
part of

inhabited

by
but

monsters, then

they, too,
the
author

the visible universe,

regarded as

from the
one of

point of view of

they

must

be

just

another

God's

creations and of no particular significance.

22.

And God blessed them saying, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the seas and let the fowl multiply upon the land.

the waters of

23.

And

there was evening and there

was

morning, a

fifth day.

On the fifth
the first time

day

completely

new

a particular

being

was said

vocabulary was introduced. For to be created rather than made

sea,
unlike

(Verse 21). In Verse 22 the denizens

thus far

of the a

any

other

thing

brought into

being,
of

received

blessing.

However, for

the first

time the words and it

was so will not appear

in the text.

day things will return to normal. The They will be made, not created, and they will not receive a blessing. The only other being which will specifically be said to be created will be man. Man will also receive a blessing, and man, too, will not be said to be so. How is this kinship to be understood? The denizens of the seas indeed live a kind of watery existence. They
On the first half
the sixth
so.

animals will

be

said

to be

neither

follow the
of

ecliptic

as

does the

sun

nor

are

they
and

restricted

in the

direction
not said

their motion as are the other animals,

so.

to be

Man

shares

this

openness

of

hence they are direction with the fish.

The way
and even

was not marked out

for him in the beginning. It had to

wander

develop,
err,

then he was apt to

from his

path.

Since

man

could

he too
24.

required a

blessing.
forth

And God said, Let the

cattle, creeping things,

earth send and wild

living

souls

beasts of every kind:

according to its and it was so.

kind,

44

Interpretation

This is the
in His In
work.

second time

that God

has
forth

asked

the earth to participate

However,
uses

this time

God does

not use the cognate accusative. which were used

fact, He

the very

words send

to describe that the

the earth's response in Verse

world

12. God has officially

plan

recognized

is incapable

of

the original type of unity

second

which

was

demanded in
which capable

the

beginning.

The

follows

the
earth

exact

course

the
of

earth

itself

chose

in Verse 12. Since the

showed

itself

bringing
25.

forth

plants the present plan calls

for it to

bring

forth the

animals.

And God

made the

living

things of the earth according to its

all

kind

and the

beast according to its kind and to its kind: and God saw that it

the creeping things of the

soil

according

was good.

God
to

is completely incapable of doing anything, and does it Himself. The Bible gives no indication as obligingly how it was done, but apparently there were no grave difficulties. On
earth again

This time, the

the other
sufficient.

hand, it does

not

seem

to be the

case

that

mere

speech

was

Up
the

to this point in the text

and

we

have

seen

a motion spoken

from

the

best to
the

best possible,
see

thus

far the

author

has

world around us we shall

as

it had been before

search

man came

only into it. From

about

now on

the same

going

on

for

man.

That

quest will

occupy
that

most of our

the

time, but the author turned first to the world to fundamental difficulties are to be found there as well. The
God is
omnipotent or even whether

show us

real problem

is

not whether

He

created

the world

ex nihilo.

The

real problem

is

whether

all of man's sufferings are

due to
can of

his

own

guilt.

Many

in fact are,

and

only

by

his

awareness are

of that

man

be

encouraged to overcome

them. But there

times when

it is

even greater

importance to know that suffering is part of the world. Man's inability to live according to God's original plan may have
no more man's

been
in

fault
forth

than

it

was

the

earth's we

fault that

she could not

grass grass or

bring
a

animals.

While

shall

be primarily interested

developing
and

man was not

the

way for man, it was important to the author to show that first to depart from the words of God. The earth did its

best

the most
of

But these early verses indicate that fundamental difficulties lie not in the heart of man, but in the heart
cannot
called a sinner.

be

being.

Within
the simple

rabbinical
of

circles

it

was

traditional

to

distinguish between
In these
passages we

meaning

a text and

its deeper
which

sense.

can see what there was

in the text

led them to

make such a

distinc

tion. In their
simple

terms,

one would

be justified in saying that according to the

was given

meaning

of the

text the world was created perfect. Man

A
a pristine world

Commentary
to

on

Genesis 1-10

45
responsible

in

which

live,
too

and

he

alone

is

for its ills.

story.

As

we

have seen,

lying

not

deep

under

the surface is

another

Within the
the

context of story.

superficial

everyday human life there is something true about It leads men to take seriously their position and
sense of an

preserves
author

for them the

was

immediate
preserve

goal.

At the

same time

the

felt that it
about

important to

the deeper account and to be

when men upon
suffer

as

explicit

it

as

he could, because

ofttimes

the

causes are
additional

in the world, and nothing is burden of guilt.

gained

by

placing

them the

26.

And God said, Let

us make man over

in

our own

image

after our own

likeness;

let
27.

them

have dominion

the

fish of

the sea, the

birds of

the sky, the

beast

and all the

And God

created man

creeping things that creepeth upon the earth. in His own image, in the image of God He
created them.

created

him;
The
with

male and

female he

question of what
so

is

meant

by

the image of God has been dealt

by

many
as

authors add

and

preachers

that further
seems

speculation

in this

commentary
ambiguous,

would

little. The

verse almost wish man

to be

if the

author sense of

did

not

to commit himself
of

intentionally finally and

God. None

ultimately

as

to the

in

which

is in the image

theless some aspects

the problem can

be

clarified.

The Hebrew
view even

word

for God is

plural

from

a morphological
a verb

point

of

though it the

is normally
author chose

accompanied

by

in the
similar

singular.

Here, however,
arises

to use a plural verb.

present verse.

difficulty
of

in the

case

of

His image in the

as

The

object

His

creation are

is first described

him

and then as them.

These two difficulties

a male and a

ultimately identical. The image of God appears in two different forms female though both are said to be in the image of God.
appears as though solved

And yet, from the first part of Verse 27, it only one thing. Both difficulties would be limited kind
of

God
a

created certain
allow

if there

were

duality

in God

Himself,

at

least

sufficient

duality

to

for the possibility of two separate images. What does this mean? In order to understand this verse, we must consider the alternatives
to Biblical thought. When the Bible
speaks of paganism

it usually treats

it

as

foolish

and vain.

gods which should

on our part was

by

rights

Men worship sticks and stones. They carry those be carrying them. However, it would be foolish
that this
the deeper
a grave
reticence

to

assume
of

necessarily implies that the

of
paganism.

author

unaware

significance

He
and yet

was

faced

with

difficulty. He
speak

could not praise

were

paganism,
of

in

some

sense

he had to

to those who

aware

its

deeper

significance.

46

Interpretation

Certainly one of the most forceful arguments religion and favoring paganism was the notion that
duality. A
other.

opposing
generation

the

new

requires

god cannot

beget

a world without

goddess of

some
seem

form
to

or a

Monotheism in its

strictest sense

denies

what

would and

be

fundamental truth.

However,

the

fact that both

male

female

are

in

God's image implies that there is nothing missing in God which would be required for bringing the world into being. On the other hand, the author
seems

to face the fact that this does

imply

limited form

of

duality.

28.

God blessed
and master

them and said to them,

over

be fruitful fish of

and multiply;
and

fill

the earth

it; have dominion

the

the sea
earth.

the

fowl of

the

sky

and all the

living

things that

creepeth on

the

The

phrase

which

is

translated

have dominion

over

is difficult to

understand. It often has a harsh meaning and is somewhat different from the word used to describe the relation between the sun and the day in

Verse 16. The

man was

word

is probably

meant

to

emphasize

the sense in
also as

which

intended
of

not

the

sake

which

only as the Creation took

the
author

pinnacle of

Creation but
we
shall

that

for

place.

As

see
a

in Chapter 2,
partial view of of

this is understood
man's relation

by

of

Genesis to be only
one which

to the universe,

and

is

deeply

in

need

cor

rection.

29.

And God said, Behold I have

which are on the

provided and

you

with

all

seed-bearing

plants

fruit;
30.

to you

face qf all the earth have I given it as food.

every tree

which

has seed-bearing

And
upon as

to every

living being
has
a
was so.

of the

earth

and

to

everything
given

that

creepeth

the

earth which

living

soul

in it, I have

every

green

herb

food:

and

it

exist

As in Verse 14, the unity of Creation is again for the sake of providing for man and the
over

stressed.

The But

plants man's

animals.

domination

the animal world

does

not

extend

to the possibility of
as

being
must

carnivorous.
of

Since the
relation

animals

will

be

admitted

food later, the

stage

full impact

man's

to the animal kingdom in this early

of

be

understood

in the light
admissible.

the conditions

under which

the eating
will

of meat will

become

A further discussion

on

this subject

be found in the commentary to Gen. 9:4.

31. And God
evening
saw

all

that
was

He

made and

behold it
day.

was

very

good.

There

was

and

there

morning, the

sixth

The

whole

is

said

to be very good in spite

of

the fact that it is

never

Commentary
man

on

Genesis 1-10
good.

AI

specifically a whole in
to be good.

mentioned which

that

himself is
whose

Perhaps it is implied that

and

there is one
a

being

way is open,
all

to that
are

extent

unknown, is better than

world

in

which

the

inhabitants

known

Chapter II
1.

Thus

the

heavens

and the earth were

finished,
his
work

and all the

which

host of

them.
and

2.

And

on the seventh

rested on the seventh

day day from

God

ended all

He had

made;

He

His

work which

He had

made.

Nothing
kind
reader,

is

mentioned at this point about this

as

Sabbath

as

being

any

of model

for the Sabbath

cannot

it

will

be
such

understood

in the Law. The

The failure

however,
to

help
of

but have

things in mind.

of the author avoidance of

make such a connection explicit

is

related

to

his

general

the notion

law throughout the

curious

whole of these no
one

early chap
read
much

ters.
of

This

avoidance

is

somewhat without

since

can a

the Book of

Genesis
of

understanding it
and

as

for the

concept

law in

general

the

revelation

providing on Mount Sinai in be

to Noah
non-legal man

foundation

particular.

The first
after

law, in
prior

the

proper sense of

the word,

will

given

the Flood. In the

following

chapters we shall

try

to

show

the

character of will

life

to the Flood. This period in the development of

period.

be

called

the

pre-legal

From the Biblical

to
this

point

of

view

law Law

cannot
requires since

be
a

understood
pre-legal

without

reference of a

pre-legal

period.

foundation
would

radically

non-legalistic

character,

without this

law

be

unintelligible.

3.

And God blessed from

all

the seventh

day

and

hallowed it because

on

it He

rested

the

work which

God

created to

do.
a

The
will

blessing,
fruitful

as

in the

other

case, implies
whole.

hope that
so

the

world mis

be

and

translated,
be

continues

well-running this theme. The

The last phrase,

of

often

subject

the verb to

do

can

only

understood as the work which world which

God had

created.

The

verse stresses the

fact that the

be

God

created

is itself full

of activity.

The

whole

shares with man and the

said

fish two but

qualities:

It

was

blessed, but it
a number of

was not
an

to

so.

The

world which

God

created was

intended to be

active

world which was not

so,

which could was

develop

in

different
we shall need
pave

ways.
see

Because

of this

openness, it the
existence

in

need of a openness almost

blessing. As

later in

Genesis,

of this
which

lies behind the

necessarily

for traditions. These

are

the paths

all men

48

Interpretation

for themselves in
is
4.
required

a world

in

which

there are no clear paths.

blessing

because

not all paths are

equally just

and right.

This is
in

the generation of the

sky

and the earth

in their

creation

on

the

day

which

God

made

the

earth and

the sky.

We
shall

are

now

about

to begin

second

account

of

Creation. As

we

see, these two

accounts

differ in fundamental
other.

ways.

In many
are

ways
prime

they simply

contradict
modern

each

These two

accounts

of

importance for

Biblical

scholarship.

Modern

scholars

understand

Genesis to be the weaving together of several earlier accounts, and they understand it to be their task to unravel them. In the -present commentary
we shall

try

to face
of

different

question.

Regardless
to

their source, the author or redactor thought it necessary

include both

accounts.

This decision implies that he did

not

believe

either one of

the accounts to be

literally true,
account.

for in that

case there would

remain
open.

have been

no need

for the
one

other

Two

possibilities

Either he believed
as seems more
of

of

them to be true but was not

sure

which, or,
possession

likely,

the author did not believe himself to be in

rather of presented us with

any simply

true account, but

two accounts,

each of which reveals certain

others.

aspects was

the foundations

while

obscuring
a
single

Perhaps he thought it
account of

not possible

for

man

to

give

and complete

the beginning.
with the words

This
are
and

account

begins

this is the generation of. There

many

other sections of

Genesis

which we

begin

with

the

same what

formulation,
this
phrase

perhaps

by

comparing them
to begin

can

understand

means.

The

next section

with

this

formulation is Chapter 5,

which

deals primarily with Seth and his descendants. The phrase is used nine times again in the Book of Genesis, and each time it points forward to
what
or

is to

come came

in the text
to

and gives the

rather point a

story
and

not of

how Noah

or

Seth

Ishmael
our

be but
to
than

the story of their descendants.

Here,
of

too,

sentence

seems

forward

be the

beginning
account

the

second

account,

rather

conclusion

to the

first

as

some

translators have taken it. It

would also seem not rather

to tell the story of how

came

sky and earth be from them.

5.

came

to be but

to tell the story of what

to

And every plant of the field before it was m the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon
the earth, and there was not
a man

to till the soil.

In

contrast

to the watery

beginnings

of

Chapter One, the

second

A
account

Commentary
and

on

Genesis 1-10

49
accounts

begins

with a

dry

motionless

desert. In these two first divine

more
order

the author sees two

facets to
order

the world prior to the

was

act. a

In

one

way, it lacked
motion.

all

because it

nothing
of

than
was

random

From

another

point of

view, the lack

due to

the

total

impossibility

of motion.

The author, in his

possible at

attempt to preserve makes no attempt

these

two points of view them together.

from any
of

damage,

to jam

His way
to

looking
that the

the world led

him to

place them side

realm

by

side

and

assume

truth was

in

some

indefinable
in

between them.
These
two
alternatives
are not unlike a

the

alternatives

Greek

dialogue called the Theatetus, philosophy Socrates is constantly thinking about the thoughts of two men, Heraclitus and Parmenides. There had always been great men like Achilles and
which

faced Socrates.

In

Pericles
same

who

took their place in battle

were other men

or

in the

political

world.
see

At the
in
such

time, there

like Heraclitus

who

could

nothing but a constant stream of random motion. Many of them thought that the best life for man was to escape the stream by leading
a world

a private

life.
were other men

There
was

like Parmenides

who

believed that the

world

ultimately one and that the stream was mere appearance. But the unity he envisaged appears too solid and rigid to account for the world which we see. This thumbnail sketch of Parmenides would be radically insufficient for
neglects
a

the

second

full understanding of his half of his poem, in may have been

It will,
a

own

work

since

it completely
meet

which

he tries to
significant

the

difficulties,
gross

and

which

even

more

than

the

first half in his

problem.

own mind.

however, be
in the two

sufficient

to establish the

There is

kinship

alternatives way.

between
In the

which

both Socrates

and

the Biblical

author must

find their

commen

tary

to Verse 20

we shall see more of

this kinship.

The Hebrew language has two words, liphne and terem, both of which can be translated before, but which have quite different meanings.

The
it

words

liphne haggeshem,
and sunny.
when was rain

mean

before the rain, that is to say,

terem

when

was

bright

The dark

words

haggeshem, however,
of

mean

just before the

and the smell

clouds were air.

already gathering in the sky

the word terem
either

of

rain

in the

The

use

in the
literal is

fifth
or

verse seems to
a

imply

that the seeds of all

things,

in

in

figurative sense,

were

already in the
where and

ground.

This

beginning
a

different from the first account, formlessness. Here everything is hard

quite

only dry. In the former

account,
there

there was

watery
account

there was
motion or

no

solidity.

Here, in

the

second

can

be

no

formation because everything is too solid and too The fifth verse itself has a mixed quality about it. On the

rigid.

one

hand,

50

Interpretation

the use of the word terem implies an

innate fecundity. But there is

itself

some

thing

ominous about a

the sentence too. The richness of the world

and cannot express without

is knotted
and

up into

little ball

human labor

without rain.

Laboring
within

is hard

ing
and

about

rain

is something frighten painful, the context of the book. There will be no actual
and
and there

rain until

the time of the

flood,

and

brimstone

will

rain

down

on

Sodom

Gomorrah. Unlike the

account given
point

in Chapter 1 ,
of view
of

man

is

no

longer the
man was

pinnacle

of

creation.

From the
a of

Chapter 2,

intended merely as its midwife, a tiller

6.
But there
soil. went

means.

The

world was

pregnant,

and

he

was

originally to be

the soil who

would allow

the world to express itself.

up

a mist

from

the earth, and watered the whole

face of

the

The rain,

which

appeared

to be so
replace

frightening

been

avoided.

God

was able

to

it

with a gentle mist.

in the last verse, has Here then is

account,
as

another

contrast
of

between the two

presented
on

accounts.

In the first
made

the

paradigm

Creation

day

one

it

appear

though

only speak and things commanded. On the ensuing days

need more

God

would

come

to be exactly as He had

we saw

that things became somewhat

able

difficult.

Here, just
human

the

reverse

happens. God is
a while.

to avoid the

necessity
7.

of great

labor,

at

least for

And the Lord God formed the his

nostrils the

man

breath of life;

and man

from dust of the soil and He blew into became a living soul.

The vocabulary of the second account is significantly different from that of the first. In it the verbs which describe God's actions are much
more vivid and

descriptive. He forms Man

and

blows life into his

nostrils.

Later

on a

he

will cast a

it into
artisan,

woman.

sleep upon Man, take one of his ribs, and build In the second account God is presented more as an
account

whereas

in the first
were used.

only very
seemed allow

general

words,

such

as

make and

create,

At first

glance

the

earlier

account

to be

more

promising.

The plasticity of the world and God's actions were never

the

appeared

to

fully
form

defined. But
react,
of

once

for infinite possibilities, the action was begun

this

earth

watery world did lent itself to the

In

not

always

whereas

hard

and

barren

proper

labor.

describing
author

man

in terms
to
place

of

the dust of the soil and the breath of

life,
on

the

seems

man

in

some

kind
of

of

middle

position,
position

but it
the

would

be foolish to

attempt

any description

that middle

basis

of

this verse alone.

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10

51
noted the great role

Many
as a small

commentators on the

Iliad have already

that water plays

for Homer.
land

Achilles'

shield portrays

the home
the visible

of

man

bit

of

surrounded

by

water.

Most

of

universe

is

chaos. men

Though heroes like Odysseus

often

sometimes venture
chaos even on

into that chaos,

whether

and

find themselves in that in

Achilles'

dry land,
against

it be in

a war or

battle

with

Scamander,

man's ultimate goal an essen

is

peace.

This

can

be

tially

chaotic nature.

only by building up walls All that is in the Homeric world.

assured

Homer's

attempt

to

live in that
a poem.

world

led him to tame it

the

by

his
be

poetry; but the Bible is not

a

Superficially,
important

Bible

seems

to have

different

purpose.

One
even

of

the most

questions

which must

raised at

this point,

though no attempt can

should

be but

made

to solve it
such

here,

is why

such a

kinship
Homer's

in the foundations
solution was

lead to two
we

different
contrast

conclusions.

his

art,

cannot

Homer's
of

solution with the

Bible

until we

have

a more precise

understanding

the

Biblical

author's attitude

toward

art.

8.
9.

The Lord God

whom

planted a garden

in Eden in the East

and placed

there

Man

He had formed.
ground

And from the

pleasing to the

the

Lord God
for

caused
with

to

grow

every tree that

was

sight and good

food,

the tree

of life in the

midst

of

the garden, and the tree of

knowledge of

good and

bad.

By avoiding the necessity for rain and planting the garden, for least the meantime, has successfully avoided all those ominous
which presented

God,

at

qualities

themselves in
we
as

Verse Five. This

seen

change

in

plan

is radically

different from anything was brought into being

than that
and

had

in Chapter 1. In this
proved

case

Man,

who

a mere

means,
was

to be even more

noble

for the

sake of which

he

formed.
for him.
past

Something

had to be

done,
the

God began

So
breath be

much

by planting has been written in the

a garden

two thousand years

about

symbolism of man as the togetherness of the

of

dust

of

the ground and the

life that I think

we can add

little

except

to

mention

that it

might

wise

to

keep

our eye on the symbolism of

dust throughout the book.

such a of and

In

addition

to the two
and

normal

trees which we would expect in

Garden there

are good

curious

trees, the
are

tree

of

life

and
are

the

tree

knowledge

of

bad. We
dropped.

not told

why they

there,

the subject is

immediately
went

10.

river

out

of Eden to

water

the garden; and

from

thence

it

was

parted,

and

became into four heads.

1 1.

The

name

of the first is
where

Pishon,
is
gold:

the one that winds through the whole

land

of Havilah:

there

52
1 2.

Interpretation

The The

gold

of that land is of the

good:

bdellium is there,
is

and

lapis lazuli.
winds

13. 14.

name

second river

Gihon,
Tigris,

the one that

through

the

land of Ethiopia. The name of the

and the

third

river

is

the

the one that

flows

east

of Assyria:

fourth

river

is the Euphrates.

The
of

account of the

geography

of the

Garden

places

it

at

the

source

four

rivers one of

which, the

Pishon, is

unknown

but has been identified it to be the Blue Nile.

with

the Volga
other

by

some critics, though others claim

The from

three

are

Israel,

none of

certainly well known rivers, and though they are far them is so far that a man cannot leave his home and
of

begin his
White

journey

back to the Garden

Eden. The only

difficulty

is that
the

the rivers all run

in different directions. The

Gihon,

which

is probably the
and reached cannot

Nile,
and

Tigris

from the south, the Volga from the north, Euphrates lie to the east. The Garden of Eden can be
comes

by
be

going in any
undertaken

direction, but because since no man knows

of this openness where

the

journey

to begin. The

never-to-be-

is just beyond every hill. Verses 11 and 12 stress that gold, bdellium and lapis lazuli are in the land of Havilah on the way to Eden,
reached goal

that

is to say,

not

in Eden itself

as

is the

case

in many

of

the Eastern

Havilah, so far as I know, is still a mystery to modern scholars. But if Havilah is the city mentioned in Gen. 25:18 and I Sam. 15:7 as the home of the Ishmaelites, its separation from Eden would be even
myths.

greater.
of of

Even if the
and of

speculation about

the Volga is
sufficient

not

correct, the

mention

both Assyria
the

Ethjopia

would

be

to

establish

the ambiguity

direction

Eden.
him in the Garden of Eden to

15.

And the Lord God

it
and to

took the man and put

till

keep
the

it.

Planting
alleviated

Garden

and

providing

water

without

rain, though

they

for

man now

to

many do. He

of

the difficulties implied in Verse

was no

5,

still

left

some work account

longer

master as

he had been in the first

as

but

had

certain

duties to perform, light

with

they may have been. In

have

the world that

visible universe owed a

began

water

there was nothing of substance in the

to which

man could

have been

subservient or could

ground

duty. If, however, the seeds of all things had been concealed in the from the beginning, man would have had a purpose and a duty
seeds

to

bring those

to

fruition.
commanded the man saying,

16. 17.

And the Lord God

garden thou mayest

From

all

the trees

of the
of it:

surely

eat. good and

But

as

for

the tree of

knowledge of

bad

thou shalt

not eat

for in the

day

that thou eatest

thereof

thou shalt surely

die.

54

Interpretation

The balance in the from

grammatical

structure

of of

these two verses, aside

man's
position

being

quite

beautiful,

reveals

something
eat and eat

in the
could

Garden. The
more

words thou mayest

surely

thou shalt surely

and

die

literally

be translated eating,
extent,
and

you

will

dying,

you

will

die.

To

a certain

they

remind

us

of

the

use of

the

cognate

accusative

in Chapter 1

all

the things that construction implies.

They
be

balance

God's magnanimity
18.

against

Man's fate if he
not good

should eat.

And the Lord God said, It is

make a

that Man should

alone:

will

helper for him.

It is very difficult to know the best way of translating this verse. The word which has been translated for literally means in front of or vis a vis. Sometimes it is translated in the sight of. It can also mean
opposite or opposed

to and hence against, even in the sense of one man

fighting

against another.

As

a verb

it

means

to tell or to

declare,

that is

to say, to put something in front of someone.

Bearing
let
and
us

in

mind

the

complete

take

another

look

at

the verse.

meaning of the In sharp

should

word

translated as to the

for,

contrast

phrase

God

saw

that it was good that occurred so many times in Chapter

One, God

says:

it is

not good that

Man

be

alone.

One

cannot

help

wondering why it was not good that Man should be alone or, given that it was not good, why God should have begun in such a manner. There
must

be

were, to
cations.
on a

ambiguity in the word aloneness which caused God, as it His mind. Aloneness has two radically different impli We speak of the greatness of a hero such as Achilles as he stands
some
change
or performs some great

the mountain

act,

alone.

Having

accomplished

deed

by

one's

self

seems

to be

one

of

the prime prerequisites of the things are

accomplished

heroic. Even in

our post-Baconian age

in

which all

by

projects,

each of us tended eye

on

to forget the thousands

man

of scientists

involved

and
and

kept his every

child
no

the

one

who

first

went

into

space shoes

child

is

proud

of

the first time he ties his

alone can

by himself, by himself.
of a
nowhere

On the

other

hand,
on

the word
a

also

conjure

up

picture

lonely
to

sitting in be be

deserted stairway
to
rely.

having

no one
alone.

to talk to,

go,

one

whom

He, too, is

This ambiguity in

aloneness might

reflected

in God's

reconsideration of whether

it is

good

that man should

alone or not.

The ambiguity between these two senses of the word alone arises because sometimes we are alone and sufficient to the task which we are
about

to perform. Sometimes
of

we are not sufficient and alone?

in

need of another.

In
of

which

these senses was Man

part of

From the
what

strange needs as

the later

the verse

we

learn that
feel

Man
as

phraseology is a helper
could not

outside of

himself. Man

would always

alone

long

he

A
see

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-1 0

55

his

other part out search

there willing to

help.
in the
next verses.

The

for that helper

continues

19.

And

out

of the ground the Lord formed every beast of the field

and

and

every
call

fowl of the sky

thereof.

brought
Man

them unto

Man

to see

what

he

would

them: and whatsoever

called each

living

creature, that

was

the

name

20.

And Man

gave names to all cattle and to all the

fowl of found.

the sky and to

every beast of the field: but for

Man,

no

helper

was

Though it is
we

distressing
use

to

change

have decided to

the proper name

which
man.

customary Man instead

ever-present

usage
of

so

radically,

the name

Adam,

thereby preserving ambiguity Adam is the Hebrew word for

an

in the original, since We have been forced to capitalize in others, but the best haphazard.
reader should

is

the M in some contexts

remember that all such

and

leave it

small
are at

distinctions
to find
a

God's first
beasts.

attempt

helper for Man led Him to

plan

make

the
was

According

to the

original

for the
was

second

account, Man
created

to have been sufficient

a means of

unto

himself. He

originally
to
work

spelling

out

the world. His

duty

was

merely as the land in order in

spite

that the goods it contained might become explicit and visible. But
of

the fact that he proved to be

more noble than the plant world for whose

sake

he

was

brought into first

being,
to
saw

something

appeared

to be missing in him.

In His

attempt

find the missing piece,

God
who gave the names. since

God

created

the

animals, but Man rightly

that no other outside of himself would

do.

In the first
the act of

account

it

was

As

we

remember,

naming

was of critical

importance

it

gave clear and

definite

limits to the
Man

objects named.

From the

point of view of

the second account

language is purely
soever

arbitrary.

It is Man
creature

called each would

living

does the naming, and what would be its name. The stress on
who
men

the
give

whatsoever

seem

to

imply

that someday different

or
a

might

different
In
a

names

to the same

thing,
with

that

names

are

by
in

convention. a

curious

way, Plato deals

participants

similar

problem are

dialogue
.and

called the
other of

Cratylus. The
one of whom

in the dialogue
of

Socrates

two

men,

is

follower

Heraclitus,
problem

the other a follower

of

Parmenides. The dialogue

concerns

the

language. In it,
the

the notion that language exists the arbitrariness

of names

by

nature

is defended

by

Heraclitean,
and

by

the Parmenidean. In both the Biblical

that names are not of a purely

the Platonic account, the

origin

notion

human
claim

is

related

to the

notion

that all things

began
the

with water.

The

that all things began

clear

with water

is based

on

notion

that there are no

distinctions in the

given

world.

If the

world

is

continuum, then
clear bound-

names cannot

be purely arbitrary,

since

they

alone provide

56
aries.

Interpretation

But if there

are clear

distinctions in nature, fundamental

names can

be

no more

than handles.

There
accounts.

are

then

three

distinctions

between

the

two

According to the first account the world began with watery second account the world was dry, hard, and lifeless. They in the chaos; also differ in their understandings of the origin and hence the nature of
language.
without

God

was

needed

to

give

names

His

names

no

clear

distinctions

would

in the watery world since have existed. The final

of man.

difference between the two destined to be the

implicit In
order prior absolute

accounts goal

is the

position world

Man

was

of the
which

to Creation to
which

watery he could have been

names are

since

there

was no

duty

bound.

dry

world,

has

seeds

in

it,

merely

conventions.

They nothing way in themselves apart from any name. Man cannot be the absolute goal since he has a duty towards that innate order. By presenting these two contradictory accounts, the author implicitly denies the availability of a
are
more

than a

of

referring to differences which exist

single account which could

do justice to

our many-faceted world.

21.

So

the

Lord God

cast a

deep

sleep

upon the man and

he

slept;

and

he

took

one

of his

ribs and closed which

up the

flesh instead

thereof.

22.

And the rib,

woman, and

the

Lord God had

unto the man.

taken

from Man, built he into

and

brought her
said, this

23.

Then the

man

form

at

last is bone of my bone

flesh of my

flesh. This

one shall

be

called

Woman for from Man

was she taken.

The
was

attempt a

in

need of
apart

helper from among the animals failed. Man helper which he could see with his own eyes as being
to

find

something

from himself

and

imply
only

that Man understood himself to

and

standing in front of him. This would be alone in the sense of lacking But God
was
able

something

in

need

of

another.

to find that

other

within

required and

Man himself. Man did indeed have everything which was had been made perfect. Like God he was a complete whole,

containing both male and female, but he was unaware of that perfection. God was forced to take something away in order to return it in a more visible form. This would explain why it was only on second thought that God decided that it
was
not good

that

man should

be

alone.

There is

story in the Midrash to the effect that the first man was five hundred feet tall and could see from one corner of the earth to the other, or as we
would

say, he had

a view of

the

whole.

The Rabbis

meant

that the

original

and single

Man

was

intended to be

a complete and self-sufficient

being

like

God Himself. This is

a rather elegant

way

of

suggesting

an answer

to the

problem

A
of

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
world

57
sin

how it happened that God

made

in

which

was

possible.

God did indeed

perfection able

create man perfect. original

But God

was

forced to decrease the

that
one part might

by
its

splitting the

unity in
other.

order

be

to

see

own perfection

in the

24.

Therefore
unto

shall a

man

leave his father

shall

and

his

mother,

and

shall

cleave

his

wife: and

they

be

one

flesh.

The
who

verse after

is obviously
the time
of

written

from the

point of view of

the author,
part

lived

the

the marital

relationship

most

Garden. He is pointing to that like the relation between man and

of

woman

in the

Garden, in Life,

which

nothing is said ing the Tree of

like that
25.

about procreation.

only the joy of togetherness is stressed, and Since there is still no command regard
that the man
and
and

one would assume

the woman

were
still

intended to live in the Garden forever

material

that the composite was

god, the

original man.

And they

were

both naked,

the

man

and

his wife,

and were not ashamed.

Why
outside

should nakedness

be

shameful outside
what

the Garden and yet not

that shame? Though

shameful within?

In

other
man

words,

is the

root of

the Garden
of

has

pains

and

labors,
a

the most painful

is the

knowledge
be
of

his

own mortality.

But the
and

act of procreation

is intended to
to man

a replacement

for

immortality
sexual

hence

constant reminder not

his

mortality.

Since

relations

in the Garden did

have that

character, there

was no reason

for

shame. man of

The

other constant reminder

to

food. This
of

subject
will

is

rather complicated since with

his mortality is his need for it is one of the major topics

the

book. It

be dealt

in the commentary to Gen. 43:34.

Chapter III
la. Now beast of the field

the serpent was more subtile than any

made.

which

the

Lord God had

Nothing is mentioned about beginning the following dialogue.

beasts
and

the

motives

which

the

serpent cleverest

had for
of

He is, however, the

the
after

the only one,

so

far

as we

know,

capable of speech.

God,

realizing the
one of

insufficiency
might

of

Man, formed

the animals

in

the

hope that

them

do

as

Man's helper.

himself
of

the most

likely

candidate, intended to

Perhaps the serpent, thinking show Man the foolishness

his

choice

by

causing Eve's downfall.

58
lb.

Interpretation

And he
tree

said unto the

garden?

woman,

Yea, hath God

said,

ye shall not eat

of every

of the

is begun

Many questions will by the serpent.

ignorant
of

be
In

asked general

in the Book

of

Genesis. This

process asked

they

are

not simple

questions

by

men

the

answers.

In the

next

chapter,
of

God,
the

in imitation

of

the serpent as
when

it were,
out

will pick are

up the habit

asking
and ask

poignant questions woman

where

he

calls

where

you?

to the man

who

are

hiding

in the Garden (Gen. 3:9). Next He

will

Cain

is Abel

thy brother? (Gen. 4:9). The three men who visit Abraham will ask him where is Sarah thy wife? (Gen. 18:9), because they know that she is hiding behind the tent and will hear them. Isaac's simple question where
is the lamb? (Gen.
the only man
man called

22:7) is anything but

capable of

simple

to the

reader.

Perhaps

in the book

asking

purely

naive

question

is

Abimelech.
We may
of the fruit of the trees

2.

And

the woman said unto the serpent,

eat

of the Garden:

3.

But Ye

the

fruit of

the tree

which

is in the

midst

of the garden, God hath said,

ye

shall not eat

of

it,

neither shall ye

touch

it, lest

die.

Since God's
she could

command

had been

given

to Man before Eve was made,

answer

reveals ways.

only know that she has

of

about

it

through Man. Her the

command

to the

serpent

misunderstood

in

several as

significant which

First

all,

she refers

to the Tree of Knowledge that

the tree

is in the
there

midst

of the

Garden, but in fact

about shalt

is

the Tree of Life.

Secondly,

was

no

command

touching

the tree but only

Furthermore, God
tradition that a

said, Thou

surely

die,

not

lest

ye

eating of it. die. The oral

from Man to Eve has become

which relies so such point

somewhat

confused.

It is

strange

book
with

heavily

on

the validity

of oral traditions should oral

begin
is

doubts

about

the

validity

of

traditions
original

as

such.

Perhaps the

is that the in the

she

essential character of

the

command

still present

even

garbled not

tradition which
eat

Eve had. She is is

still

aware of

the fact that

is

to

the fruit of the tree which

sand

ing before her.

4.

And

the serpent said unto the woman,

Ye

shall not

surely die.

The
woman,
to mean

serpent

quotes

God's

words

and

in fact the

serpent's words

more accurately than did the in Hebrew could have been taken

(did God) not (say) you shall surely die? This may be part of his attempt to demonstrate his own greater worthiness and at the same
time to eliminate

Eve.

A 5.

Commentary
the

on

Genesis 1-10
your eyes shall

59
be

For God doth know that in

opened,
and ye shall

be

as

god,

day ye eat thereof, then knowing good and bad.

do

The English
point.

word evil will not

a radical

as an adequate translation at
of man or

this
and

Evil implies
of

distinction between the failings

cannot
of speak of an

the

failings

other

beings. One
one

that a chair

is

evil

because

its legs is
to

short.

evil say Neither the Hebrew

animal

language

nor

the Old Testament

seems

justify

such a radical

distinction.

To be sure, the Hebrew word usually has reference to man, as does the word evil, but by no means does it refer primarily to man's activity. More
as often

than not it

refers

to the
affect

pestilence,

boils,

or

poison,
or

way in which inanimate things, such man. Its meaning is closer to words
times throughout the

like

disagreeable,
The

malignant,

harmful.
occurs several

phrase good and

bad

Bible,

and an examination of nature of

those usages
used

the Tree.
and

It is

may be helpful in understanding the three times in the Book of Genesis itself.
warned

In Gen. 24:50

again

in Gen. 31:24 Laban is

by

God to

say nothing concerning Jacob either good or bad. And in Gen. 31:29, this is taken by Laban as being equivalent to doing no harm to.

In the fourteenth decision to

country,
exile

chapter

of

II

Samuel, Joab, seeing

injure the

that the king's

his

son

Absalom

would

political

unity

of

the

sent a woman

from Tekoah to David

with the story that one of

her
of

had killed the other, and that she was in distress since the people the city wished to kill her only remaining son. The king commanded
sons

that the son

be

protected.

When the

woman revealed

to David that it

was

he

who

had wrongly
to
a

punished
as

his

own

son,

she referred

to the knowledge

knowing good and bad (II Sam. 14:17). The definition of the phrase knowing good and bad is made even more explicit in a conversation between God and King Solomon. At the beginning of
appropriate

king

his

reign

Solomon
riches or

choosing

any gift that he could desire. Instead of fame Solomon chose an understanding heart that I may
was
offered

judge thy people, that I may discern between

good and

bad (I Kings 3:9).

Presumably
In the
opinions spoken
of

it

was

by

virtue of

this

wisdom

that Solomon made his famous the baby.

small

decision concerning the two

prostitutes

and

beginning
not as

of

the Book of

Deuteronomy,

children,

whose

were

of

not

formed in Egypt because they were too young, knowing good and bad (Deut. 1:39). But at the
same children now
grown

are
end

the

book,

these

to

adulthood

are

asked cases

to
the

choose

between

good

and

bad
seems

(Deut.

30:15).

In

all

these

knowledge
it implies

of good and with

bad

to be knowledge

appropriate

to

political

life. It has to do
simple

many things.

Sometimes,
it

as

in the free

case of

Laban,

power;

at other times

concerns

choice as opposed

60

Interpretation

to prejudices inherited from others. This was the choice which Israel could
make

only after it had been separated from the Egyptians for Finally, it is the knowledge appropriate to a king. In Verse 9 Knowledge
and

forty

years.

of

the second
of

chapter were

two

strange

trees, the Tree

matters.

of

the Tree
our

Life,

briefly
focused fruit

mentioned, but the

on other

subject

was

dropped,
prior

and

attention

was.

Imme
with

diately
a

to God's

announcement of

his decision to
that
or

provide

Man

helper he

warned Man not to eat the

of of

of one of those

the Tree

Of Knowledge
of

Good

and

Bad,
the

is,

as we

trees, namely have just seen,

more

the tree

knowledge
the

political ruler

matters,

to be

even

precise

the distinction between the

and

ruled.

Clearly
been Tree
eternal

first tree,

that

is the Tree

of

Life,
he

was

in the Garden

as proper

food for In

Man,
would

since not

would

originally placed have had to have

possible

because

procreation

have been

for that
to the

single and
of

undivided man. we

order

to

understand

Man's

relation man

Knowledge

must

begin

by

remembering that

was

first for

brought into

being
a

as

a mere means.

Before
such

being

placed

in the Garden
no
need

he had been

mere

servant

and

as

would

have had

inherent knowledge

of good and

bad. But inside the Garden he

planted

was more

than a means. If both the unusual trees were

in the Garden then

presumably both trees were originally intended for Man. But once it had been discovered that Man was in need of a helper, that knowledge was
no

longer for

appropriate a

to him. The warning had to be

even

given prior

to the

search

helper because knowledge

and

if

one of

the

animals

had been

sufficient

this kind of

would

be improper to their
or

relationship.

In the

Garden Man
companions,

the animals

Man

and

his

wife

were

to have been

and

the distinction between the

place.
which

ruler

and

the ruled would

have been completely out of This knowledge, for

radical

Solomon

was

praised,

presupposes

distinction between the for the

ruler and

the ruled. In the

Garden it
But

was once

appropriate

whole man who ruled could

only the

plant world.
of

Man

was

divided, it

only

A fuller
6.

account of this verse will

destroy unity be found in the commentary to Gen. 20:7.

the
the tree
was good

life in the Garden.

And
the

when

the woman

saw that

for food,

and

that

it

was

pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to

be desired

to make one wise, she took of

fruit thereof,
eat.

and

did eat,

and gave also unto

her husband

with

her;

and

he did

Woman's decision is
stand what

mentioned so

briefly

that it is

difficult to

under

led her to

eat of of

the fruit. Much of what she feels is probably

true, especially if the fruit

that tree

was

originally intended

as

food for

A
man.

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10

61

There

whether she

be

more

only the question of whether she fell in naively or is willfully doing wrong. The alternative of naivete seems to likely since if she had eaten the fruit for any other reason it
remains see

would

be difficult to

in

what sense she ever

truly lived in
they knew

the Garden.

7.

And the
naked;

eyes

of them both
sewed

were

opened,

and

that

they

were

and

they

fig

leaves together,
and

and made

themselves girdles.

The
made

girdles which

Man

his

wife make

for themselves

are

of metal

and

used

as

protection
as

in battle (see II Sam.

normally 18:11; I
rather

Kings 2:5; II Kings 3:21). So far first reaction seems to have been
than
and shame
or

their nakedness is concerned their

concern

for their vulnerability

sense.

embarrassment

in the

conventional

Vulnerability
are

embarrassment,

however,
to

are

manifestations of man's awareness

closely connected, since they of his mortal character. battle

garments out
of

both

Their

absurd

attempt

make

leaves

reveals

their total lack

of aptitude

for the

arts.

8.

And they heard the voice of the Lord God strolling in the Garden in the cool of the day: and Man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of
the

Lord God

amongst

the trees of the

Garden.
appears

For the first time the

word

word

hearing

in the text, though the

seeing has
and

appeared plays

many times before.

since

hearing
ship is seeing
one

seeing
a

a great role

The relationship between throughout the book. This relation

the

of particular
plays

importance
role

difference between
as well.

hearing
rare

and

fundamental

in Greek thought
of and

It is

that

can

catch

the two foundations

the Western

tradition,
a
point
understand

and

hence

the roots of our notions,

are

insights,
the

prejudices,

at

when

they

both

preoccupied

with

same

problems.

To

ourselves,
relation

in large measure, ship to

means

to

understand

those two roots and their

one another.

For that

reason

the distinction between

hearing

and

seeing
in

which

is

common

to both

roots

is

of

particular

importance. The

superiority

and greater

trustworthiness of seeing to
or
Herodotus'

hearing

such phrases as Did you only hear about it This distinction occurs frequently in

did

you see

may be seen it yourself?

and

The Inquiries

is

certainly fundamental in the Socratic

quest.

Hearing fundamentally
be told things that know
a
we

means obeying. not

If
it

hearing
cannot

is

crucial we must we cannot

could

know for
of

ourselves.

But if

thing by

ourselves our of

knowledge

be for its

own sake

but only for

medium

the sake

doing. The desire to

and

see

is the desire to
and

eliminate

any for knowledge.

between the knower

the

known

hence implies desire

62

Interpretation

In Ex. 33:20 God says, No man can see Me and live. There is fundamental agreement between the Bible and Greek philosophy on the superiority of seeing to hearing. The only questions are: Is seeing possible? Is

hearing
This

trustworthy? We shall
are used

have to pay

attention

to the ways

in

which

the two words

verse

throughout the text.

goes out of not seem

along.

He does

its way to present God as merely happening to be there for the purpose of checking up.

9.

And the Lord God

called unto

Man,

and said unto

him, Where

art

thou?

As

was

mentioned

book

are never

idle,

nor

in the commentary to Verse 1, do they ever indicate perplexity

of

questions
or wonder

in this in the

Psalms they often indicate wonder, or perhaps, we should say, awe, since awe is not the kind of wonder which leads to speech but a wonder which leads to speechlessness. Perhaps
philosophical sense.

In the Book

this ambiguity in the notion

of wonder

lies

near the

heart

of

the

distinction

between Athens
10.

and

Jerusalem, but
Thy
voice

then again, perhaps

not.

And he said, I heard

was

in the

Garden,

and

was

afraid,

because I

naked;

and

I hid

myself.

The
of

word naked

is

related

to the word for

used

subtile

used

in Verse 1

the present chapter, and

surely it is

here ironically.
Hast thou
of the

1 1.

And He said, Who

told thee that thou wast naked?

eaten

tree, whereof I

commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

The
cussed

root of the word told

is nagad, the

same word which was

second

dis

in the commentary to Verse Eighteen of the Literally the sentence reads Who placed it before you that There is
a

chapter.

you were naked?

possibility that the author is again playing with words and that the implied answer to the question Who told you that you were naked?
is God Himself
since

it

was

God

who

placed

the

woman

before him.

However,
The

this is mere conjecture.

second

half

of

hast

thou eaten translates a single

God's reply has great rhetorical force. The Hebrew word at the very end

phrase

of

the

sentence.
would

The

phrases

have been

intricately

woven

by

the

author.

One

have normally expected the verb to come earlier in the sentence, and in a way it does. Perhaps the best way of translating the sentence is: Hast thou of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not
eat,
eaten?

Even this translation doesn't

one can still see

achieve
of
of

the

full force

of

the

original.

But

phrases which the author

how the prolixity inserted in the middle

the two

prepositional

the question

creates

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
power of

63
the last word.

suspense whose

force is only
said, the

expended

in the
Thou

12.

And the
me

man

woman whom
eat.

gavest to

be

with

me, she gave

of the tree, and

I did

he has

Man is very eaten. But

open

with

God. He does

not

try

to hide the fact that

by

saying

the woman whom thou gavest,

upon

he

places

the

ultimate

blame

not upon

the woman but

God Himself. Man

reminds

God that the

was

woman was with

His idea

and

that

by

eating

of

the fruit Man

merely staying
And
the

her in

obedience

to God's original command.

13.

Lord God
woman

said unto the woman,

serpent

What is

this that thou

hast done?

And the

said, The

beguiled me,

and

I did

eat.

God
sation.

makes no

attempt at
guess

this point to

answer of

Man's implied
who

accu
you

In

fact, if

our

about the usage

the words

told

in Verse 10 is correct, it Man's point of view. God,

that she was
of

would as

imply

certain

limited justification for

statement at

it were, takes Man's

face value,

turns to the woman, and again asks a question. The woman's excuse is

beguiled

by

lower being.

Apparently
of

she

is

still unaware

the fact that her confusion concerning God's

played a certain role

original

command

may
of

have
is

in her
she

error. still

This lack
aware
of

awareness,
essential

however,
nature

not

very

important, for
which

was

the

the command.

The

word

has been translated beguiled is

acquainted with

causative

form.

For the
I in built

sake of point

the reader who is not

out

Semitic
are

languages,
in
general roots

should

that words

in the Hebrew language

Words
are made
of

around a tri-consonantal

root.

by

using these

a great number of matrices or

forms. One

these forms is
of

known
to feed.

as

the causative. For example, the

mean to send.

causative of

form

the

word

to go would

The

causative

form

the word to eat would

be

The meaning of the root of our present verb (nasha) is rather obscure. The same root in Arabic means to postpone, delay, or sell on credit, and
our word
sometimes used

may have

the

word

has precisely that meaning in Hebrew. The author because he wished it to conjure up in our minds
The
root

several other related roots.

nasa, for
used

instance,
in the

means of

to lift

or

carry away

and

metaphorically is
was appropriate

often

sense

accepting. a

He tends to
point

imply

that the serpent beguiled Eve

by lifting

her desires to
in the

higher than

for her. As
the

we shall see

commen

tary
of

to Gen.

19:21,

the motion
will

of

Book

the

serpent. way.

God

continue

lifting
general

Genesis is God's imitation man's desires but in a very

of

different
respect

We have already
questions

seen

how God imitates the

serpent with accept

to asking

and

in

how He is willing to

64

Interpretation

the ways of the earth and of men

It is have in

also possible that

by placing them in using this word the

which

on a

higher level.
intended
us

author

to

mind

many

other words which sound somewhat

like

it, for instance,

itself.

nashach, to

bite,

and

nahash,

is the

word

for the

serpent

14.

And the Lord God

said unto the serpent,

Because

thou

hast done this,

thou

art cursed above all

cattle,

and above
shalt

every beast of the

eat all

field;

upon

thy

belly
This

shalt thou

go,

and

dust

thou

the

days of thy life:

understanding the preposition min in the comparative sense meaning above, one infers that all of the animals have been cursed and that the serpent is merely distinguished by having
verse

is difficult because

by

been

cursed

in

greater

way.

There

is, however,
from.

no

justification in the is to take the

rest of

the text for such a conclusion. One possible

solution

preposition min

in its

more usual sense of

If the

word

is taken in this way

several possibilities present

themselves.
out

According
among the
out of

to one

interpretation,
to be

the

serpent

has been

singled

from

other animals

cursed.

According

to another, the singling

the serpent and

curse.

banning
other

him from the

rest of

his fellow
curse

creatures

is itself the
upon with

A third interpretation is that the

the

has been laid

the serpent

by

animals,

who are now

it. This interpretation

than
a

would

place

God

more

unwilling to associate in the position of a

referee

lawgiver
see

interpretation,
chosen, the
of

Gen.

(for further justification supporting this latter 4:11 and commentary). If this alternative is
the verse cannot be
would understood

remainder of

to be the
to

content

the curse since the animals

not

have the

power of

affect snake

the
as

snake

in

such

way.

Therefore the future

condition

the

described in this

verse must

be

a condition additional

to the

curse

itself.

the The curse, or the addition to the curse, concerns two things serpent's lowness and his food. The lowness may be understood in relation to the concept of raising,

in the

sense

in

which we

began to discuss it in

Verse 13.
The
symbol of used

food constantly
an

appears of

and reappears throughout the ways

book. It is
improper

in

endless

variety

to

show

the

proper

and

relation

between

man and a

the world and

cannot

between be dealt

man and man. with

Rather than opening up

at

subject which
reader

properly

this point, we must refer the

to the commentary to Gen. 43:33.

between thy bruise his heel.

15.

And I

will

put

enmity

between

thee

and

the

woman

and

seed and

her seed; it

shall

bruise thy head,

and thou shalt

the serpent is the

There is something last to

ominous strike.

about the order

of

this sentence to

since

The first

clause seems

imply

that Man

Commentary
or at

on

Genesis 1-10
with whatever clause adverse

65 forces
that

is

capable of

conquering
can

least

dealing

there are which the serpent represents,

no
will such arise

but the last

suggests

solution
again

ever

achieve

permanence, that the same

with
continually.

problems

and will

have to be dealt The

At the
with

same

time there
problems

is
as
or

no

indication that Man is incapable

arise.
root
of

of

dealing
reiterate

these
means notion must

they

the

Hebrew
that

word

for heel
the

to

follow

to come after. Its use

part
of

here may be to
each

expressed

in the first

the

verse

new

generation

face the

problems again

from the beginning.

16.

Unto the

woman

He said, I

will

greatly multiply thy

sorrow

and

thy

con

ception; in
to

sorrow thou shalt and

bring

forth

children;

and

thy desire

shall

be

thy husband,
relation at

he

shall rule over thee.

The

between Man

and

Woman

which

appeared more

so

natural

and simple

the end of Chapter 2

has

now

become

complicated.

In contrast to Chapter 1, nothing was mentioned about child-bearing in Chapter 2. The only thing stressed was the joy of being together. This unity was intended to recapture the complete unity of undivided Man.

Outside the Garden

the

more
of

of

stress

is laid
The
a

on

the fruitfulness of that

relationship in terms
painful,
and curse

child-bearing.
a

process

is both joyful be

and

both

curse and
will

blessing.
and

Outside the Garden life

The distinction between

be

harder,
so

leaders

will

needed.

ruler and more

ruled,

inappropriate to the life in the

Garden,

turns out to

be

than a curse. It is the very knowledge which

man will need

in

order

to

survive

in that

world

beyond the limits

of

the

Garden. This distinction, which God tried to avoid by warning man not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, was the necessary result of that

knowledge.
17. And
wife,
unto
and

Man he said, Because

thou

hast hearkened
I

unto

the voice of

thy

hast

eaten

of the tree, of

which

commanded

thee, saying, thou

sorrow
shalt

shalt not eat eat

of it:

cursed

is the

ground

for thy

sake;

in

thou

of it

all

the

days of thy life:

it

18.
19.

Thorns

also and thistles shall

bring
thou

forth to thee;

and thou shalt eat

the

herb of the field: In the sweat of thy face ground; for out of it wast
thou return.

shalt

eat

bread,

till

thou

return

unto

the

thou taken:

for dust

thou art, and unto

dust

shalt

The

world

outside

the

Garden is

still

that

dry, hard land

which

required rain and a man

to toil. After Man had been formed he

appeared

to

be too

noble

to be

placed

in

such

a position.

God tried to rectify the

66
situation
a

Interpretation

by

life. As

we shall see

planting the Garden, but Man in Verse 22, Man

strict sense of the word. return

was was

incapable

of

leading

such

not punished
experiment of

for his dis

the Garden
would

obedience

in the
and

The

has

failed,

Man is forced to
had God
his
not

to that

hard life he

have

led in the
20.

beginning

tried to place him in the Garden.

And Man

called

wife's name

Eve; because

she was

the

mother

of

all

living.

The

woman now receives

a name related

etymologically independent only the sexual

of the

Hebrew
role
as

word
mother

for

man.

It is

to the Hebrew word for life.

Her

tween Man and

completely Woman but her

union of

changes

not

relationship be
whole. of

entire

In the Garden the

undivided and

Man The

and

relationship to the world as a Woman meant the return

was

the

whole

man.

union

desirable for its

own

sake.

Presumably
to

the fruit of the Tree of Life would have still been available

them,

and procreation

therefore would, at

best, have been

secondary.

Human mortality, which pervades life outside the Garden, changes all of that. Procreation must replace immortality. Eve is no longer simply the
other part.

Now

she

is

one who

will care

for the

continuation of

life.

Man is
on

a good-natured soul.
aspect of

After

hearing

the curse
of

he

concentrates

the one hopeful

aware of

life

and says

nothing
and

the rest. He seems

of

to be

his

inability
be
of

to remain in the Garden where the fruit to him

the Tree of Life would trate

at
on

available

is

now

willing to

concen

the other side

meant

the coin.
of

The

realization

of

first,

the embarrassment

mortality,

now seems

sexuality, which, to him a wel

come replacement

for that lost

state.

21

Unto Man

also and to

his

wife

did

the

Lord God

make coats

of skins,

and

clothed them.

This

verse

begins

long
at

and

cannot even
now

begin to tell
clothing
the
was

this

incredibly involved story which we time. Apparently Man's feeling that he

right and

needed

somehow

somehow
proper

wrong, because
clothing.

God Man

replaced
and

clothing Man had

are

made

with

Even
the

Woman together

Garden,
the

and

they

will require

not wholly Art. But the and

sufficient rise of

for life

outside

Art,

according to the
of

Biblical author, is both

a complicated

delicate

matter, and many

all

following

pages

will

have to be devoted to unraveling

of

its

intricacies.

22.

And the Lord God said, Behold,

the man

is become

as one

of us, to know

A
good and

Commentary on
now, lest he
put

Genesis 1-10
forth his hand;
and take also

67
of the

bad:

and

tree of

life,

and eat, and

live for
sent

ever:

23.

Therefore the Lord God

the ground

him forth from

the garden of

Eden,

to till

from

whence

he

was taken.

Banishment from the Garden

punishment

of

Eden

cannot

be

understood

as

Man he is
the

must

in any simple sense of the word. Verse 22 makes it clear that leave the Garden, not because of his disobedience, but because
eat of

no

longer fit to

from the Tree

prior

of

Life. This is
also

fundamental lack law is

law

to the

flood but

not only part of lays the condition

under which

possible.

When God

gives

the reasons for Man's

having

to leave the Garden

he

makes no mention of past actions. no punishment no

is that
of

man not

live forever. If there is

His only concern in the strict sense

the

the word then there could

have been

law in the

strict sense of can

word.

God's

earlier statement

concerning the Tree of Knowledge

not as

only

be

understood as advice or as

warning, but
of

law.
of

When Man

ate

from the Tree

aware
of

Knowledge

good

and

bad he
and

became
the

a political

being,
a

the distinction between the

would
would

ruler

ruled.

But

such

distinction

become both become

of

meaningless without

death. Rulers
obey.

frightening and harsh, but men would

safeguard
obedience

have

no

reason

to

The knowledge
since

against
of

injustice in

the political world

mortality is the it promotes both the

the subject and the justice of the ruler. Death is the

political

prime or

requisite

for

life. Life

without

death

would

be

either

beneath

beyond

the political.

24.

He drove the
ubim and the

man out and stationed

East of the
to
guard

garden

of Eden the

cher

fiery

ever-turning

sword

the way to the tree of

life.

Cherubim
cannot
pagan

commonly found in Babylonian temples, and one help noticing that the way to the Tree of Life is guarded by a being. To be sure, the cherubim are found in Solomon's temple,
were part of another

but that is

the problem of Art.

essentially hard and from

pagan

story and can only be told when we return to Perhaps the implication is that there is something in the attempt to return to Eden rather than facing that
outside

dry

world

the Garden

as

Man

and

his

sons

will

do

now on.

Chapter IV
1. The

man

knew his

wife

Eve

and she conceived and

bore Cain

saying,

I have

acquired a male child with

the

help

of the

Lord.

68

Interpretation

This is
cursed with never of

our

first direct look

and at

at

life

outside

the Garden.
childbirth.

Man

was we

his labors
see

Eve

with

the pains of
as

However
the

actually

Man

work,

and

in the

present verse

women

the Book of Genesis are singularly noted for the great

joy

which

they

express at the birth of a child.

Life have led

outside
us

the Garden is

not quite as

hard

as

to believe. God had originally

of

warned

God's warning would Man he would die if

he

ate

from the Tree

as

Knowledge. Though he
one of might

will

die

one

day, death
seems

was

not

immediate
of

as

have

expected.

This device

to

be

part
at

God's way
glance

harsher

first

than

teaching, since the law, too, often seems it does once one has read the small print.
of some

This

use of

the

word

know is

interest

since

to see how the

sense of

author

understands

knowledge in the

more

it may help us fundamental

must

the word. If the simile is to

hold

at

all, knowledge

imply

unity between the knower and the known. Such an understanding of knowledge was already implied when our first parents gained knowledge

by
2.

eating.

She bore his brother Abel. Abel became

a

keeper of sheep

and

Cain became

tiller of soil.

The
name

names

given to

the two brothers are

word or

of some
and

significance.

The

Cain is

related

to the

for Acquire,
means

hence to have
not

posses

sion, used in
which

Verse 1. Abel

Hevel

breath,

the breath of life

living creatures but that which one sees for a fleeting frosty morning. In Ecclesiastes it is translated vanity, vanity, all is vanity. Cain is a firmly established being; Abel barely exists. Superficially, Cain is more obedient to God than Abel. By becoming a tiller of the soil he seems to be following the life God prescribed for man outside the Garden. The only disturbing thing is his name. It implies that, for Cain, to be a farmer means to put up fences and to establish a private tract of land which one can call one's own, rather than fulfilling one's duty to the fruitfulness of the earth. Abel's way of life leaves the world
sustains
moment on a open.

Shepherds

need no

fences

and

roam

through the whole.

3.

And in

process

of time it

came to

pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the

ground an

offering
also

unto the

lord.
and

4a. And

Abel, he

brought of the firstlings of his flock

origins

of the fat thereof.

Sacrifice has its

in

man.

The first
as

sacrifice was not commanded

by
not

God but
ask

presented

by

the author the

for

a sacrifice until

days
and

of

shall

see, is

of special significance

having human origins. God will Abraham, and even that, as we not fully related to this story. The

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-1 0

69

Biblical understanding of the passions and desires of the human soul which lead him to sacrifice will be discussed in the commentary to Gen. 15:9. In

Hebrew the

words

he

also make

it

clear

that Cain was the initiator

of sacri

ficing, just
sacrifice.

as

he

and

his progeny
sacrifice

will

initiate

a great number of things.

of

Though Abel's

was

an

imitation

Cain's, it

was

a richer

Abel

was careful

to

bring

the

best,

whereas

nothing is

said about

which

fruits Cain brought.

Abel

4b. And the Lord had

respect unto

and

to

his
not

offering: respect.

5.

But

unto

Cain

wroth, and

his offering He had his face fell.

and

to

And Cain

was

very

Abel's
that Cain's

sacrifice

was

accepted

immediately. It is important to but merely

not yet accepted.

note

sacrifice was not rejected accepted without

Abel's

way decision
great

of

life is

about

harm,

any Cain. The way of the shepherd is simple. He can do no but perhaps he cannot accomplish much of anything. This is
with

difficulty, but God has

not yet made

certainly consistent lished for himself a

As
the
we shall see

his

name.

Cain has higher Cain's

goals.
and

He has

estab

plot of

land

which
of

belongs to him

to him alone.
will establish

later,

this

tendency

will grow:

he

first city, and his descendants will bring the arts into the Cain's reaction it appears as though he understood God's his
sacrifice as a simple

world.

From

disregarding

rejection, but

this

is

Though Abel's way

way, the way
path and opened

was a safe

which

way which could God Himself had chosen,

of

necessarily the case. lead to little harm, Cain's

not
was

more

dangerous harm.

the possibility

doing

either great good or great

The
to his

situation

becomes

more complicated when no

own

death. The Bible has

illusions that the

for

man.

Though the Patriarchs in

were all of

shepherd of

Israel, became
of

the founder

way leads is possible way the great last shepherds, David, the line of the kings and builder Abel's
safe simple

the

great

possible

Jerusalem. But Cain's way seems to be equally im city from the point of view of human decency, and some mean will
remainder of

have to be found in the

6.
la. And

the book.

the

Lord

said unto

Cain,

why

art

thou

wroth?

And why is thy face

fallen?

Surely if

thou

doest

well

there will

be

lifting:

God has farmer takes The

two-sided.
acquired a

not

rejected

Cain but merely decided to

wait.

Judging

longer time than

judging
on

a shepherd.

settled

life

of

the

farmer,

life

which

includes possession, is
those possessions
on

Everything
used

depends

whether

or

not

are

and

justly. No decision

can

be

made

Cain

until

those

70
questions
seem

Interpretation

have been
real

answered.

From God's

original

suggestion

it

would

that His
of

hopes

were

for Cain.

Only

Cain

could

accomplish

deeds worthy

man,
of

and yet

only Cain

could

fail.
well

By
Cain has wholly
rope

the
a

use

the

phrase

if

thou

doest

God

presupposes

that

true understanding of the difference between good

and

bad

apart

from any divine

of

commandment.

Genesis

walks

very tight

on

the question of why

pre-legal as we go

understanding
through the

any divine law is needed if men have a justice. This subject will necessarily arise often
words

book, but from His

to
some

to

Cain, God

presupposes

that man
prior

has

access

kind

of

distinction between

right

and

wrong

to the

establishment of

law.
will

The

phrase which

I have translated, there

regard

be

complicated

both

with

to its

grammar

and

a lifting, is extremely its intention. The King

James translators take the offering itself as that which will be lifted if Cain does well. This however is not necessarily correct. Since Cain's face has just fallen (Verse 6) the words could equally refer to his face. Lifting
the

face is

a phrase of crucial

perhaps much of the

Bible. In the

importance for understanding Genesis and present context, it clearly means some

thing like
see

to accept,

but for

a more

detailed

account of

its

specific

meaning

the commentary to Gen. 19:21.

7b. And if thou doest

not well, sin

lieth

at

the opening.

And

unto

thee shall

be

his desire,

and thou shalt rule over

him.

The dangers to Cain

an

are

remote.

He has

not yet

sinned,

nor

is

sin

immediate possibility for him. But by choosing to follow a more sophisticated way of life than his brother Abel, he has chosen a way of life which, if not handled well, presents the possibility of sin. Verse 7 is
chapter,
which
a

paraphrase
and

of

part

of

the sixteenth verse of the to

last
shall

reads,

rule over

thee.

thy desire shall be The distinction between ruler

gained will

thy husband,
the

and

he

and ruled was the

of

result of the

knowledge

from the fruit

present

necessary Tree. In the case of

of

Cain this
over

same

knowledge

him

with

the possibility

ruling

his

own passions.

8.

And Cain
arose and

said to his brother Abel, killed his brother Abel.

and

when

they

were

in the field Cain

to

The early translations into Greek and Aramaic read, and Cain said his brother Abel, come let us go into the field. King James translates
with

Cain talked

Abel, but

this translation is
word

not

acceptable

because the

Hebrew word, like the English or indirect quotation. The early

said,

must

be followed

by

direct

translations seem to include

a gloss which

A
was a

Commentary on

Genesis 1-10

71

intended to
and

make sense of the verse.

The

present commentator

is

at

loss

has

no suggestion to make.

Cain's

sin

is

complicated
respect. of

because he

committed

it through jealousy.

He

wanted

God's

The theme

brother

killing

brother is

a
of

common

beginning
and

for

many peoples. The most famous is the story It is by no accident that in this case we are more familiar
myth

Romulus

Remus.

with

the Roman

than

with

any corresponding Greek

the word, played a

most common usage of

The political, in the higher role in Rome than it

myth.

did in Athens. In the

of

Bible, too,
myth or

the fratricide is committed

by

the founder

the first

city.

The

account

is

an

essentially

political

account,

though the
of

fratricide itself is

an

essentially

prepolitical

act.

The

founding

city requires a leader, and yet there is a natural equality among brothers. The awareness of this difficulty seems to lie behind both
a

accounts.
which

Greek myth,
means

on

the

other

hand, deals
become

more

with

patricide,

by re ultimately placing him. Motivations for erasing one's own origins, or rather becoming one's own origins, lie in the attempt to assert one's own complete inde
the attempt to
one's

own

father

pendence of

being. In that
of

sense patricide

and

Cain, a son Bad, insofar

those who ate

is essentially an apolitical act. from the Tree of Knowledge of Good

assert

as

he

was

bound to

himself,

was

destined to do

it in
9.

a political way.

And the Lord

not

said unto

Cain,

where

is thy brother Abel? And he said, I do

know;

am

I my brother's keeper?

We have
character as

third

round

of

questions.

the

other

Biblical

questions. refute

clearly have the same Cain's answer differs from Man's

They

in that Cain lies. He

also

tries to

God's

question

by

asking

another

Biblical question, but he himself does

10. And He said,
unto me what

not see

the

answer.

hast

thou

done? The

voice

of thy brother's blood

crieth

from the

ground.

11.

And

now art

thou cursed

from the

earth, which

hath

opened

her

mouth

to

receive

thy brother's blood from thy hand;

ambiguity the last chapter, and it is

or

The

same

occurs

in Verse 11

as

occured cursed

in Verse 17

of

not clear whether

cursed

Cain is

by

the ground

whether

Cain is

more

than the ground.

alternative seems more reasonable since

In this case, the first the blood literally cries out from

the ground. The

could

present

verse, then,

might

be

an

indication

as

to how one

interpret Gen. 3:17.

72

Interpretation

At this
would almost

point

there is a shift in the imagery. When Man was told

was
meant as a

he

return

to

dust it

horrible fate. Here, the earth,

like

mother, willingly takes back her harmless child, Abel.

henceforth
yield
earth.

12.

When

thou tillest the ground, it shall not

a

unto

thee

her

strength;

fugitive

and a vagabond shalt thou

be in

the

Cain's
him
as alone

experiment

as

founder

of a

fenced-in

possession

belonging

to

has failed. A
of

a new

way

new way of life must be found for Cain, just life had to be found for Man. According to the Law of

Exodus, Cain
murder. pre-legal

should

The

pre-legal

have been killed, but he is not executed for his notions of right and wrong do not carry with them
Since the
antediluvian

punishments.

period

is

characterized

by

the absence of

law it is

also characterized
of

by

the absence of punishment.

will make

careful

examination

the

chapters

concerning the Flood

this more

intelligible.

13.

And Cain

14.

said unto the Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in

the earth;

and

it

shall come to pass,

that every one that

findeth

me shall

slay

me.

Cain
this

understands

himself to be banished from the

earth.

In

fact,

is

not

the case. It would be

fully

in

accordance with

God's

statement

if Cain

were

life

which

a simply to pick up the life which Abel had begun to lead seemed to be wholly acceptable to God. But Cain draws the

conclusion that

he has been banned from the face but to

of the earth.

being

on

the earth means to have one's own place on

For him, the earth. It does

it. Cain's
notion

not mean

to use the
with

whole of

the earth

possess

a part of

dissatisfaction
In

the prospect of

being

a wanderer stems
can

from his

that God has respect only for those who

a

firmly living

establish

themselves.

twisted way Cain is

right. proved

God's

original plan required of

such a

man,

but
in

man

has

long

since

incapable

that life. Cain's error

after

not

could

seeing that the life which God have been a decent life a life

planned such
as

for him

the

murder

Abel had led

rejected new

lies in his

attempt to return to the original plan which

had been

long

since.

God's

earlier

decision to

wait

and

see

how Cain's

ways would

develop
than

may imply that God at one point had even higher hopes for Cain He did for Abel. If Cain had been capable of pursuing his chosen life

way

of

justly

there is no reason not to

believe that God

explain

would

have

greatly

preferred

him to Abel. This possibility may

God's

imme-

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10

73
wait

diate

aceptance

see what would

of Abel's offering happen to Cain. would

and

His decision to

in

order

to

Cain's fears that he

motivated

be killed
and

are

often

understood

as

being

This however
supposes

consequently Though God's warning to Cain pre that the distinction between right and wrong is available to man,
need not

by

feeling

of

guilt,

as

fear

of

revenge.

be the

case.

it

need not

imply

that all

men

are aware of

that distinction. As

we shall

see not

in the succeeding verses, Cain's first act is to build a city. Cain may trust life outside the city. For him there are no distinctions between wrong
apart

right and

from the

conventions

invented

and enforced

by

it.

15.

And the Lord

shall

said unto

him,

therefore whosoever

slayeth

Cain,

vengeance

be

taken on

him

sevenfold.

And the Lord

set a mark upon

Cain, lest

any

finding

him

should

kill him.

The in
a

mark which

God

places upon

Cain is intended to
the necessity
of

protect a

him
But
can

manner which would what

from

follows it

will

completely become clear that Cain does

avoid

city.

not

feel he

trust that

kind

of security.

16.

And Cain
east

went

from before

the

face of God

and

dwelt in

the

land of Nod,

of Eden.
word nod means wander and was used a wanderer. we can see

The
the

in Verse

12,

in

which

God told Cain to become

He has decided to

settle

down in

land
It

of wanderers.

Now

the contradictory nature of Cain's that God's speech to

life.
also
a

becomes

clear was

in this
not a

verse

Cain

about

becoming
pre-legal advice.

wanderer

command

but merely
acted

advice.

In this

stage

Cain is

not

punished

for

having
a

contrary to that
which will

Cain's decision to followed throughout the

of

return

east of

establishes

pattern

be

whole

the book. The builders of the Tower

and

Babel

were

from the East (Gen. 11:2). When Lot

go

Abraham

are

forced to take different roads, Lot chooses to the death of Sarah, Abraham will remarry,
marriage will go
plete

East (Gen. 13:11). After

the sons of that second
will
make

and

East (Gen. 25:6). Abraham himself

goes south

com

journey
he

throughout the land. When he

the book

will men

tion that

went south.
will

east, but the book

Since his trip is never refer to it

circular as such.

he will, at times, be going As was mentioned in the

with

commentary to Gen. 3:24, there is something radically wrong decision to go east, insofar as it is a partial return to Eden. Those

the

men who

74

Interpretation
so will all

do

turn

out

to be cowards. It is
than to

a manifestation of man's attempt

to return to Eden

rather

face the

world as

it lies before him.

bare Enoch:

17.

And Cain knew his wife;

and

she

conceived,

and

and

he

builded
Enoch.
18.

city,

and called

the name of the city, after the name of

his son,
Me-

And

unto

Enoch

was

born had:
and

and

Irad begat Me-Huja-El:

and

Huja-El begat Me-Thusa-El:

19. 20.

Me-Thusa-El begat Lamech.

wives:

And Lamech took

the name of the

unto

him

two

the

name

of

one

was

Adah,

and

other

Zillah.
was

And Adah bare Jabal: He

such as

the

father of

such as

dwell in tents,
all such as

and

of

have

cattle. name was

21.
22.

And his brother's

the

Jubal: He

was

the

father of

handle
in

harp

and organ.
artificer

And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-Cain, an instructor of every brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naa-Mah.

When Cain

his book
original

up his first fence the first city became inevitable. In Understanding Genesis, Dr. Nahum Sarna argues that God's
put accept

failure to

Cain
on

was a

farmer. His
and

proof

Cain's offering was not based on the fact that for that assertion is the fact that Cain goes
arts and provide all

to build a city

that his descendants found the

those

delights

which make modern

life

worthwhile.

But

perhaps

Dr. Sarna
whether

is too

much under

the spell of our Baconian

Age to

ask

himself

the Biblical
and

author approved of such arts.

But the fact that

Abraham, Isaac,
caused

Jacob
some

all returned

to the life of a shepherd should

can never

have

him to
and

have

doubts. One

forget that Cain

committed

fratricide

that the only man who

man

who, in

spite of

is worthy of living through the Flood was a simple his attempt to build the Ark, lacked knowledge of the
(see commentary to Gen. 7:16 and Gen. 19:20). of Moses, Bezaleel will have to be given special
of

arts,

as we shall show

Even in the days

wisdom

in

order

to build the Ark

the

Covenant. This does city

and the arts and

not

imply
build
the

that the simple negative judgment on the

is the Bible's
will

final
the

position.

David

will

become

king

in

Jerusalem,

Solomon itself

Temple, but much of the intervening text problem of how the sinful becomes the holy.
23.

will concern

with

And Lamech
wives

said

unto

his wives, Adah

unto

and

Zillah, Hear
slain

my voice;
a

ye

of Lamech, hearken
a

my speech: for I have

man

to my

wounding, and

young

man to

my hurt.

24.

// Cain

shall

be

avenged sevenfold,

truly Lamech seventy

and sevenfold.

The Hebrew text

of

these two verses is written in the high

literary

style one associates with poetry.

Commentary
like

on

Genesis 1-10
pagan

75

The theme
except

of

the poem,

most

epics, is the heroic. The

other

rise of civilization presupposes

the rise of poetry. Man cannot be civilized

if his deeds become

those to
of

ennobled

by
and

the songs of the singer. The

arts,

such as

Jabal, Jubal,
later. The
until

Tubal-Cain,

the sons of the

requires
of

hero

Lamech, had
past.

come

process

of civilization

a noble

Hence, it
raised

cannot

begin
of

the most impressive acts

the past have

must praise violent.

been
acts

to the level
were

the heroic.

Consequently,
arts on

the poet

which,

it

not

for his poetry, its be

would appear as

merely
of and

The

prima

facie

opposition

to the

the part

the Bible is fun

damentally

connected with

opposition

to the

heroic,

theism. The

heroic

cannot

praised as such

if there is

no

hence to poly possibility for

jumping the gap between

and

the human and the

most

divine. The
root of

quest of apotheosis

its

ultimate

failure is the

fundamental

Greek tragedy, but

remote

without
man

the figure of

Heracles

looming

somewhere

in the

past,

who

could never

had actually achieved the status of a god, the be viewed as tragic. It would be no more than

attempt

itself if
not

foolish,

sinful, in the deepest sense. The same is true of those

pagan myths with which our author might

attempt

have been familiar. Gilgamesh's

to achieve the status of a god was

deeply
a man

rooted

in his knowledge that the god,

rejection of

Utnapishtan, had
means

once

been

like himself

that apotheosis was possible.

The Biblical

polytheism, in part,

the Biblical
of

rejec

tion of apotheosis.
of

As

was pointed out

of

in

our

discussions
no

the condition
objection

Man

prior

to the formation
was

Eve, God had

be

inherent

to

apotheosis.

He

perfectly willing to

create a whole man who would

gained

have

the possibility of the

immortality

which could

Tree

of

Life. But God's

recognition

that this was not

and

by eating from the the best path for man

for the
objection

means the rejection of

apotheosis,

hence

one reason

to polytheism. the Bible

and

Unfortunately,

too many

commentators

fail to

understand are clear

because they assume that the objections to polytheism simple, and that it is only a question of how sophisticated
in
progress

and

how

advanced

any Biblical
within

author

is toward the
of

concept of mono

theism.

By operating

the prejudice

the

absolute

superiority

of

monotheism, many

authors

tend to overlook the reasons offered

unfortunate

by

the

Bible for that

25.

superiority.

There is something

in that.
his

And Man knew his

wife again: and she

bare

son, and called

name

Seth: for god, said whom Cain slew.

26. Enosh:

she,

hath

appointed me another seed

instead of Abel,

And to Seth, to him also then began men to

there

was

born

son:

and

he

called

his

name

call upon

the

name

of the Lord.

Verse 26

seems

to be

contradicted

by

the fact that Cain and

Abel had

76

Interpretation
sacrificed

both

to the Lord. Since Chapter 5 will

present

the generations of

Seth

as

a new

beginning,

the verse probably only means that

Seth

never

called upon

the name of the

Lord.

Chapter V

This is

the

book of

the generations of
made

Man. In

the

day

that

God

created

Man,
2.

in the likeness of God

and

He him:
and

Male

female

created

He them;

blessed them,

and called their name

Man,

in the

day

when

they

were created.

The 2. It is

beginning

of

Chapter 5 is
start.

parallel

to the fourth verse of Chapter

another

fresh

The two

accounts of

Creation

with

which we

have been

dealing

will always

be there in the

thetical nature is again stressed

by

their

background, but their hypo discontinuity with the next account.

years, and
name

3.

And Man lived

an

hundred

and

thirty
his

begat

son

in his

own

likeness,

after

his image;

and called

Seth:

nature of
was

It may have been the intention of the Cain and Abel story by
after

our author

to

stress

the hypothetical
or of

not

saying that either Cain

Abel
times

begotten

their

kind. A

return

to the normal procession

and events

seems

to

be indicated

by

the return to that formulation.

4.

and

And the days of Man after he had begotten Seth he begat sons and daughters:
all

were eight

hundred

years:

5. 6.
1
.

And

the

days

that

Man lived

were nine

hundred

and

thirty

years: and

he died.
And Seth lived
And Seth lived
an

hundred

and

five years,

and

begat Enosh:
and seven years,
and

after

he begat Enosh

eight

hundred

begat
8.
9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 1 5. 16.

sons and

daughters:

And

all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died. And Enosh lived ninety years, and begat Ca-lnan: And Enosh lived after he begat Ca-lnan eight hundred and fifteen years, and

begat

sons and

daughters:

And

days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years: and he died. And Ca-lnan lived seventy years, and begat Ma-Hala-Le-El: And Ca-lnan lived after he begat Ma-Hala-Le-El eight hundred and forty
all the

years, and begat sons and daughters:

And

all

the

days of Ca-lnan

were nine

hundred

and ten years: and

he died.

And Ma-Hala-Le-El lived sixty and five years, and begat Iared: And Ma-Hala-Le-El lived after he begat Iared eight hundred
years,
and

and

thirty

begat

sons and

daughters:

A
17.

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
were eight

77
and

And

all the

years: and

days of Ma-Hala-Le-El he died.

an

hundred ninety

five

18.
19.

And Iared lived

And Iared lived

and

after

hundred sixty and he begat Enoch

were nine

two years, and

eight

he begat Enoch:
years,
and

hundred

begat

sons

daughters:
all the

20.

And

days of Iared

hundred sixty

and

two years: and

he

died.
21. 22.

And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Me-Thuse-Lah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Me-Thuse-Lah three hundred
years, and begat sons and daughters:

23. 24. 25.

And

all

the

And Enoch

days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: walked with God: and he was not: for God took him.
an

And Me-Thuse-Lah lived

Lamech. And Me-Thuse-Lah lived
two years, and

hundred eighty

and seven

years,

and

begat

26.
27.

after

he begat Lamech

seven

hundred eighty

and

begat

sons and

daughters:
were nine

And
and

all

the

days of Me-Thuse-Lah
an

hundred sixty
years, and

and nine years:

he died.
hundred eighty
and

28. 29.

And Lamech lived

two

begat

a son: us con

And he
cerning

called

his

name

Noah,

saying,

this same

shall

comfort

our work and

toil of our

hands, because

of the

ground which

the

Lord hath 30.

cursed.
after

And Lamech lived

and

he begat Noah five hundred ninety

were seven

and

five

years,

begat
all

sons and

daughters:

31.

And
and

the

days of Lamech
was

hundred seventy
and

and seven years:

he died.
five hundred
years old:

32.

And Noah Japheth.

Noah begat

Shem, Ham,

and

In

order

to

understand

these verses more clearly we

shall

rewrite of

them in the

form

of a chart of six

columns; name,

age at

the

birth

first

born,

the number of years lived after this

birth,

age at of

death. The last two

and

columns

have deen derived

year zero.

and contain

the years

birth

death starting

from the

The fifth
umn. old.

column

is derived from the

partial sums of

the second col

For example, Man's first son, Seth, is born when Man is 130 years Seth's first son, Enosh, is born when Seth is 105 years old. Therefore
was

Enosh
year

born 105

years

after

Seth's birth,
result

or

the 235th

year

from the

0.
The
sixth column
years of

is simply the

of

the addition of the fourth

year of

column

(the

his

life)

and

the derived

his birth.
the care with

Before trying to understand which it was written. In each case the

add

the passage, let

second

us examine

and third

columns

actually
a con

up to the fourth
mass of

column.

To that
of

extent at
greater

least the text is

not

fused

numbers.

Perhaps

significance

is the fact that

78

Interpretation Birth in Age

at

Death in Years

Remainder
of

Years Age
at

Birth of

Since Creation

Since
Creation 930
1042 1140 1235

Name

First

son

Life 800

Death 930
912

Man Seth
Enosh

130 105 90 70

0
130

807
815

905 910

235 325
395 460

Cainan
Mahalaleel Iared Enoch Methuselah
Lamech

840
830 800 300 782

65 162

895
962

1290 1422 987

1656

65
187 182

365 969 111

9501

622

687
874 1056

595

1651
2006

Noah

500

(450)

(GEN. 9:29)
Noah
was was

600

years old at the time of the

year

Flood (Gen. 7:11). Since Noah in the

year

born in the
to allow

1056,

the Flood

occurred

1656. While it
careful enough

is

possible

that Methuselah died in the

not

any of these men, except The first five entries in the second

Flood, the text is Noah, to live beyond

column

the Flood.

steadily decrease

by

mul a

five: 130, 105, 90, 70, 65. There is a sudden jump hundred up to 162 and a return to 65. If, then, we go back to
tiples of
neglect the

of almost

the 162 and

65,

the differences
number

are again multiples of

five: 162, 187, 182. In

is 365
the
number of

addition, the smallest

in the fourth

column

days in
Cain

a solar year.

One
and

cannot

help
of

the sons
which

noticing the similarity Seth. This parallel is

not

of names

even

clearer

among the in the

sons of
original

Hebrew text,
parallel
more

did

include the
be

vowels.

In

order

to make the
word of

intelligible it
man,
seen as

should

mentioned

that the Hebrew

enosh also means

does the Hebrew

word adam.

The similarity

names will

best be

if

we

list them in

parallel columns.

GOD MAN Cain Enoch Irad Mehujael Methusael Lamech Jabal Jubal
Seth Enosh Cainan Mahalaleel

Iared
Enoch

Tubal-Cain

Methuselah Lamech Noah

Commentary on
as

Genesis 1-10

79

This
tion the

formulation,
way.

it stands,
can

seems a

bit

off-balance.

The full

rela

between the families

only be

recognized

if

we rewrite

the lists in

following
God Man Cain
Enoch-

Seth Enosh Cainan

(man)

Irad
Mehujael-"

~~ZI

Methusael Lamech

Jabal, Jubal, Tubal-Cain

Mahalaleel Iared Enoch Methuselah Lamech Noah

In the

new chart a greater

symmetry
middle

emerges.

As

we can

see, there

are nine pairs which

tend to group themselves into three sets of three. The

first three As
seem

names are

parallel, the

three are crossed, and the

last

three are again parallel.

we

indicated in
most

our

discussion,
in

the

numbers of author's

the second
awareness

column

to be the

artful

character.

The

that the

names of the middle

three generations have been

and

criss-crossed

is indicated
of

by

the fact that both Enoch

so

Mahalaleel

were

65

at

the birth

their

first
we

sons,
were

that,

at

least,

the

second column would and

be left

undisturbed

if

to interchange the names Enoch

the repetition of the 65 is accidental,

since

Mahalaleel. It is unlikely that the only other time in the whole both Man
gives
and a

list that

a number

is

repeated
of

is the

number of years sons.

Irad

lived

after

the

births

their

first

This

repetition

certain

solidity to the position of Irad as a fulcrum between Enoch and Mahalaleel. It appears as though our author has purposely interchanged Mahalaleel
and

Enoch. His

purpose

in

doing

so can

be

seen year

by

columns of the

first

chart.

Man died in the

of

comparing the last two 930. Lamech was born in

was

the year

874, 56

years

before the death

death
of

Man. Noah
the

born in the
to die. In

year
other

1056,

126

years after the

Man,

first

person

words, Noah was the first to have been born into a world that already knew death. We shall discuss the consequences of this fact in the commentary to

Gen. 6:9.

If, however,

Enoch had been born in the

year

395 instead

of

Mahal

aleel, he would have died in the year 760, 114 years before the birth of Lamech. In that case Lamech, and not Noah, would have been the first

born into deeper

a world

that knew death. the similarity breaks

Apparently
one who will

down in the

case of

Noah, but in

sense the relation still exists.

In Verse 29 Noah is described

author means

as the

bring

comfort.

By

these words the

that Noah

80
will

Interpretation

bring

true

comfort as opposed and

to the

false

comfort of

the

arts

invented

by Jabal, Jubal,

Tubal-Cain.

Chapter VI
face of the

1.

And it
earth,

came

to pass,

when

man

began to multiply
man

on

the

and

daughters
of God

were saw

born
the
all

to them, that

2.

That the

sons

daughters of
which

they

were

fair;

and

they

took them

wives

of

they

chose.

So the

process of

multiplying

on

the earth
gotten

has begun. That

confused.

was what

God wanted, but somehow things have seem to be two sets of men; one called the
of man.

Suddenly

there

sons of

God

and one

the sons

The transition between Chapters 4 Gen. 4:25

called

and

was and

read: name

And Man knew his

Seth: for
whom

wife again

extremely she bare a

obscure. son

and

his

God,

said

she, hath

appointed me another seed

instead of

Abel,

Cain slew,

tinuation of the second account.

if the story of Seth were a simple comAnd yet the first two verses of Chapter 5
as

com clearly indicate that the birth of Seth marks a third beginning (see the mentary to Gen. 5:1). Suddenly the facets of the world which caused author

to

give more

than one account

have begun to

merge.

In the first
part

verses of of

Chapter 6

there are shreds of all three accounts.

and

Verse 1 is
the

the

first account,

Verse 2

accomplishes

the goals

of

first

account

by

mixing the other two. If the revised chart in the commentary to Chapter

5 is to be taken seriously, the implication would be that the sons born in the second account of Creation married the daughters born in the third
account.

The
than

several accounts of
could

Creation

could not

be kept

separate

any

more

day

be kept

separate

from night,

and that

is the

root of all the

problems

(see commentary to Gen. 1 :5c). Several accounts have been necessary because the world appeared differently from different points of view. But, ultimately, the author was only one world and that one day necessarily face each other when the sons of
was

forced to face the fact that there

these several accounts would

God

saw the

daughters of

man.

From this meeting be destroyed.

came the giants and a chaotic world which

had to

Assuming that we are to take seriously the notion that Seth is a com pletely new beginning, what has been said about the birth of Noah would still be true since Seth was also dead by the time Noah was born.

A
3.

Commentary
My
his days

on

Genesis 1-10
judge from
and
within

81
man,

And

the

Lord

said: and

spirit will not always shall

for

he

too

is flesh:

be

an

hundred

twenty

years.

The
with

conventional

translation

man,

will not suffice.

The Hebrew

for this verse, My spirit shall not verb dan means to judge. The

strive word

for

man

is

preceded

by

the preposition

be,

which can mean

in

or

by

means

of, but
and

which

is

often used with

the object

of such words as

to rule, to trust,

to govern.

Given this last

the

usage

it

would not

be

so strange to

find this lead to

preposition used with

object of

the verb to

judge,
a

which would

a translation such as

My

spirit shall not always

judge man, for he too is

construction

flesh.

However,

there

are no

instances

of such

in Hebrew

literature. For that

the most

reason

the translation

which we

have

suggested seems

likely, but

it

would

probably be best to

articulate

both

possi

bilities. If the

conventional

translation, My
struggle

spirit shall not strive with man,

is accepted, the
of man

verse would mean that

God has decided to limit the life

man

so that the constant

between

and

God,
The

which

this

interpretation presupposes,
translation would

would

not

continue

forever.

proposed

lead to the

following

interpretation.

The

antediluvian period was marked suggestions

by

its

pre-legal character.

God

had Cain

made

was neither

from time to time, but they were never enforced. punished for killing his brother nor was the suggestion
wanderer ever carried

that he
was a

become
doest

out.

The time before the Flood

statement

time in

which well
. .

there was no
.

external

law. God's God

to

Cain,
not

//

thou

(Gen.

4:7),
He

presupposed that there was a when says

faculty
man

within
always

man capable

of

judging. But
man

My

spirit

shall

judge from
within

within

recognizes

that the ability

needs.

of

to

judge from The

is

not

sufficient

for human

Only

two ways are

external

open: the total

destruction

of the world or

the imposition of

law.
will

present verse

does

not make clear which of these two paths

God

choose.

The

words

he

too is

flesh

are

somewhat

difficult to interpret. The

being. But it is

Hebrew word flesh normally implies never understood in opposition to spirit

In
a

a as

living, breathing
man

it is in Christianity. is
part animal.

way, God

seems

to have forgotten that

The

antediluvian experiment

neglected

that part in man and, for that reason,

which

failed. It live in why

4.

was a

kind

of

legal fiction in
order

God in it

pretended

that man could

such a

world, in
was

that

by living

man might see

for himself

such a

life

bound to fail.
in

There
sons

were

giants came

in the

earth

those

days

and also and

after

that

for

the

of God

in to the daughters of
the mighty

men

they bare

children

to

them, the same

became

men who were

of

old the men

of

name.

82

Interpretation

The giants, offspring live through the

of

the

world which

didn't

quite

fit together,

will

Flood,
same

and we shall meet

them

again

Gen. 14:5). The

sible

incongruities in the

world

(See commentary to which rendered it impos heaven

and earth

to

give a single account of

the coming to

be
of

of

imply

the existence of giants and

lead to the birth

the men of name.

Unlike
line

the giants, these mighty ture.

men will not

be

met with again of

in Biblical litera
seventh

They

are

the

so-called

dead heroes

the past. The

of

the fifth column of the third tablet of the Gilgamesh reads,

poise and will

My hand I

will

fell the

cedars

Rather than simply

to
show us what

denying
was

/ A name that endures I will make for me. Gilgamesh's existence, the Biblical author tries
were not

he

really like. His days

the

glorious

days

the poets sing of

but the days

of corruption which

led to the Flood.

5.

And
and

the
that

Lord

saw

every
.

that the wickedness of man was great imagination of the thoughts of his heart

upon was

the earth

only it

bad

continually

6.

And

the
at

Lord

regretted

that

he had

made man

on

the earth

and

grieved

him

his heart.

first

chapter.

The fifth verse, like the earlier verses, is rich in twisted allusions to the Throughout the six days of Creation God had seen nothing had
commanded

but

the goodness of the earth and

sees

the animals to increase.

Now He
as

thoughts

only the increase of wickedness. The word we have translated has the notion of that which plans or devises. The verse does
refer

not seem concerns might

to

to the

whole of

itself

with

changing the life

rather

world

human thought, but only to that which by means of art, in order that man

fashion his

own

than

living

according to the way

shall

set out

for him.

Closely
like God
understand

connected

with

the story of the Flood we

remembered

find

phrases

regretted and

God

(Gen. 8:1). It is
ever

crucial role

that we

because they will play an the book. Regretting is another facet of the
them
the earth
rest of

increasing

throughout
arose when of

problem which

first

brought forth

grass.

Genesis,

and

for that

matter

much

the

the

Bible

as

well, is

a series of attempts

to find the best way for

man.

This
might

search

necessarily means taking into account both the best which have been and man as he is. But perhaps this compromise would be

meaningless.

Perhaps

a world of nothingness would point of view

of which

be

superior

to

a world
verses

of compromise.

Such is the

from

which

the next few to have

are written and

in the light
I

God may be

said

repented.

7.

And the Lord

of the earth,
the
air

.said,

will

blot

out man whom

and

I have

created

from
the

the

face

both

man

and

beast

the creeping them.

thing

and

fowl of

for I

regret

that

I have

made

Commentary on Genesis
have translated blot
paper

1-10
out means

83
to
erase

The
formed

word which we

badly

letter, leaving
marriage which she

the

clean
read

once

Levirite

in Deut. 25:6 beareth

as

The laws concerning follows: And it shall be that the

again.

first-born is

shall succeed out

in the

name

of his brother

which

dead,

that

his

name not

be blotted

from Israel. More than destruc

tion

is implied here. The be

the

man

has died

as all men
and no

do, but
sign

what

is feared is
ever

that there will

no recollection of

him

that

he

lived.

When Moses
than

asked

Lord to blot him

meant world.

out

(Ex.

32:32) he
of

meant more

his

own

death. He
in the

the total

annihilation

anything that he

had

accomplished

He

wished

to be so dissociated from the

world

that the world would

bear

no sign of

his blot

ever out

having
is the

lived in it. The

and

only

people whom shall

Israel is

commanded to
problem

Amalekites,
but the into
feet

as we

see, there too the

is

not punishment

simple

need to return to

the way things were

before they
stand on

came

being
and

(see

commentary to Gen. 36:12). God intended a world that

would

its

own

judge

itself from

within.

But this

world without external world

law has become

erase

corrupt.

Rather than
one would a

dictating laws to the badly formed letter.

God has decided to

it all,

as

8.

But Noah found favor in

the eyes of the

Lord.

Noah is

a problem

to the Lord in the

same

He had formed to till the

the world, and yet

soil was a problem.

way that the man whom God had decided to destroy

He

was unable

to

bring
will

Himself to

destroy
accept

Noah. When

He

sees

Noah,

the Lord knows that He

save of

be forced to distinguish between

means

the guilty and the innocent. To

Noah

to

the compro

mise,

and yet

He

sees no

possibility

destroying

Noah.
just
in

9.

These

are

the generations of
and

Noah: Noah

was

man

and

perfect

his generations,
10.

Noah

walked with

God.
and

And Noah begat

three sons:

Shem, Ham

Japheth.

The

word which we simple.

have translated It
ranges

perfect

would, perhaps, have been

better translated
stupid,
as

does the English

word

in meaning from perfect to silly or even simple. The word for walked appears in

form. It is rather difficult to roughly be considered the reflexive find an English equivalent, but this distinction is similar to the Aristotelian distinction between motion and activity. The simple form of the word to
what might
walk

implies

sake of

being

going from in that other place. The

motion,
a

one place
reflexive

to

another

purely for the

an

form implies

activity,

walking

which

is done for the

sake of

the walking itself

and which

pays

84
no attention

Interpretation
to goals beyond

itself,

as when we go

for

a walk around

the

block. To say that Noah walked with God means that Noah lived his daily life in accordance with God's desires but that it was not directed to any
goal
of

beyond itself. For

word which we

the

a more complete understanding of this problem and have translated perfect, consider the commentary to

Gen. 17:1. Noah's simplicity contains within itself the full range of meaning that bear. His wisdom is his naivete. Noah was the first man born into had known death. The
old

word can

a world which

man,

Adam, may have known

death was, but that belonged to another world one that existed long was born. In those days, men lived for a very long time because God knew that the world had to be well populated before death came to
what

before Seth
Noah

man. were shock

was

the

first

man

to grow up
one

knowing
one

about

death. The

others sudden

forced to face it suddenly,

was more

day,

late in their lives. This

then
alive was

than man could

of

bear. No

able

to

recover

from the force

that could
one

this realization, which

must

have turned them into

speak of

monsters

not remain.

Again it is hard to

guilt; it just
problem

happened

day.

Only Noah,

the man who never

had to face the

precisely because it had always been in front of him, was able to escape. Prior to the birth of Noah three men died; Man, Seth, and Enoch. Seth had to die because
of

the

suggestion

that in this account Seth

was

the

first,
took

and

that Man

us with

the verse

belongs totally to the other account. That only leaves And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God
means

him

(Gen. 5:24). If this

that God instituted

could come

some

milder

substitute

for death in hopes that

man

to

terms

with

it,
the

His

actions were of no avail.

From

all one can

see, the

corruption of
with

earth
of

begun in the days

But the

the heroic.

Noah, seems heroic, the desire

of

to be associated to make
a

the rise

presupposes an at

awareness of

death. If
which

a man cannot will make

for oneself, live forever he can

name name

least
all

accomplish

those deeds
of

his

live forever.
chapter

From
and

indications the lives

a name

the

heroes

spoken of earlier

in the

the search for

always

began

when man

discovered that he

was mortal. about

By

having
was

known death Noah

both his
wisdom and

was never

forced to learn

it.

His simplicity
11. 12. The

his

naivete.

earth

also

was

corrupt

before God,

and

the

earth

was

filled

with

violence.

And God looked

upon

the earth and

upon the earth.

behold,

it

was corrupt;

for

all

flesh

had

corrupted

His way

Man's
in this
word

corruption was caused

by

his loss

of

the

way.

The ambiguity
the

way

would

be striking to the

ear of a

Greek

even though

A
same metaphor

Commentary on
for way
worn

Genesis 1-10

85

did

not exist

in his language.
comes

The Hebrew is
a path which

word

from the

verb

meaning to tread. It
genera

has been

into

the earth

by

the feet of many

in the Bible because the way for mankind is a way that has been trod down in an open field. The distinction one finds in Herodotus and Plato between nomos and physis custom and nature
tions.
plays a great role

Tradition

is

absent

in Biblical thought. For Plato

nature and

and

Herodotus there
an earlier

was

great

difference between
was

custom.

From

point

of view

it

the way of the Greeks to burn their

their

dead,
or

the way

of

the Persians to

bury
fire

dead,
up,

and

the way

of

fire to

go up.

For Herodotus the fact that

in Persia, meant that one was forced to look at the world in very different terms. Some things happened everywhere and always in the same way, while other things depended on
went
whether

it

was

in Greece

differ from country to country. From the Biblical point of view, that distinction either does not exist or is of no great value. Man's openness meant that the only ways open to him were
stories, tales,
and

beliefs,

which

ways

trod upon virgin grass.

In the Middle Ages late the Greek inal

a

when a word

had to be found in Hebrew to trans The orig

nature of

word physis or nature the word teva was chosen.

word physis came was

from the

root phyo

meaning to

grow.

The

thing

the way into

which

it

grew

by

itself

and

from

within.

The
verb

Hebrew

word teva came

from the

word

meaning
ring,

to

dip. From that

into the

came the word coin.

something far cry from phyo. without, There is a second word in Hebrew which
a and which will appear

for ring, in the Nature, in this sense, is

sense of a signet
still

as well as

the word for

world

stamped

from

can also

be translated way,
use

in Gen. 18:11,
reference

where

the author will

the

phrase

the way of

women

in

to menstruation. This word for way

thing.

refers

to the path taken

sun

by

any moving

One

can speak of

the way of the

(Ps.

19:6),

and men are told

to

walk

the straight way (Prov.

19:6),

but its full implication is radically different from the Greek word for nature, physis, as that word was understood by Plato or Aristotle. The verb means
to wander.

As

a noun

it

means

a man who

has

no

home

or proper place counterpart of

but

wanders

nature

from city to city (Judg. 19:17). The Biblical bears with it no necessity (see Gen. 31 :35).
said unto

13.

And God
earth

Noah,

the end of all

flesh is

come

before
will

me;

for

the

is filled

with violence

through them; and,

behold, I

destroy

them

with the earth.

Verse 13

contains a

turn in language which must

be

seen

in

order

to

grasp its full

significance.

The

word

for

destroy

is identical to the

word

for

86
corrupt which appeared

Interpretation

in Verse 12. God is

earth

the destruction
verse are
will

which

the

ironically

the

same as

merely continuing had already begun. God's actions in this they always have been and as they always
gave

portrayed as

be. When Israel

wanted a

king, God

it

a true

this early stage, when the earth wanted to corrupt

corruption.

king, David. But at itself, God gave it true

God
even

repeats

His decision to

destroy

all

flesh;

no exceptions are made

concerning Noah.
Make
thee an ark of
gopher

14.

wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and

shalt pitch

it

within and without with pitch.

The
of

word

for

gopher wood appears

in

no other passage
chosen as a

in
on

the whole

the Bible. The word seems to

have been
and

play

the

word

pitch.

This

verb

is full
or

of

ritualistic

legalistic

significance.

It

means

to cover, to

hide,

atonement, as
and

From the last meaning it comes to signify in Yom Kippur. It has the double significance of protecting
to
protect.

hiding. As

will

become

clear when we read

the

account of

the

Flood,
will

the

covering will serve not only as a protection also set the Ark completely apart from the rest of the
15.

from the
world.

waters

but

And
ark

this
shall

is the fashion

which

thou shalt make

it

out of:

the

length of
and

the

be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it

cubits.

fifty

cubits

the

height of it thirty
16.
A
the
a

porthole shalt thou

make

in the Ark

and

let it

terminate a cubit

from
with

top;

and

the opening of the

Ark

shalt

thou set

in

the side thereof:

lower

and a second and a

third story shalt thou make

it.

The Ark is
can

box. It has

no

back
will

and no

front. If it has it will,

the
and

no

helm it
will

have

no

helmsman. The Ark

drift

where

Noah

safely ride above the will be meaningless.

Verse 15
the story will
occupied with

waters of chaos where even

notion

of

direction

gives

the precise

measurement

for the Ark. The Our

whole

of so

be

complicated

by

dates

and numbers.

minds will

be

these technical matters that we will not

be
be

given a moment

to reflect upon the

agony

and pain of

the
not

men who will

dying
our

around us. of

The Biblical
and

account of

the Flood is

the fire and brimstone

erased without

the later

latter-day

Prophets. The
shall

mistake much

is
too

even

feeling

what
of

has happened. We

be

busy keeping

track of the length

the Ark.

17.

And, behold, I,

even

1, do bring

flood of

waters upon

the

earth to

destroy

A
all

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
under

87

flesh,

wherein

is the breath of

life, from

heaven;

and

every thing

that

is in the

earth shall perish.

This
from

verse again emphasizes

the

totality

of

the destruction: all

earth.

flesh

under

heaven,

and

every thing

that

is in the

We

are still

living

in

a pre-legal world

in

which

God

makes no

distinction between individuals.

there is no one who
of the men

Abolishing
could as

the world cannot be

called punitive since

learn from
are

such a punishment.

There

are no

descriptions

they

being

consumed

by

the

flood,

such as one might

find in Psalms.

What

we see

the world
give

is simply the end of all flesh. In this sense the destruction of was not a legal decision. On the contrary, God had decided to
phrase all

up the notion of a world rather than to become a judge. The Ark and its inhabitants are not included in the
from
a certain point of view can

flesh

and

be

said not even

to exist.
will read:
cattle

After the
remembered

Flood, when the waters recede, the text Noah, and every living thing, and all the
(Gen. 8:1).

And God

that was with

him in

the

ark

During

the Flood itself God must have for

gotten or could

ignored Noah. Once Noah had been safely put into the Ark, God forget him and destroy the world as a whole without becoming a

judge.
18.

But

with

thee will
and

establish
and

my covenant;

and

thou shalt come

wives with

into the

sons'

Ark, thou,
A
this

thy sons,

thy wife,

and

thy

thee.

new order

in the relationship between

the relationship

man and

God is

proposed

in

verse

to

replace

which was rejected

in Verse 3. This
implies. God

new order will unfold

itself

throughout the whole of this and many other

of what

books. Noah is
relies on

given no

indication

this New

Way
and

Noah's trust in the justice

of

the

new

proposal,

Noah fulfills

His
19.

expectations.

And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the Ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.

20.

Of fowls
thing of
to

after

their

kind,

and

of

cattle after their

kind,

of every creeping
unto

the

earth

after

his kind,

two of every sort shall come

thee,

keep

them alive.

21.

And

take thou unto thee of all

and

food that is

eaten,

and

thou shalt gather

it to thee;

it

shall

be for food for thee,

all that

and

for

them.

22.

Thus did Noah; according to

God

commanded

him,

so

did he.

The Flood is
references
male and

return

to the Beginning. The verses are filled with

references

back to Chapter One. The many

to such things as

female,

after

their

kind,

cattle,

creeping thing, for

food,

and

88

Interpretation

finally,

so,

force
are

us

back into that context, but the

reminded

context

itself has

changed.

We

suddenly

that according to that first account

the world itself was nothing more than a small ark

riding in the

sea

of

chaos,

and we can

feel the full impact

of

the waters

which were above

the

heavens.

Chapter VII
1.
And the Lord

said unto

Noah,

come thou and all

thy house into

the

Ark;

for thee have 1

seen righteous

before Me in

this generation.

This

verse

is

another

way

of

looking
men,

at

the main problem which the

remainder of not

the Torah attempts to meet. Noah is a

existence of such

just

man.

Genesis does
them

dispute the

and we shall meet several of with

as we go

through the their wives.

book. Noah is to

sons,

and not

Nothing

is

said

him his wife, his three bring about whether they are just. Being

just is

shall see

necessarily an inherited characteristic. As the book unravels, we it revolve around this problem: Is it possible for justice to be
such a

formalized in

way that it can be passed down through generations while not relying upon the innate character of the sonsthe central prob lem is not the problem of the just man, but the problem of the just founder. It is
possible

that the two

are not

by
2.
3.

the

mention of a covenant.

More

identical. This has already been indicated will be added.

Of

every

clean

beast

thou shalt take to thee

by

sevens, the male

male and

and

his

female:

and

of beasts
of the

that

are not clean

by

two, the
the

his female.

Of fowls

also

air

by

sevens, the

male and

female;

to

keep

seed

alive upon

the

face of

all the earth.

The distinction between

out of place

clean and unclean would seem

to be radically
the distinc

in Genesis

since

it

would

be difficult to know

what

tion would mean prior to the

giving of the Law in Exodus. As we shall see later in the text, Noah is incapable of distinguishing between the clean and the unclean animals. Nonetheless, God speaks of the distinction as if it
were evident

in itself. To
manner, the

state the problem question

in

what would

ultimately be

too Greek
or

is

whether the

distinction is

by
this

nature

by
can

convention.

God

speaks as

if the distinction

were natural even though

of prob of

it

only be known

by

convention.

For

further discussion
and

lem

see

the commentaries to Gen. 46:34

47:10. An

outline

the

pre-legal

distinction between
to

the clean and the unclean will be found in the

commentary

Gen. 34:1

and

35:2.

A
4.

Commentary on Genesis
and

1-10

89

For
and

yet seven

days,
and

will cause

it

to rain upon the earth

forty

nights;

every

living
all

substance that

I have

made will

forty days I destroy

from off
5.

face of the earth. And Noah did according unto

the

that the

Lord

commanded

him.

The

numbers
at a

40

and
of on

400

appear with

Let

us

look
spent

few

the references to see the

amazing regularity in the Bible. if some order presents itself.

Moses
of

40 days
of

top

of

Mt. Sinai (Ex. 24:18). The Children

Israel, because

their sin, were forced to wander 40 years in the desert

was of

(Num. 14:33). Isaac

15:13). Abraham 23 : 1 5 )
years
.

40

years old when

will spend

he
400

married
years of

Rebekah (Gen. in Egypt (Gen. for 40

25:20). The Children

The

Israel

spent

400

shekels

for the Cave

on

Machpelah (Gen.
were there
of

men who went out

to spy

the

new

land

days (Num. 13:25). The

manna sustained the remainder

of

Children

Israel for 40

(Ex. 16:35). In the

the commentary we shall meet

many other such periods. Each of these periods implies

happens,
not

and yet a

time without

which a

be

given until

Israel became

waiting in which nothing nothing could happen. Laws could people, and 400 years was necessary
a

time

of

for that

growth. shekels
which

The 400
purchased

Abraham
owned

paid

for the Cave

of

Machpelah

the first

plot of

land

by

the Children of Israel. It waited

for them 400 years, or as Genesis Noah waited 40 days inside the Ark. Moses

puts

it, for four

generations, just

as

was away from the people for 40 days and returned as a law The people, accustomed to the life of slavery, were not prepared for political life. But the sense in which the marriage of Isaac belongs to this giver.

group
acter.

can

only be
order

understood when we

have

a more

firm grasp

of

his

char of

One

should also add

that the embalming of

Isaac,

the preserving

his

body

in

that it might

be

returned

to the land of

Canaan,

also

required

40 days (Gen. 50:3). It

to

would

ber 40

was chosen

imply

a period of

be difficult to know why the num time in which nothing appears on

the surface and yet

quietly

a seed

is

growing.

However, it is worthy

of note

that

nine months make

approximately 40
hundred

weeks.

6.

And Noah
the
earth.

was six

years old when

the

flood of
his

waters was upon

1.
8.

And Noah

went

in,

and

his sons,

and

his

sons'

wife, and

wives

with

him, into

the ark,

Of

clean

beasts,

and

because of the waters of beasts that are

the earth,
unto
and

of the
not

flood.
and

clean,

of

fowls,
male

and

of

every thing that

creepeth upon

9.

There

went

in two

two

Noah into the

ark,

the

and

the

female,

as

God had

commanded

Noah.

90

Interpretation

In Chapter 6 God had said, Of every living thing of all flesh two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark (Gen. 6:19). However, in the
present chapter

God

revised

His

plan

in the light

of

the

distinction between
commandment as

the
was

clean and

the unclean

(Gen. 7:2). Noah fulfills the

and makes no

it

formulated in Chapter 6 he
was unable

distinction between

clean and

unclean, since

to

understand

the revised formulation.

10.

And it

came

to pass after

seven

days

that the

waters

of the

flood

were

upon the earth.

By taking
of

seven

days God

completes

the analogy

with

the

seven

days

Creation.
The
number
seven appears

than the numbers 40 and 400.

frequently or even Traditionally the number

as

more

frequently
to

is

understood

signify
of an

perfection or completion.

While

one can

understand

this in terms

the seven

days

of

Creation,

there

seems

to be no justification for such

assumption even

appears

in the majority of cases in which the number seven in the text. The present commentator has not been able to find
to the passages in
which

any
11.

notion common

the

number seven occurs.

In

the six

hundredth

year

of Noah's life in the

same

second month,

the

seven

teenth

day

of the month, that up

and

day

were

the

fountains of

the great

deep broken
The

the

flood

gates

of the sky

were opened.

world returned
of

to that watery chaos

since

which revealed

itself

on

the

first

day

Creation. Ever

the middle

of

the

last

chapter the author

has been reintroducing the vocabulary from Chapter 1. We now find our selves back in that first account, according to which the world was a speck
of order

in

a chaotic sea.

The thin

sheet called

Heaven,
way

which

God

made

to protect us
replaced

from

the world outside,

has

given

and

must

now

be

by

a covenant.

12. 13.

And the
In the

rain

was upon

the earth

forty days
and

and

forty
and

nights.

selfsame

day

entered

Noah,

Shem,

Ham,

and

Japheth,
sons with

the sons of

Noah,

and

Noah's

wife, and the three

wives

of his

them, into the ark; 14.

They,
and

and

every beast

after

his kind,
creepeth

and

all

the cattle

after

their

kind,
and

every creeping thing that

after

upon

the earth after

his kind,

every fowl

15.

And they went is the breath of life.

his kind, every bird of every sort. in unto Noah into the Ark, two and
went

two of all

flesh,
as

wherein

16.

And they that went in, commanded him: and

in

male

and

female of

all

flesh,

God had

the

Lord

shut

him in.

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10

91
the
man

to escape the

According to the Babylonian Flood, preserved not

pleased

stories,

Utnapishtan,
sons

chosen
as well.

only his
man was

but the

artisans

Whether it
and

the gods

or

not,

in full
of

possession of the

arts,

he

retained

them

as part of

the foundation

the world as it was to

an artless of

be

after

the Flood. In the Biblical account, Noah is presented as

must

man

who

be

given

full instructions

by

God. The

insufficiency
complete

Noah's

art

is

emphasized

by

the fact that God is required to

the

construction

by

sealing it
was

shut.

17.

The flood

forty days
and

upon

the earth; and the the earth.

waters

increased

and

lifted up the Ark

it

was raised above

Verse 17
The God
of
waters

contains

three verbs, each of which is of some importance. this was the same verb used in Chapter

increased
the

when

commanded

animals

to increase. Since the Flood is the inversion that Increase.

Creation it is the The

verb

primeval waters which

to

lift,

was

briefly
4:7a,

mentioned will

in

relation

to Cain's

offering in the commentary to Gen. the commentary to Gen. 19:21. The

exultation

be discussed

more

fully

in

verb

that

has been
and

translated

raised

has the

connotation
which

of

in honor

is

used

here to

connote

the sense in

the

Ark is distinguished from the

18.

rest of

Creation.
But

And the
the

waters

became mighty
the

and

increased greatly

upon

the earth.

Ark

went on

face of the

waters.

The first

words

of

the verse are a

reminder

of

Gen.
name.

6:4;
The

The

same

became the mighty

mighty mighty
upon
men caused

men who were

of

old the men

of

rise of

the
the

the

corruption which

is

now

being

washed

away

by

The greatly increasing waters are a repetition of the play the beginning which we have seen before. The last part of the verse
waters.

is

also a reference

to Gen.

1:2, but

the Ark

replaces

the spirit or wind of

God

as that which was on the

face of the

waters

and comes

from

outside

the chaos to initiate the

new world.

19.

The

waters

became very mighty

the sky

on

the

earth

and

all

the

high

mountains

which were under

were covered.

All distinctions between high

20. 21. Fifteen

and

low

were erased.

cubits above

did

the

waters

grow

mighty

and

the mountains

were

covered.

And

all

flesh

that stirred on

the

face of

the

earth

expired,

the

fowl,

the

92
cattle, the
earth and

Interpretation

living

things,

and

all

the creeping things

which

creep

on

the

every

man.

22.

All in
the

whose nostrils

there

was

the

breath of life, of

all

that

were

upon

dry

land, died.
verses of point out

These last
tures and
not

Chapter 7

emphasize

the

death

of

the land crea

hence

the continuation of the sea creatures. The

fish did
form

live in that
of

world which man corrupted.

Their

ways were not changed

because

the change in his ways. Their

kinship

with

the

original

of

chaos protected them

from the
blotted

more sophisticated

form.
face of from
were

23.

All

existence was

out which

was

upon

the

the earth,

man all

to cattle to stirring things to the winged things of the sky;

out

they
and

blotted

from

the earth, the

and

there

remained

only Noah

those

that were with

him in

Ark.

Existence is probably

an unfortunate

translation for the word

yaqum

because

of

the

philosophical

implications

of

the

word existence. Etymologicomes

cally, it is

a rather

tempting

translation since it also

from

a root

meaning to stand or to arise. Everything defined its own limits was destroyed.
24. And

which arose or stood out or which

the waters were mighty on the earth

for

one

hundred

and

fifty

days.

The 150 days include the 40 days

the

of

the

Flood,

as will

be

shown

in

commentary

to

Gen. 8:4.

Chapter VIII
la. And God
Noah

remembered

and

all

the

living

things and all the cattle

which were with

him in

the ark.

When the

author

says and

God

remembered

Noah he implies that

there is a point of view

from

which

God had forgotten Noah

during

the

Flood. In

order

to preserve the pre-legal world, God

not exist

acted under

the legal
man was

fiction that Noah did destroyed.

lb. A 2.
wind

during

the Flood in which every

of God

passed over the earth and the waters subsided.

The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of and the rain from the sky abated.

the sky were stopped up,

Verse lb is clearly intended

as a reference to

Gen. 1 :2, but in this

Commentary on
activity is
from

Genesis 1-10

93

instance its purely

3. Then
one

physical

more

blatant.
diminished
at

the water returned

the earth and was

the end of

hundred

fifty

days.
in the
seventh

4.

And the Ark

month,
upon

rested

month, on the

seventeenth

day

of the

the mountains of

Ararat.

The Hebrew Noah

and

word

for

rested again must

be
a

connected with the name

of

hence implies the

the

beginning
in Verse 3

of

cessation

the

constant

violence of

antediluvian period

(see Gen. 5:29).

are the same

The 150 days in Verse 24

(Gen.
month. assume of

mentioned

150 days

mentioned of

the

last

chapter and are

on

intended to include the 40 days

the Flood. The

Flood began

the seventeenth
on

day

of

the second month

7:11),

and

the waters abated

the

seventeenth

day

of

the

seventh

Since the time interval between the two dates is five

that the author calculated in terms of

months we must

solar months of

30 days
in the

each.

5.

And the

waters

month, on the

decreased continually until the tenth first day of the month, were the tops of

month:

tenth

the mountains seen.

The first indication

tinction

we

have

of

the world's condition

which

is that the dis

between the hills

and

the valleys,

had disappeared

during

the time of the

Flood,

was not

destroyed.

6.

And it

came to pass at the end

which

of

forty days,
went

that

Noah

opened the window

of the Ark

he had
a

made:

1.

And he
were

sent

forth

raven,
the

which

forth

to and

fro,

until

the

waters

dried up from off

earth.

The

raven never returned

the waters were abating.

but constantly flew above the earth while This bird, which as it were stands guard over the

world, has

double
an

significance

in the Bible.
not

Leviticus it is
when

abominable

bird

to be

According to the touched by Israel,

Laws
and

of yet

Elijah

was

forced to leave

mankind and command

live in the desert the

ravens

fed him in
8. 9.

accordance with

God's

(I Kings 17:4,6).
from

Also he

sent

forth

dove from him,

to see

if

the waters were abated

off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the

sole

of her

foot,

and she returned unto

him into he
put

Ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the
the

Ark.

Unlike the raven, the dove is

a clean

bird

which

may be

used

as

94
sacrifice

Interpretation

(Lev. 5:7). It

returns

to the Ark because its

place

is

with man.

Unlike the raven, the dove was not at home in the chaos of the Flood, but for that reason she was unable to feed Elijah when he had to leave mankind.
And he
of the

10.

stayed yet other seven

days;

and again

he

sent

forth

the

dove

out

Ark;
came

11.

And the dove

an olive

in to him in the evening; and,

lo, in her
were

mouth

was

leaf

pluckt off: so

Noah knew that the

waters

abated

from

off the

earth.

The

olive

leaf

was

Noah's first is
struck

sign of what more

he

would meet when

he its

left the Ark. The

reader

by

its

peacefulness

than

by

miraculous character.

By

of mankind which one

showing the wreckage and the twisted remains might have expected, the author again emphasizes
not
of

the non-punitive character

need

the Flood. The past is gone, and nothing more

be

said.

12. 13.

And he
And it
the
and

stayed yet other seven

days;

and

sent

forth the

dove;

which

re

turned not again unto

came

him any

more.

to pass in the six

hundredth
waters

and

first

year, in the

first month,
the earth:

first

day

of the month, the

were

dried up from off

and

Noah

removed the

covering of the

Ark,

looked,

and,

behold,

the

14.

face of the ground was dry. And in the second month,

was

on

the seven and twentieth

day

of the month,

the

earth

dried.

The

mountains appeared on the

raven and

first

day of the
days

tenth month. Noah sent

forth the
month.
of

the dove 40 days

later,

on the tenth

day
the

of

the eleventh

The dove

was again sent out seven

later,

on

seventeenth

day

the month. It returned that

evening

with an olive on

branch

and was sent

out

for the last time

36 days later.
And God

another week
opened

later,

the twenty-fourth

day
first

of the month

eleventh month. some

Noah

the Ark on the

first

day

of

the

1 5. 16.

spake unto

Noah,

saying,
sons'

Go forth of the Ark, thou,

with

and

thy

wife, and

thy

sons, and

thy
all

wives

thee. thee every

17.

Bring forth with of fowl, and of

the earth; that
and

living thing

that is with

thee, of

flesh, both
upon

cattle,

and

of every creeping thing that

the earth,

creepeth

they may breed abundantly in

and

be fruitful,
wives
with

multiply

upon the earth.

18.

And Noah him:

went

forth,

and

his

sons, and

his

wife,

and

his

19.

Every beast,

every creeping thing, every

fowl,

whatsoever

creepeth

upon

the earth, after

its family,

went

forth

out

of the Ark.

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
see

95
of mankind

In the

following
word

chapter we shall
prepares

the division

into

its families. Verse 19

replacing the
prepare

kind

by

way for this new type of division by the word family. As we shall see, this verse will
the
on

the ground

for the New Way.

will

The New
given

Way
of

depend

family

relationships,
the notion of

since

it
of

cannot

be

to

all men at once.

If it is to be

preserved at all

the role

the

family

as

the preserver

tradition

must replace

kinds

which pre

served

Hebrew

distinctions according to nature. One must remember that the word derech or way denies the distinction between physis and

nomos, between nature and custom.

However,

the replacement of the word

author was not

kind

by

the word

family

seems to

indicate that the Biblical

completely
20.

unaware of

the

distinction.
the

And Noah budded

and

an altar unto

Lord;
burnt

and took

of every
the

clean

beast,

of every

clean

fowl,
gave

and offered

offerings on

altar.

Noah, like Cain,

which

an

offering to the Lord. Unlike the

this sacrifice was
unrequested.

sacrifice

God

required of

Abraham,
will

The dif

ference between the two

where some need attempt

be discussed in the commentary to Gen. 15:9, is made to understand how the Bible looks at the

human
21.

to

sacrifice.

And the Lord

smelled a sweet

savour;

and

the

Lord

said

in His

heart, I
any

will not again curse the ground

any

more

for

man's

sake;
will

for

the imagina
smite

tion of man's
more

heart is

evil
as

from his youth; I have done.

neither

again

every thing

living,

The God

verse

sacrifice reveals sees

describes the full ambiguity of God's both the highest and the lowest in
world

reaction.

The desire to

man's soul

in

one act.

that if the

is to continue,

a place must

be found in it for

this motley

being
the

called

Man.

22.

While

earth

remaineth,

seedtime and

harvest,

and cold

and

heat,

and

summer and

winter, and

day

and night shall not cease.

Since the time

of

the Creation the sky, the earth,

now

and

their

inhabi

tants were to form a self-perpetuating world;

all must

be

guaranteed

by

a promise.

Chapter IX
be fruitful,

And God blessed Noah

and

his

sons, and said unto them,

and

96
multiply,
and replenish

Interpretation
the earth. the

2.

And

the

fear of

you

and

dread of

you

shall

be

upon

every beast of

the earth,
earth, and

and upon
upon all

every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
shall

3.

Every

moving thing that liveth

given you all things.

be

meat

for

you; even as the green

herb have 1
4. But flesh

with

the

life thereof,

which

is the blood thereof,

will

shall ye not eat.

5.

And surely beast will I brother

will

your

blood of

your

lives

I require;
at

at

the

hand of every
man's

require

it,

and at

the

hand of man;
man shall

the

hand of every
shed:

require

the

life of

man.

6.

Whoso

sheddeth man's

blood, by
man.

his blood be

for in

the

image of God

made

He

new mode of

life begins for

sense.

man after

the Flood. He is to

become

political

in the fullest

No

one can ever ask

again, Am I my brother's

keeper? (Gen. 4:9). From

now on

the world will

be

characterized

by

civil

law, and law; they

with

men will not

will also

only be
man

responsible

be
the

charged with

for acting in it. enforcing

a natural

accordance with

Prior to the Flood

the
rise

had

of

political

bond,

that

kinship with the animals; but kinship was broken. A similar

a

account

is

given

in the Gilgamesh but from

told
of a man named

very different
them. He

point of view.

Gilgamesh

was once

Enkidu,
one of

a man who spoke no

sent a prosti

language

and who

lived
and

with

the animals as

tute to tempt
with away.

him

to

bring

him back into the

to his

city.

After his

encounter

Gilgamesh, Enkidu
There
was no

returned

home, but

the animals all ran

for him among them. In the Biblical account things go the other way around. It is man who rejects the animals by accepting them as food. The particular care of man for man which
place

longer any

political

life

requires precludes

the unity

of all

living

beings

characteristic

of earlier

times.
problem which

The

the text poses

of

at

this point is to determine why

prohibition of murder should
permission was granted

the injunction to establish courts

law for the fear of

be
be

accompanied

by the

permission

to eat meat. This

you and

in the

strongest possible

terms
the

the

the dread of you

shall

upon

every beast of

field,

and upon

every fowl of the air,

upon all

fishes of the sea; into your delivered. Man is to be absolute master of the animal king they dom. Any haziness in the distinction between animals and man which had allowed for their kinship was to be forgotten. hand
are

that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the

This
cannot

much remains:

Man

shall not eat

the blood
not a

of

the animals. This

be changed, because they share is one.

while a goat

is

man, the

life-giving

fluid

A 7.

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10

97
the earth,

And you, be
and

ye

fruitful,

and multiply;

bring

forth abundantly in

multiply therein.
spake unto

8.

And God

Noah,

and to

his

sons with

him,

saying,
your seed after

9.

And I, behold, I
you;

establish

my

covenant with

you, and with

10.

And
and

with

every

living

creature that

is

with

you, of the

fowl,

of the cattle, of the

of every beast of the earth to every beast of the earth.

will

with you;

from

all that go out

Ark,
cut

11.

And I
off any

establish

my

covenant

with

you; neither shall all

neither shall

flesh be

more

flood

to

by the waters destroy the earth.

brith

of a

flood:

there any more

be

The
gether.

word would

It

(covenant) comes from a word seem, then, to imply the formation of

to the binding. After the
antediluvian

meaning to bind to
a

does have
to be
are

not exist prior

unified

unspoken

relationship which bonds which should

the world in the

period were

broken, they had

that these bonds
this
of

replaced

by

external and explicit

bonds. One
set

assumes

in

part composed

by

the New
replaces

Way
the

forth in the
of

earlier part of

chapter

the

Way

which

notion

kind

with

the

notion

family (Gen. 7:19).

12.

And God said, this is the token of the covenant Me and you and every living creature that is with
erations:

which

make

between

you,

for

perpetual gen

13.

I do

set

My bow

in the cloud,

and

it

shall

be for

token of

covenant

between
14.

me and the earth.

when

And it bow And I

every

shall come to pass,

bring

cloud over

the earth,

that the

shall

be

seen

in the

cloud:

15.

will

remember

My
all

covenant,

which

is between Me

and

you

and a

living

creature
all

of

flesh;

and

the

waters shall no

more

become

flood to destroy
16.

flesh.

And the bow

remember

shall

be in

the cloud; and

covenant earth.

will

look
and

upon

it,

that

I may

the everlasting that

between God

every

living

creature

of

all

flesh

is

upon

the

17.

And God

said unto

Noah,

this

is the

token of the covenant,

which

I have

established

between Me

and

all

flesh

that

is

upon

the earth.

All
Their
ural

covenants require a sign since all covenants must

be

remembered.

being

is in their

foundation.
must

being remembered because they Memory is such an integral part of a

sign, because
without a sign there

lack

sufficient nat

covenant

that even

God

have

is

no covenant.
as a

The Biblical

notion of covenant right

is

not

intended

denial

of a

pre-

legal distinction between

and

wrong.

It does, however,
society.

presuppose

that these foundations are insufficient for human

During

the course

98
of

Interpretation
man named man

reading Genesis we shall meet a legal point of view the most decent

Abimelech, from

the

pre-

in the book. The Bible does

are available

not

dispute the decent life

political
within

existence of such men.

of a private

Natural foundations

for the
on

man, but these foundations

the

are

inadequate

the

level. The

origin of

insufficiency
bonds
not

of natural political
which

bonds lies
and earth

the

insufficiency
to
protect

of the natural

hold heaven
and

together. Heaven and earth do

form

a single

cosmos,

the expanse

is

not able

the

world

from the
windows

waters

of chaos

by

itself. The
secured

foundations of the

deep

and

the

of the sky can only be

by
18.

a promise.

And
and

the sons of
and

Noah,

that the

went

forth of

the

Ark,
them

were

Shem,
the

and

Ham,
earth

Japheth:
are

Ham is

19.

These

the

three sons

father of Canaan. of Noah: and of

was

whole

overspread.

20.

And Noah began And he drank of within his tent.

to

be

21.

the

husbandman, and he wine, and was drunken;

an

planted a
and

vineyard:
was

he

uncovered

As
drunken

we read stupor.

the Book of Genesis we are

forced to

participate

in Noah's

The

wine of oblivion will affect our

relationship

to the book

from this

point on.

The

names

Man, Eve, Cain, Abel, Methuselah, Seth,

none of of

Enoch,

the

Flood,

the

Serpent, Eden
or

these names will ever appear

again within the

rare occasions

Torah

the

books do

the earlier

Prophets,

although on with

the later Prophets

of

allow themselves

to break

this

understanding The origins

also

the past.
of

the

whole must

be

stated

in

some

be forgotten. From the Biblical

either

point of view or as
a

form, but they must they may not be hear

kened back to
temporal

as

a paradigm

beginnings

must

be

superseded

by

way of understanding. The the Covenant.

his father,
told

22.

And

Ham,

the

father of Canaan,
without.

saw

the nakedness of

and

his

two

brethren

When Ham looked

the New

upon

his father's
was

nakedness

he

Way
he

insofar

as

that

Way

essentially

new.

Either

implicitly rejected by design or

by

accident

gazed upon

those origins which lie in back of the Covenant.

The Covenant
which

was designed as a replacement for the antediluvian order God had originally intended for the world but whose inadequacies had become manifest. The descendants of Ham, the father of Canaan, will

appear

in the text

as

the

founders
what

of paganism.

In their

view

covenants

can always

be broken but
the temporal

returns

to

essentially is cannot. Paganism, therefore, beginnings as the true foundations since those

Commentary on
upon

Genesis 1-10
and good will.

99

beginnings do

not

depend

memory
a

23.

And Shem
shoulders,
and their

and

Japheth

took

garment,

and

laid it

upon

both

their

and went

faces

were

backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.

Shem
cover

and

Japheth

their father so
nakedness

only reject the way of Ham, but they piously that the incident will not recur. When they cover their
not
as

father's
past.

they,

it were,

reaffirm

their

willingness

to forget the

24.

And Noah

awoke

from his

wine,

and

knew

what

his

younger

son

had

done
25.

unto

him.
cursed

And he said,

be Canaan;
the

a servant

of

servants shall

he be

unto

his

brethren. 26.
27.

And he said, blessed be

servant.

Lord God of Shem;

and

and

Canaan

shall

be his

God

shall enlarge

Japheth,
servant.

he

shall

dwell in

the tents of

Shem;

and

Canaan

shall

be his

Noah's curse, from the Biblical point of view, is suited to one looks back to the days before the Flood. Ham is bound to become a
since a slave

who
slave

is

one who

must

do

the

bidding

of

his

master whether

he

accepts a covenant with

him
to

or not.

Nothing
cence.

was said as

whether

Ham intended to look

upon

his father's

nakedness or not.

It may

well

These

verses provide

have been done accidentally and in all inno us with some insight into the nature of a curse.
now cursed. will

By
not

virtue of

his

experience

Ham is

He has
him
as

seen what

he

should

have seen, curse is not a but he

28. 29.
will

and

that knowledge

be

with

long

as

he lives. The
of

punishment since with

live

his

curse

he may not have been guilty for what he has seen.

hundred hundred

anything,

And Noah lived

after

the

flood

three

and and

And

all the

days of Noah

were nine

fifty years. fifty years:

and

he died.

Chapter X

1.

Now

these are

the

generations

of the

sons

of

Noah, Shem, Ham,

flood.

and

Japheth:
2.

and unto them were sons

born

after the

The
And

sons

Tubal,
3.

and

the

Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, Meshech, and Tiras. sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz. and Riphath, and Togarmah.
of

and

100
4. And the
sons

Interpretation
of

Javan; Elishah,
after

and

Tarshish, Kittim,
in their
nations.

and

Dodanim.
one

5. 6.
1
.

By

these were the

isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every

their

And

families, Ham; Cash, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush; Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, Sabtechah: and the sons of Raamah; Sheba, and Dedan.
after

his tongue,
of

the sons

and

8.

And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be He

was a

mighty

one

in the

earth.

9.
10.

mighty hunter before the Lord:

wherefore

it is said,

even

as

Nimrod
And
the

the mighty

hunter before the Lord.

of his kingdom
was

beginning
the

Babel,

and

Erech,

and

Accad,
the

and

Calneh, in
11.

Out of that

land of Shinar. land went forth Asshur,

and

builded Nineveh,
is

and

city

Rehoboth,
12.

and

Calah,
and

And Resen between Nineveh

Calah:

the same

a great city.

Nimrod,

whose name
of

is the descendant
cities which were

is etymologically connected with rebelliousness, Ham. He is both a hunter and the founder of the great
centers of of

the

Eastern
was

mythology.

Erech

was

the city

of

Gilgamesh,

and the

land

Shinar

the location

of

the Tower of Babel.

Nimrod begins Flood.

hunter-hero precisely because he, as the son of Ham, is forced to begin from the foundationless days of the period before the
as a

Lacking
as

any relationship to the

of civil government. after

Covenant,
If
rejects

he

makes

his

own consti

tution in the form

world

one accepts

the

instability
as a

of

the

it is known
one

the

Flood, but

Covenant

replace

ment, then
the world
sometimes
other

is forced to

consider the

possibility that there lie in back The

sun and

of

beings

which are at odds with one another.

the

rain

cooperate;

sometimes

they

are

at odds.
even

One builds

when

the

destroys. Man may to coerce, but if the gods

establish

propitiate or at
are at

times

war,

man cannot

become strong enough rely upon them but must

his

own order.

13.

And Mizraim begat Ludim, And Pathrusim,

and

and

Anahim,
(out
of

and

Lehabim,
came

and

Naphtuhim.
and

14. 15. 16. 17.

18.

Casluhim,

whom

Philistim),

Caphtorim.
And Canaan begat Sidon his

firstborn,

and

Heth,

And the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, And the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,
And the Arvadite,
and

the

Zemarite,

and

the

Hamathite:

and

afterward

19.

families of And the border of

were

the

the

Canaanites

spread abroad.
was

the

Canaanites

from Sidon,
and

as

thou

contest

to

Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest, and Zeboim, even unto Lasha.
20.

unto

Sodom,

Gomorrah,
their

and

Admah,
their

These

are the sons and

of

Ham,

after

their

families,

after

tongues, in

countries,

in their

nations.

Commentary

on

Genesis 1-10
the

101

21.

Japheth

Unto Shem also, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder, even to him were children born.
children

brother of

22.
23. 24. 25.

The

of

Shem; Elam,

and

Asshur,
Hul,

and

Arphaxad,
and

and

Lud,

and

Aram.

And

the children of

Aram; Uz,

and

and

Gether,

Mash.

And Arphaxad begat Salah; and Salah begat Eber. And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of

one name

was was

Peleg; for
Joktan.
and

in

his days 26.

27.
28.

was

the

ecirth

divided;

and

his brother's
and

And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, And Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah, And Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba, And Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab:
And
their
east.
are

Hazar-Maveth,

Jerah,

29. 30. 31. 32.

all these were the sons as

of Joktan.
a mount

dwelling

was

from Mesha,

thou goest unto

Sephar

of the

These
their

the sons of
after

Shem,

after

their

families,

after

their

tongues, in

lands,
are

their

nations.

These
their

the

families of

the sons
were

of

Noah,

after

their

generations,

in

nations: and

by

these

the nations

divided in

the earth after the

flood.

Noah's drunken
memories of

stupor

has

passed.

The

new world will grow on the

itself. These
to

verses not

stand as a record course of

which we shall

only populate a world, but they will be forced to return many times in the

this commentary.

102

WHAT IS LAW? THE MINOS RECONSIDERED

Judith Best

SUNY College

at

Cortland

The in basic

Minosx

is

an

often

neglected

Socratic

dialogue,

neglected

even

courses and studies on

question of

jurisprudence despite the fact that it

what

raises

the

jurisprudence
curious and

is law? In part, this neglect of the

to the

Minos is due to its

section which gives

apparently incongruous final section, the

I
propose reexamine

it its

name.

Minos,
such

and a

to

consider whether as

it is

possible with

to interpret the final section in the first section, to

whole. problem consider

way
the

to

make

it

compatible

whether

Minos is

a coherent and

intelligible

The final

section of

the Minos appears to be a

because it is

praise of ancient

law,

a praise which

old, the

ancestral and even

apparently identifies the good with the the mythical. This seems to be a singularly odd
point

conclusion

to

dialogue

whose central

is that law tends to be dis

the outset, is

covery The

of reality. subject of the

dialogue,
or

as

Socrates

makes clear at

the nature, the fundamental quality, the essential characteristic of

concern

law. His
the point

is to

identify

law itself

law

and

by

analogy to

gold and

to stone, for

while

nothing both have different

else.

He

makes

manifestations

of color or weight or

shape, both

gold and stone

have their
that

own common

denominators
a

or

their

own common

qualities,

qualities a

allow us

to

call

variety

of

distinct

objects

(as

gravestone,

millstone,

or a

gemstone)

by

the same name.

particular

Thus, Socrates disclaims any immediate interest in the manifestations of law, in distinguishing civil law from criminal
common as

law, or Greek law from Persian law, or Rather, his purpose is to distinguish law
question, "Tell me, that law is "things loyally
Socrates'

law from statutory law. law from everything else.

law?"

To

Socrates'

what

is

the Companion

answers of

accepted."-

This

answer

is,

as

the answers
not suffer
sound

interlocutors his

often

are,

reasonable.

Socrates did
possess a

fools

gladly,

and

companions
answer

are either clever or

practical

judgment. The

is

a good

one, though

not perhaps

the

complete or

sufficient answer.
of

It is

a good answer

because it implies that law is

men

form

opinion, something that is because

hold to it Law
must

or posit

it. An impor

tant aspect of

law is its
is

binding
or

character.

be distinguished from

advice,

which

is instructive
answer

Companion's

good

admonitory being obligatory. The because it recognizes the binding quality of

without

law,

although

it does

Dissatisfied,
then speech must

completely account for it. Socrates again questions by analogy: if this is

not

the case,
things

be identical to things

spoken and sight

identical to

Minos Reconsidered
seen.

103

Not

short on common
and

sense, the Companion knows that these things

are not

identical

Socrates'

answer.

analogies are never

is, therefore, forced to reject his haphazard, are

the

initial
always

and reasonable

pertinent,
of gold

and
and

so we must examine

analogy

chosen.

Just

as

his

choices

stone are not accidental

(both

gold and stone are stable or

durable

resis
of

tant to change and

decay)

but subtly

suggest some possible properties

law,

so the analogies to speech and sight are relevant to the

basic

question

what

is law?
of speech to

The relationship
is the relationship
actions

things

spoken and sight

to things

seen

of process

to product. A process is a

series of continuous

that

bring

about a particular result.

product

is that

which

is

ob

tained as the result of some action. Process and product

are not

identical. is the
which

As

speech

is the

process
which

through

which

things

are

spoken,

and sight

process

through

things are seen, law is the process through

things are
as applied

loyally
to the

accepted.
search

This distinction between

permits a

product and of

process

for law
and

definition

law that is

always

and everywhere

the same,

this is
of

because it
as

avoids a problem

inherent

in the Companion's definition lem

of

law

things

loyally
of

accepted, the prob

opinion, but
opinion

diversity. What is
only from
man

loyally

accepted

is

kind

varies not

to man, but also from place to place, and time to

which

time. The

Companion's definition,
unchanging
a process can

ties law to the product,

would

destroy
but
just
so
will

the universal

essence of always

law. The

product not

only may
the things

vary, but
and

be the

same.

Just
is

as

spoken as

differ,

the things seen through

differ,

the things

loyally

held

differ, but
same,
the same.

sight, the

process

which

things

are seen

always the

law, the process through which things are loyally held is always Thus, law has a nature whose primary characteristic is process.
But
returns what

is this process,

as

distinguished from its

eyes."3

product?

Socrates

to his analogy for direction. What is sight? It is "that sensation

which shows objects which makes

things
an

by means of the loyally accepted by

Thus law

would

be that

(X)

means of

(Y). The

next section of

the

dialogue is

attempt

to complete this formula.

Socrates begins

by

asking is law like vision, a sensation, or is it like medicine, a discovery of causes of health and disease, or is it like prophesy, a discovery of the de
signs of the gods?
swers

The

Companion,
a

ever
or

the voice of
state

common

sense,

an

that law is "a city's

resolution"

opinion.4

convinced
political

by

Socrates that law is

an opinion

process, the Companion asserts

Now thoroughly it is a The Com

process; law is

panion would complete

authoritatively held the formula thusly: law is a

by

a city.

political opinion or means of

civic resolution which makes things authority.

loyally
to

accepted

by

the public that

Socrates does

not

deny

that this is so, rather

he

suggests

they

continue

the discussion in

order

"get

better

knowledge.""'

The

104

Interpretation

Companion's

answer not

Socrates; it does
Socrates
based
on an

is apparently correct but exhaust the inquiry. probing

with a
new

incomplete; it does
line
of

not

satisfy

continues

questions,
are

questions
prod

analogy

of products.

This time the

analogies

to the

ucts of wisdom and

justice,

the wise man and the just man. In both cases

wisdom,"

the products are noble or good. "The wise are wise

just

are

just

justice,"

by

The implicit analogy of just."7 Since the just are

the

and "the by law."" are and "the law-abiding law-abiding by products is then made explicit, "the law-abiding are good, the law-abiding are good. (If A=B, if

law-abiding

are

just;

and

B=C,

the just are good; then

A=C,

the law-

abiding are good). The analogy of products, however, is made in order to find a resemblance in the processes. This argument, the argument from
product

to process, is the argument that if the product

is

good

the

process

is

also good.

It is is its

a reverse of the good tree

bearing

good

fruit. Socrates
measure of

suggests

that if the fruit is good the tree is good, or the proper

product.

any

process

The implicit
and

resemblance of

processes, the

re

semblance of

wisdom, justice

law is then

made explicit

in

a statement and not

that connects

justice

and

law,

though not wisdom and

cities and

law, "justice
else."*

law

noble;"

are most
a process.

they "preserve

simply
and

Like

justice,

it is

a process which

everything brings

Law is

about a

good,

therefore is itself good. "Hence we must regard law as something noble,

and seek after

it

as a

good.""

There
The first

are

two further

points

to be

made about

this

series of analogies.

point

is that Socrates just. This is

connects

law

and

justice

by

arguing that the

law-abiding
The law
point
and

are

an equation of products and not of processes.

is that he does
are

not

justice

the same

say that law is justice; he does not say that process. The processes are united or intersect

only in their end, their result, their product. Thus, he says "justice and law are most that justice and law "preserve cities and everything
noble,"

else."10

Socrates develops the

proposition

that law is good

in

some

way

without

equating it with justice. The second point is that

sion with an

although

he begins this

section of

the discus

by omitting the analogy law-abiding law-abiding are said to be just, and the wise are not mentioned. One is forced to wonder if the law-abiding are just but not wise. Is it the unwise who must be law-abiding in order to be just? Can the wise be just without being law-abiding? The equation Socrates made was that the law-abiding are just, not that the just are lawabiding. To say that the just are law-abiding would be to say that the only
wise
and

analogy to

men, he concludes it

between

the

the wise. The

way to be just is to be law-abiding.

that the

Whereas,

to say,

law-abiding

are

just does

not exhaust

Socrates does say, the possibilities of being just

as

there may be

other ways

to be just.

Minos Reconsidered

1 05

Having
definition
panion's

established

that law

in itself because its

of

product a

law

as

city's

only a process but one that is good is good, Socrates returns to the Companion's resolution. The incompleteness of the Com

is

not

definition is
a good

now clear.

city's

Since law is

process, it

can

decree may be either good or evil. not be defined simply as a political The
refined

opinion, but only as a true would be: law is a true or

or good political opinion.

definition
things

good civic-political opinion which makes

loyally
cause

accepted

by

means of

its

goodness as well

as

the

public authority.

Socrates
it is
a

was

dissatisfied

with the

Companion's definition

of

law be

morally neutral definition. As a morally neutral definition, it is incomplete because it is an insufficient support for law-abidingness. LawWhatever is necessary (for those who view the universe as a cosmos, and Socrates held this view) is good. If the product, law-abidingness, is good, the process, law, is good. A civic decree is not
abidingness

is

necessary.

necessarily good; nonetheless the law must be obeyed or the city disinte grates. The necessity of law-abidingness is derived from the value of the
city.

The

value of

the city is

assumed

here;

man

is the

political

animal.

Given this value,

matter,

men must preserve cities

they

will
at

do

so

Decent men, sider it good.

least,

obey the law, only if they believe the law to be good in some will obey or loyally adhere to law only if they
exhibits not

but

as a practical
way.

con

The Companion's definition

also a

only

moral

neutrality, but

basic democratic
more

prejudice.

According

to the Companion's definition

law is nothing

than what the

united people

than what the people say it is, decent gentlemen, men, will not consider themselves obligated by it. The Companion's definition recognizes only one source of authority, only one

nothing

more

say it is. Yet, if law is it is not simply good, and

basis for loyal acceptance, the people. It is therefore prejudiced or incom plete because there is another source of authority and loyal acceptance, the good. The rub, of course, is that the actual good is known only to the wise.

Socrates,
wise,

who appeared

to have abandoned

or

forgotten his analogy to the

good

reintroduces

it

with a vengeance.

Law is

opinion, according to
good
opinion

the agreement of Socrates and the

opinion.

True

opinion

is

Companion, and knowledge, the discovery of

philosophers.

is true for

reality, the

quest

the nature of

being,

the quest of

Being
agreement.

reality is harmonious, has an essential unity, an internal Because the Companion knows this he immediately raises the
or

obvious question :

how

can

law be

discovery

of

laws
to

are not always and everywhere the same?

reality when the fact is that The diversity of laws seems

reduces

destroy

the thesis that law is

good

opinion, and

it to

mere opin

ion,

opinion changed

by

whim and will.

Socrates

not

only

flatly

denies that the

diversity

of

laws

contradicts

106
the thesis that

Interpretation

law is true opinion, he also,

that

much

to the

amazement of

the

Companion,
"whether
and whether

suggests

they

consider

whether

we use always we
all

the

same

laws
or

or

law is actually diverse, different ones at different times,

of

use

the same,
statement

some

us

use

some,

and

others
points

others."11

In his longest

in the

dialogue,

the Companion

out that

the

diversity

of

laws is

so well

known that

anyone startled

"might

give

thou

sands"

of examples. missed

The Companion is clearly

that Socrates has

the obvious.

Socrates'

process and
or

reply is based on his initial distinction between law as a law as a product. A process brings about a result; it has an end
a
new series of

intention. In universally

analogies, Socrates
qualities. and

points

out

that there

are

recognizable

distinctive

Things that
all

weigh more

are considered are

to be heavier
to

everywhere

by

men,
all

and things that men.

just

are

considered

be just

everywhere

and of

by

The

same
and a

quality, then,

can

be discovered in

number

separate

things,

quality is that

which makes

everywhere admire certain things

something such as it is. The point is that men because they possess the quality of being

just,
from

even

though the specific things recognized as

having

this quality differ the

place
of

to

place and

time to time.

Thus,

men everywhere recognize

quality

beauty

in

women although

the actual women who are perceived

to possess this quality may in some places

be fat

and

in

other places

thin.
strik

The quality

perceived

is the

same although

the women

appear

to be

ingly

different. The intention

of

law is the

cepted as real everywhere and

discovery of reality, and realities by all men. The unity of law and
particularities of the

are

ac

thus its

dignity

are to

be found

not

in the

product,

civic

de

crees, but in the

process of

process a

discovering

discovering the quality of being real. As a distinguishing quality in distinct things at distinct
of

times, law is
good

attaining what is real or true, hence what is people at this time. The things in which the quality is dis covered, the resolutions and decrees, may, therefore, differ, but the process itself is the same everywhere, just as the process of weighing, the process
the process of

for these

of

discovering
As
a

degrees

of

heaviness in distinct things

at

distinct times, is
result, but
a

the same everywhere.

process, law is

intentional, it looks
no

to

specified

process can

fail. There is

necessity

that the process

laws,"

fully
civic

achieve

its in

tention. That "men

do

not use always the same

decrees, may
what

be
to

function

of

the fact that

reality."12

they "are

not always able

to discover
attain

the

law is intent

on

Therefore, "whoever
The

fails to

reality, fails
or

attain accepted law."13

Accepted law is the To the

product.

A failed

incom

pleted process

has its

no proper product. product.

ultimate

test of the process is the

are not

achievement of

extent

that things

loyally

ac-

Minos Reconsidered
cepted

107
of

they

are not

law

or

law

as process

has failed. The unity

law is the

product; a unity of tendency, not of conclusion; for is the unity unity of discoverable quality, and qualities mani fest themselves in distinct things to different degrees. One object may be heavy, but another may be heavier. The product, accepted law, is simply

unity
the

of

process,

not of

of process

the relative success or comparative consequence

moment of

of

the process,

not

its

harmony.
of

This way
the
notion of

looking

at

those who

are obliged

law, however, defies the common sense notion, to obey law, that the most important
they
tend to be. The
practical-

thing is
minded

what

the laws are, rather than what

Companion is simply
of

not convinced that

this is the most

useful or

fruitful way
time

thinking

about

law. Therefore, Socrates continues, but this

by

analogy to
and

a series of

highly

practical

arts, the

arts

of

medicine,
of

agriculture,

cooking,

all of which are

directed toward the health has its

the

body.

They
the art.

that the artisan

quickly agree that each of these is defined by his knowledge

of an art

arts

own

artisan,

and

of

the rules, the principles of

Knowledge

is the
or

point of

tors are those who share

in

are

unity among the artisans. Doc joined in the knowledge of medicine.

ailments at

Doctors treat different

places; their
edge of a process

people

for different

different
of

times and

common characteristic

is their knowledge

healing. Knowl
result) is
what

(what

actions will

bring

about a specified

makes a man an artisan.

All these
about a

arts are

processes,

they

consist of con

tinuous actions that

that the

bring

particular, designated
what

result.
and

What is it
where.

farmer knows? He knows

to fertilize
and

to plant,

when

He

knows

when

to

water and

how often, thus, to

objects

produce the

harvest. The
applied are

rules of the art are

uniform, but the

to

which

they
to

are

not; therefore the products will vary. The harvest is not the

same everywhere

because the
what each suitable or

soil and climate

differ from

place

place.

The farmer knows He knows

what

kind

of seed needs

to grow and to develop.

of seed.

is

fitting
as

for

each

kind

The true

artisan

assigns particular

functions,

the true farmer

distributes seeds,
universal

and

the
and

true

doctor

prescribes remedies, and the true cook apportions

nutrients,

the true statesman allots rights and the artisan's

duties. The

is to be found in

knowledge
he

of

the art or process he practices and not in the

individual

products who

produces.

Those
art, may
stunted.

are

not

farmers,

those who do not possess the farmer's their growth will be

plant

seeds, but the

seeds will not grow or

or

Thus,

only the true statesman

the practice of the statesman's art

produces real or

the statesman's art

or

rightfully accepted law. That which is not produced by is unlawful. The distinction between good and bad laws,
apparent

between

real

and

laws turns

out

to be

distinction between

108

Interpretation
and

knowledge
The analogy

ignorance

of process. and are

original or

analogy, the analogy between law

of products:

justice,
just."

was

an

equation

"the

law-abiding

The final
reality,
reality.

analogy is an analogy of processes. is equated with wisdom, which is The

Law,

the process of
of

also the process

discovering discovering
The kind

law-abiding
one

may be

just,

but the true lawgiver is

process of

wise.

product of

law is
virtue

kind

of

virtue, the

law is

another

of virtue.

One

is the

source of

law,

the other

is its

end.

The product,

law-abiding

ness, is just

thing

else.

because it is necessary to preserve cities and every The process, law, the distribution of rights and duties is wisdom
and good
art of

and good

because it is the
to the

preserving

cities.

As it turns out, the analogy

as opposed practitioners of

to the arts suggests that the

law-abiding,
but
not wise.

the statesman's art, are just

carefully follows his doctor's orders may become healthy, but that does not make him a doctor. Those who are not doctors must The
patient who

follow the doctor's

must

orders

that

they may be healthy. It is

the

unwise who

law-abiding they may be just. But, what about the wise, must they be law-abiding simply in order to be just? If law is an art, like medi not always. The rules of any art are actually cine, then the answer is no
that
reductions of a

be

broader

more extensive

body of knowledge.

The

art are prescriptions not

for

most

cases, for the ordinary

cases.

any It is difficult if

rules of

impossible to formulate bound

a rule

to cover every case. The true artisan is

understands the scope and

not

by

the rules

because he

limits

of

the

rules, because he

understands the whole of

of

the art, because he understands

reflections.

the principles of action

the art of which the rules are mere

man who

Thus,
the

the true

artisan

is the

knows

what

is best to do in

each

case,

extraordinary case, the unique case as well as the ordinary one. The true statesman is not simply bound by law, which is the general rule, the rule for
ordinary case, because he can recognize the extraordinary case, because he knows what to do in that case, and because he understands that the ordinary rule is not suitable, will not produce the intended result. The point is that law does
ence to
not produce

the wise man, it produces the

law-abiding
be just

man.

Obedi

law is

a substitute

for

wisdom.

The

wise can

without

being

law-abiding, but
If the be
true statesman's
who

the unwise cannot.

man

law-abiding
laws

is the

product of true
souls of

knowledge

or

if only the

are

best for the

men, the next question must

is the true

statesman?

consternation of the
man of

Companion, is
a son of

The true statesman, Socrates says, to the the Cretan King Minos. Minos was a

unsavory

reputation

among the

Athenians,
son

and a

figure

of

who was said

to be

Zeus,
are

the only

to be educated

antiquity by Zeus.
are

Why

is Minos the true

statesman?

unshaken,"14

because his laws

Because, still loyally

says

Socrates,
in

"his laws

accepted

a vital function-

Minos Reconsidered

109
whether or not as

ing

city, Sparta. The test

remain,"15

of

the good
a mere

lawgiver is
300 years,
the

"his

ordi

nances much

and not

for

those

of

Lycurgus, but
established

longer.
or

In the first

dialogue

section of

Minos, Socrates has

be the

that law is a process, a process that tends to

reality.

discovery

of a

quality,
to

In the last

or monologue section of

the

Minos, Socrates

appears

be saying that does end with

is
not

good
a

law is

ancient
and

crazy twist, necessarily good law.

law. If this simply is his point, the Minos the last section is incongruous; ancient law last section, I
of

The law
as a

understanding process. A process is

key

to

this

believe, is

the concept of

a series of continuous

actions, actions that

to

are connected and uninterrupted.

are not

The laws

Minos, according

Socrates,
time

laws that

are ancient

in the

sense of

having

existed at a given

and no point

longer exist, but rather ancient only in point of of termination. These laws are still in use by the
the

origin and not

in

Spartans,

and

the

best

of

Spartan laws

came

from Crete. The laws first

are still operating.

established

by
a

Minos

are continuous

actions,
remain

they
law.

Like

gold and stone

they

are

durable, they
or

particular result or product.

The

Furthermore, law as product of law, Socrates

The
of ultimate

a process

has

lawsuggests, is

abidingness,
ness of

is the

preservation of cities.
product.

test

of

the good

cessful.

any The

process

is its
as

The laws

Minos

as a process are suc

Spartans,
of all

Thucydides

and others

observed,

were

the most

law-abiding
mulation,
a

the

Greeks; thus, they

a people
and

were

according to
their city.

Socrates'

for

just people,
then

who

preserved

The Spartan
of

regime was notable

is

notable

in

all

history
are

for its longevity. The

or

laws

of

Minos do
is

preserve cities.

The very continuity

longevity

laws for

and regimes

presumptive evidence that

they

in

some

men,

evidence that

they function,

evidence

that law as a
and

way process is
says

good

working.

Law is the
evidence

process of

discovering

reality,

Socrates

the con

that Minos discovered reality is that his laws persist, his vincing laws have endured. The implication is that those laws which last are more
real

than those which

do

not. real

The

opposite

of the

real, then, is the

ephe

meral, the temporal. The

what exists

is

not

simply
are

what exists at

any
a

instant, but
that
of

continuously.

Laws that

transient have not

reflect a

captured

reality Socrates would what is good for men

rule of not
are

call

as

human nature, do not men. We who recognize

are

knowledge

distinction between
"laws"

law

and an ad

hoc decision
as

making the
"Laws"

same

basic point, though

carrying it

as

far
or

Socrates does.

that

do

not

last,

that

for this time

this people only may

be necessary
such

and even
are not

wise, but
the best
the

if law tends to be the

"laws"

discovery

of

reality,

laws. They are not law in the highest degree for they do highest level of reality.

not

attain

110

Interp re ta tion
Those laws
which

abide,

which closer

persist,

which

outlast

particular

place and

time

are

presumptively

to reality than those

about

which

do

not.

Or, tradition, law properly, law in the highest degree partakes of the timeless, "involves a perception, not "16 That which was, the only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence.
to paraphrase T. S. Eliot's statement

past,

and still

is,

the present, tends to

be

the real or comes closest to reality.

What is

past and present

is

man's nature reflect

those basic universal char

acteristics of man as man.

The true laws

the reality
that
a

of

human

nature.

Here Socrates
oped
law."17

might appear

to be making

a point

H.L.A. Hart devel

content of
un

and explicated

in

our

century, that there is

the

"minimum

natural

The

minimum content of

law is derived from the

changing
universal.

essence called

human

nature

the

basic needs, desires

men

and pur

poses which all men share.

On the

obvious

level, laws

against violence are and still are

They
If

continue, they

endure

because

have been

vulnerable.

men were

to

become invulnerable to land

crabs with an

invulnerable, if, to use Hart's example, "men were attack by each other, were clad perhaps like
impenetrable
carapace
. .

giant

then laws against

violence would not continue

to function for

they

would

have

no and

function.
meaning
not.

They

would

be

ancient

laws simply, laws

which once

had force

but do

not now.

Hart

attempts to ends

define the

minimum

content,

and

Socrates does

The Minos
good

by

raising

the question "what might that

be

which

the

lawgiver

and apportioner

distributes to the

soul

to make it

better?"10

But,
with

the question goes unanswered.

any particular law, is that law is a process, not

Socrates is unwilling to identify law particular content for his point in the Minos any
a product.

Socratic dialogues
are satisfied

are

dialectics,

and

the argument,

counterargument

process continues until the participants

have drained

their reason, until

they
or

that

they have

answered the question to the

best

of their abil

ities,
until

that

they have

clarified the problem and

a new

identified the alternatives,

that transcends the
of a new and

they have identified

The Minos
problem, the

problem,

one

original

problem.

concludes with the

problem of what

identification

trans

cendent

is the health
problem

of

the soul

or what

is

justice. This is
are

a new and

transcendent

because justice

and

law

different

processes.
section adds

What is it that the last

nature of

to the general

discussion
intent

of the
on

law? It
of a

completes the
reality.
and

teaching

that law is

a process

the

discovery

quality,

It

clarifies the

term reality

it from the transient

by distinguishing
and

the ephemeral. It corrects two prejudices, the the

Socrates'

democratic

prejudice

inherent in

osophic prejudice

inherent in

Companion's definition, definition.

that

the

phil

In the first section, Socrates

argues

"realities,

not

unrealities,

are

Minos Reconsidered
accepted

111

as

real,"20

in

order

to prove to the Companion that there

of

is

unity to
quality.
accepted

law despite the

diversity

laws,

unity based
attain

on

discovered
attain

He

concludes

that "whoever fails to

reality fails to

law."-1

last
only

section of

Thus, whoever attains accepted law, attains reality. In the Minos, Socrates finds an accepted law, one that is
place,
at one

the
not

accepted at one

time,

by

one

people, but

one

that is still

accepted

at

another

place, in
earlier

another

time,

by

another people.

The last
re

section modifies

the

thesis that law is an accepted reality. The

vised

thesis is that the best

law,

and

thus law properly, is a reality that is

process.

accepted over

time. Law is not just a process, it is an ongoing

Law is

a process of

discovering

realities; reality is a quality,

various as a

and quali

ties manifest themselves

in distinct things to

be

heavy, heavier

or

heaviest. Since

qualities

sary for Socrates to discuss the superlative answer the question what is law. By focusing

degrees, thing may in degrees, it is neces degree of law in order to fully

do
exist
our

attention on

still

func

tioning ancient law in the last section, Socrates habit and ancestral piety influence opinion and

reminds us of the are supports

fact that

for law. More for law. A

or

importantly, he
"law"

reminds us of

the reason why

they

are supports

of short

duration has

not attained accepted reality.

Acceptance

consent

is convincingly expressed by tinued observance indicates intention is the

continuous or repeated action.

or

Con

is

evidence

of

deliberate
or

action.

Custom is the
observance

ultimate and ubiquitous sign of assent. most stringent of all of

Time
and

time-honored

tests for

law,
or

thus the test for

the superlative

degree

law, for law properly

democratic
of

Socrates
tion
not

corrects the

prejudice of

nothing else. the Companion's defini

and

law

by finding
be merely

the point

intersection

of wisdom and consent. good and

Law

can

state opinion

if law is something

noble; it

must

be

the coincidence of state opinion and true opinion. The point of intersection

between

state opinion and true opinion or

between

consent and wisdom

uninterrupted

is,

according

to the

last

section of

the

dialogue,

continuity,

func
the

tionality. It is ancient
a

law, but only if

ancient

law is

understood as understood

an on as

going activity, living tradition, only if currency or presence of the past. Good
tant to

ancient

law is
gold

law, like

and

stone, is

resis

decay.
corrects a philosophic prejudice
us of the

He

inherent in his

own

definition

of

law

by

reminding

Socrates said, is
nition and the

a quest

for reality, but

difference between philosophy and law. Law, so is philosophy. The Socratic defi
a second source

for

law, namely
comes

analogy to the arts have not only established wisdom, but have grossly neglected the

source,

consent.

Socrates
ophy
as

other necessary In overcoming the Companion's democratic prejudice, dangerously close to equating law as a process with philos

a process.

But, law is

not

the

same

process

as

philosophy.

Law

112

Interpretation

has

somewhat

different its

goal

than

philosophy.

toward reality; thus

end or goal

is

wisdom simply.

Philosophy is directed But, law is directed

simply, but
wisdom

toward accepted reality, that

receives

thus; its

goal

is

not wisdom

favor

or consent

loyal

acceptance.

essential

to

law

though not to philosophy.

Continuity, therefore, is Continuity is a proof of the ex

cellence of

law, Ironically,
answer

but it is

not a proof of

the

excellence of philosophy.

the Minos ends where

but the

transformation ties the

originally supplied because it has been

it began, with things loyally accepted, by the Companion has undergone a

its internal
complexi not
again.

taken apart and

displayed before

being
not

put
of

back together law

as

Socrates did

reject|

Companion's definition

things

loyally

accepted, rather, he
was missing?

found it
What

incomplete,
Socrates'

more

sufficiently informative. What then did Socrates want to know? insistence the dialogue

At
or

continued and as a result

directly
in

indirectly
of

raised and considered the

following
authority?

questions:

What is the
end or

source of

law? What is the basis for its

law? Who

What is the

tention

is,

or who should

be the lawgiver? Is the law

not always

always on men

binding
How

on men?

Is the lawgiver bound? If it is is it law

not

binding

on what principle
often should

binding? Can law Is law

good?

change?

Should law

change?

change?
was

The Companion
accepted.

right

when

he

said

that law is things

loyally
King

Socrates has taken

are

us

why they Minos, is

loyally

accepted.

full circle, and in so doing he has The monologue section, the section
a

clarified
on

not an

incongruity, but
elements

necessary

conclusion.

The

separation of

law into its basic is difficult

teaches us why the question

What is Law?

or problematic.

But,

the elements must

and consent

be

rejoined

for law has

These

two sources, wisdom

two surces must

(true opinion)

(civic

opinion).

be reunited, and this is what the final section does. The Minos is a coherent and intelligible whole which clarifies
understanding
of

and

expands our

law

by defining
and

its

essential

qualities,

tinguishing

the

universal characteristics of

law from the particular,

by dis by dem
to
wisdom

onstrating the unity and dignity of law, the force of tradition and continuity as
and consent.

by directing

our

attention

necessary link between

All

quotations

from the Minos

are

drawn from W.R.M. Lamb's translation,

published

dialogues translated in Plato, Press in 1964 as part of the Loeb Series. 2 p. 389.
one of seven

by

the

Harvard

University

"p. 391.
"p. 393.
6

Ibid.

Minos Reconsidered
"

1 13

Ibid. Ibid.
Ibid.

7
>

"

Ibid.

10

Ibid.;
pp. p.

emphasis added.

"p. 397.
12 13

395-97.

401.
411.
Talent,"

"p. 419.
15

p.

,6T.S. Eliot, "Tradition and the Individual (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1950), p. 4, emphasis

Selected Essays of T.S. Eliot

added.

"H.L.A. Hart, The Concept

189-195.

of

Law

(Oxford:

Clarendon Press,
Law
and

1961),

pp.

Law Review (Feb.

"H.L.A. Hart, "Positivism and the Separation 1958), p. 623.

Morals,"

of

Harvard

,!,p. 421.
2upp. 399, 401. 21 p. 401.

114

ROUSSEAU'S CIVIL RELIGION

Charles M. Sherover Hunter College

I From
within a

contemporary

perspective

it

seems

strange

that

Rousseau's Social Contract,

of

an attempt

to

establish

fundamental

principles
Religion."

free polity, should conclude with a chapter entitled "Civil Yet, I would urge that this is entirely appropriate, that its essential thrust is integral to the entire work. I also want to suggest that the principle of

democratic thought it

embodies enables us

to judge

its

relevance

to

con

temporary
Its

concerns.

prominent place at

the conclusion of the essay and its length con

regarded

join to
point

suggest that
an

Rousseau

it

as quite

important. Its

essential

is

unfortunately
of

underdeveloped

the

doctrine
essential

the general will and,

indeed,

of

but necessary rounding out of its presuppositions. Restated,

within

its

thrust speaks

directly

to current disputes

the

house

of

democratic doctrine.
In the Social Contract Rousseau turned away from
speculative anthropology.
us earlier

interests in

Rather,

as

Cassirer

pointed

in this essay into an intellectual milieu common This essay, as George Kelly noted, "is not history but
cerned with

out, Rousseau takes Kant.1 to Leibniz and to

logic."2

It is

con

the social logic

of

freedom. The
possible?

ground

question

the work is this:

of

how is

free society

The

concern

animating for "Principles

Political

Right,"

dental : its

concern

its telling subtitle, is, to use a Kantian term, transcen is to delineate the possibility of a free society by explicat

undergirding structure that such a society must incorporate, in which that necessary structure would be simultaneously both enabling and limiting. The work is designed to show forth principles of social organization that must necessarily be brought to function in a social order if that social order is to be a free society, if it is to be consti
requisite
and

ing the

the ways

tutionally
and

governed, if it is to

secure

if it is to

develop

man's

destiny

and

freedom in the human community, dignity as a free moral being.

//

If,

as

Rousseau maintained, the

parent of that

"moral

freedom,

which
moral

alone renders man

truly

master of himself"3

is the

civil

state, then the

values and outlook of a people ground

their
of

social commitment and

define
the

the scope,
government

limitations

and

authorities

the society

they build

and

they

maintain

to administer it. The

nature of the social

com-

Rousseau 's Civil Religion

pact, the
areas of common concern and

115

it

defines,

the privacies together

obligations

rights

outlook of a people.

it mandates, The companion

are

grounded

it enjoins, the in the moral

and

principles of popular

sovereignty

the general will join to make the nature of public opinion

and modes of expression

its operating the fundamental to values, customs, society they when support: "The opinions of a people spring from its constitution legislation becomes impaired, morality degenerates."4 These fundamental
.

operating
religion.

moral

value

commitments
of their

have

historically

been

epitomized

in

And it is because

fundamental import to the health

turns to the civil
religion

of a

free society that Rousseau

mizes

finally

which

epito

them.
concern with

The

religion, then, is

not

theological.

Apparently
extended with

follow

ing

Machiavelli's lead in the Discourses, Rousseau's

discussion

concerns cance

itself,

not with theological

doctrines

as

such, but

their signifi

for

societal organization.
structure of

The
concern.

his 35-p:iragraph
paragraphs

chapter underlines are an

his

social moral

The first fourteen

historical

prolegomenon

to

his

argument:

first,

seven paragraphs examine religions of

the

ancient

world,

and a second

seven

the political implications of the conversion to Chris

paragraphs
analyze

tianity.

The

next

sixteen

three types

of

religious

out

look
sion,

and

draw lessons from this

analysis.

one paragraph reintroduces

the "principles of

Finally, building [political]

profession of what

on

that discus
right"

as the

criterion

to be invoked and, in four brief paragraphs, he brings the

analysis

together

by indicating

the

nature of

the "civil

faith."

Of the three types

of

of religions

discerned,

is

called the

"religion

is promptly dismissed primarily because it divides men's political ecclesiastical and loyalties between authority and offers contra
the
priests"

dictory standards

for piety and But Rousseau's titles for the

citizenship.5

other

two
tell

the "religion of
us

man"

and

the "religion of the

salvaged

citizen"

immediately

that something

is to be

from each; that each, denuded of its shortcomings, has a con tribution to make to that common faith in freedom which he seeks to

delineate.
he identifies as being "without altars, without internal limited to the rites, worship of the supreme God and to the purely eternal duties of morality, [it] is the pure and simple religion of the Gospel, law."0 It enjoins the true Theism, and what may be called the natural divine The "religion
man"

of

fraternal bond
just
and

and elicits a

devotion to
of

the

moderate

administration

duty, a lack of civic corruption, the law, and a lack of vanity,

offer a social

luxury
but it

or ostentatious vitiates this

and

display. It

seems

to

bond among men;

of

in the
so

body

politic

earthly life

by

universalizing

by kinship

minimizing the import

as

this

to

undercut

loyalty

to one's

116
own

Interpretation

community; it leaves

legislation, then,

without

moral

force;

and

the

meekness

it

encourages mitigates opposition

to home-grown

tyranny
enemies.

while

endangering What then

combines

the defense of the community

of

against external

the "religion
of

of

the

citizen"?

worship
the

God

with

love
it

of

the

favor, we see that it law; by identifying community

In its
the
social

service with

service of

God,

sanctions

bond

and provides
"true"

a moral
religion

justification for
to
one's own

social service.

But it does this

all

country,
such

thereby casting
and

restricting foreigners into the

subjects

by

role

of

infidels. Based

on

falsehood, it

renders

its

superstitious,

sanguinary,
others.

encourages

intolerance

leads to

perpetual states of war with

Yet
ciled? us of

each

has something
the test
of

positive

to

offer.

How

are

they

to be

recon

Invoking
of public
with

the principle

Rousseau reminds utility for the social exercise of that the just sovereignty may not "pass the
good,7

limits
itself

utility."8

Sovereignty
community.9

may not, therefore, rightly

concern

the opinions of the citizens except to the extent that

of

they

are of

belief The only that is of social concern is the morality it preaches. The community, based on commitment to the social bond, is then to leave whatever is in the way of speculative opinion or ritualistic practice to the privacy of the indi import to the life
the
aspect of religious vidual citizen.

What is

sought out

of

the "religion

man"

of

is

a a

devotion to

prin

ciples of social

morality

and

responsibility for others,

not

feeling

of

kinship
What

for is

other communities

that do

trample

on one's

own,

and a conviction

of ultimate sanction sought out of a

for the

moral nature of one's social commitment.

citizens"

the "religion of the

is devotion to the
and an

social

bond

itself,
moral

determination to defend its principles, force of public with divine service

.

identification

of the

This dialectical

synthesis

leads to the
as

faith,"

"purely
title,

civil profession of

not as a set of religious noted

dogmas, but
not

"sentiments

of

sociability."10

Be it
word

that Rousseau's the word

text, if

the chapter
a

substitutes

for the

"religion"

"faith."

For

liberated

child

of

Geneva,

it

was

but

natural
or

to seek the commitment to a free community, not

out of

inherited
mini

imposed

dogma, but

out of a

freely

ordered statement of of

unifying

mal

common
of

faith. The

components
us

this free confession,

defining

the

bond
with

citizenship, he tells
; the

"ought to be simple, few in number,

or commentaries.

stated

precision,
. .

and without explanations

.

The

existence

life to come; the happiness of the just; the punish Deity ment of the wicked; the sanctity of the Social Contract and of the Laws; As for the negative dogmas, I limit them to one only, that is intoler
of the

ance; it

belongs

to the creeds which we have

excluded."11

Rousseau 's Civil Religion

117

7/7
faith"

Embedded in this
are at of
or

proposal

for

"purely

civil

profession
approach

of

least five issues

which merit consideration: of

(i)

the

in terms

(ii) justice; (iii) banishment; (iv) social utility; and, (v) the condemnation of intolerance. (i) That we today regard it as somewhat odd that the import of
religion; the questions
theism and
exclusion

divine

commitment

to constitutional procedures should

us

be introduced in terms

of

religion, tells

free

societies
of

Citizens
always

something of how far we have come and the extent to which have effectively accepted the thrust of Rousseau's thesis. modern democratic states take for granted the de facto, if not
separation of church and state.

de jure,

But in Rousseau's time there

was no such separation : each state

had

an established religion and persecu

tion of religious

dissidents
knew.12

was

fairly

common.

Thus, Rousseau's

mode of of

formulating
only
politics

the question

of social value commitment was

in terms

the

he

What he

called

the "religion of the

citizen,"

i.e.,

the national church, was the common mode even

if

"priestly"

often

in

char

acter,
what

and

only

few

philosophers and
of

heretical

reformers

openly

espoused

he termed the "religion Against the

man."

established practice of call

his time, then, this

entire chapter

may be
siastical

seen as

for secularization, as a call for eccle revolutionary disestablishment, for sectarian toleration, and for confessional free
a

dom.
the

Indeed,
of

the call for a

"purely
for

faith"

civil profession of access

coupled with

denial
But

the

right of

sovereignty to

to opinions that are not of

social consequence
above

is for

a call

secularization of

the

that implicit call for

moral

secularization

is

body politic. an "overriding

which

con

strength"

cern with the need

behind the laws

function to
civil with

express
religion

the social compact.

As

is

...

radical,

even

Grimsley has urged, "the ideal of desperate, attempt to provide the State
men."13

an ultimate sanction capable of

if
of

we

do believe that
then we are

what

putting the law above is desirable is a "government

problem of

And, indeed,
laws
and not

of

men,"

bound to face the force

against

how to sanctify the law

of criminal

in

order

to

give

it

moral

the anarchy
and

disregard,

the

demagogic If

programs of would-be

usurpers,

in

the

face

of national
what would

emergencies.

not

something
of

akin

to a civil profession of

faith,

the critic

suggest?

(ii) What, then,

ciple was still part of

requiring belief in God? In his epoch, this prin witness both Locke's exclusion of liberal doctrine
the civil state, and the theological grounding

atheists
of

(and

Catholics) from
of

Jefferson's Declaration

Independence. But in

our

epoch,

when

large
any

numbers regard themselves as agnostics or atheists,

meaningfulness

how

shall we see

in Rousseau's

point?

118

Interpretation

Rousseau's

conviction was that the commitment to the values of

free

dom is fundamental. The legitimate state, he urged, is grounded in the moral freedom of its citizens; the enhancement of that freedom is the fruit

community interdependence and the only justification for the limitations on each individual's "natural
of
liberty."

consequent

But human
explanatory.

freedom,
was

most

philosophers

would

agree, tells

is
us,

not

self-

It

Rousseau's conviction,

Grimsley
absolute
not

that

its
the

"meaning
freedom is
if

is determined

by [its]

relation

to

an

Being

God,

unique source of all a neutral

values."14

Rousseau did
a mere

believe that the

value of

preference,

whim,

a cultural

idiosyncracy,
It is the

or,

one presses

it,

a moral option.

The

commitment to

freedom is the funda

supreme

mental moral requirement social

laid down

upon men qua men.

it is the common ground of individual morality as of free freedom is what makes morality possible. It is then the social community; value for the sake of which all else is to be measured.
value:

Such For those

a supreme value

must

have

some

ultimate

ontological

ground.
of

who reject the

theist conviction, the problem posed is that

which

justifying

the freedom in

belief

as

fundamental is

claimed.

For

committed

theist, the ultimate ground of such an ultimate value God. But however grounded and however justified, what is really here is the fact that a free society requires a basic commitment to
freedom
as

must

be

at

issue

the idea

of

foundational,
of

as prerequisite

to its

other value commitments

and

to the development

its

social organization as a

free

political

entity.

In like manner,
of

free society

requires

its

citizens to regard the

defense

its laws
of

as

a moral

responsibility.

way

asking the

citizen

to accept

A belief in divine justice, then, is a the principle of an ultimately founda his fellow-citizens
and with
a

tional

responsibility for his

then
of

moral conduct with

the social bond which unites them

into

free

community.
whoever refuses

(iii) What
profession

the proposition that

to accept the think

of faith may be Rousseau's language may be ciate what is behind it.

justifiably

banished? Although I

that

somewhat excessive,

it is important to is

appre

We

should

first he

note

that

Rousseau's

"must"

operative verb

not

but

"may";
but
an
accept

the most

proposes option.

is that banishment is
stated
reason

not a societal obligation one

open social

His

is that

who

refuses

to

as

rudimentary civil profession has rendered himself "as unsociable, incapable of sincerely loving law and justice."15
a

If
of

acceptance of

the social contract

and

participation

in the

forming
seem

the general will is the ground for societal membership,

it

would

reasonable

to

expect

that one who

declined

to

do

so

had

excluded

himself

from the

rights that ensue

from

such

membership.

As such, Rousseau has

citizens;16

suggested, he has

freely

chosen

to live

as a

foreigner among

the

Rousseau 's Civil Religion

privileges

119
are

that are accorded to

him

by

the society, then,

his

by

social

sufferance and not

by

participatory
a

right.

Participation in
entire argument of mitment

legitimate society is
urges

fundamentally

voluntary.

The

the Social Contract

that it enails a two-fold com

or

by

each citizen

to the general value-consenus of the society

else, how

could one participate

in

forming

the general will?

and

to the

agreed-upon procedures

honoring

of which

for translating those values into specific laws, the becomes a prime social responsibility. He who declines
he
who

to accept such conditions of citizenship, as

conditions

declines to

accept

the

for membership, to have renounced his eligibility for belonging, for sharing its ities, and thereby the right to its privileges.
a club
on applicants

imposes

its

would

seem

responsibil

A legitimate society
citizen and sibilities.

rests

on

reciprocity
obligations,
an

of of

community,

of rights and

relationship between freedoms and respon

refusal

In the fullest logical sense, then,

social

individual's voluntary

to

accept

responsibility
to that

society to
ment and

respond

refusal.

to the

common right of of

the equally voluntary right of the This community option is the comple the citizenry to revoke the social compact itself
entails

the right

the individual to resign his

seen

citizenship
resign

and

withdraw.

Plato had
right

which

already Locke for

societal

that

the

right

to

without

penalty

(a

macy

of the

compromised17) is fundamental to the legiti demand that its laws be obeyed. Rousseau invokes
one

this principle for the right of revocation and accepts the citizen's right to
resign as so alized right

basic that he does

to
resign and claim

not

take the trouble to argue

it;

this

unpen-

leave

would seem
on

to be

an acid test of

any

society's

legitimacy
Rousseau
principle and

in its

that it rests

the consent of its members.

Alhough

our

own

punishments

for

social

infractions

are

less than

seems

to have proposed,

we

still, in large measure, honor his

to the

that free

residence entails consent

laws
to

of

the community to

its

procedures

for

deciding

upon

them:

we seek

catch and claim

while protecting their right to challenge debate. But the contemporary presence of the civil pro fession is especially evident with regard to both new citizens and office holders at whatever level. We require each to take an oath, in God's name, to support the fundamental law. Deportation (banishment) for immigrant

punish those who

break the laws

those laws in

open

citizens and alties

disgrace
who

of

impeachment for
as

office-holders

are allowable pen

laws.",s

for those

have,

Rousseau

stated

it,

"lied before the

(iv)

We then face the

addressed.

question of social utility.

Implicitly

this theme

has already been

works, the

utilitarian

appeal,

without clear

criteria, is

worse than useless.

mature one

Whatever directions he may have pursued in earlier Rousseau who gave us the Social Contract was, as
pointed

Cassirer for

has

out,

emphatic:

1 20 Against
mere

Interpretation

feeling, Rousseau
of

affirmed

the

omnipotence of nature

[in the form

of naked

primacy of reason; against the domination and natural instincts]

with

he

appealed
will.19

to the idea

freedom

in

accordance

the

demands

of

ethical

The fundamental issue is the issue

gence of
of

of

freedom. It is this that the

man

emer

the civil state brought into

civil

being; by taking

out of

the state

nature,
an

into
of

society "transformed him from a stupid and ignorant animal intelligent being and a Beyond all other accomplishments
man."2"

the civil state, we are to celebrate that "moral

freedom,

which

alone

renders man

truly

master of

himself."21

The
entitled

question of social
State"

utility then has

which

a clear answer

in the

chapter

"The Civil

is,

after

all,

what

the Social Contract is

answer

all about.

To the query,
values

"utility
of

for

what?,"

Rousseau's

is

clear:

all

other

social

equality,

harmony,

prosperity,

peace

are

rendered

subsidiary.

On this primacy

the value of

freedom there is

no ground

for

The meaning of a legitimate society is that it any is a free society, opening up for its citizens the opportunities of freedom. And the specific freedoms or rights the community accords its citizens, the
charge of equivocation.

it demands from them in return, are to be judged, eval uated, by this one test: do they help or hinder the health of a society dedicated to maximizing freedom for each in ways com patible with the freedom for all.
specific obligations approved or condemned

(v) Finally,
in
one
word

we

"intolerance."

may turn to the one negative dogma which is Does this not confirm what I have

named urged? subver

Intolerance, by insisting
sive of

freedom for

all.

freedom for only some, is Intolerance cannot be part of

on

immediately
the

a civil profession of
mandated

faith in the

possibilities of

freedom
that

and cannot come under

protection of a portunities of

community freedom for all.

has dedicated itself to maximizing the op In a free society, a commitment to intolerance

is itself intolerable.
IV

G. D. H. Cole has
"is the
cal

pointed out that the principle of the general will political

institutions."-2

application of

human freedom to
to the

Free

politi

institutions in

require the whole-hearted commitment of a

value of

free citizenry;
are

they
ways

require commitment which

freedom
and

and to

the agreed-upon to be
re

disputation is to be

protected

disputes

solved.

Free

political

institutions

require a commitment

to their fundamen

tal structure and the procedures

by

which

their values are to

be brought

forth

and

developed.

Rousseau 's Civil Religion

121
which specific
rights and

That

commitment

defines the

area

within

obligations are

to be accorded, recognized,

protected and enforced.

It

would

seem the rights and privileges which ensue from that commitment may only be claimed, as a matter of right, by those who have made it, by those who have assented to the social contract which is the concomitant of the value-

consenus social

or

general

will

defining

and

epitomizing the dedication

of

the

bond.
accord

privileges

That community may well choose, for its own reasons, to to those who reject its foundational principles; but if it
privileges

its

does, they
and not

enjoy those

by

sufferance and not

are within

by

right. of

If

all specific rights

and privileges against

in

free society

the terms to

the contract

it,

then no free

who

do

not

society is believe in them; it is

obligated

accord

its freedoms to those

to its
not
pro

not obligated

to

accord access who

cedures

for discussion
it.'-3

and resolution of

debate to those

do

believe

in free debate. It is
would subvert

not obligated

to

protect

the intolerance of those who

Rousseau's
the need

principle

in the purely

civil profession of

of

faith is that

of

for

a commitment

to the import

the possibilities of freedom. It

is

a recognition

that free institutions

require a

kind

of

devotion

akin

to that

traditionally
an

associated with religious commitment.

It is

a recognition that

organized

members

and not

the

loyalty

community must be able to presuppose the loyalty of its only in war; a free society must be able to presuppose and good faith of its members in that "eternal that free
criticism that
urged us

vigilan

mandates the

is the

price of

liberty

at

home

as well. of political
of

Cassirer had
right"

to

recognize

Rousseau's "principles
and

as

providing "a thoroughly contemporary

living

means

ap
can civil

proaching
understand

[contemporary
why for
of
a
renewal

political]

problems."24

In this

light,
crisis

we
of

Lincoln, anticipating in
of

1 848 the

looming

war,

called

that

"political
we
can

religion"

"perpetuation

free

institutions";

remember

necessary for the that Weimar Ger

contributed
our

many's abandonment of the

being

led to the loss

of

limit excluding intolerance its own freedom in 1933 and to

can appreciate

to its

being
a

brought
call

close to

losing

ours; we

the force
of

of

John Dewey's in

for

a renewal of

dedication to the "religion it

would still

democracy"

world, be it

noted, in

which

be the

confession

of

political

faith

by

minority Rousseau's
tion

of

the world's population.

principle

is that the

quest

for freedom is

a moral obliga

for

all.

But

civic

freedom is

a political right

only for those

who would

be free; only those who are ready to commit themselves, in the most fun damental terms, to the obligations of freedom have a right to claim it for
themselves.

122
'

Interp re ta tion
Ernst

Cassirer, The Question

of

Jean-Jacques

Rousseau,

trans.

Peter

Gay

(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1963), cf. pp. 70, 82, 111-13. 2 George Kelly, Idealism, Politics and History (Cambridge: Cambridge Univer
sity

Press, 1969),
3

p.

57.
ed.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, Annotated Edition, Rev. trans., & intro. Charles M. Sherover (New York: New American Library, 1974) Par. 57.
4
a

Ibid., Par. 404. Ibid., Par. 424.

"I bid., Far. 423.

Ibid., cf. Par. 425. 'Ibid., Par. 439. "Ibid., Par. 439. 10 Ibid., Par. 440. "Ibid., Par. 441.
12

'

One in

might well refer

to John Cuddihy's No Offense: Civil Religion

and

Prot
of

estant

Taste (New York: The

which

Seabury Press, 1978), for

social

an

illuminating discussion
made a

the ways

American

political and

practice

have

distinction be

tween ecclesiastical
13

religion and a civil religion of custom and manners.

Ronald Grimsley, The Press, 1973), p. 114.

"

Philosophy

of Rousseau

(London:

Oxford

University

op. cit., p. 72, cf. p. 92. Rousseau, op. cit., Par. 440. mIbid., cf. Par. 327. " Cf Locke, Second Treatise of Civil Government, #191, which seriously abro gates it; cf. Par. 327 and footnote, The Social Contract; cf. Plato, Crito, 51-2. 18 Rousseau, op. cit., Par. 440. 10 Cassirer, op. cit., p. 99. 20 Rousseau, op. cit., Par. 55. 21 Ibid., Par. 57. 22 G. D. H. Cole, Rousseau, The Social Contract (New York: Everyman, 1913, rpt. 1938), p. xxxv.

Grimsley,

15

"Introduction,"

23

The U.S. Supreme Court's famous judgment that

only
when

subversive
of

speech

should

be

allowed

there is "'no

clear

and

danger"

present

its

success

is

clear

application of
"'

Rousseau's
op.

principle.

Cassirer,

cit.,

p.

37.

123

SARTRE AND THE DECADENTS

Edith Hartnett

University
At the turn
called
Huysmans'

of Chicago

of

themselves

the century in France there was a group of writers who Decadents and whose locus classicus was Joris-Karl
or

A Rebours,
of
other

Against Nature,
of

although

this paper
and

refers

to

the work

members

the

group.

Their lives

work

were

characterized

by

disgust for

the modern world and an

rather

immersion in

art.

They

espoused

a vague

religiosity
and

than

faith;

that
as

is, they

adored

the ritual and artifacts of the Church.

They

viewed

love

impossible

and

human

brutal. Violence, sadism, and satanism fascinated them. Moral judgment gave way to aesthetic judgment: things
relations as perverse

were good pessimism

in

proportion as

they

excited
and

the

senses.*

As
and

a result of their

about

human

nature

social

progress,

thirst

for sensation, they

of glamour and

were attracted to extremist

especially their politics. What might

be

called

their aesthetic view of their

life

surrounded

the strong man with a

halo
aims.

senses

were

piqued

by

violent

methods

and

These

were

welcome

means

of

bourgeois

routine and the capitalist mercantile orientation of the

all

surmounting the boredom of Republic.

Virtually
were

the Decadents were

monarchist,

and corporatist not out

integral nationalists, that is, Catholic, of conviction but merely because these

traditionally French. Their

of

chief

leader
the
was

the ultra-right Action Francaise. The

Action

Franchise, however, is
and and said

not

Charles Maurras, thing to be stressed about but that it that it was "right
spokesman

was

wing"

totalitarian
"left"

extreme,

and moot.

indeed the distinction between the

ex

tremes of

"right"

is

It has been

that Decadence died at the

can

beginning

of

the twentieth
ennui

century, but I think it paradoxically,

so much

be

shown

that the

aesthetics mark on

of

had,

vitality that it has left its

French intel

lectual life to this day.

among French Existentialists has used Decadent images to illustrate his philosophical categories, and he alone has transposed

Jean-Paul Sartre

alone

these into a

considerable

body

of

fiction.

political positions consistent with

Moreover, he alone has advocated Decadence, and acquired a reputation as

call

something
It

of a political sage. seem paradoxical to

might

Sartre

Decadent,
you

is

not

entirely described
substance

by
of

that

label. But

once

certainly he look at his philoand

*This is the

Nietzsche's

attack on

Wagner

as

decadent. See Contra

Wagner.

1 24
sophical and of

Interpretation

literary

strategies

(in this

case strategies
a

Decadence become

obvious.

His literature is

is the word), elements dramatization of his

various attempts at

philosophy,

and also an expression of

frustration in his

political activism.

his first novel, La Nausee, Sartre (Roquentin) discovers that the nausea from which he has been suffering is not a
Near the
end

of

metaphysical

condition,

nor

has it

ever of

been he

physiological

one.

It is

consciousness

itself,

the condition

being-in-the-world : "it is
as

me."

This

revelation comes

to Roquentin
an

contemplates
apart

the repulsive

from any meaning tree, or utility. All appearances melt, "leaving soft, monstrous masses, in dis order Existence has a naked, with a frightening, obscene
gnarled roots of a chestnut
nakedness."1

"etre-en-soi,"

given superabundance

about

extent,"

to the
not
view

point of

it; anything "mildew, blisters,

hint

that exists has to "exist to that

obscenity."2

Obviously
ago,
a as though

one need
poet

existence

in this light. Where

things to create he
efforts of an

some of

centuries

like

Spenser
so

saw

in

nature's profusion a

God's

love,

he knew itself:

many

wonderful

couldn't

stop, Sartre
on

sees a pointless right

redundancy, like the

insect fallen
was

its back to
sickly,

"generosity,
itself."3

far from it. It

(existence)

dismal,

encumbered

by

The only connection that Roquentin can find among separate existents is superfluity. Everything is superfluous, unnecessary, including

himself. This too is

myself, to

condition of

being. "I dreamed vaguely

these superfluous existences.

of

killing

destroy
would

at

least

one

of

But my

death itself blood

on

have been
.

superfluous.

Superfluous,
received

these

pebbles.

And the decomposed flesh

would

would

my corpse, my have been

and also

superfluous

in the I

earth

which neat

have
as

it,

finally,

cleaned, stripped,
was

and

clean all

teeth,

would

my bones, have been

reflection

superfluous;

superfluous

for

time."4

This

morbid

demonstrates

that reasons, explanations, causes

have nothing to do

with

the world of existence. That world

is

absurd.

Any

given

by

which

Sartre

means the world of phenomena or

matter, is

being-in-itself, inexplicable,

a word that is usually translated as viscous, but in Sartre's is close to slimy. In Being and Nothingness there is ontology something an entire section devoted to the slimy. The root as well as each of its

absurd, visqueux,

qualities

flowed,
be

"half-solidified,"

eluded one's
shaken off

hands if

one

grasped

at

it

and could not

if

one seized

it. It

was

resistant,
the

with a passive

aggression

but
are

also

amounting to hostility. The blackness of seemed like "a bruise or again a secretion,
an

root seemed
"
.
.

black

a yoll.

Qualities
that

sticky, oozy wounds,

"ignoble

jelly"

that

Roquentin hates,
awareness
of

makes

him

furious,

that he cannot shake off.

Superfluity
fundamental fact

and

contingency

are

absolute.

The

this

about

being

in the

world

is

nausea:

"it turns

your stomach

Sartre
over."

and

the Decadents

125

This is
to

what

the

"Bastards"

(Sartre's

word

for the

bourgeoisie,
elsewhere

Barres'

equivalent and

barbares) try
have
no

to hide beneath their self-complacency

their sense of their rights, and this

deception is

what

Sartre

calls

"bad

faith."

They

rights, these

being

purely contingent,
through love
over

and

the

bourgeois perfectly superfluous like After giving up all hope of

and

everyone else.

"transcendence"

the

horror
of an

absurdity

of

being,

or

through writing

biography
of,"5

(the

record

himself to the "deep, deep boredom, the deep heart of existence, the very matter I am made the Decadent ennui. Then follows a long reflection on the Bastards, the idiots, them: the
resigns

existence), Roquentin

bourgeoisie

and

their smug conviction that the world

is

governed

by

gravity,

timetables,

and other reliable

laws. But

What if something
started palpitating?

were

to happen? What if all of a sudden it

(being

or

nature)

the omens are

and

That may happen at any time, straightaway perhaps: there. For example, the father of a family may go for a walk,

he

will see a red

rag coming towards him

when covered with

across

the street, as if the

wind

were

blowing

it. And

the rag gets close to him he will see that it is a

quarter of rotten

meat,

dust, crawling

and

hopping

along, a piece

of tortured

flesh rolling in the gutters and spasmodically shooting out jets of blood. Or else a mother may look at her child's cheek and ask him: "What's
that
pimple?"

And

she

will

see

the flesh

puff

up slightly,

crack

and

split

open,

and

at

the bottom of the split a third eye, a

will

laughing

eye,

will

appear.

feel something gently brushing against their bodies, like the caresses reeds give swimmers in a river. And they will realize that their clothes have become living things. And somebody else will feel something scratching
Or
else

they

inside his
will

mouth.

And he

will

go

to

mirror, open his

mouth:

and

his tongue

have become a huge living centipede, rubbing its legs together and scraping its palate. He will try to spit it out, but the centipede will be part of himself
and

he

will

have to tear it

out with

his

hands.0

We know from Simone de Beauvoir's

memoirs7

that Roquentin

is here

expressing Sartre's as though Hume's necessity

medieval nature
or

own

sense

of

the radical contingency of phenomena;

causal of

proposition

that
some

laws have
more

no

demonstrable
visions of

were

illustrated Judgments

by
or

the

gruesome of

Last

the

nightmare

suspensions

normative

depicted

by

Huysmans'

favorite fin de
and

siecle

painters, Felicien Rops

Odilon Redon. In both Huysman

at the

Sartre

we

find the "deep,

deep
at

boredom"

heart

of existence

compensated, avenged,

by

an obsessive
placed

ecstatic concentration upon physical

horror. In Sartre's But

an

case

it is

the service

of

his

ontological constructions.

insistent

question arises:

is this

a genuine ontological
reserved

bastards,

intuition? If so, why are the terms salauds, exclusively for the bourgeois? Certainly the contingency

126

Interpretation
of all

absurdity descriptive of
alone.

and

existence, the

sheer

horror

of

being,

cannot of of

be

posited as

life

and at the same

time the property

are

the

middle class

Faith, of guilty reply they shielding themselves from the truth about the human condition, than any other class. But surely his excursions into psychoanalysis have taught him
Sartre
would

that

more

Bad

enough about act of

the

human

psyche of

to know that his reply would itself

be

an

Bad Faith. The habit

world

in

which we

live because

referring our concepts of the world to the we live in it in a certain way is not a class intellectual
and

phenomenon. all

Roquentin

himself,

writer,

violent
after

hater

of

things

bourgeois,

stands aloof and rejects

this habit only

sustaining
to the

the experiential trauma symbolized

by

the

root.

But Sartre

ascribes

bourgeoisie every possible philosophical error despite his insistence that is a human and not a bourgeois affliction, and this is where his Marxist and later more extreme views creep in and taint and largely vitiate
nausea

his

philosophy.

What his shocking

meditation suggests

is that his

gruesome
,

images

are projections of

his

own psychic states onto saturated with

the world, elevated to

ontological

categories, then
an

his
of

politics.

Art

as

escape

from the brutalities

living is,

as

we

have seen,

idea in French literature. Not surprisingly, both Huysmans and of French art and society. Sartre fulminate against the
not a new
"Americanization"

Huysmans in many
cial,

of

his

"American"

works equates

with
anti-

vulgar,

commer

bourgeois, democratic;
to be the chief criterion
world

Sartre's

American

sentiments

are

as

virulent though more

ought and

specifically

political.

"Opposition to the Atlantic Pact

the
Left,"

of a politics of

he

said

in 1966,
one, the
protest

"The

is

not

dominated

by

two great

powers

but

by

United
would

States."8

He

stood mute

before Stalinist

outrages

because to

be to
age
of

serve the ends of

in

an

detente,
to

American imperialism. It is only in 1976, that he can protest against injustice in the Soviet
this

Union.

How

escape

Americanization,
past of

this

embourgeoisement?

Huysmans
hope

retreats

into the historical

of

French art;

and after

Roquen

tin accepts the

of

full burden

the anguish of

being,

after

transcendence through

commitment to another

up all person, he decides

gives

he

to write a novel.

Predictably,
and

this decision is based

on a concrete experience

(hearing
"Some

recording)

then cast

into

philosophical categories.
record

He

goes

to a cafe where
of

he

often

hears

favorite

of

Negress singing

These

Days."

On this last

occasion

he

realizes that the record

is worn, but the song is intact

. .

and can never

be

worn.

behind the

existence which

falls from

one

present

to the next,

without

past, without a
peel

future, behind

these sounds which decompose from

stays

day

to day,

away

and

slip toward death, the melody

the same, young and firm.

like

a pitiless

witness.0

Sartre

and

the Decadents

1 27
or so

Sartre

records

in his autobiography that

at

the age of nine

"When

I took up a book, I could see that though I opened it and shut it twenty times, it did not deteriorate. Gliding over that incorruptible substance,
the text, my gaze was merely a
not

tiny,
it

surface
alone

accident."10

So

art alone

is

contingent,

not

superfluous:

enjoys

an

ontological

status

beyond existence, above reality. It promises salvation, like Wagner's music. It is true that in What is Literature?11 Sartre argues that the writer must

be engage; but he never disavowed the redemptive vision of art in the final pages of La Nausee, so that either the contradiction does not trouble

him,
we

or

he distinguishes two kinds

reality,

of art:

imaginative
as

art which occupies of

a privileged realm of

and art as

utility,

descriptive

the reality

live

as

transient existences.

She

sings.

That

makes
and

two people who are

saved:

the Jew

(the songwriter)

the Negress. Saved.

One
affinities,

wonders whether

Sartre

realizes that

his

aesthetic vision

has its

at

confidence
of

least in part, with the fin-de-siecle Decadents who share his in salvation through art. And though they all use the language
all mean escape

theology, they
of

by

means

of

art

from the horror

and

banality
not art

bourgeois
the

existence

into

a more congenial and enclosed write a

world,
novel:

as

Way

"Then,

perhaps

back to God. Roquentin is going to because of it, I could remember my life fail to
call

without

repug

nance."

These

Huysmans'

words cannot

up the pathetic plea of

hyperaesthetic hero: "Lord, give me the strength to contemplate my life disgust." without In earlier sections of La Nausee Sartre has anticipated in idealist terms the
In
vision of

deliverance through

art:

another

world,
a curve.

circles

and

melodies

kept their

pure

and

rigid

lines.

But

existence

is

circle

is

not

absurd, it is clearly explicable

around one of
.

by
But

the rotation of
a circle

segment

of

a straight

line

its

extremities.

doesn't exist,

either.

That root,

on the other

hand

proudly carry their own death within them like an internal necessity; only they don't exist. Every existent is born without reason. prolongs itself out of weakness and dies by
.

melodies

alone

can

chance.12

"This is

hell,

nor am

it,"

ever out of

says

Mephistopheles; but his

physical
social

description is
space,
and

confined

to the

corrupted will as grace.

distinct from any

implies the

alternative

Sartre takes

being

itself

128
as

Interp re ta Hon being-in-hell,

autres;"

the condition of
c'est

and predicates also

it for

all persons space.

inevitably:

This most every dramatization Exit of Part III is a from his No famous of Sartre's lines play of Being and Nothingness; there it is clear that he means not merely that

"L'enfer,

les

it is thus

social

some

people

hurt

or

inhibit

each

other, but that

antagonistic and

all

human relations,

as

Barres had argued, bonds

such as

are

necessarily

that the most

ordinary

goals and sexual

love, friendship, associations of people bound by mutual inspiration, are illusions. (If Hell is all other people, the homo
be
mere

theme of No Exit would seem to

of

Decadent

flourish.)
acquire

Part

being

is being-for-others (etre-pour-autrui); I
achieve an awareness of

con

sciousness of self of

being

an object

only when I for their consciousness.

a

existing for others,

envy, gratitude,
nature

Shame, jealousy,

magnanimity,

and

host

of other

states

imply by
he in
a space

their

very

that

am a structure of

the

Other's

consciousness and

of mine.
which

Furthermore,

the mere

presence of another person all

objects

in

I had been the

center, in that
endowed

them,
can

causes

had the meaning with which I these to flee from me. The world hemorrhages.
in that
space

must

recognize

that the Other endows these objects with meanings to

no access.

which

have

The Other is

an

encroachment,

and

can and

reclaim

trees

my in the
But I

space
park.*

only

by

reducing him to

an object

like the benches

must also recognize

that this is impossible because he is not an object

but

a conscious me

being

whose consciousness

reduce

to

an

object.

So

we

are

busily trying to annihilate me and hopelessly deadlocked, hostile and alien.

basis

is

This

violent

solipsism

provides

the

for Sartre's psychology

space

and

his

sociology.

Given the

impossibility
though
one

of a

shared

through endowment of
can

common meanings upon at all.

objects, it is

a wonder

that Sartre

have his

sociology

But he is
a

does,
onto

must ask again whether

his

view of

human

relations

genuinely

ontological social of

intuition

or a projection of

pessimism

and

morbidity
3

the

peculiar

philosophic

jargon

His sociology is a restatement in his the dramatic point of No Exit: "Hell is other
world.

people."1

The
with

sense

that

one exists as an object

for

an

Other, Sartre

illustrates

the

famous
of

example of

the

voyeur

himself but only behind him causes him to become

not conscious

of what
aware

peeking through a keyhole. He is he spies upon. But a footfall

of

himself

as

the

object of the

It is
of a

interesting
moral

to

note

that

the
all

Decadents
offended
rejects

were

anti-Kantian

because
sense

the

notion

law

applicable
"race."

to

their

elitism,
of

their

of

the
ma
of

uniqueness

of

the

French

Sartre

Kant because
as equal

his

claim

that

turity has something

Ends.

to do with accepting others

agents

in the Kingdom

Sartre

and

the Decadents

1 29
act:

Other's
Other."

perception
outside

that he is

engaged

in

shameful
as

foundation

myself; I

am

for

myself
no

only

am an object

"I have my for the

Curiously

the term shame has

arises

moral

connotations

here, only
coalesced
myself,"1

metaphysical

implications. Shame
"I have

because
I did

the voyeur
not choose

has
for

into
and

an object: one

acquired an

identity

is wholly dependent on the Other. This entails a loss of "foundation" freedom, in that the voyeur is no longer the agent or of his
that
own

freedom, but has unknowingly

of

transferred

this

foundation to the
not

freedom

the perceiving

Other. The denegration is

What

that of a moral

being
same

but

of a metaphysical category.

strike one

further is that the

metaphysical

point can

watering the plants or rarely includes morally typically a morbid and a lurid
as
world

be inferred from any perceivable act, such contributing to the Cancer Fund. But the Sartrian
neutral world.
or

good

concrete

situations.

It is

However,

the most

disturbing thing
difference

about this
what

bit

of psychology-cum-metaphysics

is that it

makes no

I do: I
at

might
all

perceived

horror
who

of

being
not and

doing something admirable; the fact that I am induces shame, a diminution of being (like Barbey's seen). This is doubtless untrue in the experience of anyone
seen

be

has

totally

assimilated
view of

Sartre's human

metaphysical

formulations. His

hopeless

depressing feeling
and

relations would

seriously

constrict

the emotional
claimed
us of

and psychic repertoire with which most of us

live;

yet

if

we

to be

cooperative or
us

loving

or

secure, Sartre
Faith."

would

accuse

delusion

apply to

his nasty label "Bad

"Conflict is the
attempt

original

to free myself

meaning of from the hold of the

being-for-others."13

"While I

Other,

the Other is

trying

to

free himself from mine; while I seek to enslave the Other, the Other seeks to enslave Nowhere is this paradigm better illustrated than in the
me."

case of each

love. Each tries to

each

capture

the other's

freedom, but in succeeding

of

fails because

one, in

being

deprived

his freedom
other.

by

the

other, has perpetual,

masochism
own

(by identity) hopeless, foredoomed

or

become

enslaved

by
to

the

The

result

is

disillusion. Love
seeks

can

only
an

resolve object

into

sadism.

The

masochist

become

in his

consciousness,
a

which

alienate

freedom that On the

must

masochism.

subject

is ultimately futile because it is an effort to be present in the continuous choosing of of sadism, Sartre enlarges. If the lover succeeds

in reducing the beloved to an object, his success must entail the free choice of the beloved and hence is not enslavement. But if the lover can make

freedom perfectly lover is "master of the

the other's
sinister

coextensive with and

his (or

her) body,
gives

then the
cliche a

situation"

here Sartre

the

tone. Through pain, through

consciousness

torture,

the Other becomes nothing

but
over

"facticity,"

which

is then nothing but consciousness as body, the torturer has complete control. (For the Decadents, also,

130
"mastery"

Interpretation
over

sadistic

the

flesh
in the

of another was a source of

sadistic relation physical

fascination.)
are a

For loss

Sartre,
of

obscenity free control

arises

because obscenity is the

which of

over

one's

movements,

now

controlled

from

without

and

mechanically.

The

nude

body

dancer,

in contrast, is not obscene but grace incarnate because its movements are willed from within and the flesh becomes invisible, indeed spiritualized.
(This Flesh
notion was
anticipated

by

another

modern

Decadent, Celine.)
its
movements

can

answer

to lust only

when

it becomes
Barres'

"inert,"

wholly

subject of

to

external stimuli

like

Object.

Obscenity

then

is the

reduction relation.

the

body
to

to

mere

utilitarian

commodity in the
the
sadist requires

sadistic

But

sadism choose

is doomed because
annihilate

again

that the
renders

victim
sadism

freely
as

his

futile
even

as

masochism.

freedom, Like Barbey, Sartre feels

own

a paradox

that

that love

is

impossible,
awareness

its distortions
no exit

are

that there is

from

impossible. It is in this spirit, in the "there are all the brutalities of love

no privileged

situations"16

that Roquentin and

Anny

give each other up.

Roquentin, passing
about sadism called

the time while waiting for

Anny, leafs
about

through a book

The Doctor

and

His Whip.
numbers
of

Sartre's last novel, Roads to Freedom, is

all

people

casting
or all

desperately
hate,
in
or

about, in the throes

of

perverse
or

love,

pointless

sadism,

fanatic devotion to causes,

authenticity,

fastidiously detached,
that accepts the

but

finally
of

quest of

of a self-awareness

full responsibility and full freedom in choosing how to be. Moreover the whole Decadent cast of characters is here. There is the androgynous Ivich, attracted to her brother's mistress as well as to her
anguish

brother

himself;

there is

Daniel,

sadistic

homosexual

behavior that he is constantly looking himself and who finally marries a woman he abominates who mortifying is pregnant by Mathieu. Boris, Ivich's brother, is trying to disengage
squalid

his

guilty about for ingenious means of

so

himself from his clinging aging

and young.

mistress so

that

he

can go off

to

war

to die

Mathieu, gloriously does so by climbing atop a church tower in a little village as the Germans occupy it, and killing them until he himself is shot. Now as a French
the only one who
seems

to

achieve

freedom,

soldier

Mathieu is

doing

exactly

as

he

should

What is striking is that the killing is not It is a mysterious and solemn "something
more."

resisting the invaders. merely killing; it is Wagner's

do

rite of passage of the

by

which

Mathieu becomes
that

a man and

free. But the

are

real emphasis root

trilogy is
strangles

human
than
as

relations of

every kind
one

like that
one

(a

root

that

rather

nourishes); sticky
when

when

tries

to

disencumber oneself,

elusive

liquid

in that the person, finding human only through violent

hold on, messy. Sartre is a nihilist himself alienated in the real, can begin to be
wants

to

action.

Sartre

and

the Decadents
means not

131
which
a person

Le

projet

is Sartre's term for the

actions.

by
only

creates earlier

himself in his

But here Sartre

contradicts

his

statements about

the unique ontological

reveres

status of

art, he

confuses aesthetic

and

political

judgment. He

Flaubert but

censures

Baudelaire,

though

his

projet was at and

George Sand

least equally remarkable. As writers Sartre prefers Victor Hugo to Baudelaire, because they were "pro
are political
and

gressive."

His discriminations
the

in that Sartre
of

stresses

that

while

Flaubert
he

exposed

inanity
and

corruption

the

bourgeoisie,

so

that

conforms

in

some respects

to the paradigm of the Marxian reformer,

Baudelaire Sartre had

sion most

accepted

judged himself

by

bourgeois Christian

values.

by

now undergone

to the committed

life,

(and begun to advocate) a radical conver to Socialism. And revolution is for Sartre the is his
fusion

important thing about Socialism. One of his own more dubious

and

projets

attempted

of

Marxism

Existentialism. In 1947 Sartre tried to form between Communism,

an organization

that was meant to mediate

of

which offended

freedom

mind,

and

This In

project

bourgeois socialism, which was too insipid for revolutionaries. failed but it brought Sartre closer to the Communist
Nothingness he
from the
and examines

party.17

Being

and

the implications the

of

the

human

condition

individual

largely freedom,

subjective point of view:

problem

pursuit of

being,
and of

the

of

the Other. In La Nausee

in

his plays, the emphasis invariably falls upon the personal dilemma alienated individual. Whether it be the dialectic about violence and

the

moral

purity that takes place between Hugo and Hoederer in Soiled Hands, or the ironic predicament of Jean, the revolutionary leader in In the Mesh, or being left behind by history and forced to live in a fictional
Frantz'

construct

in The Condemned of Altona, or discovery of the identity of good and evil in The Devil and the Good Lord, Sartre's concern is with the implications of political choice and action for the isolated
"chosen"

Goetz'

man.

(Again
or

one

must

conclude

that the incest in

Altona,
or

Goetz'

sadism,

are gratuitous.
given

They
lure

add

The Condemned of nothing to the dramatic

promised

philosophical

point.) Yet
and

the

of

Marxism, he
action.

at

the end of
which
raison

Being

Nothingness to

explain

the "radical

conversion"

by

individual

projet could merge with

group

His Critique de la in

dialectique1*

(1958) is his
an

attempt

to be true to his word.

First, he

gives

additional

reason

for the

mutual

antagonism

human relations. It is not merely inherent in the human condition, but is the result of scarcity as well. The world is hostile because it is defined by
scarcity,
and

human invention designed to

overcome

uninformed

and

inadequate, indeed has

an object

aggravated

the condition.

scarcity has been Thus

in any group, deprives him

each person exists

of

for every other person as someone who he needs; each of the others is seen as the

132
material annihilation

Interpretation

(consumption)

of

basic

necessity.19

This

mutual

hostility

based

on

the

insufficiency

of material

goods

means

that society,

in Sartre's striking phrase, "discreetly chooses its dead"; its basic structures determine who shall be fed and who are expendable. The number of
consumers neglect

may be reduced through birth control (what Sartre calls "inert choice") of an

or

through the passive

class.

oppressed

Even is

where

the latter is the case,

of expendables

but

not

however, society may determine the the precise individuals. Each person in the
dispensable. So the
class
and

number

class

simultaneously
prevails.2"

a possible survivor and

does

not

animosity Given scarcity, each person is objectively dangerous for the others, hence the human is the most violent and destructive species in all nature. His very intelligence means that in a time of satiation he can
exploiter,

consolidate against the

the condition

of reciprocal

imagine future need,

so

that each group

constitutes

its

members as

famine

doing away Whether by

goal

with

the

other

in the form freedom

of a

human
or

praxis or undertaking.

killing, torture,
practical

enslavement,
as a

mere

deceit,

each

person's

is to

suppress an alien

that

person

from the

field

and

able.21

Violence then

characterizes all
groups.

removing rendering him superfluous, expend human relations, between individuals

solitudes"

hostile force

capable of

within a class and

between

"a plurality of is lived as the negation of mutual relations with the Other. Solitude is a social status, that is, it realizes itself in the practical field of the Other, inasmuch as we
social aggregate
as observe

The

common

conventions

of

complex social

patterns.22

For

dress, behavior, etc., as well as more Sartre, the most common social aggregate

is precisely this series: here he uses his often-quoted example of a bus queue. The people share a common space and a common goal, even a
common praxis: are

down.

They

to wait, to stop the identical in that each

bus,
is

enter

it, pay

the

fare,

and

sit

person remains an not

Other for every

serial order of

one else.

And

since the number of seats

unlimited, the

prevents conflict and

implies that data

who

all

accept the

impossibility

deciding
workers

from purely

exterior

is

expendable.

Sartre
are

argues that since the means of production

including

the undefined property of

Others,

seriality is the
a new

original

structure

of

the proletariat. But the antagonism

between this
the group

class and the

owners can choice of a against the neither

as

be

made to produce an

internal unity,
of

freedom in the

praxis

based

on

the

real needs

(defending
in
a
new

itself
way,
the

bourgeoisie).
individual
common

Then

each

person

behaves

(pour-soi)
person. occurs

nor as

Other, but

as expression of
internalized.23

newly formed
moment

This is reciprocity
that

From this

something

Sartre, quoting Malraux's L'Espoir,

calls of

the
the

Apocalypse,

that

is,

the transformation through social

cataclysm

Sartre
series

and

the Decadents

133
while

into the group in fusion. In the

Apocalypse,
rather

seriality may
synthetic of passage

remain as a

dissolving

vestige,

and

may

reappear at

any time, the mystifying

unity of the group is always here. After a

theoretical speculation,
of

Sartre illustrates

with

the

example of

the storming

the Bastille:

The Bastille
common

in the
to
none

context

of

scarcity,

reveals against

the basic requirement

the militia,
weapons

of
are

freedom:

defend the district

needed; there are

in the district but there

shared

are

weapons

in the Bastille. be disarmed,

.

The Bastille becomes the

interest because it
be turned
. . .

can and must

be

a source of

weapons,

and even
of

against

the enemy.

Urgency
each

comes, then, from the scarcity

person as the urgent

time.

The

operation
.
.

defines itself for

discovery

of a

terrible

new

freedom.

This
and and an

sudden new

freedom is the

essential

thing
new

about

the group in
risk of

is brought into
violence.25

being by

historically
attitude

situation, the

fusion, death,
it is

Thus Sartre's
of

to violence is ambiguous. Whether

or

inherent

part

the human condition

a

the result of scarcity,

same

inevitable,
in
rejects

and

true brotherhood is that

men

dream. At the
or

time it

violent action

(like Mathieu

Goetz)

escape solitude.

is only Sartre

intermediary

situations; he is rigidly
once
itself,"

dualistic.26

In

order

to

maintain

the totalization of the

it

must

group "posit itself for

a new

its immediate its

objectives

have been gained,

objective

becoming

own

immediate

and

developing
in the
as
oath a

structure,

(serment),
oath

whether of

in

formal

is group consciousness. This is implicit in the common praxis or explicit, allegiance. This is not a social contract (which
which might

expressed

under certain conditions

be abrogated) but
a state of status
ontological

means

of

translating

the the

group from
can

possible never

dissolution to
the

permanence.27

However,

have group Of the two threats to the group, the individual

that it claims to have.

praxis and

seriality, the first

the group praxis,
or

constitutes a suspect, whose allegiance to

must

his oath,
"It

i.e.,

be

reinforced

by terror, by
. . .

the purge, either through expulsion

execution.

Terror is the
not

sole means of governing.

arises out of opposition

to seriality,

freedom.

Indeed it is freedom,
of

liquidating
. .

through the

use of violence never a

the indefinite flight

established

the

Other."28

And again, "Terror is

mechanism

by

relation of the

group

as reciprocal

a minority human

but

fundamental

relationsh

The fundamental
of the group
praxis of the
claims

change

consists

in the

complete

transfer of the
ontological

shared

being
to the

regulative

freedom and the impossible

the
as

unity

group itself. The group

reality
all

praxis alone creates

unity, and the

re-emergent

group

ontological

more

strongly

the

seriality

134
threatens

Interpretation

dissolution.

Thus

each

person's practical

reciprocal unity:

work

consists

in

pro

jecting being and

for its defense

ontological

unity

onto

the

the

praxis

is the

group's

its essence; it
This
.

will produce
new
. .

in its
of

members

the inorganic tools it needs

at
once

evolution.
against

structure

the

group is

Terror
as

and

Terror.

Each

person

is

seen

by

the Other

the

inor

ganic tool through which action

as

is

accomplished:

each person constitutes action

freedom itself, in the form

of

terror-imperative.29

This freedom
of

endows

its tools human

with

bit

of

borrowed

freedom,

a splinter

the

common

freedom in
of a

each organic object actor

practical

freedom

who

might

(the person/tool), not the undertake an individual

praxis which would

threaten group
of

unity.

The

most

important type
emerge
and

being
have
in
or

when

leaders

group is the state, which comes into institutions are founded. The state is to
order

a sovereign

authorized

to exercise Terror in

to avoid conflict

of the group. For Sartre the only answer to a violent, bourgeois capitalist, society is violence, the violence of an organized movement of liberation. Such violence is another meaning of Terror, so

dissolution

that it is in all respects productive:

It

maintains

the

group in

fusion,
and

and

it is the

means

by

which

the revolution is to

be

accomplished

the

bourgeoisie

overthrown.
with

Sartre broke
to the

the

Communist

the issue of violence.

acquiescent

He felt that the

while

Party and with Camus Party was in some

was
an

as well over
respects

too

bourgeoisie,
of

he

avowed extremist.

When

Terror in the form

forced labor
the

camps

in the Soviet Union

was proved

beyond
than
as a

doubt, he

refused
of

to join with

would serve the aims

Camus in protest, arguing that this American Cold War. (Actually he was less
or
L'

honest, because Cold value. ) Camus replied

ideologies
He
called

War
with

not, he had already accepted Terror Homme revoke, in which he classed all

fanatical

together:

fascism. He deplored the

attacked.

substitution

Robespierre, Romanticism, Marx, and of ideology for humanity. Sartre

reactionary,
argued

Camus

quietist and and

that the only

hope for society

was
"betrayal."

lay
It

in revolution,

any

postponement of

the

revolution

was as

though he and Camus had

implicitly
may

taken the

that any threat to group aims, oath, any dissent, was indeed betrayal. Sartre's failure to reconcile Marxism and Existentialism in part be
so

due to his lack

really trying
of

of

interest in
a

social or economic

theories

or events.

He

was

to reconcile
economic

philosophy

of personal

destiny

collective
question.

salvation,

and

succeeded

with a philosophy in throwing them both

into

Sartre's
tions

political

attitudes

are

partially

anticipated

in Sorel's Reflec
of

on Violence30 and

in the

other polemicists of

the turn

the century

Sartre
who were persuaded

and

the Decadents
was

135

that

liberal

democracy

doomed
and

and

that only

total

renewal

could

improve
not

society. an

Both Sorel

Sartre believe in
revolutionary
the

political

separatism,

simply
a

isolation imposed
isolation its be

upon a

group by society beyond the moral

promontory from
social evils

itself, but
which

willed

which

places

group

obligations of

bourgeois but

capitalism and on a
attack.

Nietzschean

it

could conduct
must

Both

are apocalyptic: a catastrophe

cannot

be

corrected

wiped out

"in

Or again, "The more the policy of social reforms becomes preponderant, the more will Socialists feel the need of placing against the picture of progress which it is the aim of this policy to bring
that
whole."31

involves the

about, this
the general

other picture of complete catastrophe

strike."32

furnished

so

perfectly

by
not

And Sartre furnishes

kind

of retrospective
which

expla

nation, equally

apocalyptic:

"Europe is done for. A truth

it is

pleasant to state, but of which we are all convinced, are we not, fellow Europeans? in the marrow of our bones."33 Because for both men

Marxism is "social
adjustments

poetry"

"myth"

or

in that
language

although
of

it

needs

some

it

can still move

men, there is in

some

Sorel's

statements

the

blurring

of political and metaphoric of

characteristic of

Sartre's
of

discussions

freedom

and

le

projet.

Out

of

Bergson's

conception

la duree Sorel developed the

To say that
entirely
we
are

following

notion:

acting, implies that we are creating

an

imaginary

world

placed ahead of the present world and composed of movements which on us.

depend

In this way

our

freedom becomes perfectly

intelligible.34

Sorel just

saw

his

own

theory

of proletarian violence as a completion of was

opposed

Marx,

as

Sartre
of

does.35

Sorel

to parliamentary Socialism and

met with acts of violence:

any form
But these

ameliorism,

which should

be

acts can

have historical

value

only if they
or

are

the

clear

and

brutal

expression of the class

war; the middle classes must

proletariat.311

not

be

allowed

to imagine
might

that, aided by cleverness, social science, find a better welcome at the hands of the

high-flown sentiments, they

These
an

words anticipate
part

Sartre's

attack upon and

should

Camus. Violence has become

essential

of

Socialism

be

most

pronounced

when

parliamentarians

attempt

to woo the

workers

through

legis

lation. only in the service of the class war. He does not defend violence, much less Terror, as a means of not discuss because he maintaining working-class solidarity, which he does Sorel
advocates
proletarian violence

simply takes for

granted

that

given class awareness

fraternal

relations

will

136
prevail. as soon

Interpretation

He deplores the fact that "revolutionaries

as

plead

'reasons

State'

of

and

enemies."37

into power, that they then employ police methods look upon justice as a weapon which they may use against their Being no fool, he makes no predictions about how the

they

get

Syndicalist
more

revolutionaries will avoid

this

excess.

violent

than the apostle of violence and

Sartre, however, is insists, as we have

violence

much

seen,

that Terror is the sole means tutions

can

by

which

the revolutionary group's toward

insti
more

be

maintained.

Sorel's

attitude social

is

moderate.

It is

a means of

achieving

change,
there
gentle

after which

it is to be

abandoned.

"It may be

questioned whether

is

not

in the

admiration of our contemporaries

for

methods."38

little stupidity He sees in

that

Syndicalism

resemblances

to the "noble

side"

of

war,

i.e., "the idea

profession"

the profession of arms cannot compare

to any other

and that

it

puts

the warrior in a class

glory"

superior

to any other; that it fosters "the

sentiment

of

as

well as

"the
one

ardent

desire to try

one's

strength

in

battles."

great of of

Indeed this is

reason

for the deliberate

self-isolation
other parts

the revolutionary group, the nation,

other

"separating itself distinctly from

as subordinate

the

and

regarding itself

the great motive power of

history,
role

all

considerations

being

to that

of

combat; it is very

clearly
and of which

conscious of

the glory which will be attached to

of

its historical
valour."39

the heroism

its

militant of

it

will

give

proof

attitude; it longs for the final the whole measure of its

the

contest

in

These

rhapsodies paved

about

the heroic

mystical vocation of consecration sovereign. of

few,

the

happy few,
will

the way for

Sartre's

violence

whose

initiates

enthrone mystical

Terror

as

absolute violence

In fact Sartre

complicates

the

component;

is

a masculine rite:

When his
comes

rage

explodes,

(the Arab)

rediscovers

his lost innocence

.

and

he

to know himself in that he himself creates himself.

The

rebel's

weapon

is

proof of

his

birds
same

with one

stone, to

humanity destroy an
a

...

to

shoot

down

European is to kill two

man

oppressor and

the

he

oppresses

at the

time: there remains

dead

man and a

free

man.

It is through their
men."40

"hatred, blind Hatred and killing, even

grandiose appeal

hatred"

that the

rebels

"have become
the
conscious

random

killing,
status

produce

being, actually This is Sartre's

endow a person with a

reality for a politics

he had

not

had before.
Sorel

of

hatred,

which

and for a program of terrorism. For both men, specifically Socialism means revolution, but for Sorel the Syndicalist strike and the Sartre class war are "the myth in which Socialism is wholly
comprised."42

disavows,41

however has utterly lost faith in the proletariat, who in the United States especially but also in Western Europe, have become embourgeoises. And

Sartre

and

the

Decadents
on

1 37

he is

not

a man

to be left

with

an

empty category
of
people

his hands. So he
oppressed and

began to look

elsewhere

for

class

who

were a

embittered enough

to be revolutionized, to be fused into

of

group that

could such

enact

the politics
as

hatred. He found in the Third World (and in

people

groups

Baader-Meinhof)*

whose
of

anger

was

already fanatical
them.43

enough

to put them

on

the threshold
of

manhood, to revolutionize

While the ancestry

transmuted

Sartre's

apocalyptic politics

is Sorelian he has
on re

Sorel's

ethical concerns

into

pure

ideology. His insistence

people

the oath and the sovereign

main

hostile to

each other makes

wielding it difficult to imagine

or

terror without which

will

a state more

com-

formable to Sartre's demands than the Inquisition

the SS.

For both men, politics consists in the struggles of a self-isolated group living in the midst of ever-deepening crisis leading to a dramatic and cata everything is brought down and then re newed. The group is passionately dedicated to this remote aim. Both share a hatred for bourgeois institutions and reject utterly any notion that society
clysmic confrontation
which can

in

be

redeemed

except

through

the catastrophic

transformative

battle.

Sorel
that

was unable

to

only

violence or subterfuge could

believe in legitimate authority and therefore conclude fuse individuals into a group, after
the workshops
addition

which

they simply occupy

structure.

left

vacant

by

the overthrown

capitalist

Sartre's

to this

millenarian

blueprint is his

claim that violence and terror must

regress

be

perpetuated authority.

to

"seriality."

Terror legitimates

if the group is not to He is closer to the more

which

extreme authoritarian antihumanist phase of

Sorel's career, in
and

Sorel

found
and

support

L'

coedited

among Independence

the members of the ultra right-wing Action Francaise

with

Paul Bourget

Maurice
shares : of

Barres.44

Sorel in his

chauvinist phase expressed

ideas that Sartre

the refusal

to compromise with bourgeois

institutions,
of

the destruction

the whole
of

parliamentary
redeemed warriors.

structure
an

of

compromise, the

doomsday

vision

society

by

isolated group
are

disciplined, totally

committed,

anointed

Sartre's
ology.

writings

everywhere saturated with

the language of the

He
and

speaks of

grace, redemption, salvation,

about

damnation, Saint Genet.

plays.

Good

Evil

are

bandied

freely

culminates

in

a vision of personal salvation and absent so that one casts about

pessimistic

in nearly all the No Exit for the

La Nausee damna for

examines

tion.

But God is

equivalent terms
a

Sartre's secular, indeed to his talk of personal

itself
*

faith. All this lends

social

conversion and

reads

like

search

for

grace

and

feverish quality His misanthropy in his autobiography, Words, he

cataclysm.

Sartre

visited

Baader in jail in November

of

1974,

and referred

to the group as

revolution."

"the last desperate hope

the

proletarian

(Der Spiegel,

December 9.

1974).

138
says

Interpretation

that

had his

religious

background

not

been

any compelling
suits

or stable

authority, he

might

so confused, so empty of have found God. "Mysticism

displaced

children."

persons and superfluous

The
a

Holy

Ghost

was

observing

me.

It

so

happened that he had just human beings.

4"'
.

reached

decision to

return

to Heaven

and abandon

Sartre's

career

is

perhaps

the

best be

modern not

example

of

the quest for the

Deus absconditus, the God

this personal

who

if he is
solved

dead is

mute of malice.

And

dilemma
the turn

cannot

by

revolution.

So

while

right-wing

Catholics

of

of

the century

found in the Church

to the

a social authori of

tarian symbol

in

which

they

could escape

from the barbarities

"totalized"

bourgeois

society, Sartre has found his

the
political rightists of

authoritarian antidote

bourgeoisie, like
society,
armed

the earlier period, in a

with

terror.

Sartre's Reflections him to

on

the Jewish

Question

makes

it perfectly

plain

that he is no anti-Semite, and

publish this

that,

on

the contrary, it was courageous of time when such discussion was un

book in 1944,
even

at a

welcome.

However,

here,

there are unsavory bits.

First, Sartre

main

tains, like the

nation and

rabid anti-Semites of

the turn of the century who confused that the Jews have no history. The

history, among

them

Barres,

only difference is that Sartre generously invites them all to become French. for Sartre the Jew is en Second, as Harold Rosenberg has pointed
out,40

tirely

being-for-others; his

whole

being

lies in the scrutiny

of

the

anti-

Semite. Given that for Sartre this being-for-others

ontological

always entails a

loss

of

status, Sartre thus denies full being to the Jew. Our genial humanitarian is thus caught in his own mesh, driven to conclusions he no
abhors.
now stands

doubt

Sartre himself

mute,

after

having

produced an enormous

body

of

work,

most of

it humane

and much of

it brilliant.

However,

there

are certain elements

in it that

acceptance and approval of

and of

him squarely among the Decadents : his violence, his insistence that love is impossible
place

that all

human

relations

devolve into

sadism or

masochism, his hatred

notion of

all

things

bourgeois, including

parliaments, his

killing

as

vocation, his inclusion of gratuitous sadistic or lurid details, the need to forge a self (like Barres), even the loose unstructured quality of Roads to Freedom, and so on. He says he will write no more, perhaps because his contradictions are so numerous and complicated that he is
near-mystical

boxed in, no exit. Apart from his sometimes infuriating verbal paradoxes "a man is what he is which translates into a rather simple statement, he may be totally transfixed by the contradiction between freedom and
not"

Terror; between

radical

individualism

and

group praxis; between total free

Sartre
will and

and

the Decadents

1 39
and political

historical determinism; between introspection

creative
a

action;

inviolable

privacy

and

being-in-the-world;
the
notion of

the

art-for-art's-sake

view of art as

priestly

vocation and

the committed artist,

corresponding to the contradiction between the

lonely
It is

but

chosen political

hero

of the plays and

the

notion of class war.

possible that

like the

Decadents Sartre
paradoxical,

made of

his life

an

artifact

to conform to his ontology,

"Subjectivity,"

deeply disturbing,

not what

it

is,

visqueux.
point"

the

basic

premise of
47

tentialism.

Decadent art, "is the starting His own subjectivity is both origin
another out of

Sartre

says

in Exis
art and

and object of

his

his phenomenology;
the working

his
of

way to put this is to say that his philosophy is literary life and his political choices, just as his art
philosophical and political categories.
silence.

is

dramatization
no

his

Thus there

is in fact

exit,

other

than

'La Nausee (Paris, Gallimard, 1938),

-Ibid., 'Ibid.,
5

p.

180. I

Danto's brilliant study, Jean-Paul Sartre (New York:

p. p.

am deeply indebted Viking Press, 1975).

to Arthur

181.

188. 181-82. 222-23. 220.

'Ibid., Ibid.,
'

pp. p.

"Ibid.,
s

pp.

La Force de I'dge (Paris:

Maurice
pp.

Gallimard, 1960), pp. 141-42, et passim. Cranston, The Quintessence of Sartrism (New York: Harper
245-46.

and

Row,

1969),
"

58-59.
pp.

Op. cit.,

'"Les Mots (Paris: Gallimard, 1964), p. 155. 11 "Qu'est-ce-que la literature?", Situations, II (Paris: Gallimard, 1948).

'Ibid.,
"

p.

181;
le
318. 431.

p.

183;

p.

188.

L'tre

et

neant, (Paris:

Gallimard, 1943), "Le

regard,"

pp.

310 ff.

"Ibid.,

p. p.

"Ibid.,
17

'"La Nausee,

op.

cit., p. 211.
and

Raymond Aron, Marxism 1969). p. 7.

,s

the Existentialists (New

York: Harper

and

Row,

(Paris:

Gallimard, 1958)
204-05.
205-06.

'"Ibid.,
20 21

pp. pp. pp.

pp.

Ibid., Ibid.,
1 bid.,

208-09.
308-10.

-Ibid.,
23

p.
p. p.

391. 394. 425. 9.

24
25
2li

Ibid., Ibid.,

Aron,
Ibid.,

op. cit., p.

-'

Critique de la
p.
p.

raison

dialectique,

op.

cit., p.

439.

2S

579. 580.

211

Ibid.,

140
30

Interpretation
Georges Sorel, Reflexions "Ibid., p. 18.
p.
sur

la

violence

(Paris: Marcel Riviere, 1946).

'-Ibid.,
3
'"

195.
Les Damnes de la terre (Paris: F. Maspero, 1961

Frantz

Fanon,

),

p.

10.

Sorel, op. cit., p. 43. '"Ibid., p. 48. "Ibid., p. 118. ,v Ibid., pp. 56-57. 38 Ibid., p. 270.
39

Ibid., pp. 246-48. Fanon, op. cit., p. 20.

pp.

"Ibid.,
"

160-61.
titled "La
greve

Ibid., p. 182, and throughout the section "Midstream, August 1969, pp. 37-48.
"The French Right: from de Maistre
to
and

politique

York: Harper
K J0

Row, 1970),
156-57.

p.

117. Michael
Play,"

Maurras, ed. J. S. "McClelland Curtis, op. cit., throughout.

the

(New

Les Mots,

pp.

"Sartre's Jewish

Morality
270 ff.
est un

in

Discovering

Present
10.

(University

of

Chicago Press, 1973),

"

pp.

L'Existentialisme

humanisme (Paris: Nagel, 1970),

p.

141

ZARATHUSTRA'S DANCING SONG

Laurence Lam pert Indiana

University
for the interpretation
of

There have been

no chairs established wild

Thus
true.1

Spoke Zarathustra; Nietzsche's Had any been established,

superficial views as

anticipation

has

not yet

come

we might

have been

spared such widespread and no

this
.

by
. .

Arthur Danto: Thus Spoke Zarathustra has

or
.
. .

"ordered development

direction
Or this

of argument or presentation.

[It] may be

entered at

any

point."2

by

G. Wilson Knight: "There is

relies
on

little meaning in his structure;

repetitions are seldom

each

disquisition

itself alone, his

each

elucidations."3

In
sition

fact, Zarathustra does have

not

an ordered

development,
I

disqui
II.

is

self-reliant, many

repetitions are elucidations.

want to argue

this

in

miniature songs

These
calls

examining the three Songs in have not been well understood.

by

Zarathustra, Part
s

Zarathustra'

latest translator
plaintive,

them

"autobiographical,
Walter Kaufmann

for the
pays

most

part

fretful,
than

dis

gruntled."4

any his brief commentary on Zarathustra.5 The Notes appended to Zarathustra in The Complete Works edited by Oscar Levy virtually ignore
tion in
them.6

them less

attention

other sec

of

Nevertheless, the Songs are the dramatic heart of the whole of Part II Zarathustra. They are not mere interludes, nor are they momentary
or weakenings of resolve

lapses

that

express

the ever-present

if ever-sup
represent

pressed underside of

Zarathustra's

positive

teachings. The
and

Songs

a victory won with difficulty but won once found discovery in Zarathustra's "going

for

all.

They

express a pro

under"

and

herald the dramatic

the second half of
and

development in Zarathustra's teaching that appears in Part II, namely, the discovery of life as will to power
eternal return.

anticipation of

The

central

song, "The

Dancing

Song"

(#10),
of

contains

the

essential

episode that moves

Zarathustra from the despair "The Tomb

Song."

"The Night

Song"

to the

eventual triumph of

As the

central

event, The
that
point

Dancing
sin

Song
gular

is framed

by

a series of episodes and reflections

prose

to its

importance: It is framed in

by

a prelude and a
settings

retrospective;

by

the other two

Songs

which

have

no

prose

(#9

and

#11); by

two sections
and

on wisdom which

demonstrate the

results of

the struggle (#8

Song"

quality #12) ; by extensive investigations that have a "before and (#2-#8, and #12-#19); and by the opening and closing sections of Part II (#1 and #22) which show what a difference the insight of "The Dancing has made. The central occurrence is the Dancing Song itself; what

142

Interpretation
makes all

happens there
frame it
centrality.

the

difference for Zarathustra. The

ripples

episodes

that

stand

like

permanent

surrounding

and

announcing its
entail

claim that

As is evident, the specific claims I Part II of Zarathustra has

not

make

for the Songs

and

the

larger

dramatic

philosophical

that has

been

recognized

by

the commentaries. When the

unity Songs have

been properly understood that unity begins to come to light and not only a for if Part II chronicles the unity of Part II but of Zarathustra as whole,
the

discovery
a

of

life

as will not

to power, Part I

antedates

that

discovery

and

contains

teaching
of

informed

by it,

and

Part III

contains the urgent

investigation
eternal

the most astounding implication of will to power,

of
at

namely
course,
the rele

(Part IV is triumph.) In this paper I cannot demonstrate the truth of these larger claims but I will point out
return.

vant

follows I

locations just how the unity of Part II is to be understood. In what will discuss first the two sections that frame the Songs (#8 and
then the
and

Songs themselves, from the perspective of the Songs.

#12),

finally

Part II

as a whole understood

"On the Famous Wise The three

Men"

and

"On

Self-Overcoming"

Songs, which in their wisdom, are framed by sections on wise (Part II, #8) and "On
dressed to "you
sections
wisest"

own

Self-Overcoming"

way are all concerned with men, "On the Famous Wise (Part II, #12) which is ad
Men"

who are
addressed

(repeated

six

times). But while these two

are

both
are

to wise men whom

one

Zarathustra

seeks

to en

lighten, they
which

quite

different from
the

another.

The different

ways

in

Zarathustra

understands

wisdom of

the wise in these two sections

indicates clearly the fundamental discovery about wisdom and life recorded in the Songs. The very fact that he sings the stages of this discovery shows
how far Zarathustra is from the
wise men of

the two surrounding

seen

sections.

Before the Songs the Famous Wise Men (#8) are burden who seek "to prove your people right in their

as

beasts

of

reverence."

They

may have the skin of the lion but they have revering hearts. As beasts burden they are not even the camels of "On The Three but
"asses."

of

Metamorphoses"

are

There is
thustra
not

much

that the
second

Famous Wise Men do half

of

not

know,
life."

as

Zara

indicates in the
"spirit"

this section. But above all

cuts

they do
lack

know
and

which

is "the life that itself

wind and will

into

They
The

daring
with with

depth, "no strong

drives

you."

section ends

the

me?"

challenging and is followed

question to these spiritless

ones, "how
chart one of

could you go

by

the

Songs

which

Zarathustra's

most

harrowing journeys

of the spirit.

Zarathustra's Dancing

Song
wise men

143

Zarathustra already

understands

these famous
much

better than

they

understand

themselves. He knows

cluding the
achieved

secret reasons

they do not know in that lie behind their wisdom. But he has not yet
that
unriddles the wisdom
wisest"

the

deepest insight that

against
of

of

the wise. That

insight is turned The

"you

who are
power"

in "On

Self-Overcoming."

discovery

"will to

as

the principle of

life itself

enables

Zarathustra to "solve the

riddle of your

heart,

wisest"

you who are

(Part
wis

II, #12 "On Self-Overcoming"). In #8 Zarathustra had understood dom's way to fame it is a way of service to the people who accord
wise the reward of

their

fame. That
will

motive

Zarathustra

can understand without

not

knowing
men

that

life is is

to power. But in #12 it is

just the famous

wise

but

the wisest as such that

wisdom

Zarathustra

comes

to understand. Those
a superficial

whose pursuit
truth"

(and

not

fame)
and

also

have

"will to

that

hides something deeper

Their
will

now

Zarathustra

can

understand

even these.

to truth is not the will "to

will

prove your people right

beings"

in their

reverence"

(#8) but "a

is
called seeks

to the

thinkability
Evil "the
the

of

all

(#12). Such
will

a will

in Beyond Good
to

and

most spiritual world

to

power"7

in that it

dominate

and control

concep

tually. When Life confides to him that life itself is thustra can at last understand the riddle
of

will

to power Zara

the wisest.
seeks

In this

section on will

to

power

(#12) Zarathustra
While this
refers
Goals"

to

explain

his "word concerning

evil."

good and

to the

preceding paragraphs, it also recalls "On 1001 is an extensive discussion of good and evil and
previous mention of
will

(Part I

immediately #15), which

"will to

power"

which contains the only in Thus Spoke Zarathustra. There, creation of value and

to power refers to a

people's

self-overcoming, its

purpose

for itself. Will to

whose unique

power

is there

confined

to

an

explanation unique

of

"peoples"

self-disciplines

have

resulted

in

excel

lences. In the
explains

section

"On

Self-Overcoming"

where
good and

Zarathustra further
broadens
power.

his

word

concerning

evil, he

also explains and

will

his

previous reference to will to power.

about

Here life itself is

to solve the

to

It

is this truth

life that Zarathustra

their wisdom.

uses

riddle of

the

wisest.

This truth itself. It

section

explains

Furthermore,

this new

truth

replaces

their wisdom

by

explains

understanding it more deeply than it can ever understand the reason for being of this wisdom. Zarathustra ends this
the wisest to
speak of

by inviting

his

new truth with

him, by inviting
frame Zara
and as such

them to become

wise as

he is

wise.
Men"

"On the Famous Wise

thustra's three Songs.

and provide

"On

Self-Overcoming"

They

the context for the

Songs

they
wise. of

offer

Zarathustra's understanding of the not completely, In the Songs Zarathustra achieves his new wisdom

before

and after sketches of

course, for Zarathustra's

under"

"going

is

not complete until

"The

Con-

144
valescent"

Interpretation

in Part III (#13). But the Songs

second

represent

significant

dis

covery along that way,

is itself
made possible

by

in importance only to the final insight this discovery.

which

These two

sections
and

(#8

and

12)
as

contain

many

points

that reappear

in Beyond Good

Evil,

which

the first book Nietzsche wrote after

Zarathustra, bears

Zarathustra.1* Nietzsche ex relationship to plained that relationship in Ecce Homo but his explanation has frequently been ignored because of the difficulty of Zarathustra and the relative

special

straightforwardness of

Beyond Good

and

Evil. That

is, Beyond Good

as

and

Evil

(along
[his]

with

the subsequent works)

sees

has been taken

(in

the guide to

Zarathustra. But Nietzsche

task"

the relationship otherwise. "The

"solved"

Yes-saying

part of

having
and

been
to

in Beyond Good
Beyond Good
and
naturedness"

Evil,

Zarathustra) Nietzsche turns, "the No-saying, No-doing Calling

part."

Evil his

"recuperation"

from the his

"squandering

of

good-

in Zarathustra, Nietzsche

ends

explanation of their rela

tionship

this way:

Theologically
was

listen closely, for I rarely speak as a theologian it speaking God himself who at the end of his work lay down as a serpent under
days'

the tree

of

knowledge: thus he

recuperated

from

being God.
of

He had God
on

made

everything too
seventh day.9

beautiful.

The devil

is merely the leisure

that

for understanding Nietzsche's works would be super fluous for this paper were it not for the especially close affinity between
crucial matter

This

Beyond Good
"wisdom"

and

Evil

and

Part II
or

of

Zarathustra. Both
modernity"

are

concerned

with

(Zarathustra)
Evil is "a

"philosophy"

(Beyond Good
and a

and

Evil).

Beyond Good

and

critique of

liberation from

traditional philosophy that anticipates the philosophers of the future. The

basis

of

the critique and liberation is will to power. That doctrine

and provides

explains

traditional philosophy

the

insight for the in

philosophers of the

future

for

which

Beyond Good

and

Evil is the
presents

"Prelude."

In these funda

mental respects

Beyond Good

and

Evil

different form the lib

in the
and
subsequent
provides

erating

discovery

heralded in the three Songs

of
and confirmation

and utilized

sections of

Part II

Zarathustra. Because Beyond Good be indicated in for the Songs, follows.

Song"

Evil

this additional
of

insight
will

some specific

details

this

relationship

what

"The Night The Night

written some

Song, "the loneliest song

before the
rest
of

that

has

ever

been
a

written,"

was

months

Part

II.10

It is

song

of

Zara-

Zarathustra's
thustra's

Dancing Song
or at

145

despair

at

being

what

he

is,

least,

at

being

what

he

attempts and

to be in Part I of Zarathustra. In this song Zarathustra sings to himself

his lament
the

renounces

bitterly

the brave

conclusion of

Part I

which celebrated as

gift-giving virtue, the virtue. Zarathustra now

Zarathustra's
independence

virtue
says

for

which

Zarathustra strove,
tired of

the highest

"my

virtue

itself in its

overf

single virtue

is here

called

into

question and with

it his total love.

as giver.
now sees

As Zarathustra As
pure

it, because he
words

can

only

give

he

cannot

sun,

pure

giving, Zarathustra is

cold against all other

suns,

so cold

that ice

burns him. Zarathustra's first

sun

in the Prologue to Part I had

disparaged the
those on whom

itself because its shining gained significance only from it shined. In the conceit of the Prologue Zarathustra could
the source of the sun's importance.

declare his Zarathustra

mands a

own worth as

But
sun

now

the

same one-sided perspective can needs of

be

used against

Zarathustra. As

himself,

those

on

whom

he

shines and yet

his very shining de

denial

that need, demands

absolute self-sufficiency.

shine"

This song be sung to himself alone for "the taciturnity of all who forbids his sharing even a hint of the need for love. Zarathustra is utterly separate from both receivers and givers. As a pure giver he is for
must gifts of other givers.

bidden the
of

Earlier Zarathustra had

said that

the loss
of

the gift-giving virtue was

"degeneration."

Now he feels the full force

vices:

that judgment and catalogues the consequent

he

seeks

to hurt those
sense

to whom he gives; he
of shame at

seeks revenge against

receivers; he has lost his

shares the

those who receive; and, most

importantly, he
no

enmity

of the

light

against

As
from
to

pure

anything that shines. light Zarathustra can accept

must

light

and no

enlightenment

others.

All meaning

be his

own creation.

Yet,

Zarathustra

craves

be

one who can shine upon

receive,

one who can not

only

give

let it

him. Zarathustra here

of yearns

yearns

no

meaning but who can longer to be simply the

meaning.

destroyer/creator

ery of the next fathomable and discover instead

would

meaning; he song he needs to

to discover

In the

imag
as un

escape the a

dizziness
can

of

life taken

meaning that
Song"

be fathomed. Life
meaning and lament because no
we shall

necessarily be

unfathomable

to

one who can receive no

must everywhere create such promise of

it. "The Night

or

is

pure

discovery
more

Dancing Song
is
a of

is

receiving seems hopeful because Life

and

possible. mocks

As

see, the

his despair

and

coyly
of

suggests that she can

be fathomed,

the

final song, "The Tomb

means

Song,"

the overcoming in which Zarathustra discovers song deliverance from the oppression of the gift-giving virtue.
Song"

his

"The

Dancing
Song"

Prose Prelude

Unlike the

other

two songs, "The

Dancing

is

pro-

146
vided with a prose

Interpretation setting,
an audience and a retrospective prose conclusion. with

At the
well when

beginning Zarathustra is walking he comes across a green meadow in

They
see

his disciples seeking

which girls are

recognize

dancing

with

each other.

parently they

stop him

dancing

as soon as

they
nor

Zarathustra.

Ap

as neither a

dancer

fit

audience

for dancing.
gesture

They
and music

expect

him to
words

condemn their

dancing. But

with

friendly
later

assuring for their

Zarathustra
with

corrects their mistake

and

provides

dancing

his

song.

cate

In explaining himself to the girls, Zarathustra says he is "God's advo before the devil: but the devil is the spirit of The girls
gravity."

cannot and need not

overman and

know it but Zarathustra is

and

also the advocate of

the

life, suffering advocating God to the audience of girls in his song, Zarathustra life against wisdom. In putting himself on the side of the Gods
of

later

the circle

(Part

III, #13). In
advocates
particu

larly

the

causes

favorite god, Cupid Zarathustra wins them to resume dancing. The song will mock
a spirit

girls'

their confidence and

what

they

perceived

in him

inimical to dancing.
as

Zarathustra describes his song say that he is 'master

context of
wise men.

"dancing

and

the spirit of gravity, my supreme and most powerful

of the
world.'

mocking song on devil of whom they

the

Songs,

the spirit
that

of

From the song itself and from the gravity can be seen as the spirit of the

"

It is
to be

a spirit

he

needs

delivered. While
sings of

Zarathustra clearly shares but one from which the girls dance their carefree dance with
struggle.
dancer."11

Cupid, Zarathustra

his deepest

According
thustra

to Ecce Homo "Zarathustra is a

But in Zara

itself, Zarathustra has to become a dancer. In the only place where Zarathustra dances in Part I, a god dances through him in order to kill Zarathustra's devil, the spirit of gravity. Many of the elements of "The

Dancing
love
of

Song"

are present

in this

section:

wisdom as a woman

to please;

life; Zarathustra's devil

laughter. In this

as the spirit of

gravity; the

spirit of

gravity

killed

by

section

Zarathustra is

a warrior who seeks pri

marily to please wisdom and while Zarathustra is "well disposed toward life," bear" "life is hard to and is best borne by lightness and dancing. This
episode with

wisdom, life
Writing"

and

dancing

occurs

in

section

entitled

"On

Reading
The

and

(Part I, #7). The first half

of

this section

celebrates readers.

the style of the aphorism and

second

disparages
Songs
of

prose

accessible

to

all

half

practices what the

first half

preaches.

This

aphoristic style

is

characteristic also of the three

and warnings on

reading in "On

Reading

Part II. That is, the instructions and are important for
Writing"

reading the
The

Songs.12

Dancing Song

The mocking song

on

the spirit of

gravity

opens with

Zarathustra's Zarathustra himself

which calls

Dancing Song
mocked

147

being

mocked.

He is

for his

spirit of

gravity
un out

life

unfathomable

and which causes

a golden

him to
rod

sink

into that

fathomable depth. But Life has

fishing
she

that lifts him

of

his

dizzying error. Addressing Zarathustra,

Life denies that

many have taken her to be so. Their mistake, that "what they do not fathom is

is unfathomable, though she says, is that they think

unfathomable."

They

have taken Life to

"recent"

be

what she

is

not and

look into her

error

eyes

Zarathustra has been guilty of this in his (in "The Night Song"). Moreover, he continues in this
misunder
one"

for

after she of

standing says he never believes her

her

has finished speaking Zarathustra shows his mocking. Zarathustra calls her "the incredible
when she speaks

and

ill

of

herself.
herself
and

And just here

"unchangeable

we need to

pay the most careful attention because Zara

thustra is wrong. Life

has

not spoken

ill

of

herself. She has

and not

called

wild and a woman

not unfathomable.

in every way, In taking this to be "speaking ill

virtuous"

herself"

of

Zarathustra

shows why she mocks him, why the spirit of gravity causes him to despair. Zarathustra's judgment is a mistake based on his own spirit of gravity. To use

the

words of

Beyond Good
and

and

Evil, he has

approached

Life

with

"gruesome

seriousness"

"clumsy

obtrusiveness"

that "have been

awk

heart."13 Zara very improper method for winning a woman's thustra should have believed her for these words can deliver him from his

ward and a

despair;
of

this is

her

golden

fishing

rod and

it

can raise

him from the despair

when

the Night Song. As is shown in "On

what she confides

Self-Overcoming,"

he

finally

does believe
of

to him he is able to

understand

the wisdom

the wise as he
can

never understood

it

before, i.e., profoundly

to him

and correctly.

Life
to

he fathomed

and

what she will whisper

will

enable

him

fathom

all previous wisdom.

But Zarathustra does

not yet

believe her;

he is

not yet reconciled

to life.
talks "in
confidence"

Zarathustra
not present at

next

with

his

wild

Wisdom: Life is
she

their conversation. Wisdom

is angry
reasons

with

him because

is

jealous

for praising Life: "You For that is the only reason you praise will, you want, you love Wisdom these reasons are inadequate, they are not wisdom's reasons. Zara
of

Life. She berates him for his

Life."

thustra almost

answers

his Wisdom
of

with the

truth

that

is, he

almost

tells
wild

her that these Wisdom does

is
of

are
not

the best

reasons, the only

and

reasons

that matter. His

spares

know that

Zarathustra

delicately

her the truth.

But Zarathustra

now

knows better than his

himself from the

wild

Wisdom. That is to say, he

that causes the despair
speaks

beginning
the Night
of

to

extricate and

wisdom

Song
and

that causes him to think mistakenly that Life

ill

herself

when she says she

is fathomable. That
to

wild

Wisdom
a

which

is

only giving

making is

beginning

be

overcome

by

deeper

knowing

148
that

Interpretation

loves Life

as she

is.
episodes of

In the first two

this mocking song, Life laughs

and mocks

Zarathustra; Wisdom by
thustra who
can mock wild

contrast

is angry
the

and raging.

That
to

is, it is Zara
mock

Wisdom

with

truth; he is

able of

her but

forbears. His

Wisdom here

embodies

the spirit

gravity that the

and

Song mocks.
Zarathustra
right

then confesses that

he

can

hardly

distinguish Life Life

so much

Wisdom. He loves his Wisdom because down to her

can
golden

she resembles

to him
that

Wisdom too

fish him

out of

fishing despair;
rod. result of

To Zarathustra it has
she

seemed

too

seems

to

offer redemption. refuses

His love for Wisdom is the

confusion

but he

to hold

himself
sion

responsible.

Zarathustra
itself.14

shares with

the famous wise men the illu

that wisdom is life

These famous
young
girls

wise men with

are,

of

course,
girls

absent

from the

meadow where
right

dance

Cupid. The

would

have been

to have

stopped

dancing
song.

on

their arrival. But the wise men are present in

Zara

thustra's
more

Zarathustra has to break completely with them to love life than wisdom or to cease identifying the two. The wise are mocked
carps"

"even the his

oldest

for the

error girls

that tempts Zarathustra. It is in the

presence of

the young

dancing

that Zarathustra
more and

begins

to overcome

error.

Clearly

these girls

love life

than the meaning of it.

They

would never mistake

Wisdom for Life

it is

fitting

that Zarathustra sing

his song for their dance with Cupid. They could never understand his song but they have no need to. They dance naturally with their god. Zarathustra

has to learn to dance

But Life
responded

with

his.

once asked

Zarathustra

about this

Wisdom

of

his

and

he

passionately and rashly, telling Life the truth of his love for Wisdom. But as he described Wisdom, Life closed her eyes; Zarathustra
could not see scription of

into Life's depths

while enthralled with

his Wisdom. His de

way"

Zarathustra
had
said of
way."

calls

Wisdom is closely reminiscent of Life's description of herself. Wisdom "evil, false and a female in every while Life herself that she was "changeable, wild and a woman in every
says

Moreover, Zarathustra
ill
of or perhaps of

that Wisdom is
speak

most seductive when she

speaks

herself. For Wisdom to

ill

of

herself is to

speak of

ticism

Socratic ignorance. If Wisdom has

or

seduced

skep Zarathustra
that

with her alluring talk of skepticism Zarathustra finds Life incredible when

ignorance, it is
is

no

wonder

she suggests she

not unfathomable.

It is
to

no wonder

that

Zarathustra is

mistaken about

Life, having fallen prey

his love for her
his
reasons

Wisdom's

seductive skepticism.
can

But Life
rival

laugh

even when

Zarathustra
Life

speaks of

Wisdom. Her Wisdom

are

words mock

Zarathustra

and show that

she

for
a

loving

reasons

for

loving

knows he has

made

Zarathustra's Dancing
"

Song
asked; 'no

149

mistake:

'Of Whom
she

speaking?'

are you

she

doubt,
face?"

me.'

"

of
she

She knows that

alone

is worthy

of

Zarathustra's love. But

adds:

Even if "And even if you are right should that be said to my Zarathustra has been speaking of Wisdom and his love for her, should Zarathustra have said that so boldly to Life? Should anyone say to Life that he loves Wisdom more? But unlike Wisdom, Life does not become

angry

with

him;

she

invites him to

speak of

Wisdom. But this time Zara

eyes.

thustra

is

silent

because Life has

as

opened

her

Zarathustra's he

enthusiasm

for Wisdom fades

he looks into Life's

eyes and as

cannot speak of

her.

He has
Life is

no

true and wicked answer

for Life

he had for his

wild

Wisdom.
opens

superior

to his Wisdom even in

again seems to

understanding.

When Life

her eyes, Zarathustra

be sinking into the

girls

unfathomable.

The Prose Afterword

The dance ends, the

leave,
at
words

the

sun

sets,

and

Zarathustra

grows

sad.

The disciples

remain

and

the end Zarathustra

that

finds it necessary to
sadness.

ask their

forgiveness for the

he

utters

in

Something
By
is
what? must

him why he is still alive. "Why? What for? Whither? Where? How? Is it not folly still to be What asks
unknown asks
alive?"

be Wisdom herself
in
question

or

that

part of point

him that loves her. Where

in living? In the
sense of

wisdom of

called

is there any
what remains
as

aftermath

the

struggle
pose

in the song

is the

loss

the loss of the

questions

pur

that sustained him

it

sustained

the wise. The

that come

uninvited are reminiscent of who

the

litany
The

of questions raised

by

the madman

knows that God is

of

dead.15

madman's questions show

graphically

the

depth
of

the loss

of

meaning

and purpose and

hope

occasioned

by

the

death

God. For
of

like the death

Zarathustra, now, the death of his love of Wisdom seems God, like death itself. The girls who danced to his song
too if their love failed
to

would ask such questions

them, if Cupid died.

questions and evades

Zarathustra

apologizes

his disciples for his

also asks

responsibility for asking them. But he evening has come. The coming of these
as

them to forgive

him that

questions

is

as natural and as

fitting

the coming of evening. Zarathustra

evening.

can no more are

hold back the

questions

than he can hold back the

sarily.

They

Zarathustra's
for

questions neces

He

cannot avoid

questioning the
the

reasons

being

alive

if
is

wisdom

is

not supreme.

How

can

eclipse of wisdom not

be the

eclipse of
not

life?16

After "The

Dancing
word on

Song"

Of

course

"The

Dancing

Song"

Zara

thustra's last

uncertain about victory.

his love but

his love for life. The song itself ends with Zarathustra subsequent events leave no doubt about life's

The

next

song ("The Tomb

Song") is

song

of

is

now understood to

be

the means for that recovery.

recovery and life In the section fol

shows that

lowing

this final song ("On

Self-Overcoming"), Zarathustra

he

150

Interpretation
the

is

on

best

of

terms

with

life for it is life's

wisdom of

confidential

message

that
and
she

enables

him to

understand

the

the wisest men in a

now

different
when

better way

than

they

ever understood

it. He
she
Song"

believes Life
will

tells him that she can

be fathomed, that

is, in fact,

to

power.

But it is in "The Other

thustra shows most

Dancing

(Part III

#15)

that Zara

him

and

turned

clearly that his song for the young girls has changed him from his own wild wisdom to life. That Dancing Song
Convalescent,"

occurs after

"The

(Part

III, #13),
no prose

that

is,

after

the end

of

Zarathustra's
song.

under."

"going
necessary:

There is

No setting is

There

are no as

setting for this dancing auditors, only Zarathustra and

the

Life
eyes

are present.

This song begins exactly

life"

first
no

one

began. "Into

your

I looked recently, O

but there follows

now

unfathomable.

Zarathustra is

equal

to

looking

dizzy sinking into the into Life's eyes and is

singer

delighted
the

by
of

what

he

sees.

dance

others,

now

No longer is Zarathustra simply the he dances with life on their own "green

for

meadow.

Still,

the dance is not easy and

as a more

they parry
and

with one

another. she

Life

reveals

herself

permissive
of so

lover than Wisdom for

says

she

loves

Zarathustra because
wisdom

his
too

wisdom would

his love for Wisdom. Were his

not aban

to leave him
of

Life's love. Zarathustra has is

now

doned

wisdom

course, but his

wisdom

life's wisdom,
at

a wisdom

that could never

be jealous

of

life,

nor vengeful or nauseous at the end of

life. And
whispers

he knows life's
to her that

wisdom

completely, for
as she

the song

he

he

will not

leave her

had

complained

he

would.

He

now

knows her deepest

end of

this

dancing

The coming of evening at the song finds Zarathustra and Life together in love on their
secret: eternal return.

own green meadow.

"The Tomb

Song"

Unlike the
though the
are

other of

songs,
a

"The Tomb

Song"

is

bulk

it is

melancholy
with

reminiscence over

song lost

of

virtues.

victory al There

three parts to this song

of

three

separate addresses:

"the

visions and who effects

apparitions"

his

youth whose
of

death he here mourns;

enemies"

"my
which

have

caused

the

death

these visions; and

"my
it
with

the

overcoming.

The

dying
Song,"

of

love in this song

unites of

the

dying
loss
of

in "The
mood of

Dancing
despair
carries
and

that

is,

with

the eclipse

Wisdom. Zarathustra's
caused

at

the end

of

"The
to

Dancing

Song"

by

the

of

Wisdom
visions

him back

now of

an earlier

dying,

the destruction
caused
and

"the

apparitions"

his

youth.

That loss too

get over

Zarathustra to despair.
such
wounds?

"How did I

endure

it? How did I

overcome

How did my

tombs?"

soul rise again out of such

Zara thustra 's

Dancing Song
also the means
of

151

His
"For me,
will

means of

recovery

then

is

his recovery
("On

now.

you are still

the shatterer

of all

tombs. Hail to thee my

will."

The

that he hails as his deliverer is

shown

in the

next section
of

Self-

Overcoming")
simply

to be life itself. On the occasion

the earlier
and

withstood

his loss; now,

through

love

of

life

the

dying discovery

he
of

life's secrets, he knows how he withstood and withstands. Then, he "walked as a blind man along blessed paths"; now, Zarathustra is beginning to walk
those paths with open eyes.

But
life
of

not

only the
The

means of

deliverance is the
returns

same.

In

learning
ones

to love

more than wisdom

youth.

Zarathustra

to the visions and apparitions

are

his

visions whose

loss he laments
under"

the very

he

re

covers at

in the

gradual

the end of

self-overcoming Zarathustra's "going

shall

that culminates

in the

convalescence

(Part

III, #13). These include

and

his "noblest
dom"

vow,"

the renunciation of

all

nausea;

the words
of

of

his

purity, "all beings

of

be divine to

me;"

and

the words
me."

the

"gay

wis

his youth, "all days shall be holy to These are the truths that Zarathustra rediscovers through his love of life and along with them he regains the ability to dance which he had lost.17 He dances only when he has fully recovered the visions and apparitions of his youth in complete
awareness, that
cost

is,

when

he has

him those
Those

visions.

("The

fully recovered Other Dancing

enemies."

from the teachings

Part

which

Song"

III, #15)
Zara
to whom

visions and

apparitions were

destroyed These
are

by
the

those whom
wise men

thustra now addresses as

"my

Zarathustra had fallen prey and whose wisdom had cost him the still inno cent wisdom of life itself, a wisdom which he then unknowingly had and now knowingly and with pain recovers. His had so successfully
"enemies"

won

him that the

eclipse of

their wisdom in

"The

Dancing
better into

Song"

makes now and rec

life itself
ognizes

seem worthless to

him. But Zarathustra

sees

that the enemy is not life that calls the enemy is

Song"

his

wisdom

question question.

("The

Dancing Song");
"The Tomb Like the

a wisdom

that calls life into

is a recovery, a recovery through life seen as will. it has sung of love but only this song is a love song, Song" has sung of only this song declares his love. Whereas "The Night Song" an ever-unrequited love and "The has ended in a conflict Dancing
other songs

of

two

loves, "The
he

Tomb

Song"

sings of

the
of

resurrection of

his love

of

life.

And this love

covers what
will to power.

puts an end

to the

despair
that

"The Night
can

Song"

for Jie dis

could never

invent,

life

Zarathustra has

overcome

the enmity

be fathomed, that life is of the light against

anything that

shines.

Part II of Zarathustra

Part II,

which contains

the three songs as

its centerpiece, begins

with

152

Interpretation
and of

Zarathustra storming a dream of the failure

to

it

ends

with

his

stillest

hour. At the
rage

beginning,
cave

his disciples

sends

him in dream

from the
own

back
sends

his friends
He

and enemies.

At the end,

of

his

failure
a

him in
of will.

sadness

back to his

solitude again.

Zarathustra's failure is
when

failure

will not embrace what

he knows

his
of

mistress

the stillest

hour

speaks

to him. The

stillest

hours

are the

hours

the greatest events

(Part II, #18 "On Great Events")

and the event

that awaits him is his

becoming
what

the teacher

of

the eternal return.

At the

beginning

of

Part II he

was all mouth with no

restraint;18

he is coming to know and What Life has already revealed to him of will to power is not the end of (Part II, #20) makes clear. The struggle her truth, as "On
Redemption"

he holds back from thinking he holds back from telling his disciples.
at the end

of

the Songs

is

not

the

final

struggle

of

Zarathustra's
will

under."

"going

To

follow Life

and

Life's truth to the end, Zarathustra Zarathustra

able

have to become the

teacher of eternal return.

The Songs
power.

show

becoming

the

teacher

of

the

will

to

They

show

how he is

to

understand

the wisdom of the wise. In

applies

the sections that follow the songs (Part

II, #11-#19) Zarathustra

It is first

his

new

doctrine to the traditional

wisest"

wisdom.

directly

revealed

to to

"you
power

who

are

in "On
as

Self-Overcoming"

(#11).

There

will

is discussed in detail

the

principle

of

life that

unriddles

their

wisdom

coming"

if it be

bad."

by exposing its deepest motives. At the end of "On Self-Over Zarathustra says, "Let us speak of this, you who are wisest, even for the next seven sections, each And he does "speak of
this"

of which
ascetic of

deals
the

with

kind

of wisdom.

Zarathustra discusses in turn "an

Spirit"

who resembles
of

Jesus

are

the products
scholars

modern poets

education

(#13), the cultured ones who (#14), pure knowledge seekers

(#15),

(#16),
life

(#17),

revolutionaries

(#18),

a teacher of

pessimism and nihilism

(#19).19

The love

of

and

the acceptance
of

of

her

whispered

message

give

Zarathustra doctrine
a single

access

to the meaning

life. Now he knows disquisition

this
on

what

life is but
or on

this knowledge does not result in a

of will

life

itself,
is here

the

to

power as such.

Rather,
rival

discovery
is for

applied

to

field,

to wisdom, the single

for Zarathustra's devotion. This

now

seemingly

narrow application of the new

discovery
him to

the only

one

that counts

for Zarathustra. It

enables

unriddle

the wisdom that

heretofore had been his temptation.

A
and

somewhat

broader

application of will to power occurs

application

in Beyond Good
power"

Evil but the broadest

narrow and

thustra and

actually infrequent use of Beyond Good and Evil is

and

is in the Nachlass. The seemingly the term "will to in Zara

not

these works

is certainly

not

reason

surprising given the nature of for denying the metaphysical

Zarathustra's centrality
bule"

Dancing Song

153

of will

to power

as

some
and

have done. Zarathustra is the "vesti

not

of

Nietzsche's philosophy
post-Zarathustra

the

fully
not

structure.2"

articulated

But the

published

works

are

that

fully

articulated

structure either.

As

might

to

power

appears

most

be expected, in Beyond Good frequently and most directly in

philosophy.21

and

Evil too,
and

will

contexts

that are

devoted to the unriddling of doctrine of will to power first

In Beyond Good
the

Evil,
is

the

appears

as

key

to understanding and

destroying
pated

past

philosophy.22

Later the
of

philosopher of
will

the future
as one

antici
uses

as

self-conscious

director

his

to power,
of

who

instance) mimicry historically dominance.23 partnership of Platonism and Christianity, the aim being In Zarathustra, after the discovery that life is will to power in "On
religion

(for

in

conscious

the

successful

Self-Overcoming,"

Zarathustra
and

uses

this new

insight to discuss the

will

wisdom

of

the wise

(#13-#19)
"On

he does

Redemption"

again until section will

Zarathustra

elaborates

power mentioning (#20). But in this extraordinary and climatic the way of the new wisdom, life's wisdom of

so without

to

to power, and he does so in such a way

as

to

show

that it is

still

incomplete. Zarathustra
But in the
also shows
shows

in this

section

(#20)

what man must

do to be
to be

saved.

process

Zarathustra

who would

be the first
put

one

saved

that he can

not yet achieve

it. To

it

another

abandon the all-important

imagery

of

the

section

itself

and to way Zarathustra shows

in

preliminary way
of revenge

what

the necessary

connection will

is between the
the will to
must not.

will to
power

power and eternal return.

The liberated
that wills its

to to

power power

free

the

will

will

learn to

will

the past. "But

not yet saved. revelation

has the

thus?"

will yet spoken points

No it has
and more

Zarathustra is

The hunchback

that out

with

that

Zarathustra

speaks

differently

to his disciples than

his startling he does

himself. That is, the hunchback tells us that the way Zarathustra has just spoken is the way Zarathustra speaks to himself, namely, to one as
to
yet unredeemed.

(Zarathustra usually

speaks

to

his disciples

as

one

fully
he
of

enlightened and

thereby fully
reckless
silent.

redeemed.) The preceding

as

speech realizes

has been
when

Zarathustra's
regrets

most

public speech

he himself

his failure to be
and

The

next section reflects on

the prudence

disguise
himself

in the

section next

following

that Zarathustra takes

alone again,

his leave from

speaks

his disciples. In the

of

Part,

Part III,
return.

Zarathustra

to

redemption, and, in "The

Convalescent,"

is

redeemed

bracing
wisdom

The final step is thus taken. Zarathustra shows his possession

the

doctrine

of

eternal

of

by learning life's
em

of the

redeeming

secret when

in "The Other

Dancing

Song"

he

reverses

the procedure of

"On
to

Self-Overcoming"

and whispers complaint

her

that he will leave

something in Life's ear (in response her). She responds in amazement: "You

154

Interpretation

know that, O Zarathustra? Nobody knows learned that Life who is will to power must
at

But Zarathustra has

also

be

eternal return.

Only

that

point

(in "The Other

Dancing

Song"

which

follows "The Convales

cent") does Life become dearer to him than his wisdom ever was. To return to the language of the three Songs, the full resurrection
the too early buried "visions
apparitions"

of

and shall vow

does

not occur
me"

in Part II. "all days

To

resurrect

the

vision of
me"

"all beings
to
again

be divine to "all
nausea

and
...

renounce

shall

be

holy

to

and

to
eternal return.

Zarathustra has to be
The
pursuit of

reconciled

to

one more

truth

from

life,

that final truth

will

be the dramatic task

of

Part III

of

Zarathustra.

Homo, in On The Genealogy of Morals and Ecce Homo, trans. Walter #1. Kaufmann, (New York: Vintage, 1967), "Why I Write Such Good 2 Arthur Danto, Nietzsche As Philosopher, (New York: Macmillan, 1965), pp.
Ecce
Books,"

19-20.
3

Staples, 1948),
to Thus Spake
*

G. Wilson Knight, Christ and Nietzsche: An Essay in Poetic Wisdom, (London: p. 195. See all of Chapter 5, "The Golden Labyrinth: An Introduction
Zarathustra,''

pp.

158-218.
with

Thus Spoke Zarathustra, translated

p.

an

Introduction

by

R.J.

Hollingdale,

(Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1969),

5

33.
and

The Portable

Nietzsche,

selected

translated

and

Notes

by

Walter Kaufmann
are

(New York:

with an Introduction, Prefaces Viking, 1954), p. 193. Subsequent

quotations

from Zarathustra

from the Kaufmann translation

and

citations

will

be included in the text

0

by

section number.

Thus Spake

Zarathustra,

translated

by
p.

Thomas Common (New York: Russell

and

Russell, 1964, first

are

published

1909),

418. The
songs

"Notes"

are

by Anthony

M.

Lodovici. There

useful comments on
Zarathustra,"

tary
sity,

on

Nietzsche's

in Kevin J. Earls, "A Commen (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Duquesne Univer

the

Socrates Earls
songs.

1974), pp. 254-68 and especially in Werner J. Dannhauser, Nietzsche's View of (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1974), pp. 257-60. Still, neither
nor

Dannhauser is

an

adequate

guide

to the meaning

and

significance

of

the

Feliz

Early commentaries such as Hans Weichelt, Zarathustra Kommentar (Leipzig: Meiner, 1922, zweite Auflage), pp. 85-93, provide little insight on the songs.
best
example of

The

single

how to

read

Zarathustra

as a whole

is Martin Heidegger's
und

in Martin Heidegger, Vortrage Aufsatze (Pfullingen: Neske, 1967, Dritte Auflage) Teil I, pp. 93-118. 'Translated by Walter Kaufmann (New York: Vintage, 1966), #9. "See letters to Franz Overbeck, August 5, 1886 and to Jacob Burkhardt,
short

essay, "Wer ist Nietzsches

Zarathustra?"

Sep

tember

'"

22, 1886. 9 Ecce Homo, "Beyond Good and Ecce Homo, #4. The importance
Evil."

"Zarathustra,"

of

"The Night

Song"

is indi

cated

by

the prominence

Nietzsche
and

gives

to it in Ecce Homo
praised.

"Zarathustra,"

#4, #7,

#8,

where

it is

quoted

in full

nEcce Homo,
Higher
Man,"

"Zarathustra,"

lavishly #6;

see

subsections

#18-#20. On philosophy

Zarathustra, Part IV, #13, "On the and dancing see also Beyond

Zarathustra 's
Good
12

Dancing Song
Lack,"

155
#7 in The

and

Evil, #213

and

Twilight of the Idols, "What Germans

on

Portable Nietzsche.

Additional

guidance

reading

Zarathustra

can

be found in Ecce Homo,

"Zarathustra"; The Gay Science, translated by Walter Kaufmann (New York: Vintage, 1974) #381, #383; Beyond Good and Evil, #30, #40, #44. See also the crucial observation by the hunchback that Zarathustra speaks differently
"Preface,"

#4

and

to

cripples

than he does to his disciples

and

differently

to his disciples than he does to

himself, Zarathustra, Part

Zarathustra
13

II, #20. This being true,

Evil,
"Preface."

we must

be

careful

to

note what

addresses

to

whom.
and

See Beyond Good

The
of

"Preface"

whole of spirit of

the

is

an attack
appreciate

on philosophical

dogmatism

which as a

form

the

gravity fails to

truth.
14

The

works
passim
16

long history of the struggle between life and knowledge in Nietzsche's is discussed in illuminating detail in Dannhauser, Nietzsche's View of Socrates,
.

The

Gay Science, #125,

raises subsection and repudiated.

"The

Madman."

'""Wisdom"

these questions

about

life

again

later (Part III,

#13, "On Old

only to be
over

and

New
17

Tablets,"

#13) but

there this

wisdom

is

mentioned

disparaged

That these
and not

visions

and apparitions
and always

represent

the truths

of

Zarathustra's
is

coming

simply the lost

and

to

be lamented

excesses of youth

shown

Part

in Part III, #2, #13 IV, #19.

18

in the

celebrations of eternal

return, Part

III,

#14

#16,

This is true

of

the

beginning

of

Part I

as well.

In that Part too

in the "Pro in

logue"

"

Zarathustra gradually learns the need for restraint. There is a noteworthy sequence in Beyond Good and Evil
Zarathustra

which

some

re

spects parallels this part of

the truth of

will

to

power and

carefully choosing the proper audience for its implications. It concerns the transition from Part I

by

"On the Prejudices

and

Philosophers"

of

to Part II "The Free

knowledge"

Spirit."

After
to

cheerful

mocking opening to Part II

and which reveals

which repeats

in different form the opening

as a will

of

Part I

(#1),
I

the

vaunted

"will to

ignorance,
in Part
where

Nietzsche

addresses philosophers

directly. He

addresses

them after the critique

where philosophers are

described in the third

person

(the

exception

is #9

Stoics
to

are addressed as representative of one of the

great

follies

of philosophy).

He

addresses them after those scandalized

by

the

attack on

leave (#23). He introduces them as "the most don the spirit of gravity in its most serious manifestation: the

serious"

philosophy have been invited and invites them to aban

will

to

martyrdom.

They

are

willing to die for their

wisdom

because

wisdom

is taken to be life itself.

contrast

Nietzsche invites them to become "free, playful, sors. Later Nietzsche identifies himself with those
philosophers"

light"

in

to their
as

predeces

addressed
"they"

here

friends:

"us

of

the
20

future,

(#34). Nietzsche, #42-#44.

of

course,

retains

the

regarding

philosophers

Letter to Franz Overbeck, April 7, 1884. 2|See #9, #13, #23, #36, #51, #61, #211, #259.
22

#9 especially,

also

#22, #23, #35

and

for unriddling

another

kind

of wisdom.

#51.
23

#61,

also,

#204, #205, #211.

156

ASPECTS OF IDENTITY AND ALIENATION

Nathan Rotenstreich
The Hebrew

University
I

of Jerusalem

Our
it is

concern

in the

present analysis

is

alienation

or separation
and societies

as

conceived

in terms

of

the relation

between individuals

comprising in the present context institutions, dynamics of social processes, as well as different modes of inter-personal behaviour. We em
societies

ploy the term a process in

outcome of

"alienation"

being

aware of

the fact that

alienation connotes

which

individuals

that process.

give away themselves or it connotes the It has to be said at the outset that we are con

cerned not

only

with processes

but

also

with

situations:

tively
be

alienation as self-estrangement

does

not mean

to

denying imply that the

societies

norma-

situa

tion of separateness or
negated or

distance between individuals

and

has to
is

negatively evaluated,

even when self-estrangement proper

morally This preliminary comment is due to the fact that in many porary discussion of the human-social situation the notion of

condemned.

a contem

"alienation"

became large

prevailing notion leading to one in which different modes of inter-personal relations are subsumed under that vague heading. To a very
a

extent

the contemporary usage of the term

use of

"alienation"

carries

the

seal of

Marx's

that term. We have to

self-estrangement

recall

that the main point in

of
one's capacities

Marx's into
to
a

analysis

lies in
or

qua

turning

commodity
exchanged

turning different human

or used

expressions

into
.

be

(Tauschwert)

(Gebrauchswert) Yet
shifts

we

commodity have to

be

aware also of

the fact that Marx's analysis

the emphasis from the

position of

the

individual to the
in

position of man as the might

entity
to

of

the

species

Gattungswesen. Therefore there

meaning
position
of

be

tendency

interpret

the

Marx's
the

analysis point of

alienation

from the

direction according to which to overcome view of the individual is to overcome the very
a

of

individual. To be sure,
has been
amplified

the

implicit

or

explicit

trend of

Marx's

analysis

by

some of

the presentations

of Existenz-

philosophy in its variations. In thesis, namely that the pivotal

is the
to
will,"

this context we
point

have

to mention Heidegger's

in the

analysis of the

human
calls

situation

unconditioned reign which appears as what

which

Heidegger

"the

will

advantage of

is essentially the technological will, namely the will to take nature and impose on it the human rule. In this sense the

technological

impetus is

even

more

significant analysed

in

bringing

about as

human
as

alienation than the economic

impetus

by

Marx. In

much

Aspects of Identity

and

Alienation

157
Neant,"

Sartre is concerned,
implied in the very
carries within

at

least in the

stage of

"L'etre

et

alienation

is

human beings, since that itself the limitation on individual freedom. Thus
coexistence of

coexistence

we can

say

that for

Marx
of

the solution of the problem of alienation

on

lies in the

estab

lishment

freedom

the level of
with

the concern ceases to

and activity.

be

entity of the species; thus individuals in their limited scope of existence

man as an

For Heidegger there is probably no solution to alienation in herent in the technological impetus unless a totally new era which has a human
and ontological

meaning

will emerge. and

For the Existential

a

Philosophy
which

alienation ceases cannot

to be

a process

becomes

primary
to
a

situation

be

overcome. mentioned of

We have
shape

the

different trends

which

very large

extent

the mood

because

our point of

present-day analyses and response to social issues departure lies in an attempt to analyse different modes
and

of relationships

between individuals Hence be

no

societies, different numerically

alone

and

phenomenologically.

generalized, let
or, to put
which

totalistic, interpreta
not
sepa-

tion of alienation can

rateness
amounts

accepted malaise

to

that

every is negatively evaluated in the

it

differently,

different

analyses of alienation.

If

we speak of processes characterized

we can

by

the feature of strangeness or

distance,
opt.

say that there

speaking,
as an

are modes of

distance for
pose a

which we

rightly

Negatively
harmony,

we cannot
ethical

presup
and

sort of

unity, unanimity,

etc.

norm,

therefore we cannot accept the

view

that where there

at

is

no

unity etc., there

analyse more

is

no

confidence, involvement
modes or where

or

being

home. We have to
order

precisely justified and

levels it is

of coexistence

in

to

find

where

distance is

not.

In addition,

and

this

is only
and

a parallel

to the previous comment, in this

analysis we assume that the

individual
cannot

or

individuals
An

relation, let alone identification, between an a social domain in its various manifestations
also physical entities and

be

viewed as a

societies are not.

primary fact. Individuals are identity between the individual

of

tity established,
identification
and
on

accomplished or achieved.

society is an iden Therefore it depends on acts of

who reach out

the part

the

individuals

toward a society

its dynamic is

processes.

what

sometimes called a

reaching 'meaningful
upon

By

out

they

establish

from their
society.

end

relationship'

with
of

the

Since

we point

to the dependence
of

the acts

identification

or even contin

uous attitudes

identification,

the question remains open

as

to

certain

societal patterns which

acts of

lend themselves to

being

the

focus

or goals of

the

individuals in

the direction of identification. The point is significant

which we can attribute
societies

or

precisely since societies are not entities to intentionalities. Hence the openness of
pattern,
while

intentions

has to be

of a structural

or organizational

the

openness of

individuals is bound to be

158
one of

Interpretation

acts, intentions
we

and

intentionalities.
this intentional
as
character

Since

emphasized
and

of

the

identification

between individuals
ask

societies

partners given

ourselves whether or not

there is a

in the correlation, we may identity which lacks an in

as
a

tentional character altogether.

One

could

suggest

model
or

of a

given

identity
and

between

partners

the

identity

between

a person

an

individual be

his body. But

even vis-a-vis

that example

or model

the question can

raised whether

that

it too
the

presupposes

identity is just given, primordial in a sense, or whether acts of identification or, more concretely, acts of turning
or

body

into

fact

factor

which

is identical

with

the individual. If this is

more specific

the case, then an individual performs acts vis-a-vis

himself and,

ally
to

vis-a-vis

his

body, incorporating it
point of

as

it

were
or

into himself

or

himself up to the

identification

full identity. Let

us not

attributing it forget lack

even

psychopathological states which sometimes manifest

themselves in a

of

awareness of the
areas of what counter a

identity

between

an

individual

and

his body. But

in

is

called normal experience, one wonders whether we

do

not en

finger

or

perplexing situation, for instance whether blood taken from one's arm being from the individual is identical with the individual at
extent

least to the
It

that the blood

flowing

in

one's veins

is

part of one's

organism and thus can can

be

attributed

to the individual.

be

concluded that we speak of processes and move

both in terms

of

iden

tity

and

distance

to identification
various we refer
aspects

and alienation when we of

to a symmetry

between the
Because

the

relation

cling between indi further

and

vidual and society.

to processes we can

move

deal

with

different

processes and thus present a multi-levelled situation of

identification

and alienation.

Before

doing

so, let

us make

one

more pre

liminary
the

remark on a certain presupposition of who

the very

self-awareness of

individual

may

maintain

his

individuality

in his

identity

or even

in his identification

with a social pattern.

77

To be sure, in the relation between one's

is
not possible where even when

social sphere

there is

no

identity

modelled after the pantheistic

self-awareness and one's

body: "a

faith

But

individuals have a lively sense of their individuals do not have a "lively sense of
some sense of their

individuality."1

their individu
case that

ality"

they do have
of

individuality,

be it the

they

conceive

their

certain acts

to submerge the
since
not

burn the
and
of

body,

individuality as of a transient character. It takes individuality in the pantheistic whole, e.g., to the body cannot be physically submerged in the whole

deemed to deserve to be submerged there. The absence the sense of individuality2 might explain the fact that some interpreters

possibly is

Aspects of Identity
of

and

Alienation

159

the contemporary
concept

human
of

situation

tend to take the view that there is no

world outlook.

indigenous

alienation

in the traditional Asian

seems to
and

The assumption,
clear

at

least the hidden one,

connotes

be that

where

there is no
cannot who
at

distinction between the individual

the whole,

alienation

take place.
are

Alienation

in this

sense the are

fact that individuals back

and

supposedly
vis-a-vis

submerged

in the society
which

taken

thus are

loss
a

that which is conceived at their milieu. Yet without an

act of

differentiation between that

is the true

being

and that which

attributes

is only
whole

accidental and

transient, i.e.

without and

the act which

to the

the status of the true

can

being
"an

denies the individuals

the

that status

there

be

individualism."

a situation of of

almost complete absence of

of

The
or as

interpretation

the relation

individuality

as

an

individuality

having
of

only is of a different order than that of the awareness the individual in his relation between his individuality and his body.
a quasi status
we

Hence
be it

may

conclude

that the

relation a

between individuals
a

and and

a relation of

submersion, be it
of

relation of

contact,

society be it a

relation of a

breakdown

the contact

viewed as alienation

all

these rela

tions are not given, natural, organic, preformed relations.

777

Having
of

pointed

to the extra-natural or, let

us

say,

reflective character

the relation obtaining between the individual and the society, we may

proceed

to the

analysis of

the notion

and

the problem of alienation.

"Alienation,"

as

this concept is

cussions, is

used

with

different

meanings.

alienation as un-connectedness of

in many contemporary dis Within the broad meaning of the individuals to their societies different
presented

sub-meanings, as it were, are put forward or implied. Unconnectedness may be, in the first place, due to a decision on the part of the individual to main
tain a certain perspective vis-a-vis society
or

certain

segments

of society. as would

This

perspective might case when retreats an

be

motivated

in a society contemporary experience and turns from his society and methodically the contemporary situation into a subject matter of his study. Here aliena
individual
or a

be the

by living

methodical

consideration,

in

situation

tion amounts to a
sometimes called

distance,

or

to

degree

of

distance. This distance is intel

alienation.3

In this sense, the

notion of the alienated

vocabulary.

lectual became

a common notion

in contemporary

Still

at

least

two sub-notions are comprised in the concept of the 'alienated

intellectual.'

The first is

related

to

an

intellectual
not

vocation or

avocation.

Since in

tellectuals may look

and

at

situations

only

as

milieus

of their

experience

involvements but
very
shift

also as

subject matters

of their

analytical

research,

the

to an analytical concern on their part creates a

duality

of

160

Interpretation
and analysis.

involvement
to say, make

it less

naive

As such, it might taint the involvement, that is or less taken for granted than it might have been
attitude.
intellectual"

the case without the analytic

is this: Since intellec meaning of "alienated tuals turn situations into subject matters, they eliminate involvement in a situation altogether. Hence they are rootless or uprooted. Sometimes it is
The
second

not clear whether rootlessness

is

an

outcome

of the

intellectual

analytical

pursuit,

or

it is

an outcome of

the attitude society is

taking

with regard

to

those who study society and are or are not

involved in it.

large,

we

may

conclude

that the meaning of alienation qua

Yet, by distance, since

and

that distance is due to a decision on the part of the person maintaining the

distance, does
the
and society.

not

have

a critical
nor

innuendo,
to be

neither an

innuendo from the

point of view of

the individual

necessarily in the first

from

the point of view of

The distance is

considered

germane
place.

to a

certain attitude

is

not a

deformation,

or not so

IV

We may

consider now a narrower

meaning

of the concept of alienation.

not
clear

This meaning implies a certain critical attitude, though it is whom that criticism is to be addressed. In
a

to

broad

sense alienation as

it is to be
of an

considered now connotes not or a

only

an unconnectedness

but

lack

attachment,

feeling

of a

lack

of an attachment general.

to

a situation at stake or

to the society and its patterns in

A lack of attachment is not conceived as emerging out of a deci let alone a decision inherent in a methodical perspective. The lack is sion, due to the fact that something went wrong in the relation between the in dividual and the society, that is to say that the situation or the society does
not generate the

feeling

of

attachment, but
relation

on an

the contrary

generates

the

feeling

of

dissociation. The

between

individual

and

society has
of at

to have as its norm the

engendering in the individual of a tachment. When this feeling is not engendered, the position
nected
and

feeling

of the uncon

individual is

an

indication

of a social problem

between individuals fact that

the norm,

their respective societies.

Once individuals falls

short

are aware of the

comparison with of

the situation as it prevails the reaction of the

factually

in

individuals follows the

that many a

feeling

the gap between the

factual

and

the normative.
sense

It is in this
terness or

discussion deals

with alienation as of

bit

in terms

of other expressions of

the attitude
as
a

disappointment.

It is in this

context

that alienation appears or, somewhat

synonym of a political

feeling

of

injustice

and

bitterness;4

differently,
reading
of

alienation

is

viewed as political apathy.

Yet

a closer

these pieces of

analysis

Aspects of Identity
of the social situation might render
suggested

and

Alienation

161

somewhat

identification

of

alienation with

different meaning to the apathy in the area of political

attitude of

action.

Eventually

the reference is made to the

doubt:

"they
and or of

doubted the

qualifications and effectiveness of

American
solve

voters

and ques

tioned whether

the political institutions could

major

national

international

problems."5

Though the

analysis as conceived problems as

in sociology be

political science

does

not raise

fundamental

to the notion

alienation employed

in this context, these

problems cannot

disregarded,

Let

us raise some of

the questions pertinent to the situation of the alleged

alienation.

The tacit

assumption seems

to

be

twofold

one:

The first is that the

political
political national

normative situation

is

one where voters are effective

in shaping the
norm

process; the second assumption seems to be that it is the

that

institutions
and

ought

to cope
sphere.

with and

to solve

major problems

in the

international
of

The first
the
of

assumption

is

related

to the positive
assumption problems.

impact
relates

individuals

on

political

process;

the

second

to the positive

impact

institutions

on pertinent

human

sumption

If there is alienation, then it comes about due to the gap between the as and reality, or between the expectation and the situation as it

factually is.
Hence
or an

we

have to
in

conclude that alienation

is

mediated

by
do

an

ideology

expectation; the institutions and the political processes are conceived

grounded a certain

as

being

pattern,

while

factually they
in terms

not exhibit

the pattern or

they lost
and

their pattern. Alienation

of the relation

between individuals

institutions is in turn tied up

and

with

the

relation

between the institutions

their presupposed ideological

substance.

Hence,

alienation conveys
of a

ing

in terms

factual

situation
and

the society; it conveys,

meaning.

only a descriptive mean between the individuals and prevailing it intends mainly to convey, an evaluative

in the

context not

It is wrong that this the wrong done is the feeling

erated

situation should prevail and

the indication

of

of

bitterness

and the sense of

of

injustice

gen

by

the situation. The

and

reflective

character

the

relation

between

the

individuals

the society accounts for the

response on

the part of the

individuals
to reality,

to this reflection on the presuppositions, on the one

hand,
the

and

on

the

other.

Yet it
as

seems

to be

still unclear whether of

situa-

ion is that
suggest

unequivocal
context.

the

employment

the term

alienation

would

in this

The implication that there

the attitude
of

exists

one-to-one and

correlation

between
the

apathy

and

the

inhibiting

forbidding

character of

162
political process calls

Interpretation

for

some serious

doubts. The
an

theoretical

doubt is due
response

to

one's

wondering

whether

there is at all

a priori

fitting

to

conditions,

or whether

there are

several possible responses related

to

a con

apathy being just one of them. For instance: facing the "thick human reality may engender (looked at it systematically) a pro jection of an Utopian view; it might generate an eremitic attitude which is

dition,

with

ness"

of

not

identical,
track

and

by
a

no

means

so,

with

apathy,

since

an

eremite might outside and

dedicate himself to
main

cultivation of

human
as

welfare which

lies

the

of

the

political

process,

monasteries

have done

do.

Apathy
sponse
or

grounded

to

political

in bitterness is only one of the possible attitudes of re conditions. To some extent it takes a decision, an overt
other

tacit one, to select one attitude out of

not

possible

attitudes. also

The
an

decision is

only

response

to

stimulus; it is

grounded

in

evaluation of

the

political process as well as

in

a relative evaluation of cer

tain avenues of
one's own outside

behaviour to be pursued, i.e. vineyard, or whether one is still

whether one

is

concerned with

related

to societal

life,
area.

though

the political domain in its

main conclusion

organized and

institutional

The

to be derived from this deliberation is that inso

far

as

there is apathy, and apathy is looked at as to some extent the

^//-alienation.

being

identical

with aliena sense

tion, there is

Alienation in this

is

not

an automatic result of

political

process,

and one wonders whether there

are automatic results

in this

area at all.

Empirically,
attitude

and this

is

rather an
"thick"

important consideration,
political process

one

may

point an

to the fact that a very

not of

sometimes engenders

apathy but in the

pre

cisely

an attitude of rejection and revolt. are

In this

sense the

rejection and

the

rebellion sense of

the other side

of

the coin of

self-alienation

positive

the

term,

where

human beings

are engaged

political process or

in

an attempt

to shape

in the shaping that process against its

of the
estab

lished institutions. Criticism is from

a sort of an alienation

being

identical

with apathy.

It

means

that we
political

but is obviously far do not take it as

process rooted

self-

evident

that only an identification

and

with

the

in in
prevail

volvement

participation

provide

for the

adequate

attitude

to

between individuals
attitudes as well.

and societies.

Rejection

and

involvement

are adequate

The first

conclusion to

the term alienation

enable which

is

ambiguous

be derived from the preceding and calls for a further

analysis

is that
to

elaboration

us, among other things, to distinguish between a mode of alienation indicates the static relation between individuals and societies as ex

apathy versus a dynamic mode of which indicates the tension between rejection and participation. The second consideration centers on a closer analysis of the
withdrawal to
process and

pressed

in the

relation

political

the

feeling

of

impotence

which engenders

bitterness

and

apathy

Aspects of Identity

and

Alienation
one of

163
two alterna
social

in the

minds of

the voters. The voters usually vote for

tives or
goals or

for both:

They

vote

for

broad

platform related

to certain

ideological is

objectives such as

welfare, peace, the

or

nature of econ

omy in terms
personality capacity
specific

of central

planning

or

free market;

they

vote

for

a concrete and the

who

viewed as
and

embodying the pursuit of the

a given situation.

goals

of

judgment
such as

foresight in
is

They

vote also

for

issues
an

the voting

age or

the

abolition of capital punishment.

There is

in-between decisions
or

area which

not

of concrete

which

indeed

can

up for popular voting, the area be viewed as related to the over

call
as

riding

goals

relative

ideological objectives, but evaluation. This would be the case

for

expert

knowledge

and

to the

relative amount spent

in the budget for

there

defence,

for

social welfare or education.

In

democracy

is

a certain
an

collaboration

between
and

the aspect of popular

shaping
shapes

overriding decision

the aspect of expert

voting as knowledge which

and

the concrete and scattered

decisions. It

would

be futile

mis

leading

to assume

a permanent or even a sporadic

of

harmony

between

these

two expressions of the attitudes

This
of

aspect of

shaping policy decisions. the parallelism and intersection between the two be looked
at

ways

shaping the

political process can

from

an

additional point

of view as well.

We have to distinguish
or

between,
of

e.g., the

adherence

to the

concept of

majority rule,
the
rule of

to the concept

the rule of

law,

and

the con

crete embodiment of the

maxim of

majority or even the concrete embodiment of the law. We may agree to the principle of majority rule
concrete

but
and

we

may reject the concrete decisions taken by a now. Our adherence on the one hand and our distinction between
principles and

majority here
the
other

rejection on whose

presuppose a

decisions

legitimacy

is asserted, but whose wisdom or feasibility is questioned. Hence a certain alienation inside the political process, to the extent that alienation does not
mean

unconnectedness, is

essential

for the dynamics

about

and the of

flexibility

of

that process. This

regard to

flexibility
very
of

brings

a certain grain

freedom

with

the individual who may take concurrently two

principle of

parallel positions:
or

He

might criticize the

the rule
so

of

the majority,
as

only the

concrete manifestations
presuppose the principle principle.

the majority in
are

far

these

manifestations

but

only
to

concrete acts of

The

over-identification with

the

political process

narrowing down the leads eventually

over-identification

to a

levelling

down

of

the

process

one

layer

only.

This

may lead in turn to a dogmatic fanaticism whereby every act of jority is considered to be not only legitimate, but also adequate.
The
adherence

the ma

to a

principle and a critical attitude vis-a-vis

the con
position

crete embodiments of that principle can

of

be

viewed

from

broader

human behaviour,

which

in turn is
lead to

pertinent

to the

question of alienation.

An

over-identification might

a contraction of

the

human personality

164
and of

Interpretation

political realm adherence

human performance, and along with them to turning the into a one-sided and one dimensional realm. In
to the
principle of

social and case one's

ready-

the rule

of

majority leads him to the

any decision taken by that majority, one identifies, that is to say over-identifies, the principle with those who govern and decide. This is a contraction of the political sphere. If one assumes this, what really
made approval of counts

is the

content of

the decision and not the principle underlying the

principle and care

decision,

one will

be inclined to disregard the

would not care whether

only for
ac

the content.

One

the content is put forward

cording to the
may
assume

principle of

the majority

rule or not.

In addition,

once we we

maintain a situation

in

which

different layers

of public

life

are

present,

that different

responses of

different individuals
and

might

be forth

coming.

Different layers
must

enable

both identifications

disidentifications :
expressive situ

"the individual
ational

be

seen as someone who organizes

his

behavior in

relation

to situated activity roles,

but

...

in

doing

this
and

he

uses whatever means are at of pointed

hand to introduce
situation."

a margin of

freedom
and

maneuverability,

disidentification, between himself

the

the self
social

virtually
quired to

available

for him in

"One

great

theme

of

organization

the role

is the scheduling of roles: the individual is allowed and re thing in one setting and another thing in a different setting, that is given primacy at one occasion being dormant on
be
one
of

another."6

In terms

the problem
or

of alienation

the

outcome of

this analysis is

that a certain alienation

freedom in the for

an exclusive

sense of a

disidentification is the corollary of a certain distance maintained by the individuals. A call

and

identification

for

an across

the

board
to

criticism of alien a preservation of

ation viewed as

being

only

negative

does

not amount

human freedom. It
submersion of
will

might eventually mean a call for a total and exclusive individuals in one layer of the human situation. Hence it

be

call

addressed

to the individuals to

forego

"pockets"

certain

of

freedom.

VI
This analysis,

conducted from the angle of the individuals, has obvi ously to be supplemented from the angle of the society and the political processes. We suggest a distinction between decisions taken which disre
gard out

human

to
us

Let

considerations and decisions whose spill-over carry in themselves a de facto disregard for human begin with the second type of dynamics.

outcomes

turn

considerations.

A
of

prominent example of the accidental character of the estrangement

and products

human institutions

from human life is

the

widely discussed
seems correct to

problem of pollution caused

by

the

growing technology. It

Aspects of Identity
say:
exist

and

Alienation
and vehicles came

165
to

(a) Technology
as means

and

the technological devices

for easing of the human toil. Yet technology reached a it makes human life easier in terms of the investment of whereby but makes in some areas human life more difficult in energy needed,
point

terms of its
of

impact

on

human health. On
of

the one
of

hand

tremendous
and

amount

energy

goes

in the direction

solving
of

health

problems

on the

opposite end nology,

human health is

endangered
effects

by

the spill-over results of tech

are not

(b) The endangering

technology

the

results

of

deliberate actions, as would be the case with the using of chemicals to fight human beings. The harmful results of DDT (and DDT made malaria
obsolete)
and

were not

intended. The intention

and

was

to extend the facilities of

of

for human life This is the

subsistence,

yet

the fall-out

technology

turns in

these cases against the

first intention
aspect

which promoted

technology.
results
con

accidental

of

alienation, whereby the

form to the intention

still makes

because,
life,

e.g., the

automobile with a gasoline motor

results

traveling

easier or

faster. Yet the

have

harmful impact
place within

on other areas of

human

which were not

in the first

the

direction

of

the particular technological

particular case

device is

at stake.

Alienation in this
one-sided approach

caused
we

by

two factors:

(a) by

to human existence:
and

tend to pick

up

one aspect of
other aspects

existence, e.g., transportation,

of

by the
of

same

token disregard
on

existence, the

long

range

impact

the

vehicles

the environment;

(b)
put

the second aspect is to

be

accounted

for

by

the limitation of human

planning: we

do

not predict the whole range of the effects of our we

action, or,

it in

different way,
and

do
see

not

foresee the

effects of

the

effects of our

de

liberate

actions.

We tend to
not

the

intentions
the

tend

to

see

conformity between the outcomes and the because of the limitation of our pre-view

secondary effects engendered by the primary effects. Taking into consideration the pattern of accidental
pose

alienation we are

bound to

the question

Granted that

we could not anticipate

the

out

come of our actions

(and the fact that

we could not anticipate

them makes the

this mode of alienation

outcome

into

an accidental

one)

once we realize what view

is,

are we

to leave it as it is? Do we take the

that once the

accidental outcomes are

to the extent that

we

there, they do have their own automatic propensity cannot try to direct them or to divert them, even to
modes of

the point of making them cease to exist?

A
istic
of

closer

look into the

human behaviour
as

will show not

that the
a

readiness of

attitude of

leaving the looking

might

spill-over effects

at

the results as if
some

they they

are

is

due to

fatal

were a

cataclysmic event

nature.

There

the discernment of the

reasoning behind this quasi-fatalism, and the reasoning brings us a step further in our analysis of

be

phenomenon of alienation.

166

Interpretation

Once
pollution operated vehicles

we

know that the

gasoline-operated
we want

automobiles

cause

the air
horse-

we

face the dilemma: do

or

to

go

back to the

vehicles,

do

we

want

to

maintain

in

spite of their

hazardous
since we or good

effects?

the mechanically We face this dilemma,

operated whether

we
our

articulate scale
of

it

or

not,

face the

question whether we

cherish

in

values

life

life,

understood

here

as

comfort.

The

dynamics

of the

society

and

the habits of

they
be

accept without as

questioning the validity

expressions of

individuals, of the dynamics,

the conformity
all

which

these may

viewed

tacit

the preference for comfort, even when

comfort

defies the underlying value of human life. This sort of alienation of the comfort of life from life as the sub-structure for comfort and essentially
as the

very
on

reason

for

it, is

an alienation

which,

at

least to

some

extent
of act etc.

relies

the tacit consent of the

individuals to the do

drifting
held;

character

events as

they

go.

To be sure,

a referendum was not people

no explicit

of consent

is involved. But the fact that

a consent

keep buying
taken

cars,

is

an

indication that

is there. factor
which

Yet there is
tion.

an additional

has to be life

into

considera

Empirically
bestowed

speaking, the clash between

on

and comfort and

might not

the pref
so

erence
as

the
the

later

the

formulation

of

implying alienation dichotomy tends to convey

be

fatal
us

it. The

experts

tell

that there are possibilities

be,
not

at

least,

for constructing mechanical vehicles which less hazardous. The understanding is that these vehicles

will are who

being

constructed

because

of

economic

consideration

for those

construct

vehicles, envisaging loss

or restriction of profit.

If this is the

case

then we encounter a

different

situation

from the

point of view of alienation:

human beings lated for the

are

taken advantage of, their drive for comfort is manipu

sake of

engrossing the

profit.

Here human beings

are not

left

to the momentum of their own;

erences.
an

they

are not

left to

their

hidden tacit

pref

They are objects in the hands of others. Not their preference, even ill-conceived one, is guiding their lives. What is guiding their lives, is the manipulation dictated by the concern for profit, the concern which
makes make

human beings into

objects

objects

that are dragged and do not

accordance
of with

decisions,

explicit
an

or

implicit ones, in

their

own

preferences.

To be

object, is to be in terms

the market, a commodity.

We

move

here from the

accidental alienation to alienation proper, as the

classic analysis of alienation

had it.
VII

Marx's
centers
on and

analysis of the phenomenon

and

the

dynamics
value

of of

alienation

two

interrelated

concepts:

the exchange

labor
and

and

person,

the

turning

of

the

person

from his

metaphysical

moral

Asp ec ts of Iden tity

status as a person
sion of

and

A lienation
at

167
not as an expres

into

thing (Sache). We look

labor

human activity and even of man's primordial position in the world, whereby he has to create the means for the satisfaction of his needs. We
look
at

labor from the induction its

position of

its

value

in the

market

and

exclusively from the

the angle

so a

we

turn labor into a commodity. What is important

which

at

this juncture is

sort of a

takes
man

place:

Since labor is

viewed

position of

exchange

value,

behind labor is
angle of

viewed

from

of

his

exchange value as against

the

his inherent
of

value as a person

and not as a amounts

thing. The

real

issue in the shifting

in society
and

the value considerations

a total angle

virtually to making the

over-economization
change

economic angle

into

for the

evaluation of the position of man

in the
the

world.

The

of

the outlook is

driving

force in the
This

thrust for the

taking

place which

turns

man

into

a commodity.

has to be
an

stressed

because

we

may

still

hold the

view that
and

there might be

economic, that is to say,

within

exchange

ingredient
for

the mutuality of ex

change,
ceives

the realm of inter-personal relations. The

or

fact that

one re

compensation

remuneration

one's

necessarily that
of of

one's work

has only
the

an exchange

work, does not mean value. The contraction

the value character of work as labor or as product is an overstepping

the boundaries

delineating

ingredient

of

the

exchange value which

is

present

in the situation, without situation. Thus if one listens to a

are

forming

the exclusive character of that

guide who
building"

tells you that the

library

you

the

visiting is a "five million dollar books stocked in the library or

to
a

and

he does

not

tell you

about

about special collections evaluation of the aspect

kept there,

one

is

exposed

shifting from
the

broad

library

to the evalu
of

ation of the

money

aspect of

the building. This

is there because
not give

the

physical erection of

building;

but certainly it does

of

justice
and

to the position of the terms of the

building
library.

in terms

the

objective

it

serves

in

totality

of a

If this contracting shift is to be deplored in terms of a building, the more is it to be deplored in terms of human beings engaged in various
areas of societal activities.
about

The dynamics
even more

of

the economic process brings

this turn into a Sache

it. The

manipulative aspect of economic

strongly than Marx had envisaged life exposes human beings to con
objective of which

ditioning.

They

are exposed to

advertisement, the
real or spurious.

is to

Since the economy de make them aware of their needs, pends on a rapid turn-over of goods, human beings are made to conform not to their own pace and their own deliberations, but to the accelerated
pace of

the

economic change

and

production:

Production is

consumption

and

not

the other
or

way

around. on

Since

directing the financially everybody

into the
predomi-

depends,
process

to a

greater

lesser

degree,

the process of production, the

and

is

made

into

a measure

for human life

thus

168

Interpretation

nantly human
In

determining
existence.
addition

factor in the

whole

complexity

and

complexion

of

to this exposure,

which

has

component

of

anonymity,

persons when conditioned

by

the productive process are as a matter of

fact
and
and

by other human beings. The turn into a commodity is concomitant with the encroachment both on human freedom thing on human equality: Human freedom is impaired since human beings
being
a manipulated

are

least partially, of an area for their decisions; human equality is impaired since human beings are made dependent on decisions of other

deprived,

at

human beings

who utilize with regard and

to them the techniques of condition

ing

and of

creating

The
and

economic area

recreating is susceptible to this

needs.

shift

from in

needs to products

to the

phenomenon of alienation which goes economic sphere

along

with a

that

shift.

This
to

is

so

because the

cannot

be

viewed

way

similar

the political sphere: The economic sphere

does have its

point of

departure

in the generating propensity of human needs, reaching out for their satis faction. Thus the satisfaction is dependent upon certain creative acts em bodied in
at,
and commodities and
at

in

services.

The

political sphere can

be looked
of

has been looked

and

like this,
of men.

as

one

of the manifestations

the

sovereignty
action. can

their respective

personal

autonomy boundaries
does
the

Men

extend

their autonomy beyond

and create a common sphere of

inter

Now,

the impact of the

make

economic political

make

and

activity is that pressing, that it sphere subservient to its own

dynamics.

Once human beings

autonomy; it becomes

are treated as commodities and are

manipulated,

the political sphere too ceases to

an agent
not

be

an extension

and

manifestation of

beings into things. Yet it is

turned

true that the

an

in the alienating process of turning human human beings are automatically

extreme situation where

into

commodities.

In

they face

the

dilemma

either economic subsistence and

transformation into
one could

a commod

ity

or

extinction

and

preservation
opt

of

autonomy

theoretically
sur

assume that
vival. selves

human beings

for

subsistence which
not

is tantamount to

But in many

situations this

is

the case: Human beings let them

be

manipulated

because

manipulation evokes
aspiration

in them

a response

they

can approve
of

of, for instance the

a youthful
modern

character,

conspicuous

for change, vogue, preservation consumption, etc. On the opposite

end,
and

society did

not enlarge the scope of the concept of the services

did

not

existence.

apply this concept to some of the most vital areas of human This is the case in the medical area where there are no medical

services related to the status of the

human

person as a man and where

he

is bound to

go

out

for his

physical

survival

to the medical services and

buy

them. These

are not

services, but commodities. Once

they

are

commod-

Aspects of Identity

and

Alienation

169

ities, human
commodity.

existence

too, in
at

one of

the most sensitive areas,

becomes

Society
did
of

was

able,

least partially, to turn

of approach

schools

into

services.

Yet it
in

not extend this

line

to some of the most crucial spheres

human lives. Even

cases:

work

is

not a service rendered

to men as we

see

many
and

human beings
work of

are not
or

sufficiently

remunerated

for their

work

they leave

altogether

supplement

their earnings
earned and

by
the

welfare public

subsidies.

Instead

pulling together the

wages some

money
paid,

flowing
are

through the welfare

funds,

human beings does

are under

and

dependent its

on

the meager sums of their earnings

not

and

on

the public agencies in control of the subsidies. Work these

cases and
even minimal objective subsistence.

achieve

in

This brings

about
on

thicker
other

thicker

modes

of

dependence

of

certain

human beings
a

human beings. In the is far from

communist

development: the
many
a case

state provides

being

complementary for work, though the level of the wages in satisfactory, even from a very modest point
satisfaction of

world

we

see

of view.

But for the

sake of

the

the need to make a

all other

living,

people are called

to pay the

price of

giving up

human demands

like freedom to criticize, freedom to repudiate the official line, freedom to get out, etc. The communist regimes are based, paradoxically of course,
on

the

isolation
of

of

the elemental economic sphere of subsistence from all

societal

other areas

human

life.

They
in

are

based

on are

the

evaluation

that

for the

sake of the economic survival

human beings

willing to disregard
form that they do
are

other aspects of social not care

life,

or

even

a more extreme

for

all

the other areas of social

life

once

their need for subsistence

values

is

guaranteed.

This
not

being
have

so,

aspirations

and

brushed

aside

because they do
of

objective of subsistence.

the exchange value

an independent status, outside of promoting the The phraseology does not center on the concept of labor and of the human beings as commodities.

But the

practice adheres outcome

to the

exchange value.

The

of

our

analysis

can

be

summed

presupposition of at

least

a certain amount of

up as follows: The freedom lies in the distance

between the individuals

and

depends to
individuals

some extent on

the society and its institutions. This distance human self-awareness, that is to say, that the take a
of certain stand on vis-a-vis society.

with self-awareness
presupposes

But

this distance
and

a mode

behavior

the part of the society

its institutions, granting the sphere of distance for the individuals and not creating for them an ultimate situation whereby they are bound to take extreme decisions or whereby they are forced to behave as if they
took these decisions:
either

live

or preserve certain values.

In

cases where

society does

not

leave

room

for these diversified decisions

guided

and

creates

pattern of a monolithic

behavior

by

the exchange and commodity

170
value of

Interpretation

human beings, the is

not a

real

and
of

obnoxious

alienation

occurs.

This

alienation

manifestation

distance is
a

qua

freedom; it is

rather

a manifestation of an abyss and as such

corollary

of oppression.

VIII

The loss implied in

aspect of alienation.

alienation as a

As

loss,

fact and as process is the negative it has to be distinguished from dissociation

the
of of
significant

and

distance. Here

we encounter

and

telling

change

which

came about
got

in the understanding transplanted from the sphere

the concept of

alienation.

The

concept

the relationship between man and the

of

divine transcendent duals

and

being
where

to the

area

the relationship
are

between indivi
in the domain

societies,

both

partners

being

placed

of immanence. "For ecstasy is naught but going forth of a soul from itself God."7 "[T]he it becomes immersed in caught up in God and its soul

being having its

The
a

acts

in God

by

virtue of

its

union with

him, lives
value

the

life

of

God."8

presupposition

of

the
who

ecstatic

notion of

of

alienation

is that

there

is

transcendent

being
with

in terms

his

supreme

being. Union

that

being

is the highest
sphere

achievement.

quality is the The

loss

is neutralized, more in over, compensated by the union with the transcendent being. The loss on life compensated is terms of life on the level of the human being by
caused

by

the

removal

from the human

the

level As

of

God. The loss is essentially

an elevation.
of

against

this,

the

negative

evaluation

alienation, in its
presupposes

various

ingredients
tion or
and

as analyzed

in the preceding

discussion,
entity

the nega

abolition of

the self-contained transcendent level of

are not a self-contained positive value

reality.

Society
within of

its institutions

and

do

not

carry

themselves the

immediate

quality.

Society

is

creation

the individuals. The fact that

not of an elevation creation.

they
lack

are at

loss

but

of a

of rapport

with society is an indication between them and their own

The immanent

character of as against

society,

and

to some extent the sec the individuals the

suspi

ondary
and cion

character of

society

the given

character of

the self-sufficient character of the that the created society looses

around as

divine

being,
or

brings
as a

about

its

character

created

moves

if it

were

transcendent

self-contained

entity and being. The

relationship pertaining between individuals and societies as their creation is different from the relationship pertaining between a creator and the work of art which is his creation. In terms of the relationship between individuals
and

the work

of

art, the

presupposition

seems

to

be that

the

work of art gains through the act of creation a position

independent from

that of the creator. The ontology of the work of

from the ontology

of

the society

and

is supposedly different its institutions. The reason for that

art

Aspects of Identity difference

concrete concrete of

and

Alienation

111

seems

to lie in the fact that human beings

their created works of art, while

do

not

live their

lives lives

within

within and

through society to be a

and

they do live their its institutions. Detachment

and runs against on of

the work

of art

is to be society

considered part of the position of the work of

seems perversion

art.

Detachment
of

of

the

propensity
raison

the creating individuals. Alienation

seems

to

confer

the

creations of the

individuals

a status

these creations lack in terms

their

d'etre. Thus

alienation

is

a perversion

in terms
a

of

jects

subservient

to their creations.

It is

also

perversion

making the sub in terms of

creations.

changing the proper ontological status of the different human Society lacks both the pre-existent transcendence of the divine
the

being
the

and
on

bestowed independence

of the works of art.

The

perversion of

tological order comes along with the perversion of the moral order.

Again,
spirit

alienation

both in the
it,9

sense of elevation and

well

the

flight

of

the
as

as

Saint Teresa has

as

as

in its

negative

connotation

perversion, is related to deeds, to deeds of transposing the spirit or to deeds of subjugating the human beings. Alienation in both these senses is
not viewed

as

primordial

forlornness
the meaning

of man

in the world,

as

modern

Existenz does
we

not

Philosophy imply a grain

careful

tends to view the

of

human
of

condition.

Indeed, forlornness
but

the concept of alienation,

have to be
notions.

various and to
point

in seeing the important differences between the There is a tendency to bring all these notions together
on

look
case
of

at

them as varieties
view

the same theme. But

which we move

they

are not.

in

is Sartre's

according to

position about

freedom to the secondary

or

position

of

from the primary subjugation, brought

side
of

by

alienation,

subjugation

being
an

the

other

the coin

of

alienation.

Strange
alienation as

as

it may sound, there is

a

additional

parallelism

between

In both God is

views

elevating ecstasy the position is not

and alienation as

subjugating

estrangement.

fleeting

one; it is

a permanent and con union with of

stant status.
a a

The

adherence achieved through the

transforming
permanence

permanent

status; the status,

perversion

inherent in the

alienation renders

labor is

permanent

and

precisely that

to

alienation the position of

reality
seems

or of a structure of reality.

The difference
permanent who

between these two

union

views

to

be

this:

is

achieved

himself through his

terms
of

in ecstasy through a own acts. The alienation

order

The transforming deed of an individual

vis-a-vis

loses

the individual in the

anonymous

the social
of

is

one not

accomplished

through

processes

the society and

through individual acts carried out

and mystic
related

by
the

individuals
mous

through their
of

disciplined

immersion. The anony

to alienation
since

character

the

social

existence

is

human beings lose in society

their

character

by becoming

commodities.

172

Interpretation

The

status

of

commodity levels down the individuals

and

their personal

accomplishments,
through the

including
of

the

personal accomplishment

of their elevation

flight

their spirit.

The for

ecstatic

elevation

interpreted
with

as

permanent

condition

called

a permanent act of

identification

the divine being. The permanent

condition of alienation

in the

social sphere

is due to the

rhythm of

the

social

process

and
acts

between
are

it too does rely on and processes in the

not

acts.

We

encounter

here the dialectic

social

social

field. Though

institutions

created, they do
extent

to some

initial self-supporting status; they move through the changed institutions. The preservation of the

have

an

institution
rhythm

and

the changing of the preserved

social process

institutions is the double

itself to institutions.
awareness of

of the

insofar

as

it

addresses

Once the institutions

human beings

are

there,
in the

the goal

is

changed.

In the

the

engaged

aspiration

for

change

for it the identification is

groundwork

with the goal of change.

in the striving institutions are the The

and struc

for the

change.

The

acts of

identification disregard the

ture and adhere to the goals, though the goals presuppose the

structure.10

In
society,
rather

an we

institutionalized society,
encounter maintain

which

is tantamount to
tension:

an organized
seems

therefore this the

particular

It

to be

difficult to

position of

the institutions as that of goals of

human aspirations, once the institutions are present and are thus taken for granted for new human actions and newly formulated human aspirations.

Institutions turn
when

out

to be

goals when

they

are

endangered, that is to say,

they

adhere

be takeri for granted, at least in the eyes of those who to them. The position of being a goal is the correlate of the posi
cannot

tion

of not

being

taken for granted

shift

and

the

price paid

by

established

in

stitutions

is that they

from the

position of goals

to

one of

backgrounds

for

actions and aspirations.

part of our analysis we have to restate the follows: The distance between the individual and the society which is wrongly characterized as amounting to alienation is the corollary of freedom of the individual, and it can find its expression both in a with come
as position

To

back to the first

drawal from society and in identification attitude of individuals an automatic result

tion
overpowers

with
of

it. In

neither

case

is the
aliena

the processes. Where

attitude

the

conscious

or

intentional

it is

negative

because it suppresses the basic human condition of reflection intentionality. Where alienation as a process or the state of affairs qua distance expresses intentional attitudes it is part and parcel of the dual
phenomenon
and rhythm of

human

existence.

That

rhythm consists

in both

acts of

identifica

tion and acts of

taking
to

distance. In this
is

sense a

totalistic interpretation

and negative evaluation of alienation

of alienation related man

not warranted

because
the very

one aspect
position

distance is

concomitant with

of

in the

world.

Asp ec ts of Iden tity

As
a matter
social

and

A liena Hon
across onto a
phenomenon

173
of

of

fact As

we

come

here

trans
of of

posing the
man

criticism

of

alienation a

the ontological
analysis

position

and

the world.

we suggest

differentiated
The

of modes

separateness,
of man

we also suggest a

differentiated

analysis of

the social position

and

his

ontological

position.

ontological

position

(being
of

the
of

more

basic one),

entails also

the

guidelines

for

a normative evaluation

the social existence,

ontological

namely
or

whether

it

conforms at

to the
this

spectrum

the

freedom
not

suppresses

it. Again

last

point

social and

criticism

is

evaluation of

only justified but essential for the ontological man. The irony is that a totalistic interpretation
alienation

analysis

of alienation man with

may lead to

an

from the

ontological
an

position

of

all

the consequences which go along with such

interpretation.

Durkheim, Professional Ethics and Civic Morals, trans. Cornelia (Glencoe, 111.: Free Press, 1958), p. 59. Idem, p. 58. 'See Joseph H. Schwab, College Curriculum and Student Protest (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1969), p. 268. Erving Goffman, Asylums: Essays on Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates (Chicago: Alohis, 1961), p. 72. 5 Michael Aiken, Louis A. Ferman, and Harold L. Sheppard, Economic Failure, Alienation and Extremism, (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1968), pp. 8, 142. "Erving Goffman, Encounters: Two Studies in the Sociology of Interaction (Indi anapolis: Liberal Arts Press 1961), pp. 132-33. 7 The Living Flame of Love by St. John of the Cross, with his letters, poems, and minor writings, trans. Davis Ixwis, with an Essay by Cardinal Wiseman, ed. and introd. Benedict Zimmerman (London: T. Baker, 1939), p. 53. The Complete Works of Saint John of the Cross, trans, and ed. E. Allison Peers, Vol. Ill, (Westminster, Mass.: The Newman Press, 1953), p. 233. " The Complete Works of Saint Teresa of Jesus, transl. and ed. E. Allison Peers, Vol. 1, (London: Sheed and Ward, 1946), p. 119. 10 See Nathan Rotenstreich, Basic Problems of Marx's Philosophy (Indianapolis: Interna Bobbs-Merrill, 1965), mainly pp. 144 ff.; and "Spontaneity and tional Philosophical Quarterly, XI, No. 4 (December 1971), pp. 475 ff.
Emile
Brookfield
2 ' *
Alienation,"

174

PROGRESSIVISM AND POLITICAL SCIENCE:

THE CASE OF CHARLES E. MERRIAM

Glenn N. Schram Marquette

University

I in the United States discussion

of

An
the route
of

analysis

of the state of political

science

and

by

which

it

was attained must

include

the thought

Charles E.

Merriam, for Merriam

the intellectual
some extent

and

his

students

helped significantly

in the found
of

creation of
success.1

climate

in

which

the behavioral revolution

To

Merriam's

his time, but they also had a factors contributed to the success

merely reflected the views formative effect on behavioralism. Other

views of

the behavioral
of

revolution

dissatisfac
and

tion with what many felt to be the aridity

tutional analysis which
example of more

the

historical, legal,

insti

formerly

had

predominated

scientifically

oriented social

in the profession; the sciences; developments in sta

tistics and mathematics which the

invited

application

by

political

scientists;

and a

availability in logical philosophy

this ethos.

empiricism of what

Merriam himself

lacked,

sophisticated

of science.

But behavioralism
and

needed an ethos an

in

order

to

succeed of

to the extent it

did,

Merriam

provided

influential

formulation
at the same

One

or

two others

made some of

the

same points

time; but nobody

the same

else made so extensive a charge as

to the

pro

fession, in
entists

quite

tone,
ethos.

lack the Merriam

Today many behavioral political sci Moreover, a case can be made that both
he.
profession's

students and

society
the

suffer

from the

failure to

raise questions
political-science

lying

outside

sphere of

behavioralism. But before the

questions, it
such

community be

can raise other

arrived where

it

is,

and

in

an

understanding of how it understanding Merriam's thought must

needs an scientists

emphasized. shared

Until recently many political about science and about democracy.

Merriam's
question

optimism

They

often

failed to

the belief

in the utility of science. But Merriam questioned and defended it. Today, when there is a growing awareness that some social problems can neither be understood nor dealt with by science, and that science may in some re
spects

be

counterproductive to the solution of these

problems, Merriam's

defense

of science

to be examined. Merriam believed that the utility in its benefits to democracy; for this reason, but also lay partially because similar assumptions underlay his faith in both science and democ
of science needs

racy, his defense

were marked

of

democracy

should

also

be

studied.

His

assumptions

by

an optimism

that was related to his

political

progressivism;

Progressivism

and

Political Science in Merriam

175
"progressive."

indeed, his
To

views on science

and

democracy
we must

can

be

called

understand

Merriam's

views

first

understand

the

nature

of

progressivism.

77

Eric Voegelin has

argued that progressivism

is

a gnostic

ideology,
comes

and

a word of explanation about gnosticism

is in

order.

The term

from

the

Greek gnosis,

which means

knowledge,
to
an

and was

historians

and philosophers of religion

originally intellectual movement

applied

by

of

late

antiquity which infiltrated early Christianity, where it came to be consid ered heresy. Gnosticism denied the eschatology of orthodox Christianity,
which sees

the fulfillment

of

human

existence

in the

resurrection of saw

the dead

and eternal
release

life; instead,

in its

more radical

forms it
mystical

fulfillment in the
of a

from the

evils of the

world, through

knowledge,

divine

element

being

inherent in man, permitting it to attain a union with the divine whence it was supposed originally to have come. Gnosticism saw the
"immanentized"

Christian
attained

eschaton as present

the

benefit

of salvation was
a result of

to be

in the

world;

and

it

was

to be attained as

human

knowledge,
In the

not of

God's free

gift

to the

faithful.2

middle ages

two developments occurred, both

orthodox
Flores'

direction

of

the eschatological hope of

involving the Christianity toward

realm

re

the

present world. world

The first

was

Joachim
a a

of

historicist

categorization of of

history
realm

into three
of

realms and

pre-Christian

the
of

Father,
the

present

the

Son,

soon-to-be-attained

realm

Holy

Spirit, in

which monkish contemplation and praise would replace

and
discipline.3

priestly

learning
as

Though Voegelin describes the Joachimite

heresy
assis

gnostic, Hans Urs

von

Balthasar describes it

as chiliastic.

Von
relied

Balthasar,
for

on whom

(along heresy

with

Karl

Lowith4)

Voegelin may have

which

tance in understanding the significance of Joachim's

thought, distinguishes
philosophy

Joachimite
of

from

a medieval

heresy

did

not entail a

history, and which thought of human deliverance in ancient-gnostic fashion.5 This, von Balthasar terms gnostic. But in both instances formulae
for immanent fulfillment
justified in
were

announced,

and

Voegelin
and

seems

to have been

describing

the Joachimite
as gnostic.

heresy

subsequent

historicist,

immanentist
usually

movements

secular as well

now In their modern, political form these movements foresee and aim at the creation

of a condition of moral perfection on earth.

Voegelin

says

that in

trying
Their

to

bring
is

about moral perfection participants

the move

ments seek to recreate gaged

human nature; the

sin

in them

are

thus en
comes

in

sinful rebellion.

rooted

in the anxiety

which

176

Interpretation
about the

from uncertainty

impending

course of

history. Similarly, Reinhold

perfectionist

Niebuhr,
political

while not

using the term

sees

gnostic

to designate morally

movements,

them as both

denying
attempt

human

sinfulness and com

mitting the sin of pride through the cannot do to remake man. There
can

to do what human beings

be little doubt
of

that

progressivism was

a gnostic movement
on

in Voegelin's

sense

the term. The fact becomes

clear

reading

of

Voegelin's list

of six characteristics of

the gnostic attitude :

1.
ation.

It

must

first be

pointed out that

not

the gnostic is dissatisfied with his situ

This, in itself, is

especially
aspect

surprising. another

We
of

all

have

cause

to be
which

not

completely

satisfied with

one

or

the

situation

in

we

find

ourselves.

2.
tude:

Not

quite so understandable

is the

second

aspect can

of the

gnostic

atti

the belief that the drawbacks of the

world

situation

be

attributed

to the

fact that the

to
assume

is

that the order of

intrinsically being

as

poorly it is

organized. given

For it is likewise

possible

to us men (wherever its origin

is to be sought) is good and that it is we human being who are inadequate. But gnostics are not inclined to discover that human beings in general and they
themselves
as

in

particular are

inadequate. If in

a given situation

something is
the

not

it

should

be,

then the fault is to be found in the

characteristic

wickedness of

world. evil of

3. 4.
changed

The third

is the belief that

salvation

from the

the world is possible.

From this follows the belief that the in

an

order

of

being
a

will

have to be
one must

historical

process.

From is

wretched altogether

world

good

evolve

historically. This
solution might

assumption also

not

self-evident, because the

world

Christian
out

be

considered

namely, that the

salvational

through

history
5.

will remain as

it is

and

that

man's

fulfillment is brought

about

through grace in death.

With this fifth

a

point we come

to the
of

gnostic

trait in the

narrower sense

the belief that

change

in the is

order

being

lies in the

realm

of

human

action, that this salvational

act

possible
so

through man's own

work a

effort.

6.
order of

If it is possible,

however,

to

structural change

in the

given

being

that we can be satisfied with it as a perfect one, then it becomes

such

the task of the gnostic to seek out the prescription for

edge gnosis
of

change.

Knowl
of

the method of altering

being

is the

central

concern
we

the

gnostic.

As the

sixth
of a

feature

of

the gnostic attitude,

self and world

therefore,
proclaim

recognize

the construction

formula for
mankind.0

salvation,

as well as the gnos

tic's readiness to come forward

about

as

a prophet who will

his knowledge

the salvation

of

As for

progressivism as manifested

in

America,
the

it had two

major po

litical
place and

aims:

to remove political power

of

from

wealthy

and powerful and

it in the hands

the people,

and

to eliminate
was

dishonesty, favoritism,

inefficiency

in

government.

Politics

to

be

popularized and purified.

Progressivism

and

Political Science in Merriam

111
pro

More

broadly

speaking, Richard Hofstadter has described American

gressivism as:

rather

widespread

effort

of the greater

part

of

achieve some not

very clearly

specified self-reformation.

society [after 1900] to Its general theme was

the that

effort was

to

restore a

type of economic individualism and political

democracy
to

widely believed to have existed earlier in America and been destroyed by the great corporation and the corrupt political
and with

have

machine

that restoration to

bring

back

kind

of

morality

and

civic

purity

lost."

that was also

believed to have been

It has been denied that American

progressivism sought

a state

of perfec

tion,

on

the grounds that it

focused

on specific practical reforms.

But

ac

cording to Voegelin there is a type of gnosticism

on movement of perfection acter of

in

which

the

emphasis

lies

toward

a goal rather

than on the precise nature of the state

to

be

attained.8

One

writer who

denied the
wanted

perfectionist char government

progressivism

said nonetheless
make
our

that it

to

do
life

everything it
more worth

could

"to

country

better,

nobler, purer,

and

living."0

It

remains to

inquire into

the factors that gave rise to progressivism

in America. Immanentist
course, been
progressivism
parts of political a

political

ideologies
since the

of

the secular kind

had,

of

fact
was

of

Western life

Enlightenment. In America, especially in those 8th-century Anglo-American

and and where severe exploi

strongest
rather

in the Middle
standards of

West,
1
root,

it

where

the

easy

morality had

not taken

firm

cultural

natural resources by the wealthy and powerful had created a impetus toward reform. But progressivism was not a uniquely strong Middle Western phenomenon; and it occurred in both state and national

tation

of

politics.

That it

occurred

throughout the land was due to the fact that it

had

roots

in

notions of

historical

long
on

been

part of

American

destiny culture. Early

conceived

and moral perfection which

had

New England
of

Calvinists, drawing
as

Old Testament symbolism, people, whose success in earthly

themselves

God's

chosen

enterprises

depended drew
sent
on

on their

keeping

their

covenant with
of

Him;

and a as

Jeffersonian
new

poet

the New Testament in

heaven."

conceiving 19th century this latter,

America

"a

Jerusalem

down from

In the

"millennialist,"

or

strain of

thought on the national

destiny

gained

the ascendancy in American

also

culture.10

Progressive
as

moral and

perfectionism

derived from the fact that,

as

late

the

1920s

1930s, the culturally formative Protestant denominations were all Calvinist in origin; and Calvinism, for all that it once shared the Lutheran stress on
sin and

the Lutheran

conception

of

grace, had

also

emphasized

striving

toward

moral perfection. a

godliness,

Calvin himself strongly encouraged the pursuit of ultitheme underscored in the New England Puritanism which

178

Interpretation

mately infused in varying degrees

all

American

Protestantism.11

777

Before proceeding to

discussion

of

Merriam's

views on science and and

democracy,
was

we should notice

two facts about

his life

thought.

First, he
and as

the son of Presbyterian parents, but was unable to accept their ortho

doxy; he
a sivism

retained,

however,
of

much of

the Presbyterian moral

fervor,

Middle Westerner
an

small-town, Calvinist

attractive political

ideology.

background, found progres Second, there appear to have been

be

no

basic

changes

in his thought

during

the period in which the views to

considered partial

here found
of

expression.
efforts

early America: in Chicago

administrative
see education

failure

by

To be sure, he was disillusioned by the himself and others at municipal reform in

continued to

machine politics

exist,

taking

over

the

agencies created

by

the reformers, and

leading

Merriam to But

in

good

citizenship

as a

key

to political

progress.12

by

the

early 1920s a view of political science which he apparently held for the rest of his life emerged in his thought; and he always believed in the desirability

viability of democracy, finally giving systematic in the later 1930s, when democracy experienced a
and

expression major

to his views

challenge

from

dictatorship. Thus two books to be

sentative of

analyzed

here

can

be

considered repre

his

mature thought

tematic plea for what would

New Aspects of Politics ( 1925),13 his sys today be called a behavioral, though valueThe New

oriented,

political

science;

and

Democracy
of

and

the

New
the
are

Despotism

(1939),14

his

systematic

defense

democracy. Though
be
cited when

focus

will

be

on

these two works,

others will also

they

relevant.

New Aspects of Politics is in the

and

a plea and

for ( 1

greater care and organization

collection of political
of

data

(2)

the

incorporation

of

the methods

insights

the other social sciences, psychology,

biology (especially

eugenics), statistics, and engineering in analyzing the data and applying the findings. The result would be a "new which Merriam meant
politics"

by

new political

science,

one

both scientifically
of practical

oriented problems.

and

concerned to

apply its findings to the

[PJolitics
would

solution

In his language:

be

new

in that it
of

utilized

the
of

new

developments in
of
of

modern

science, social

and

physical

psychology,
and

statistics,
types

biology,
studies

of

eth

nology,

of

geography,
upon

of

engineering,

of other

that

throw light
new

the

inner
a of

problems of political co-operation and control.

may The

politics would

be

synthesis of significant

factors in

modern
or

mental

life.

applied to

the problems

government,

released

from traditional

authoritar-

Progressivism
ian
conditions

and

Political Science in Merriam

purpose
of scientific
experiment

179
and

or precedents

for the

the

destination

of the

inner

secrets of

the political

process.1"'

Merriam
ready for the

was

duly
in

appreciative of

the governmental-research bureaus al

established

an earlier phase of progressive reform.

Now he

argued

mobilization of the resources of

universities, government,

and such

endowments as might

of poltical

be drawn on, for a more basic and systematic analysis behaviour than had thitherto been attempted. His argument was
three parts, reflecting

in

basically
advice

(1)

desire to

produce

better

citizens

through education,
and

(2)

a wish

to provide governmental officials

with

data

in

their attempt to

deal

with the problems of modern advance of science.

society,
of

and

(3)
In

belief in the ineluctable be dealt

with

Each

part

the

argument will

in turn. early
as

a paper published as

1921, Merriam

wrote:

We have
ment,
of

studied

the urban problem in terms of

'"good"

"bad"

and
and

govern contrivances of

boss

rule and

reform, of innumerable mechanisms

not

ingeniously devised,
political

but is it

possible to
social

go

more

deeply

into the basis

the city, scrutinize more accurately the

and political process of which the misrule

is

an

integral

part?

herently

recalcitrant

and

Are the forces producing municipal insuperably unruly, or do we not fully

and

in

understand

the political reactions in the given environment,

educated and

constructively

adapted to new modes of

democracy?10

life

how they may best be under the forms of

the cooperative enterprise of

It

was

unclear whether

Merriam believed that

in
general or should
was clear

educational reform

should

simply focus on tive leaders as

and

citizens
well,17

but it

look toward training prospec that better education was in order,

content.

that political science could the contribution

which

help
the

define its

In 1922 he

elabo

rated on

profession could make

to civic educa
political

tion when

he

suggested

that it inquire into the

and

processes

whereby

attitudes are acquired

can

reducing study published in 1924 on the origins and despite its underlying value commitment
study tried to be scientifically
those who would
either
objective or

into the

ways of

nonvoting.18

be modified; he also proposed an inquiry He was himself the coauthor of a

extent of

nonvoting in
out

Chicago;
the
on

to

getting

the

vote advice

and

to offer

practical

increase

decrease

voter

turnout.19

Again in New
to
civic

education;-0

Aspects of Politics Merriam argued the utility of but he also said that the profession

political science should

"use the

mecha

nisms of
and

[both]

education and eugenics

for

political and social organization

control,"-1

and that

"with

a genuine

knowledge

of political and social

shorter

psychology, it
formerly."-2

will

be

possible

to create customs in much

time than the

Here,

while still

dealing

with

education, Merriam

entered

180
area of public education and

Interpretation

policy,

fusing
to

two

reasons

for the "new

and

politics"

service

to

advice

the

government

specter which

in his

most realistic assessments of

of

creating an unpleasant the human condition he

tended to
advance of

discount in the light

science.23

the possible advantages and

inevitable

"It is
govern

not

important

or

desirable that the

political

scientists

should

Merriam said, "but it is fundamental that they be heard before decisions are made on broad issues, and that the scientific spirit be
world,"

the

found in the
of

well."

governors and

the governed as

The

result would
formed."24

be the
In this

raising language Merriam spoke, in New Aspects of Politics, of the role of the pro fession as adviser to government. His argument in terms of the inescapable
advance of

"the level

upon which political

judgments

are

science was

less

clear.

He

said

that, because

science was

ad

vancing in other areas, the science of political behavior ought to proceed as But it was unclear why it should proceed, unless the reason be to use the findings of political science to keep government from falling into
well.25

the

hands

of

those who would use

other scientific

knowledge for less than

like this:

benign

purposes.

How

else

is

one

to

interpret

a passage

The jungle
the

will

seize

and

use

the

laboratory,
its vast,

as

in the last

great
will

war,

when

propagandist
of

conscripted
nature

the physicist; or the

jungle
of

human

and turn

laboratory teeming fertility to

master

the

the higher uses

mankind.20

On
the

the other

hand,
of

one gets a

the

impression
political

at times that

Merriam believed
as

development

science and

of

behavior to be

inevitable

as

other scientific

advances,
process.27

why the American take part in the

political

that, for him, this fact was sufficient scientists to whom he proffered advice
quoted

reason

should

Some
his for

of

what

Merriam has been

sense,

as

reader as pragmatic common

plea

some as naive.

saying may The gnostic

strike

the

nature of

analyze

"new

politics."

becomes clear, however, when we his underlying assumptions, his beliefs about the final results of the These assumptions are clearly conveyed a passage from
a scientific political science

by

New A spects of Politics :

If

we

knew

more

about

the scientific adjustment of the political

a

relations

of

mankind,

men

might

live

happier

and

richer

life than

when

chance
a

and

ignorance determined their lot. May not justice and liberty in reason as well as in force, superstition, or formula? have flourished
most

and

law have

basis

Wrong, injustice, tyranny

not

rankly

when

and where

the light could

and

penetrate, in
of

the darker shades of

deception, illusion, ignorance,

sham.

The dreams

Progressivism
men that
political will not

and

Political Science in Merriam

might of

181
the great

they

might

be free, that they

be

recognized as parts of

process, the common hopes

security,

fairness, justice,
when of

recognition

be less

fully

realized when truth

is known than

its face is

veiled.

To

mitigate

the horrors of war, to

avoid

the destructiveness
utilize

revolution,

to
of

minimize

the losses

from costly group conflicts, to

and social constructiveness of

the vast reserve

human

co-operation

this is not a task of soulless

of
elevation of

regimentation,
mankind

but

inspiring

release

of

human faculties,
well-being.28

to higher levels

of attainment and of

In Civic Education in the United States,

came more resplendent.
tion"

published

in 1934, the
new world

vision

be

Merriam

wrote

that, if "the devices

nature, "the

of social

inven

keep

pace

with man's control of

fairyland

of

appear, "the book

ciation

and

Hunger, disease, toil, and leisure may be opened, and treasures of human enjoyment may be made available to the mass of
of
"jungles"

human

achievement."

may be a fear may dis

appre
mankind."

Moreover,
life
of

applied social science will conquer the

of
of

"the inner

the personality, so
dreads,"

long

filled

with vile

broods

haunting

fears

and

doubts

and
will

and

"open them to the

light
and

happiness."

sunlight of
wings."29

In short,
used

"science
much of

bring
same

life

and

the

language in

healing on its The New Democracy

Merriam

and the

New Des
can

potism,

where

he

also wrote:

"the

continuance of our ancient

burdens

be

avoided

if the

faculty

of social and political contrivance

is

utilized as

it

might

for entering into the kingdom."30 by In Systematic Politics, published in 1945, Merriam described the "pet

be

a generation prepared

theme"

of

Civic Education in the United States in this

way:

Wide

ranges of

trouble may be

avoided with sounder systems of

preventing the
whom are

growth of

the large numbers of twisted and unhappy

armies and
of

early training, souls from disorder

and

recruited

the

crime, low

and

high,

and

of

demagoguery,

chicanery

chauvinism,

low-level susceptibility to

appeals

of

folly

and

hate.31

In the
are

same volume

Merriam
day."32

said that

"force, fraud,

spoils, and

corruption

cannot

passing phases of live in the new

the growth of social and political organization and

Similarly, "the
.
.

prevention of war and unem

ployment, the

greatest scourges of our

niques of expert

intelligence.

time, is well within the known tech The belief in the conscious control of
a new

human

evolution

"opened the way to

heaven

and

new

earth."34

On

the possibility of changing

the surface
change or

human nature, Merriam appeared on to be inconsistent. While asserting that "human nature may not
slowly,"35

forces

of

he nonetheless suggested that the may change only human nature could be harnessed in such a way as, in effect, to
This latter
suggestion

create new men.

is clearly

made

in Civic Education

182

Interpretation
whether

in the United States. After raising the changeable, Merriam answered:

question

human

nature

is

Our

educational system and our research

power of man over

activities

are the vast

symbol

of

[the] emerging
tation;
of the

conscious creation of an

nature, both human and non-human; of environment instead of passive acceptance and adap

day

when slaves

become

masters of

their

own

destiny.30

Moreover,
peared

in The New
assume

Democracy
of

and

the

to
so

a trend toward "the perfectibility of an

eradication evil

New Despotism Merriam ap In any

mankind."37

event,

radical

foretold
it
would

would

be

tantamount to the
standpoint of

he continually counseled and changing of human nature. At least

as

be

so

from the

those who recognize the reality and

empirical manifestations.

persistence,

either of sin

itself,

or of

its

The

foregoing
an

is

not

intended to

deny

that there are elements of real

ism in Merriam's demonstrated But the

trol

work.
acute

awareness

At times, especially during the 1930s, Merriam of the dangers produced by modernity.
more modernity be put to benign science and more con
uses.3*

answer was always more

and

the hope that it would

science
of

He insisted that
"the
with

his faith in
power

had to be instilled in
of

the

masses.39

Perhaps, indeed,

economics"

system

science,

politics,

of
with

religious

impulses

and religious

symbolism,

may be infused the result that "a new

syn

authority"

thesis of

emerges and rises

race."40

"to

greater

heights than

ever

before

in the story of the Some of the gnostic

assumptions on which also

Merriam based his

of

argument

for

a new political science can

be found in his defense is

democracy

in The New
of

Democracy

and

the
of

New Despotism. This defense is in terms

whose status
somewhat un as

five

explicit

"assumptions
that he

democracy"

clear.

It is probable,

however, (1)

that

Merriam himself believed the

goals contained

sumptions;

(2)

believed that the

in them

were more

easily
stable

realizable and more

likely
other

to be pursued in types
of political

democracies,

than in

democracies, at least in system; and (3) that he

philo

believed the

"validation"

of

the assumptions possible, both through

and

sophical and scientific analysis

goals.41

through progress in attainment of the

with

For the

most part

the concern here will not be

the

epistemo-

problems raised by Merriam's analysis. The procedure will be to list five assumptions, to point out the overlap with the assumptions under lying Merriam's plea for a behavioral political science, and to make several other observations about his defense of democracy.

logical

the

First, democracy
importance
rather of

assumes

"the

essential

dignity

of

all

men
on a of

and

the

than

protecting and cultivating personality primarily on a differential basis."42 The second assumption

fraternal

democracy

Progressivism

and

Political Science in Merriam

183

is "that there is
of
mankind."43

a constant trend

in human

affairs

toward the perfectibility

Democracy

assumes,

further,

that economic gains "should

were created as

be diffused through the

possible";44

mass

by

whom

they
social

rapidly

as

that regularized

popular control

over

basic

matters

of public

policy is

desirable;45

and that

"conscious

change,

accomplished nor

is mally by consent rather than In elaborating on these assumptions, Merriam made some of the in the same or slightly different form examined in the discussion
possible.46

violence,"

points of

the

assumptions

underlying his

plea

for

scientific political will suffice

science.

Phrases
more

already human
crats

quoted will not

be

repeated

here. It

to note two

sets of assertions.

Democracy
at

living

to a point

themselves,"

aims at "the leveling up of the standards of far beyond any thus far attained even by the aristo "an era of and at "fulfillment on the widest
plenty,"

possible scale of

human
and

aspirations

and

potentialities";47

the adoption

of

humane,

preventive,

therapeutic measures to deal

with

crime means

that, in the last hundred years or so, "enormous progress has been made in the intelligent application of social policy to individual deviation from although "there is still a long way to go in this direction before the goal
it,"

is

reached."4*

Several
of

other observations ought

on

to be made about Merriam's defense

democracy, which, it will be recalled, his defense of science rests in part. The evocation of human dignity in the first assumption has appeal, though it would be more attractive if Merriam had sought to explain the
source of

human
in

dignity
he

something he
refused

could not

do

without recourse

to

theology,

an area which

to

enter except

for its historical interest.

Nonetheless,
other

discussing

the assumption of

human

dignity

he

made what said what

was perhaps the strongest point

in his

case

for democracy. He
alternative

contemporary
rule

thinkers have also said: that the

arise

to democ

racy is
elite
sion of

by

an

elite, that difficulties

in establishing

criteria

for

an

that is to remain an elite in any sense other than that

of sheer posses
self-interest

power,

and that elites are

perfectly
when

capable of

putting

above

the general

interest, especially
in
of

they

are

not

subjected

to the

kinds

of restraints put on rulers out

democracies.41'

Growing
riam

his

valid

criticism

of elite

rule

was

weakness

in

Merriam's thought
to
to

which

is

germane

to the conclusion of this study. Mer

democracies"

failed to deal adequately with the question of where get their leaders. He said, to be sure, that "truly great natures are find a response in the mass of This statement contains
mankind.""'0

were

likely
much will

truth

as

far

as

it

goes.

But it

will not

do to

assume

that "great

natures"

emerge regardless of

the

social and spiritual conditions under which men are

educated.

Merriam did
addressed

Plato had

not completely miss the point, for he knew that himself to it, although not within a theory of democ-

184
racy.

Interpretation

But Merriam dismissed Plato's

almost as

analysis with

the

comment

that it "is

disregarded

if it did

not

exist."51

IV

One

can argue that

political

the last

generation produced major contributions contributions

to Western
reason come

theory.
of

The

were

great

for the

same

the

theology
with

the

last

generation

was great:

the authors had to

to terms

the immense

spiritual and political

disorder

of

the 20th

century.

In

so

doing they

produced

theories which
and

do

not suffer

from the

illusions

about

human perfectibility

historical
culture

progress

which charac
sustain

terize much modern political thought.

contributions of

No

can

continually

this magnitude. But a culture can recognize contributions

for

what

they

are and

learn from them. in the light

of

The

point

is

germane

the

lessons do

of

the

foregoing

study.

If Merriam's

social and

political

theory
time

tended to be unrealistic, theories

which

were produced at about the same

not suffer
on

from this de
gnosticism

ficiency. If Merriam's thought

available to prevent others
expectations of might consider

was

gnostic,

literature

is

from making the same mistakes. If Merriam's behavioralism proved to be wishful thinking, the profession new areas of emphasis in teaching and research. If it is
of what we read a professional

agreed, in the light

daily,

leadership

ought

to be

training for citizenship and but that Merriam's views on concern,

that the alternative
of uni
Strauss'

civic education are

unsatisfactory,

we might consider

diagnoses of modern versity instruction in Voegelin's and Leo in classical and medieval political problems, philosophy, and in the great works, both Thomist and Protestant, of contemporary Christian democratic theory. Strauss said of behavioral political science that its lack of knowledge
that Rome is

burning

and

that it is

fiddling

kept it from

being

Neronian.52

Today
flames
excuse.

the
so

illusions
manifest,

on which

as

to

it is based are so transparent, the smoke and detract measurably from the validity of that

A helpful

Politics (Chicago:

biography is Barry D. Karl, Charles E. Merriam and the Study of University of Chicago Press, 1974). A list of Merriam's writings
the

is

contained

States (Chicago: The

riam's

in Leonard D. White (ed.), The Future of Government in University of Chicago Press, 1942), pp. 269-74.

United

present

study parallels in certain respects the perceptive analysis of Mer

thought
of

University

by Bernard Crick in his The American Science of Politics (Berkeley: California Press, 1959), pp. 133-55. Crick, however, did not interpret
of

Merriam's thought in terms

Eric Voegelin's

concept

of

gnosticism,

and

in offering

Progressivism
such an
political

and

Political Science in Merriam

show where

185
and

interpretation the
science

present

study tries to
wrong,

Merriam
that

American instead
of

ultimately

went

with

the

result

today,

helping to alleviate the problems that most concerned Merriam, the profession, by following his advice, may on balance be making them worse. In the light of the
present

study, Merriam's

ends appear no

less fanciful

and

his

means no

less ill

suited

his ends; but both the ends and the means are more comprehensible than they otherwise would be. For a more general discussion of the current problems traceable to gnosticism
to even a realistic version of
and of

the form

which

a solution

to those

problems

might

take, the

reader

may be

referred

to Glenn N.

University,"

Schram, "Eric Voegelin, the Christian Faith, and the American Dialog: A Journal of Theology, 16, No. 2 (Spring 1977), 130-35.
about

Reservations
and on

Voegelin's ambiguity

on

the Christian doctrine

of

the Atonement
and

the value of

democracy

are

expressed

in the

article

just

cited

in Glenn
Review

N. Schram,
Article,"

Contemporary Interpretation, 6, No. 1 (Fall 1976), 65-77.

and attitude

"Reinhold Niebuhr

Political Thought:

The

toward American progressivism expressed

in the

present

article

is

more critical

than Voegelin's in his 1928

book, Ueber die

Form des
written

amerikanischen

Geistes (Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr). The latter book

adopted position.
2

was

before Voegelin
philosophical

his

present

and, as it seems to the present writer, his more valid

Hans

Jonas, Gnosis

und

spdtantiker

Geist, Part I: Die

mythologische

Gnosis

Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1934), pp. 4-5; Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion, 2nd ed. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1963), pp. 34-47; and Eric Voegelin, Science, Politics and Gnosticism (Chicago: Henry Regnery, 1968), pp. 3-12. See
(Gottingen:

Reinhold Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1949), Part II, pp. 91-92, on the differences between gnosis and Christianity. 3 Norman Cohn, The Pursuit of the Millennium, rev. ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1970), pp. 108-10; Karl Lowith, Meaning in History (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1949), pp. 145-59; Eric Voegelin, The New Science of Politics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1952), pp. 110-13; and Voegelin, Science, Politics and Gnosticism, pp. 92-99. See Lowith, Meaning in History, pp. 145-59 and 208-13. It should be noted
4

that Voegelin

had already

assigned

considerable

importance to Joachim's thought

in his Die 39-42.

politischen

Religionen

(Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer

Verlag, 1939),

pp.

"Hans Urs
pp.

von

Balthasar, Prometheus
Politics
and

(Heidelberg: F. H. Kerle

Verlag, 1947),

24-26.

"Voegelin, Science,
'

Gnosticism,

pp.

86-88.

Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955),

p.

5.
s

Voegelin, Science, Politics and Gnosticism, pp. 89-90. "Quoted in Arthur A. Ekirch, Jr., Progressivism in America (New York: New
"millennialism,'

Viewpoints, 1974), p. 14. 10 see Ernest Lee Tuveson, On 19th-century American Nation (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968), pp. 52-90.
11

Redeemer

Bellah, The Broken Covenant (New Irony of American 1-60, pp. 7-64. Scribner's Charles (New York: 1952), Sons, History See Karl, Charles E. Merriam and the Study of Politics, pp. 80-83 and 105.
Cf.
on

many

of

these

points

Robert N.
and

York: Seabury Press, 1975),

12

pp.

Reinhold Niebuhr, The

Karl

gives a valuable account of

Merriam's early life

and

involvement in

progressive

politics prior to

World War I.

186

Interpretation

"Charles E. Merriam, New Aspects of Politics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1925). "Charles E. Merriam, The New Democracy and the New Despotism (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1939). 15 Merriam, New Aspects of Politics, pp. 230-31.
American "'Charles E. Merriam, "The Present State of the Study of Political Science Review, XV, No. 2 (May 1921), 182. However little Merriam may have said about training for leadership, the qualities of leaders were a recurrent concern of his. The problem with his work on
17
Politics,''

the subject was his

general

failure,

also characteristic of
of religion.

his
as

work

in the 1930s
ask

on civic

education, to

appreciate

the

importance

Just

he failed to
democratic

whether,

in

democracy,
their

civic virtue can

long be
to

sustained without

religion,

so also one misses

in Merriam
owed

a sense of
success

the
an

extent

which major

leaders

of

societies

have
this

to

ability

(1)

to view themselves and their countries

and

in the

perspective perception

of

relationship to transcendent reality,

peoples.
Research,"

(2)

to communicate

to their

American Political Science Review, Charles E. Merriam, "Political XVI, No. 2 (May 1922), 319-20. "Charles E. Merriam and Harold F. Gosnell, Non-Voting (Chicago: Universitj of Chicago Press, 1924).

Merriam, New Aspects of Politics, p. 239. Ibid., p. 231. Ibid., p. 242. "Charles E. Merriam, The Making of Citizens (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1931), pp. 333-34. 24 Merriam, New Aspects of Politics, p. 232. 23 See Charles E. Merriam, "The Significance of Psychology for the Study of American Political Science Review, XVIII, No. 3 (August 1924), 488. 20 Merriam, New Aspects of Politics, p. 247. See also ibid., pp. 238-39. Cf. Merriam, The Making of Citizens, pp. 333-34. Merriam, New Aspects of Politics, pp. 235-36. 20 Charles E. Merriam, Civic Education in the United States (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934), p. 184. 20 Merriam, The New Democracy and the New Despotism, pp. 95-96. "Charles E. Merriam, Systematic Politics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1945), p. 329.
21
22
Politics,"

20

27

2"

"Ibid.,
32 ;4

p.

331. 331-32.

Ibid., Ibid.,

pp. p.

243.
Methods,"

Charles E. Merriam, "Recent Advances in Political Political Science Review, XVII, No. 2 (May 1923), 294. Merriam, Civic Education in the United States, pp. 185-86.
'"'

35

American

"

Merriam, The New Democracy

Power,"

and

the

New

Despotism,

p.

34.

'"See Merriam, Systematic Politics, pp. 67 and 331-32, and, especially, Charles E. Merriam, "Political in Harold D. Lasswell et ai, A Study of Power (Glencoe, 111.: The Free Press, 1950), pp. 325-26, and Charles E. The Role
Politics in Social Change (New York: New York and 141-43.
""

Merriam, University Press, 1936)

of

pp

77

Merriam, The New Democracy and the New Despotism, pp. 93-94, and Charles E. Merriam, Prologue to Politics (Chicago: University of Chicago Press 1939), pp. 52-53.

Progressivism
40
"

and

Political Science in Merriam

187

p. 317. Merriam, "Political See especially Merriam, The New Democracy

Power,"

and

the

New Despotism,

pp.

45-49.

Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., '"Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., 4S Ibid., 40 Ibid.,

"
44 "
"

12

p.

12. 34.

p. p.

37.
38. 42. 35-36. 185-86. 23-34
and

p.
p.

pp. pp.

pp.
p. p.

91-92. Charles E. Merriam, The Written Constitution and Smith, Inc., 1931), pp. 56-57: "If
prove

xIbid., "Ibid., [the]

new

91. 33. Also

see

the
. . .

Unwritten Attitude (New York: Richard R.

urban

groups also

really
will

to

be
of

constitutionally

incapable
. . .

of

self-

government,
suppose

America
political

be incapable
evolved which

self-government.

[unless]
the

we

that

leadership is
of of

economic,

and

cultural material

from something our society is made forms

of which

else
up.
.

than

social,

Merriam thought in terms

rule

two

pure

government

democracy
were
an

and

by

by his
stratum

Probably because of American background, he did

an
elite.

the extent to
not
consider

his

views of

influenced
aristocratic

the possibility

from

which

the

people elect

their rulers

under a mixed constitution.

Recalling

the
a

Whig

constitution of

system

in Great Britain, Joseph A. Schumpeter was later to espouse this kind in his Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy, 3rd ed. (New
an aristocratic
stratum

York: Harper & Row, 1962), pp. 290-91. Establishing criteria for membership in
with

to be

combined

democracy

presents problems similar

to those described

by Merriam

as

inhering
an aris
elect

in the definition

of criteria of

for the
system,
with

elite

in

a pure system of elite rule.

Two differences
when

between the two kinds

tocratic
wastrels
stratum

is

combined

however, ought democracy, (1)

and

to

be
can

mentioned:

the

people

do

not

have to
of

from in

within

the stratum,

(2)

the

rulers

be

voted

out

office

if
on

they

misuse

their power and consequently are subject to checks

a pure

similar

to those

the rulers
52

democracy.
Epilogue,"

Leo Strauss, "An in Herbert J. Storing (ed.), Essays Scientific Study of Politics (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1962),

on p.

the

327.

188

DISCUSSION

THE DEFENSE OF LIBERTY

Glen E. Thurow

University
A
review of

of Dallas

George

Anastaplo, The

Constitutionalist: Notes

on

the First

Amendment, (Dallas: Southern Methodist

The Constitutionalist has been
1971.1

University Press,
its

1971).
publication

well received since as

in

It has
of

been widely
opinion

defense
protects

the

best existing presenting that the First Amendment of the U. S. Constitution

recognized

the

of speech from any limitation by law of Congress. Pro fessor Anastaplo has blunted many of the usual objections to this "abso interpretation of the First Amendment (while, as we shall see,

freedom

lutist"

opening the door to others) by arguing that the speech the Amendment protects is only political speech and that the Fourteenth Amendment should
not

be

read

to apply the prohibitions

of

the First Amendment to state transcends the

"liberal"

governments.
and

This interpretation
views,
and

combines or

usual

"conservative"

leads Anastaplo to

criticize

sharply the
with

Supreme Court's free

such care

speech

opinions.

Yet this

view

is

presented

to

approach

free

speech as a problem rather

than a dogma that

At least
the
as

it has led to questioning and reflection rather than partisan defensiveness. one reviewer has confessed to having had to entirely reconsider
"absolutist"

it

came

although he had previously regarded the from Justice Black to have been decisively
view

argument

refuted.2

Another
to
a new

has been led to

level.3

raise the argument against the

"absolutist"

view

a credit not

received as many thoughtful reviews as this one only to the reviewers but to the book. Yet there is an aspect of this book which, if not exactly overlooked

Few books have

in

previous

reviews, has been

cannot

largely

ignored. Much

as

we, despite

good

intentions,
have usually
reach a

but turn from

some gross physical

deformity,

reviewers

averted

their eyes from the

book's decent

disturbing form of this book. Footnotes, appendage indicating scholarly thoroughness and
the

modesty, here The

overwhelm of words

text, multiply their

as great
as

numbers

to

2,787,
measure

and

a volume

three times

that of the text itself.

publisher's attempt to restrict the notes to the

print

customary

by
A

using the tiniest

has only

emphasized

their unnatural proportions,

section.

With this article, INTERPRETATION introduces its

response

by Professor Anastaplo

will appear

new Discussion in INTERPRETATION 9/ 1

.Ed.

Discussion

189

for they
count

still

fill 390

pages

to only 285 for the text.

(And this is

not

to

the 130 pages

of appendices

that connect text and

footnotes.)

The

big head. These notes astonish even more by their scope than by their bulk. One reviewer has credited Anastaplo with the world's best filing Whether assembled by method or another, with the power of total
Constitutionalist
recalls a

dwarf

with a small

body

and a

system;4

recall.5

natural

gift, these

notes challenge one

or

to think

of

any

subject not
made

included.

They
but

not

only
on

expand

qualify virtually every

subjects as

point

in the text,
the
author's and

refer

to everyone from Plato to Isaac Bickerstaff

such

and offer

reflections

diverse

mathematics, physics,

history,
the

literature,
have been

as

well as politics

and philosophy.
of

One

suspects

reviewers

silent

in

part

because

the undignified temptation to

sing the

wedding ditty; something old, something new; something borrowed, some thing blue. Yet, not only will everyone who looks find something fasci nating and instructive among these notes, but throughout there is a high
and serious

tone and the author makes clear that

so

his little dwarf

of

that his

outsized

head

would not

he has carefully be filled with

collection

nurtured

jumble
serious

disconnected memories, but a highly reflections on important theoretical issues

mean

organized

of

(438, 614, 736, 786-87). But

why does the subject of free speech require such footnotes? Does Anastaplo to demonstrate to us the fruits of free speech by revealing all he has
and print?

been free to hear

Or does he

mean

to satirize

free

speech

by
of

showing its excesses? The curiosity of Anastaplo's footnotes is

style, but is
related

not

simply

matter

to the work's broader intentions. It is these broader

intentions, rather First Amendment,

cates, Anastaplo
the

than
that I

Anastaplo's
wish

more

specific

interpretation

of

the

to examine in this

review.

As the title indi

aspires not

merely to interpret the First

Amendment, but

wishes to go

American Constitution and, indeed, constitutionalism generally. He beyond the received interpretation of the Constitution to the

be stopped, beyond the original intention to the best interpretation (X, XII). This goal, Anastaplo suggests, requires the effort "to see American constitutional law and political thought from
original

intention,

and,

not to

the perspective
are

teachers"

of

our

ancient

(420). These

ancient and

teachers

the

Greek

political

philosophers, particularly
the
regime

Socrates,

their heirs.

Anastaplo

seeks to reconcile
with

initiated

by
of

the Declaration of In

dependence
possible

the

teaching

of

the

Apology
of

Socrates,

to the
and

extent

(420, 658).
a useful and

How is this intention to be

true understanding

understood

does it

lead to

the American political order?

The Constitutionalist's Rhetoric

There

are

two themes

of

The Constitutionalist that

bring

out

what

190

Interpretation
means

Anastaplo
citizen0

in

general

by

this
the

intention. In

the

first

place

he is

con

cerned with the

tension

between

fully

developed human

being
with

and

the

(774). It is for this reason,

of

course, the

Apology,
so
of

its

classic

confrontation of the philosopher and the

also explains

his juxtaposition be

of

city, is the Declaration

important for him. It

Independence (which
to citizens7)
with

Anastaplo
the

understands to

a political work addressed regards as

a

Apology

[which Anastaplo
and their

dialogue
of

instructing

potential

philosophers

friends (702)]. The form

The Constitutionalist

is

reflective of

this tension as Anastaplo

parts:

understands and

it (438). The book

is divided into three

terprets
and

text, appendices,

footnotes. The text in

defends the First

Amendment,

the

Constitution,

and

the

American

generally (3-4). In it Anastaplo most often speaks as "the rather than in his own name, addresses the thoughtful citizen, and seeks to "articulate the principles of the American (15). The appendices are a connecting link between text and
regime
Constitutionalist,"
republic"

footnotes.

They

move

stitutionalist"

in the first

from the non-personal, public concerns of "the Con appendix (on the drafting of the First Amend
own

ment) to Anastaplo's
as

bar

admissions case
of

in the

last,

a case

he

sees

exemplary

of

the

limitations

legal justice. In the footnotes Anastaplo

merits of the

qualifies the text's arguments and

judges the

American

regime

in the light

of

his

literary
and
our

and philosophic studies

(x).

Ranging

far

afield

from the text's legal

to know not only

constitutional
as

duty

concerns, he tantalizes citizens, but all that we might see

our

desire
e.g.,

(see,

805-08).

Anastaplo's
American

second
with

and

related concern

is to

reconcile

the duties of
seeks

citizens

their freedom

(ix, 269, 745). He

he
sees as as

to curb
of

the materialism and concern for security

too

characteristic

American life,
ness, and,

and

to encourage
reasonable

such virtues

generosity,

good-natured-

above

all,

deliberation. Yet these

virtues

are not

to

be

purchased at the price of

"absolute"

freedom

indeed, free

speech

is to be

made

more

and secure.

One
of

of

the footnotes poses

a problem

that explains Anastaplo's way

dealing

with

these twin tensions:

cherished prize a race.

is to be

awarded simplest
and a

to the
way

owner whose mounted

horse

comes
make

in it

last in both

What is the

of

arranging this horse

of

race

to

interesting

to spectators

fair test

the horses?

(464)
should
ride

The answer,
own

as

another note
moral seems

confirms, is that
to be that

no

owner

his

horse. The

an owner of a slow

horse

should

contrive

to ride a fast

horse, but

arrange the race so that the prize goes

to

his

own.

To the

uninitiated spectators

it

will

appear

as

though he has

Discussion

191

skillfully brought the fast horse to victory, while in fact the old nag at the rear has secretly carried off the prize. The knowing spectators will have cause to admire both the rider's horsemanship and his cleverness (534).

Applying
Anastaplo, in
sleek

this the

rhetorical

principle

to

The Constitutionalist
a

we

see

habit

of

the

horse indeed.

Moreover,
of

Constitutionalist, riding very fast and his riding is so skillful that the horse looks
thoroughbred
seems

even sleeker than we

had imagined. This

speech."

is,

of

course, the

famous "absolute freedom

political race.

He

sure
on

winner

in the
that

Although

one might of

have

some

doubts has

the

grounds never

the

"absolutist"

interpretation

the First

Amendment has
accepted
one

been

formally
thing

accepted

by

Supreme Court

which

else

(and this despite its

one would

having
put

been

sired

by

of

nearly every its own mem

on

bers),
speech

still

be hard
in

to think

of

any limitation He
uses

free

that

would

be

accepted

principle

by

enlightened opinion.

Further
court
claim

more,

Professor Anastaplo improves the

as

odds.

his

own

battle
to

lesson in the injustice that

In
addition

can
on

result

from

denying

free

speech.

he

sets

limits

free

speech that

broaden its

appeal.

By

arguing that the First Amendment protects only political speech

that the

and

by denying
only rely

First Amendment
his

applies

to the states, Anastaplo

can appeal

to contemporary
on

conservatives as well as of
personal example

liberals. b But he does

or

not

the force
to

merely
seeks of

appeal

to

contemporary
speech

opinion

speed

his horse to
States'

victory.

He

to give free
as

the strength of patriotism. He identifies

element of the United
of

freedom

speech

the

central

two

the

Declaration

Independence

and

the

founding political documents, Constitution, and thereby of its

equivalent of

regime.

Freedom

of

speech, he argues, is the everyday

the fundamental
right of

the

"right

revolution,"

of

the Declaration

(721, DI
center

414-15). And he
piece united
of

adopts the view that the

First Amendment is the

of
our

the

Constitution,
speech

the

"declaration

political

faith

as

people"

and

self-governing

(x). To be

patriotic

is,

above

all, to

believe in free

(283).
moment

Assuming
to the old nags
receive?

for the

the success of these arguments, how

speech"

does
given

the victory of "absolute freedom of

of

result

in the

prize

being
that

philosophy

and virtue?

And

what

is the

prize

they

The Federalist

and

The Constitutionalist

Now it is easy to see how free speech would be beneficial to philoso For surely a philosopher would want to be free to investigate and question everything. (Unless, Anastaplo suggests, a philosopher might be
phy. content

to do these things in

private.

[795;

see

774-75]). The

question

is

rather

how free

speech

contributes

to political virtue, and what place

192
the philosopher

Interpretation

has in the
an

common good
of

(767). Anastaplo
character useful of

answers

this

question through

interpretation

the

the United States.

a
comparison adopts

In assessing this interpretation, it will be invited by The Constitutionalist. Its first

to make

Federalist
while

as

its

model.

The title

of

The explicitly the book itself recalls The Federalist

chapter

suggesting Anastaplo's ambition: to replace a federal, or interpretation of the Constitution with the true, non-partisan inter partisan,
perhaps pretation.

The Federalist Publius

announces
of

offers

an

unapologetic

defense
will not

of

the

Constitution.

in the first Federalist, "I

when and

amuse you with an

appearance

deliberation,
founded."

I have decided. I

frankly
you

acknowledge
on

to you
which

my convictions,

will

freely lay
his
open a

before
not

the reasons

they

are

He

offers

readers

his

doubts, but his

of

arguments
all.

which, he says, "will be

to

all

and

may be judged

by

They
of

shall at
truth"

least be

offered

in

spirit,

which will not

disgrace the
in choice, It is

cause and

(Fed. #1). Deliberation has defend its choice,

to
even on

reached

its

end

may

now

someone

else's

grounds.

true that in the aim is

order

defend,

Publius

must

interpret the

Constitution, but
pro

frankly

advocacy

not

Constitutionalist

seems much

simply less a partisan

understanding. of

In comparison, the

the

Constitution. He

fesses to be primarily interested in understanding, not defense. The Con stitutionalist says his task is that of "explaining, and perhaps refining and

thereby
life"

even strengthening something which is inherent in our way of (12). Defense comes only as a by-product. He expresses "far more

interest in lems to be

having
raised

my

reader agree with me about

the questions and prob

and

about the general

standards

that may be invoked

offer"

than about the solutions and

interpretations I happen to
"to
make

(11). He
them

hopes,
think"

with

Montesquieu,

not

people

read, but to

make

(11).

The Federalist defends the Constitution in

of

order

to lead

men

to make the reasonable choice

order

interprets the Constitution in

submitting to it; The Constitutionalist to lead men to be reasonable (see 795).

political and

Now,
a

this might seem simply the difference between a

scholarly work, but that would be an error. At least the text of The Constitutionalist is addressed, as is The Federalist, to "all considerate and
men"

good

(to
to

use

the words of

Federalist

#1),

and means

to

contribute

to political as well as

intellectual health (11). It

explained

might also seem that

this

difference is
Publius
people and

be
the

by

the

different

circumstances
wishes

faced

by
the

by

Constitutionalist. Publius

to

persuade

to establish

constitution; the Constitutionalist

wishes

to

make

the men who govern under the established constitution more

reasonable.

This is true, as far as it goes (282, 643, 787). But both The Federalist and The Constitutionalist are concerned not only with immediate political

Discussion
problems

193
the American polity in
general

but

with

the

characteristics

of

(x, 7). Anastaplo

States to be
choice of

understands the fundamental character of the United

revealed

in its dedication to deliberation; Publius, in its

the Constitution.

Free Speech

and the

Anastaplo
the

considers

Right of Revolution the "fundamental

document"

constitutional

of

the United States to

work of
on

be

the

Declaration
argues

of

Independence. In his

major

Declaration,
cuts
even

he

that its

deepest element, the "right

ends which

revolution,"

deeper than the Constitution itself (DI 414).

an

The
tion"

right of

of revolution

"is

insistence
that

upon

transcend all
our

forms

government,

including

form incorporated in
rebellion of against

Constitu

(DI 400). It may even justify the Constitution becomes destructive

the Constitution if
of
government.

the

proper

ends

But these
to men to that

ends

are not and

known
define"

or

discover

in the Declaration; they are "left (DI 400). The Declaration only indicates
stated

they
with

have something to do

"the Laws
unalienable

of

Nature

and of

Nature's
are

God,"

some

thing

to do

with and

"certain
the

Rights,

among

which

the

rights

to

Life, Liberty
Because

Happiness"

pursuit of

(DI 400).

of men's

ignorance

of

these ends,

they have
must

the

duty

as

well

as

the right to

governments, rely but they cannot legitimately surrender to them "that which distinguishes man from the other creatures; they cannot surrender the right, and the
question

(DI 400-01). Men

upon

duty,
plies

to examine

and evaluate

the

deeds

of their governors

and of

them

selves"

(DI 400). "In

short,"

Anastaplo says, "the

of man's

right of revolution

im

reason"

an

insistence

upon a

the supremacy
political

(DI 400). The

politics

Declaration,
man's

although

document,
of

points

beyond

to

desire to know (DI 396).

version

Anastaplo's domesticated

the

right

of

revolution,
faith"

as

pre
of

viously indicated, freedom of speech. It is the "declaration

presses

is to be found in the First Amendment's

of
our political

protection

and

ex

the primary
means

right and

duty

of

the American people, as well as the

for securing free government. Like The Federalist, The Constitutionalist considers the Constitution to be essentially popular in
principal character

(644, 648). The

parliament

Constitutionalist (89). Just

understands

this to

mean

that

the people are the

within

ultimate rulers

as

there has been free

parliament

speech

the

of

Great Britain because the

has been
of

the ruling

body,

so

there must

be free

speech

among the

people

the

United States because the

people are sovereign

(115-20, 124-26,

538-41).

194

Interpretation
power of

The

sovereign

sovereignty includes the right to consider all alternatives. The Anas may limit, he cannot himself be limited. "Would,
then,"

taplo asks, "the American

people

truly be
on

have before them

people,

all

opinions

bearing
as

if they should not the decisions they must, as a

sovereign

make?"

(498). is
a

Free

speech

duty

as well
of

a right.

sentially dignity is to be found in the

the

examination

alternatives,

its

Because sovereignty is es ultimate justification and

distinctively

human

being

has

duty

to

being
a

is free to

shirk this

inquire, duty, and

human capacity of reason. Every examine, and be reasonable. No human

cannot give

it up

without

ceasing to be
practice

human

being

(499).
all men must question to
of

Although
are

be
can

fully human,

in

few

thoughtful. The duties

it is

possible to give weight

be fulfilled only to the extent sovereignty to thoughtful men. The problem of republican
make as

government then and

becomes how to

many

men as possible

thoughtful

(581). minority (It is indicative of Anastaplo's understanding that those whom The Fed eralist refers to as "considerate and and others refer to as "gentle

how to

give the

who

are thoughtful political power

good"

men,"

he

calls

"thoughtful.")
suggests that thoughtful men can can

Anastaplo
education,
a and

be formed through liberal

influence through
a

be

protected

and

given

political

belief in freedom

of speech.

Because free

speech

is

democratic right,

originally intended to aid the people against tyrannical government (and still useful for that purpose), the people will adhere to it, especially if

they

are reminded of

it

by

the

Constitution

and vigilant constitutionalists.

Yet, it

is

also a protection of minorities

against

the tyrannical

rule of

the

majority.

By

attending to the requirements of their own sovereignty (free

people

speech), the
protected

learn that there

are

limits to their

will.

Although the

minorities

their excesses can

reduced

may include the merely eccentric or the fanatical, be checked by a judicious federalism and their numbers
education. men

by
of

liberal

The First Amendment in

a

reveals

its

dignity
through

in protecting thoughtful
the

democratic

society.

Moreover,

habit

them
not

honor

and

protecting these men, the people may even be led to give office. The prize to be awarded the thoughtful man is

merely security, but political influence (224-29). The only passage from the Declaration that is specifically quoted in The Federalist is that stating the right of revolution. It is quoted (in completely) in the context of justifying the action of the Philadelphia Con
vention

in proposing
of

new as

constitution

instead

of

Articles

Confederation
is
to

its instructions had

merely reforming the authorized. Though the Publius argues, it

authorizations.

right of revolution can

a right of a

the people collectively,

men

be

used

justify

few

departing

from their

Discussion

195

"Since it is impossible for the

move

people

in

concert
a

toward their
of action

object,"

spontaneously and universally to few must take the initiative and

or

propose

course

the people can only ratify

reject

(Fed.

#40).
Articles

Revolutionary
of

activity

by

the

Confederation

are not consistent with which

Convention is justified because the "the transcendent law of

and

nature and of nature's of

God,

declares that the safety

sacrificed"

happiness
and right

society

are

the objects at which all political institutions aim,

to
of

which

all such

institutions

must

be

(Fed. #43). The

revolution, according to The

the transcendence of reason
people

Federalist, is not an individual right reflecting in man's nature, but a collective right of the
end of

to

secure

the political

their safety
people

and

happiness. It does

not

culminate must

in

questioning:

not

among the

because their questioning

limited, if there is to be a common revolution, to the alternatives presented by a few; not among the few, because they ought to judge
according to known and transcendent laws. The a deliberative, but a judicial and executive
right of revolution

be

is

not

power.9

Anastaplo image
This
of

wishes

to portray the height

man

of

the United States in the

and of under of others.

the thoughtful

freely
see

examining himself
will not

It is

intoxicating,
stood

but

imprudent,

to

that image in the "right

revolution"

revolution

refined notion of the

"right

of

generally be
of guns

by others who will be much more likely to think University of Chicago when revolution is mentioned.
one

than

the

As David Schaefer
are

has suggested, be in our

need

only

consider

who

revolutionaries

likely

to

circumstances.10

But, Publius

would

argue,
stand

our

situation

is the

common situation.
ment of

All men,

including Socrates,
so

in

need of govern
with

because the alternative, revolution, is anarchy and war. It is even more fraught because it is 38). The
so

fraught
the

the dangers
of

with

danger
will

bad
a

gov good made

ernment

hard to find

some

few

who

make

proposal and so rare

to find many
success of

who will

be willing to

adopt

it, if

(Fed.

#37,

the revolutionary Constitutional Conven

tion appeared to our savvy founders as

precedent

little

short of miraculous

not

to be

frequently imitated.
our

What, then, is
first Federalist
It has been

"political

faith,"

according to The Federalist? The

notes :

frequently
country,

remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the

people of this

by

their conduct and example, to

of men are and

decide the important

not,
of

question,
good

whether

societies

really
choice,

capable
or

or

establishing
are

government

from

reflection

whether

they

forever

destined to depend, for their

faith"

political

constitutions,

on

accident and

force.

Our "political

is to be found,

not

in trust in free speech, but in

196

Interpretation

reliance upon the capacity of men to deliberately choose good government. This capacity was perhaps put to its greatest test in the choice of the proper form of government, but the institutions of republicanism continue

to test this capacity because

which animates
on

they

reflect

the "honorable

determination,

every votary
mankind

of

freedom to

rest all our political experiments

the capacity of
of

for

self-government"

(Fed. #39). This faith

differs from that

the

duty
in

of

Anastaplo's understanding by putting the emphasis on choosing good government instead of on the freedom of de
ought

liberation. Deliberation there

end good

to

be, but it is
because
of

to be judged

by
of

its
all

government,
of

not

extolled

its questioning

opinions.

The capacity
or was whether

mankind,

when egged-on

by

the

designing few,
what
was

to

disobey

overthrow a

governments people

was

never

doubted;
and

in

question

had the

wisdom

discipline to form

and perpetuate good government.

Federalism Anastaplo Amendment

reinforces

the

dignity

of politics

by insisting
be

that the First that

protects

only

political

speech.

Yet he

recognizes

the

requirements of good government and civic virtue cannot out some restraint of even political speech.

attained with

He

argues

that the necessary

restraint can

Here again, this the Federalist. for

be introduced partly through a reinvigoration of federalism. argument can usefully be seen in comparison with that of
a new

The Federalist teaches

criteria not

doctrine

of

federalism. It

rejects

the

old

federal

government:

that the laws must apply only to states,

individuals;
and

that the central government must

be

restricted

to foreign
principle

affairs;

that the central congress should

be

constituted on

the

of equal votes

for

equal states.

Governments

constituted on such

principles,
and

Publius claims, have been

cility"

characterized
of a

by

"incurable disorder

imbe
on

(Fed. #9). The

alternative

consolidated

government,

the

hand, has the defect that, under it, the society cannot be large and remain republican. The chief virtue of the true view of federalism is that it
other

allows one

to have

large

republic without

the

weakness and view of

factionalism is that
a

characteristic of previous

federal

governments.

The true

fed

(or confederal) States into one

eral

republic

is simply "an

association

two

or

more

State."

So
as

long
it

as

the separate organisation of the members be not abolished, so

long

exists

by

constitutional

be in
still

perfect

subordination
and

necessity for local purposes, though it to the general authority of the Union, it
an

should would

be, in fact

in theory,

association

of

States,

or

confederacy.

(Fed. #9).

Discussion

197
erected which referred to

On

this new

theory

a confederation can

be

has the

advan

tage of

"the

great and aggregate

interests

being
and

the national, the to the division

local
under

and

particular, to the

legislatures,"

state

in

contrast

the old

federalism between foreign

permits a

internal

affairs

(Fed. #10).

The

country without ignorant tyrannizing local interests. In turn, a large country is essential to self-government. "The larger the society, provided it lie within a practicable sphere, the
new

view

large

over

more

duly capable

it

will

be

government"

of self

(Fed. #51 ).
of modern repre

A large territory,
sentative edied.

coupled with permits

the familiar devices

government, Their defects were

obliterated

the

defects

of previous republics

to be

rem

external weakness and

internal factionalism that

republic made

nearly

the rays of republican freedom. The large

possible

by

the
of

new a

federalism
as

can

domination
With

faction,
#51.

Publius

be strong without factionalism or the shows in the famous arguments of

Federalist #10

and

respect

to the issue of free speech, Anastaplo

seems of

to

return

to

the older view of

ought

federalism

against

the

new

federalism

Publius. There
respon

to be the

greatest possible

division, he

argues, between those

sible

for the

country's

any
the

curtailment of
central

foreign policy and defense and those responsible for internal freedom (179). The first is properly a duty of
a

government; the second,

duty

of

the

states.

Yet,

to repeat,

Anastaplo emphatically the nation (518). Thus

country insofar sibility Anastaplo fear that his
of as

thinks that political speech can present a threat to

a

"great

interest,"

and aggregate on

the safety of the

it involves limitations

speech,

ought

to be the

respon

the "local and

particular"

states.

presents several arguments to show that we need not

allow

overly

scheme would argue

local

prejudices

to

Not only does he

courts

that these prejudices may

requirements

be

destroy free speech. checked by the federal

process

through the Constitutional

of

due

of

law
to

and

its

guarantee of republican
own

government, but he

cites

the

tendency

pro

tect one's

(he

points

to Joseph McCarthy's

silence about

the Univer

sity

of

Wisconsin despite its

being

at

least

as radical as

McCarthy's favorite

target, Harvard),
jurisdiction that

the financial limitations of the states, and the the persecuted to escape a state's

diversity

of

would allow another state. suggest

tyranny by
extent that

simply going to

Yet

all of these

arguments, to the
on

they
state

are

valid, only
and

that there may be limitations

officials would

majorities

to

practice

the

Publius did
not

reply that

liberty

would

be

more

ability of tyranny they may desire. secure if the ruling majority

the

desire tyranny in the first place, and that the diversity of a large republic is the only way to get such majorities. Anastaplo (as have others) does suggest, perhaps seriously, that the
states are a

distant

reflection of

the

antique

polis

community that

fos-

198

Interpretation

ters the virtue that preserves and enhances

republican

freedom (612-15,
are

775). Of course, the American states (some of ancient Greece) do not much resemble

of which
ancient

larger than
as

all

cities,

Anastaplo

knows,

and are

likely

best. This

may simply possible for us (438, 597). reminding us of a political possibility that is not But it needs to be more, if the limitations of free speech as a means to good rights. government are to be remedied by
states'

suggestion

virtue, at to foster only a weak be a less-than-straight-forward way of

of ancient

imitation

None

of

Anastaplo's

arguments

show

that the states the

would

be

effec

tive in curbing the dangers of free

speech when

circumstances

require

it. It

seems

national are not

for their grasp of for the national good affairs and who do not have responsibility likely to be good judges of the dangers the nation faces or the
probable

that those who

are

not

chosen

for them. Instead, Anastaplo denies that there is much danger. With regard to recent events, for example, he argues that the Com
proper remedies

munist are

danger has been greatly

not

overestimated

and

that, consequently,
against

we

free

to

concern ourselves

overly

much with

defense

it (742).

not overly reassuring in the light of if infrequent, may not the need for effective, in formed, and speedy defense be crucial? Anastaplo also argues, however, that defensiveness is likely to under

This

estimate

is

very

happy

one, if

recent

events.

But

even

mine republican virtue.

Fear, he
worst

says, does

not move

"the best
of

men or

the

best in
too

men"

(585). Political suppression,

the

even
and

dangerous men,
(802). To

"tends to
seek

bring diligently
one

out

in both

victim"

persecutor

to secure the

conditions of

freedom

undermines

freedom
of

because

develops bad habits in

denying
as

freedom to the

enemies

freedom (802-05).
The
attempts of
such as

Liberty,

as

well

republican

virtue, is threatened.

the courts to reconcile free speech with the need for de

danger"

fense,

through the "clear

and present

formula, have only

to
slide
out of

undermined

liberty by

providing sliding
greatest need
virtues and

standards

likely
of

sight at

the moment of

(x,

45ff.). It is better both for the

thoughtful
men

preservation of

American

for the security

or even
noble

to

have
of

dirty

deeds

performed

inefficiently,

ineffectively,
principle of

but kept
absolute

out

sight

in the states, than to sully the

free

speech

in the country as a whole. There are, indeed, dangers here. Yet Anastaplo's
the
need

position

downplays

too

much

to

face up to the tasks

us,
more often
under

of

republican

government.

Despotism, Publius
fense
of

reminds

appears

in the

guise of

de

the people's rights, than

and

"the

forbidding

appearance of zeal

for the firmness

their choice

(Fed. #1 ). It is in defending efficiency of that free men take responsibility for their choice, including the

government"

unpleasant or

harsh things that

choice entails.

In

denigrating

this defensive-

Discussion
ness, Anastaplo is
emerge

199
the
political

denigrating

political

life, for

differences

It is in comparing ourselves to others and that we have that is superior (or inferior) that seeing something one becomes aware of, and concerned with, the differences in regimes. In
or attack.

in the impulse to defend

deed, only
The is

then

does the

question of the

better

and

best

regimes emerge.

self-contained

man, oblivious to

or contemptuous of

not a political

man;

nor would such a

country be

a political country.

his surroundings, It is
wish

only men or defend fact that

who take those

differences

so

seriously that they

to attack

who are the political men.

The

dignity

of politics as

is
a

visible

in the

men are

willing to die for their country,

of us

in the debates in the halls

alist

different way, is, Congress. It is the merit of The Constitution freedom

shows us as visible

it

in

that it shows
merit of

the nobility of

in those

debates; it

is the

the Federalist that it

that the

nobility is visionary

unless we choose good government.

Freedom

and

Constitutionalism

The Constitutionalist

frequently portrays
does
not and politics

political

life in

exalted terms.

But the book

the tension
with a

as a whole

between philosophy
weight
of

adequately present the political side of (See 558). The book begins
The
the

eulogy to thoughtfulness
the text

and ends with mathematical physics. notes of

"philosophic"

overwhelming
"political"

in

comparison

with

is

further indication

this skewing. This imbalance is

due,

in

no small

part, to Anastaplo's

attempt

to interpret American

con

stitutionalism

through the

First Amendment.
First Amendment is
not a grant of

It

should

be

remembered that the

power, but states an exception to political power. This exception may in fact or potentially serve the end of good government, as Anastaplo argues. But can government be given its due by beginning with an excep
political

tion to government
one

and

proceeding from there to

philosophy?

Should

not

begin

with what points man

to government, not what points the tension between

at

him away
take

from

government

if

one case

is to
of

understand

philosophy
should

and politics?

In the

the United

States,

least,

one

seriously the fact that the First Amendment is attached to the end Constitution after the powers have been granted, the exception is

of the

stated.11

Similarly,
good citizen

there are many specific

arguments

in The Constitutionalist

that encourage good

must,

above

citizenship and moderation. But in stressing that the all, be dedicated to his freedom to transcend mere
men

laws, Anastaplo leads

teaches that all
men

should

away from the Constitution. In the text he try to be philosophic, while in the footnotes

he teaches that only a few men can be (11, 534). But if the latter is true, is the former opinion the basic opinion a good citizen should have? For

200

Interpretation

does it

not

lead

all

men

to

make

the

claims

that

are

proper

only to

philosophers?

as

freedom.12

In contrast, The Federalist makes an argument from equality as well We have seen that it suggests that our political faith is a faith
of mankind

in "the capacity

for

self-gov

That
of

is, it

claims

that

citizenship
claim,
ment

ought

to be based
of

upon a general

capacity

mankind,

not upon

some unique

capacity
can

a particular shown

part of mankind.
practice

The

proof of this
good govern

however,
upon

only be

in

by

establishing

this principle of human equality, something which

and which

had

never

been done before

be
done.13

there were many

reasons

to believe

could not of

It is through

recognition of

the

proper

practical

application

equality, Publius contends, that the problem of solved. This is nowhere more evident than in
eralism.

good

government

can
of

be

Publius'

discussion
the

fed
of

The

principle

of

his discussion is that the democratic

more

oneness

humanity
of

is

recognized

the larger the country, and the the

more

greater

the
of

diversity
majority
the

mankind

included

the

problem

tyranny is It is

capable of solution.
essential

to

stress

that

Publius'

view

is the very

opposite

of

modern view

that

equates equal participation and good government.

Indeed,
Publius from large

the distinction

between the American

exclusion of

and other republics

is

said

by

to

lie in "the total

share

the

people

in their

capacity"

collective

any
and

in the American
and

government
on

(Fed. #63). Drawn from

diverse country
part

based

the principle of representation, the gov

ernment can

represent of

the whole people, not

just

particular part

even

the majority

the people. The people, to govern on the grounds of

human equality,

must

be willing to
through
and

moderate

their own claims to rule col

lectively

rather

than

republican

institutions.

It

is
this

the

task

of

American institutions
which subordinates

statesmanship to
own claims

bring
of

about

moderation

one's

to those

the Constitution. Anas

and the

taplo's argument underestimates both the

moderation.

difficulty

dignity

of

this

Liberal Education

Anastaplo
ception of

suggests

that the American

founders,
can even

with

the

possible ex

Jefferson,

paid

insufficient

attention

to the problem of educating

thoughtful men

(662). The Constitutionalist

and educate the
a

intended to lure
ular,
seem

intended to be
men

primarily best (499, 603). Its footnotes, in partic model for the liberal education the best should
a

be

seen as

receive,
political

leading

freedom that transcends, not merely rejects, loyalties. Within them is much to encourage and guide the student
towards

who wishes to

truly

converse with the most thoughtful men of the and reflectiveness

West.
stark

The

discipline,

erudition,

they display

stand

in

Discussion
contrast

201
vehicle

to most modern writing. But are footnotes the proper

for

liberal

education?
as a means of

Footnotes

liberal

education might
on

be traced to Rousseau. from Rousseau's

Indeed, Anastaplo appropriates the "Notice Second Discourse for his own notes:
I have
added some notes

the

Notes"

to this work,
sometimes

following

in fits

and

starts.

These

notes

they
the

are

not good

to read

with

the text.

my lazy custom of working stray so far from the subject that I have therefore relegated them to
straight-

end of the

Discourse, in
who second

est path.

Those

I have tried my best to follow the have the courage to begin again will be able to
which

amuse

themselves the
notes.

time in

beating

the

bushes,
not

and

try

to go through

the

There

will

be little harm if

others

do

read

them at all.

(420-21)
in bits
and

But footnotes have limitations

pieces and are subject and place and

as a

form

of writing.

They

come

then

inherently drop it. One

their

distracting.
expects

They

lead

one a

the next note

little way down some to start from a different

read

lead down
of are

another way.

It is

irritating

to

footnotes

with

text

because

tendency
of

to interrupt a train

of argument.

Ambitious
who

intellectuals
says

fond

footnotes because they

about
some subject

are more

interested in
or more

something striking

about a subject

than in the subject

itself;

interested
someone

in

observation

than in

following

else's

long
Now

argument. one can write as a

in

such a

of

footnotes

lead the

reader

way from one to

of writing.

way as to minimize these characteristics One can connect footnotes together, and down
make a coherent path.
references not

another

One

can make

individual footnotes long. One

who

can

have

written

on

the same subject,

of

but to those

who

merely to others have something Professor Anas

significant
yet

to say. All the

original

these things
of

have been done

be

by

taplo, Rousseau has

view of

limitations

the form remain. One might think that

can
overcome.

shown

that these limitations

not

But,

given

his

intellectuals, it is
bushes
of a of the

clear whether

Rousseau's footnotes
are

contain

the truth the

conceal

text conceal,

or whether

the truth
are

the text. In any event

they they differ from Anastaplo's in

the bushes that

that there

only

few

of them.

This leads to two important differences.

Rousseau's in
a

qualifications of

his

text's political argument are inconspicuous

way Anastaplo's are not. (Some editions of Rousseau have even left the footnotes out something that would be inconceivable in the case of The Constitutionalist. ) In addition, because there are only a few notes, the whole of which they are a part is, in at least a minimal sense, visible. The underlying limitation of footnotes is that they are divorced from the two higher forms of human discourse. We find good human speech from one man's coming either in the form of a coherent argument issuing

202 mouth;
or

Interpretation

in the form

of a reasonable

dialogue between two

or more men.

To use the Greek examples, the dialogues of Plato and the treatises of Aristotle both seem but perfected forms of the best speech we hear every day.

Footnotes,
of

on

the

other

hand, have

neither

the

coherent growth of one of

line

argument,

nor

the fruitful interaction

of a

and

testing
main

dialogue.

They

resemble, rather, the distracted babble

about some argument
subject

multitude.

They

make points are not

taking
of

place off stage argument.

(in the

text), but

to the discipline
upon

that

be imposed leads
not

them;

an artificial

must If they have discipline, one that construction must be made of

it

by
of

the

natural

movements

speech, but

by

the devices
to

of

mathematical

puzzle.

Because

of

the

cleverness

required

reconstitute

hundreds
the
the

footnotes into

another

form,

one

tends to
pursues

become interested in
the

cleverness rather

than the

substance.

One

leads,

not

to find

truth, but to
puzzles

pin

by

to

pursue a

Anastaplo down. Will the best be sufficiently attracted lead laboriously to its end? One is tempted to say
amuse, enlighten, but

that footnotes are thought divorced from the natural movements of speech.

They

may shock,
participate

inform, instruct,
in the from

they do

not suffi

ciently a human

structured movement of speech uneducated

body

and soul
as a

to

educated.

necessary to move Anastaplo's foot

notes, like his book

whole, lack

a proper

body.

'

Corrections

of

The Constitutionalist,

as

well

as

bibliography
and

of

Professor

Anastaplo's

subsequent articles

elaborating its arguments,

can

be found in Leo Paul S.

American Consti

de Alvarez, ed., Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address,

tutionalism

(Irving, Texas, 1976), pp. 130-32. 2 William Gangi, "Congress Shall Make No Law. The Nation (September 18, 1972), p. 218. David L. Schaefer, "Federalism and the First Publius III, No. 1 (Spring, 1973), pp. 31-55. Gangi, p. 218. 5C. Herman Pritchett, in California Law Review, LX (September, 1972), p. 1484.
.

Amendment,"

"

Anastaplo has developed this theme further in Human Anastaplo develops his
Saint Louis
view of

Being

and

Citizen (Chi

cago, 1975).
7

the Declaration in "The Declaration of Indepen

dence,"

University
as

Law

Journal, IX (1965),

pp.

390-415.

(Hereafter

referred to
*

in the text
proof

DI.)
reviews of

The

is to be found in

The Constitutionalist. Compare Raleigh

Smith, "In Re George Anastaplo, The Political Science Reviewer, IV (Fall, 1974), pp. 169-191, with the review by Randall W. Bland, in The Journal of American History (December, 1974), pp. 850-51.
"

Constitutionalist,"

For

discussion
and as

of

the right of revolution as understood

Declaration Liberalism
111 "

understood

today,

see

by the authors of the Harvey C. Mansfield, Jr., The Spirit of

(Cambridge, Mass., 1978), pp. 72-88. Schaefer, p. 51. The First Amendment, Anastaplo suggests,

merely

makes

explicit

what

was

Discussion
already implicit suasive, but
of

203
(Chapter VI). His
was not placed an
excellent argument

in the Constitution
not explain

as

a whole

is

per

does

why the Bill of Rights

with

at

the

beginning
of

the Constitution or

integrated

its text. For

discussion

this

question as understood

by

the authors
Rights,"

of

the amendment, see Herbert J.

Storing,

"The

Constitution
tution of the
12

and

the Bill

of

in M. Judd Harmon, ed., Essays

on

the Consti

United States (Port Washington, N.Y., 1979). The general significance of Anastaplo's stress upon freedom
principle of

rather

than equality

as

the fundamental
and pp.

the United States is discussed in the

review of

Human

Being
12

Citizen

by Thomas G. West, Southwestern University

agreement as with

Law Review IX

(1977),

278-82.
the Founders
of

In

complete of

ambition

the

aspiration of a

Publius, Lincoln, fifty years later, described the "to display before an admiring world, a
proposition,
which

practical

demonstration
at

the truth

had hitherto been

con

sidered,
govern shared

best

no

themselves."

better than problematical; namely, the capability of a people to Collected Works (New Brunswick, 1953), I, p. 113. Lincoln
When he
called

this

aspiration. was

the

"self-evident
of

truth"

"proposition"

a as

at

Gettysburg, it
suggests

less because he doubted the truth

than

human equality,
whether

Anastaplo
could

(DI

396, 398),
of

because it
free

was

doubtful

the

proposition whether

be

made

the basis

successful,

government.

It
can

was

doubtful

"this

nation,

or

any

nation so conceived and so

dedicated

long

endure."

ham Lincoln

and

American Political Religion (Albany, 1976),

pp.

See my Abra 72-75.

204

BOOK REVIEW: Wilhelmsen (Athens:

Christianity and Political Philosophy, by Frederick D. University of Georgia Press, 1978) 243 pp.
Joseph J. Carpino

7 The
matter of

Christianity

and

Political

Philosophy lies in its detailed

from Cicero just
a
and

treatments of

historical

political

philosophers

Augustine

through Fortesque and

Harry

V. Jaffa (to

mention

few),

but its form

lies in the
that
of

author's contention

Christianity

questions

up to philosophical speculation an entirely new range that issued into answers that today are part and parcel of the
opened of

intellectual tradition

the West. (p.

9)

"The

genius of own

to question its
them"

Professor Wilhelmsen notes, is constantly presuppositions, "but in questioning them [it] renews
the
and
.

West,"

such

(p. 4). And among modern things as "personal dignity,

. .
men,"

contemporary

presuppositions

are

the

pretensions of a universal

liberty

for

all

and the absolute rejection of

he maintains, are attributable historically of Christian beliefs on Westprn thought.

slavery (p. 212). Such things, and in principle to the influence

Practically
the

all metaphysical questions

concerning [human]
with

existence of an

are

Chris
or

tian questions whether

despair

of a

they be Sartre. Greeks

answered

the

optimism
such

Aquinas

never thought

about

things,

(pp. 16-17)

St. Thomas, but he car ries his concern into our own time by proposing, at the end of his opening essay (on "The Limits of Natural Law"), the search for a new martyr for

Wilhelmsen,

of

course,

opts

for the

vision of

Western thought:
A

return

to

Socrates is simply
that

not

possible

to

anybody
time
will

who

takes

history

seriously history.

and
.

history,
upon

altogether

without

apologies,

has been Christian incarnate the de

revelation,

A hero to
of politics

natural

decency
law

for

our

pendence

natural

and

natural

law

upon

(pp.

22-23)
Wilhelmsen's
candidate
law'

is Count Klaus
man,"

von

Stauffenberg,

good

Christian

and

"a 'natural

and

his description

of von Stauffen-

Book Reviews

205
which

berg's

lonely

decision

concludes

with

lines

embody the

author's

central contention:

From the
existence

living flesh
tomorrow
or

of

it

Christian history, political philosophy will will have no existence whatsoever, (p. 24)

justify

its

The

"corpus"

of

the

book, its

main

substance,

consists

in four chap

ters,

each of which

"addresses itself to
of

a philosophical problem generated

by

history"

in terms

"its

conception

by

some man of wisdom who pas

sionately

wanted of

to know where these (Chapter

and

he

stood within with

of

his

world"

own

(p. 7).

The first
voted

2,

the late Willmoore

to "Cicero

the

Politics

the Public

Orthodoxy."

Kendall) is de By "public

orthodoxy"

is

meant

that tissue of

judgments, defining

the good life and

indicating

the meaning of

human existence, which is held commonly by the members of any given society, who see in it the charter of their way of life and the ultimate justification of
their society, (p.

26)
orthodoxy"

In short, "public
of them

embodies the myths and which are assumed

traditions, many
society, usually
the
assumptions

simply religious,
else

by

any

given

uncritically everything of Roman

care about

and often quite

unconsciously, the presuppositions which ground

of

in the society, especially its laws. One public orthodoxy is that the gods of Rome Rome
the
and civic

exist

and that

they

legibus,
natura

of

Roman laws (p. 41). Cicero takes note, in the De and political utility of belief in gods devoted to a city
problem could

devoted to them (pp. 44-45). A

emerges,

however, in

the De

deorum:
same

philosophical

inquiry

easily lead to
orthodoxy,
one:

an atheism

(or,

what

is the

thing in effect,

to an uncaring and

universal

Nature
"these

as the

ground),

which would undermine

Roman

public

and with

it law

itself (pp. 51-53). Cicero's

ought not

solution

is the

classical

matters

to be discussed in public, lest

nation"

much

discussion
a

destroy
and

the estab

lished

religion of
attitude

the that can be

(quoted

on p.

53),

kind
a

of secular Averro-

ism,
for

"an

maintained

only

by

few,

by

them not

long"

(p. 57).

The only adequate resolution, the chapter concludes, to this abiding dilemma of pagan political philosophy, is the one offered by Christian (p. 59), an orthodoxy "guaranteed by "public
transcendence"
orthodoxy,"

the revelation, in short, that the

sonal and

ground of

personally

concerned with

meaning is itself per justice among all men. With this, "the

being

and

truths

of

the soul and of society, the

first

principles of are

the

politeia

and of

guara

metaphysics

(that

is,

the very

being

of

both),

theoretically

206

Interpretation

(p. 59). Without

it,

the political
p.

philosopher

must

choose a

between the

schizoid cynicism of

Cicero (cf.

defending

itself

against

philosophy

destruction, by 57), i.e., Socrates (p. 59).

and

society simply

The third chapter, and the longest in the book, is strikingly entitled It deals "The Problem of Political Power and the Forces of
Darkness."

with what seems as

long

as

we

be the inevitable entropy of human institutions: "search will, we can find no political order which has lasted per
to

petually"

(p. 65).
for the follows: there
of

The

problem must

political philosopher

can

be defined

as

simply
and an

be

some third

factor that interposes itself between the laws

. .

being

which

honorable society, something irrational in the marrow of existence breaks the heart of decent men and brings to nought the heroism of the (p.

best

of regimes,

65)
was not really a theoretical problem. "To the intelligible. We need only recall Plato's brilliant

For
classical

ancient

thought this
was

mind,

evil

tracing
the

of

the progressive

Republic"

nothing

at all.

degradation from philosopher-king to tyrant in (p. 72). For Aristotle the fortuitous is really "sent -by The absurd is this very (p. 73), and therefore is
nothing"

not a problem

for

philosophy. self-conscious regimes

In practice,

however,

(and Rome is the in terms

the

case

in

point) tried to forestall the

inevitable

by

some more or

less technical device

or

(Polybius

on

the "mixed
of

constitution"

[pp.

76-77]),
of

of the

"community
time and the

gods"

city

and

under

"its
a

own

first soldier,

empe

(p. 77). But With

of

even

Rome's

success was

kind

holding
...

action,

against

barbarian hordes (pp. 79-80).

transcendence"

Constantine,
of

the politics

"the first Christian emperor, the first theologian (p. 82), comes the hope of an abiding city.
thought
that

Constantine,
of

good

politician,

Christ

was

the

answer

to

the

mystery contingency because Christ would guarantee to His imperial the preservation of Roman civilization, (p. 82)

servant

Constan tine's

presumptions were

soon

(or

at

least eventually) laid

propaganda

low,

and

in his

examination of

Eusebius's theological

Wilhelm

sen puts

the matter quite plainly :

If the
with

projects of the
will of

the

God

and

first Christian Augustus [i.e., Constantine] are identified the faithful compliance to His laws, then politics are
into
politics
and

converted

into

religion and religion

both

of

them into tech

nology, into

an efficient

instrument for achieving

planned

effects,

(p.

86)

Book Reviews

207
at and some

Another Constantinian length (pp.

Christ'

apologist,
with

Lactantius, is discussed
problem
of political

89-95),

but he too,

"his insistence that 'the love

unintelhgibility in

of

will resolve not settle was

automatically the
of

power"

piety (p.

93), "did

politics"

the problem

of chance or

(p. 95). That Though

evident

left to Augustine
a

Hippo.

by

no means

that

Augustine did

not advance

problem"

concrete political
as a

in these matters, "it is also Christianity as a solution for any (p. 98). Christianity "can act politically [only]
existence"

"latitudinarian"

final meaning within historical (p. 98). What Chris tianity does provide is "a motive for being prudent, generous, chaste, hon a kind of motivation not accessible to philosophy alone orable, and
of
just,"

kind

(p. 100).
to Augustine virtue become a concrete historical

According
when

possibility

when

the call to viitue is converted into something personal and not

[merely]

civic,

I desire my

own perfection

because God desires it

and

I love God. (p. 100)

And later,

with

Aquinas,

the other problem of political

life

"the

un-

intelligibility

of

the

fortuitous"

is

solved

by

an

appeal

to a Cause trans

cending the finite

order :

Fortune,
depends

unintelligible

within

the

context

of

this

world,

is known to be in finite
this
causation

telligible when situated in a context in which the

on an

entire order of

intelligence

and

will

which

form

no

part

of

order

but

which makes

the order exist, (p. 101

)
chance

"In

word,"

Professor Wilhelmsen concludes, "I know that

not

is

intelligible but I do
prefer a more precise

know the

intelligibility."

(p.

101) One
.
. .

might

"I believe that

chance

is intelligible
of

but in any
and

case a resolution

(of sorts) to "The Problem

emerges, and the
rest of

Political Power
chapter

the

Forces

Darkness"

of

the

is devoted to it.

Total
which

pictures and a concern

for the

survival of the species such

(a

concern

be articulated) left to God. But be with confidence, they can, according to his individual duties, so too must
in
our

time can at last

things must, because

as each
each

individual

must act

and even

"our beloved

civilization"

act
of

group according to its own

and each 'nation

proper resolve.

Referring
ends

apparently to the dangers

Communism,

Professor Wilhelmsen

the

chapter with an exhortation :

Our fathers
all around

wrought and

the city
set

out of

the

catalyst

of

time.

They
gave

fenced this city

a sword. cosmos

they

up

sentinels

and were
and

to

each

they

They
to go
out

ordered

us

to defend the
unto

city,

and

it

better for the

most

whole

up in flames,

the very last

star

the

remote

moon,

burnt

208
the whole

Interpretation
of existence scorched and

reduced to

a cinder

awful wastes of the void within our walls,

than that dishonor should unfold the banner

blown away into the of Hell

(pp.

109-10)
and

Chapters 4 ("Sir John Fortesque ("Donoso Cortes historical interest Sir John
and

the English

Tradition")

and

the

Meaning
bases

of

Political
of

Power")

are of considerable

and

provide

examples

the author's concern for the

metaphysical and theological

of political reflection.
constitutionalist

Lord Chancellor (p.

of

Fortesque, a fifteenth-century 113), offers advice to his

and

briefly
the po
power

prince and praise of accord with

never

the laws

England which, if not dependent on, are at least in litical thought of St. Thomas. An English king should diminished because it is "restrained
The

feel his

by

law"

political

(p. 125).

exercise of royal power could or

be
as

specified

by

laws

made

by

the people as

in England

it

could

be

specified

Fortesque indicates
the ruler; but

by

more capricious

formalities
always

such as

the

greed and passions of

specified power will

be. (p. 126)

able

Not to be

to fall easily into

tyranny is

an advantage and not a

limitation

to the power exercised

by

king. (p. 133)

term,"

"A moralist, in the

would

modern sense of
of a

the

Wilhelmsen suggests,

merely

agree

that the power

king

hemmed in "So

by

law is less than

what

that of an absolute monarch, and would add,

what!"

But

has to
of

be

seen

in Fortesque's doctrine

(and,

he adds, in Aquinas

on

the role

the people [p.

135])
trick

is the

practical conjunction of

theory

and self-interest.

The in

entire

consists

in thinking

oneself

back into

Christian

world

which

the ability to work harm on others and to follow the wisp of one's
are not understood nature and

own

desire

to be marks of power but are looked

upon

as

wounds

in human

hence in human

power

itself, (p. 134)

The treatment
more

of

Donoso Cortes (Chapter

than that of

5) is

"metaphysical"

the

relationship between

Fortesque, (political) power and authority

and

of necessity somewhat it focuses on two points:

(which usually
of

means

"authorization"),
et

and what
"law"

is

called

"Donoso's law

variety

and

unity (pp. 160

relationships quoted on p.

passim),
the

within

Trinity

apparently derived ultimately from the Itself (cf. the paragraph from Donoso
the

158).
with
. .

Beginning
cessful power
.

a rejection

of

Machiavellian

principle

that "suc
of

justifies

itself,"

this, he says, is but

that power equals

a resurrection

"the

ancient

classical

conviction

virtue"

(p.

140)
a Chris-

Professor Wilhelmsen

remarks that

"the focal

problem of power

in

Book Reviews
tian context ceases to

209

be the glory

of

the prince or the presumed eternity of

the

polity"

(p. 140).
because
on

We Christians
power

suspect power

we

believe

that whatever

authority
or

guides

is

always

derived from

high. No power, be it

political

otherwise,

justifies itself, (p. 140)

Political
responsa of

power

in the Roman Republic

the
answers

was

always

subject

to
put

the

the

jurisconsults,

"given to the

questions

to

"Thus it was that Roman law clearly dis by tinguished between the concepts of authority and (p. 142). In the Middle Ages the distinction was, if anything, extended, sunk into the fabric
wise men

community."

the

power"

of

society :
in
medieval

Authority
marked

Christendom

was

to the judges until it was diffused throughout the medieval

world and made

broadened beyond the authority proper a whole host of institutions that

unique political

it the

thing

that it was.

Authority
The
of

was as pluralistic as

life itself, (pp. 144-145)

modern absolute state appears with substantial

Bodin's "use
role of

of

the

symbol

[the

Aristotelian]

form to define the

authorities
dough"

state"

the
and

(p.

150),

the countervailing societal

having

disappeared
subject

the

community homogenized into "an amorphous power "which absorbed all authority into
European liberalism's
parliamentary
giance preferred

to

a sovereign

itself"

(p. 151).

form
on

of

government

was

highly

centralized

democracy
and

based

the party system and tempered

by

an

alle

to

commercial

industrial interests, (p. 152).

Montesquieu's
prescriptive"

quasi-technical

solution

("more descriptive
assured

than

[p.

155]),
a

that

liberty

will

be

by

the "separation of
times"

powers,"

became

"settled

conviction"

for "the liberalism

of

the

(p. 155). At this

quent

point

(in the

1850's) Donoso Cortes

of

appears, the "most elo

spokesman"

and profound

"European
and

traditionalism"

(p. 152).
proposes

unity,"

Basing
eral

his

objections on a

"law
and

of

variety
creation

which and

he

to have found in the

Trinity

in

(p. 158),

in

being

in

gen

(p.

159), Donoso
least
fragmentation

rejects

both

absolute

monarchy (pp.

161-62)
and

though it at
chaotic

recognizes

the necessary unity

power

of power as such

the

of

in

liberalist

parliamentarianism

(pp.

162-63).
The burden
of the argument

is Donoso's demonstration that

political

sanity

210 involves
of
an essential

Interpretation unity
of power on the one

hand

and

the

essential

variety

hierarchies

on the other,

(p. 160)
constitution"

"The
model

apparent

division

of power

in the English

a
a

living
divi
the

for

liberals, following

Montesquieu (p.
of

sion of

labor in the business

governme

166) "was simply (p. 168). The power

of

British aristocracy was "unlimited from within its own structure"; it was and by a thicket limited "from without by the common law, by custom,
.

of

traditional rights and

and

duties

which were

inherited

by

the American colo

nies

thus incorporated into the American

tradition"

(p.

169). The

author quotes

Donoso :

"by
of

suppressing the hierarchies which are the natural and hence divine form variety and hence denying to Power its indivisibility which is the divine,
and against

natural,

insurrection

necessary condition of its unity, [parliaments] God. (p. 171)

"

produced

an

open

Contemporary
sentative
of

politics

have left the West "without

of

an effective repre

the authority

God

and of

of

the moral

law"

(p. 172); but

peril"

"Politics

which sin against

the

laws

being do
insane
or

so at their own
of a

(p.

172),
or

either

losing

themselves "in the

today)"

pretensions

tyrannical

egotism

(isolationist America

totalitarian

dreams

(Russia

China)"

and

giving themselves (p. 173).

over

"to

gnostic

The last three

as

chapters of the

book

are a

bit

"replies"

more

polemic,
and

it were, to

objections.

Chapter

6,

"The Natural Law Tradition

takes up the author's

the

American Political
logical"

Experience,"

again

concern

for

the role of natural law within political life. He

"procedural"

distinguishes between "ideo

et passim).

and

democracy

(pp.

177, 188,

Ideological

democracy
law
the
of

submits

everything to "a law superior to the natural

one"

law,

the
of

the will of 50 percent plus

on

(p. 177). The abiding tradition

contained

West, however, from Cicero

down,

the growing conviction

all

that there was a trans-positive

concrete one political

law

which

bound legal

men

and

that

societies

must

bind their

own

codes around this

law,

that comes forth from God but that is known

by

reason,

(p. 179)

But Ciceronian

natural

law "was

law

teeth"

without

(p.

180). With
are given

Augustine

and

Aquinas the

abstract

ideals

of pagan natural

law

a motive and an authority.

Love, in

the

Augustinian

vision

of

existence,

is the

gasoline

that

puts

into

Book Reviews
motion
natural

211
. .

the machinery of classical natural law.

and open

The

natural

law, be it

as

to

discovery by
interpreter

reason
must

as

it

might

be,

nonetheless

demands
content

an
of

interpreter,

and
.

this

be

an

authority concerning the

the law itself

(p. 180)
Peter"

"In the Catholic tradition the interpreter

and

was the voice of

(p.

180),

"in

most

Protestant

confessions"

the interpreter survived

as

"the inher
representa

itance itself
tives and

Christian morality, speaking through its wisest incarnating itself in living political and social
of

institutions"

(p.

181). An

example

is the

executive's power

to pardon.

This suspending

right

of

the crown

[e.g.,

the power to pardon]

superior

was

based
and

in theory
that the
was

on

the conviction that there was a law

of

to

positive

law

king

England,

in

some remote

metaphysical

and

theological sense,
of

the representative of that law. In a word, the crown was the repository
of

the authority

the natural law in English constitutional theory, a last the late seventeenth century, (p.

recourse

for justice

until

183)
confused was

The
made; it
wrote us

natural

law tradition is

not

absent, in
was not

America, but it is
because

and ambiguous.

"The United States

. . .

born. The United States

was a work of art.

We

are a nation

a number of men

down

foolscap"

on

(pp. 184-85). But the

natural

law tradition,

both
man

classical and

has

a nature

Christian, was based on certain metaphysical presuppositions: [which] enjoys a certain stability the center of which is
. .

intrinsically

good and not corrupted

by

sin.

(p. 186)

Evolutionism (or
the
alism"

historicism)

and

Calvinism, between them,

undercut

tradition, and "a deistic and free-thinking eighteenth-century ration (p. 187) finished the job. And as a result of a careful and conscious
of

implementation "no
the
ultimate natural
law"

the separation of powers, the

whole

Constitution
capable

provided of

for

authority in the (p. 187).

system

Federal

system

defending "manip

Today, "the
ulated as on

itself is in

danger,"

and

if

public

opinion,
land"

it is

by

the mass media

.

...

is

opposed

to the

natural

law tradition

this or that issue

no

then the tradition will

die in this
is

(p. 188).
law
self-

But there's
teaching"

helping

it: "The
(p. 190).
be

spirit

of

the age
new

against

natural on

(p.
and

188). And the

result

is "a

barbarism bent

indulgence
That

passion"

a million children can

and

aborted

in New York in

one year with a

hardly

ripple of protest

that the Watergate

bugging

case,

moral

triviality,

can

produce a storm of protest around the nation

are somehow perverse,

indicates that

our moral priorities

(p. 190)

212

Interpretation

"The
of

natural

law in

our

land,

as

inheritance"

lated,

vaguely remembered as it is being violated, the

England, floats in the air, a kind (p. 191), but if it continues to be vio
in "will

practice

destroy

the

itself"

race

(p. 192).
Tradition"

When he deals

with

"Professor Voegelin
respectful
"long-awaited"

and

the Christian
criticism. of

(Chapter
of

7), Wilhelmsen is
is Voegelin's

but firm in his fourth

The

object and

his

concern

volume

Order

History, The Ecumenic Age, would "culminate [the series]

and

a work which

Voegelin-watchers
to

anticipated

with an apotheosis given over

happened"

Christianity

history.

Nothing

of

the kind

(p. 196).
to him must far outweigh

We have any have

all

learned from this

thoughts
on

man and our gratitude

second and

the deeper import of his work. But second thoughts I

intellectual

candor

demands that they be

expressed,

(p. 197)

The

problem seems

to be that Voegelin "represents

our common

Wes

tern religion through the prism of the experience of

Saint Paul

and almost

exclusively through that

prism"

(p. 197).

Nowhere in Voegelin's thought does the Church play any significant role soever in this act of constituting man's life in history under God. (p. 198)

what

Voegelin
verification"

concentrates

solely

on

the

experience

of

the

divine

(in

Parmenides, Heraclitus, St. 'Paul), abstracting completely from its "historic (p. 203) that is, from its existential validity, its and he disregards the objective historical purport of "the creeds, the totally
"truth"
creeds"

historic

(p. 205). Mystical

what changed the

experiences are was

important
in the

and

certainly

interesting, but
embodiments of

West

the institutional and doctrinal

and creeds.

Christian

faith, in

the Church

an understanding of these creeds, especially in their political implica tions, the West is simply unintelligible as a potential subject for philosophical penetration, (p. 206)

Without

Wilhelmsen does he did

expect

not ask

Voegelin to believe any

with

of

the creeds,

but

him

at

least to deal

them

and with

their development.

"History is
With

experience"

not mystical

(p.

207)

"Jaffa, the School (Chapter 8), we are treated to

Voegelin
are

of a

Strauss,

and

the

Christian

Tradition"

kind

of climactic

final thrust. Strauss

and

important for

our author

insofar

tually

exhaust

"the philosophical-political

between them they vir spectrum dominating American

as

Book Reviews
conservative

213

thought

today"

(p. 194).
only doff their hats in
undertaken

The friends
at of

of political wisdom and

of

sanity

can

gratitude

the careful demolition

the school of Leo

philosophical

positivism

at

the hands

Strauss, (p. 209)

paid

Then, having
Leo Strauss down to
cases
. . .

requires

in all sincerity our common debt to less Professor Wilhelmsen nothing very quickly gets in all respect. again,
respects

his

It may be
means

accidental that most

Straussians

are

accidental

that

Hellenized Jew
and

must

Hellenized Jews, but it is by no find the Christian mind and

mind and

sensibility something foreign

distant to his

heart, (p. 210)

might and

A Hellenized Jew "retains his Jewish

awe

before the

maj

esty

of

the God of Israel but

...

his

mind

has been fashioned in the

wisdom

of pagan

Greece

and a gulf separates

the two

dimensions

of

his being: his

of

heart is Jewish but his head is

course, is

Athenian."

Averroes,
in

neither

Jew

nor

210-11.) The paradigm, Hellene. According to Averroes,

which

(pp.

[faith]

moves us

a mysterious

world

is irrational, but
to pieces

moved

we

are

by

this faith. Reason guides us away from this call to faith. Given that we are
of

men

both

reason

and

faith,
walk
.

we as

are

torn

thorities.

Such

men

did Cicero,

by two conflicting internally denying the gods

au

but

professing them

publicly.

An

esoteric and exoteric contradiction

dominates

their thinking, (p.

211)
is

The

occasion of our author's analysis

Harry

V. Jaffa's

presentation of

(in The Conditions of Freedom) of Strauss's understanding thetical relationship between reason and revelation.
Jaffa insists that Strauss
maintained polarized

the anti

that

revelation

at

its highest, God's to

reason

Israel,

stands

in

kind

of

opposition
reader and

to philosophical
note

as

en

shrined

in the

wisdom of
at

Greece. The

will

that [for

Jaffa] Jewish
.

revelation
at

is

revelation
. .

its highest
its best

that Greek philosophy is reason

undemonstrable

its highest. is only

[Underneath]
at at

there lurks an
when

premise
and

reason

reason

unaided

by

revelation,
reason,

revelation

is only

revelation

its

purest

when

unmixed

with

(pp.

216-17)
Christian
pro

This takes
terms,"

no

account,

says

Wilhelmsen,
nor
content of

of

"Theology, in
a

which

is "neither philosophy
reasoning
about

faith but

body

of

doctrine

duced

by

men

the

God's

revelation"

(p. 217).

Jaffa, he suggests, "prefers that revelations not be thought and his argument (Jaffa's) is philosophical, "drawn from the
synthesis"

about"

(p. 217),
of

structure

as such:

214
"Nor did he
reason],
principle

Interpretation

[Strauss] believe in
any
synthesis

the possibility of a
require
a

synthesis

[between faith
than
p.

and a

since

would

higher

principle

either,

combination."

which regulated

the

(Jaffa,

quoted

on

217)

The

point

is

well

taken,

says

Wilhelmsen,
the

and

it is

an

old

one

for

synth

Strauss-watchers. "No synthesizing

principle can

form

part of

any
of

(p.

"regulating"

217),

reason

any "would have to transcend

antithesis mistaken.

and

principle

synthesizing

faith

and mis

both"

(p. 218). But the polarity is

placed, the

To believe is to

assent

intellectually,

moved

by
.

will
.

primed
.

by

the grace of
receive

God, in propositions, to the truth of what is believed. the gift of faith because they cannot think [but] a
.

Apes

cannot

man can assent reason

Mongolian idiots can be baptized but they can ( ably to testimony. content of the faith they have.) (pp. 218-19) in propositions the never exercise

faith."

of as

in short, precedes, accompanies, and follows upon "the gift what makes us human and it is entailed in everything we do human beings. But "Jaffa and his fellow Straussians at large use the term

Reason,

It is

reason as a

kind

of shorthand

for

philosophy"

(p. 219).

Philosophical reasoning, however, is only one kind and exercise of a rationality The valid polarity [therefore] that extends to every facet of human existence.
. .

does

not run

from

revelation

to reason;

it

runs

from

revelation

to philosophy.

And the synthesizing principle, reducible to Jaffa's requirement for a genuine synthesis

neither

thus

fulfilling
as
an

Professor
act.

is

reason

itself

(pp.

219-20)
The distinction is
sen, "is
Aquinas's"

not without merit.

But the teaching,

says

Wilhelm

(p. 220).

Jaffa

has forgotten faith

about

reasoning

as an

act.

Theological

content

as

well a

as philosophical content are concluded synthesis of and philosophy,

to

by

the mind reasoning.

Theology is

(p. 221 )

And

although our author

does

not allude

to it

the work of the Rabbis

said

through the centuries

to

have

appropriated

has been eminently rational; they could hardly be their faith or kept the Law mutely and without But the issue, Wilhelmsen suggests, is

propo-

sitional articulation.

"only

peripher

philosophy."

ally
We To

concerned with

are

talking
an

about

mask

uncomfortableness
of

something far deeper, about where a man feels at home. in Christian culture under the guise of a

presumed

superiority

Greek

pagan thought

to Christian thought is

principled

Book Reviews

215
assertion point

ignorance because
for
point,

nowhere

do the Straussians demonstrate their

(p. 222)

In short, "A ously giving its

and presuppositions

prejudice prevents the school of

Leo Strauss from

(p.

seri

attention

to the claims of Christian

old presumption

philosophy"

223),

that prejudice is

"the
spoil

that philosophy

must

have

no

lest it

its

purity"

pristine

(p. 224). But that is

essen

tially "an historicist Greece, philosophy must

As indicated in
of
earlier

prejudice,"

that because philosophy "began in

there"

classical

remain

(p. 224).

some prephilosophical
a

in this book, all philosophical questioning grows out of horizon within which a man simply finds himself as given
Christians
. . .

world.

But

and

Jews
. .

know
that

that all reality is a

kind

suspended

earthquake

[and]

existence

is

gift.

(p.

223;

emphasis

added)
"know"

Except for the

would

word

(again,

"believe"

"imagine"

or

even

be

more

precise), the italicized

sentence might provide

kind

of

conciliatory image, a metaphysical context common to Jews and Christians and inaccessible to the Greeks. But Professor Wilhelmsen does not "pick
up"

on

it; instead he

concludes

the chapter with a qualified rejection of

not

Jaffa's

"conviction"

that "in the final analysis,

must

only American politics,

of classical political

but

all modern

politics,

be

clarified on

the basis

philosophy"

(Jaffa,
ask

quoted on p.

224).
Greeks

But

we

must

the professor
attempt

[Jaffa] why only

understand a
a

classical

pagan

are

useful

to us in our

to

political

history [i.e., American]

thoroughly
medieval

that
and

grew out of

the English common

law,

tradition so
at all

Germanic

and

Christian that

there

is nothing

in distant Athens

even

remotely

related

to it? (p.

224)

And

finally,

to

nail

it down :
and assess

Any principled refusal to read Christianity is at the very best

this game dooms
political

the meaning of America that

ignores

a game of

ideological partisanship;
(p.

at the worst,

theory

to

antiquarianism.

225.)

Christianity
lightly. It is
merely
and a

and

Political

Philosophy is
and

not

book to be

scanned

provocative and

informed,

despite its

appearance of

being
not a
we

a collection

of

message,

and a

essays, historical and polemical, it has unifying theme: "Christian philosophy

an

structure

...

is

theory; Christian philosophy is ignore it at our peril.

historical

reality"

(p.

223),

and

216

In terpretation

II
Philosophy"

The
words

problem of

"Christianity
a

and

Political

resides would
at

in the
a

themselves. "Christian Political

Philosophy"

least take

stand, purporting to define

domain

of
.

inquiry
But the
each

(with

perhaps some slight

"and"

ambiguity

as

to

which

is the

differentia)

implies caution,

as

though the two merely walked

alongside

other,

touching

and

com

menting
not

on

common

concerns

the

same.

And

of course

they

from time to time, but remaining always are not the same, they have not dissolved
more

together, because there is junction of "Christianity

question of words go together?

still

the

fundamental
and

problem

of

the con

Philosophy,"

and
of

beneath that the deeper

as such.

the very possibility

"Christian

Philosophy"

Do the

of historical Christian phil merely pointing to the as it were, presuming to prove the possibility osophies, "kicking the from the actuality, since what is at issue is the nature and not the mere

It's

"fact"

no good

log"

claim

to

existence

of

the

entities

denominated. Ab

esse

ad

posse

valet

illatio (p. 223

of

Wilhelmsen)

makes sense

has

it, bility of self-contradiction is involved. Astrology, for example, is real, incredibly real in our own time, but it is quite impossible, and Cicero knew
some

intelligible

"substance"

to

and

only where the esse in question it is of no help where the possi

it in his time. The

"Jewish,"

same might

be the

case

for "Christian
might
go

Philosophy"

(or
a

"Islamic,"

or

for that matter); it

the

all

be

an

illusion,

chimera, the pasting together of things that

don't

together.

The

problem

is

not

same

Islamic). A
tion

rational articulation of

for Christian theology (or Jewish, or the content of faith is not a contradic

in terms,

and

only

to
of

faith,"

community of it may issue in

inhuman cruelty would belief. Departing from a more

an a creed or

deny
or

it to the believer
compact

or

less

"deposit

with words

(or,

to fence

in,

with

it may not, but the impulse to flesh out more words) the givens of belief is integral

to

properly human But that's not

appropriation of revelation.

philosophy.

thoughtful consideration of
anyone
natural

Philosophy, to put it most broadly, is a being, of the Being and beings accessible to

capable of thinking about them. Unlike the content of a super faith, which must remain, if not simply private to the believer at least theoretically hidden from the unbeliever, the of philosophical inquiry must in a sense be public, visible to all who can speak. Even when
"objects"

the contents of

faith

are manifested

in

creeds or

in institutions
and

and thus to

"public"

some extent made

examination of these creeds

of

institutions

is

not

philosophy but
of

form

historical

investigation,

and an endeavor

by
do

no means confined

to believers.

On the face

it, then, if

Christian is to philosophize, he

must

Book Reviews

217
to
ancient

so

in terms

of

essentially the
All
else

"being"

same on

as

was

accessible

pagan experience. where so

again,

the

face

of

it does
as

not

descend to

mere edification.

is theology or history, And the basic possibilities,

it
of

far

fundamentally
were

distinguishable

philosophical visions

being

are

concerned, pretty well exhausted, in classical thought, by the time of Cicero. The list is not long: Plato, Aristotle, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Scep

ticism, and, to round it off, Cicero's own Eclecticism. There may have been a few others, lesser permutations, but these are about it. (Plotinus comes

later,
no

to be sure, but he

offers

little that is radically

attempt to

new

and

is certainly
or

Christian philosopher.) And any

since

philosophize, Christian
of

otherwise,

then,

must

inevitably
devoid
of

turn to one

them if it is to be
"hypothesis,"

per
an

fectly

consistent with the

"ontic"

presupposition, the

of

experience of
"input"

being totally
least it

(to

make use of a vulgarism). would appear.

any Jewish All else is for

or

Christian

cosmological

hybridization,
afterwards,

and

illegiti

mate

or so at

What

we get

in the Middle Ages

and

a while

apart

from

frankly
sort or at

theological efforts, are

largely

"baptized"

pagan philosophies of one

concerns,"

another, philosophizing "informed by Christian Christian objects, "in the context of medieval

directed

Christendom,"

and

the like.
specific

What is there, for example, in Aquinas's De

ente et essentia

that

is

ally

Christian,
he

aside

from his

general

mien

and

some

of

the entities to

which

addresses

himself? (True, the Forms

are so

foreign to his thought

as

that he
and

Angels, Thrones, Dominations; but that lacuna is not what is usually regarded as speci fying the Christian-ness of his philosophy.) And besides, there is always the spectre of Averroism haunting the age, a living option theoretically,
must particularize and even personalize

them,

however dangerous it may have been practically, for medieval thinkers. No, the bishops were correct, in their instinctive condemnation of Aristotle when he first appeared in Paris in the thirteenth century. The
point of

the

spear

is

the essence of the spear; all the rest

was

is just baggage

and sweet-talk.

Aristotle

dangerous.
and as

But
lated
must

penetration was

achieved,

the

intruding body

was encapsu

and

neutralized, the ichor began quietly to flow. The scholastics, it

were as

be remembered,
about.

teachers,

and

teachers have to have something

to talk

Besides,

Aquinas

pointed

out, All truth

comes

from the

Holy Ghost,
and

so what's

to fear? And so the little

pagan child was nurtured

fed

and christianized.
a

A diapered

and tractable around

not

baby

ape

(to modify
a
naked must

the image

bit) is

much

less trouble if he's

the house

than

squalling human infant; felt, let's keep him! So

much

so even

exactly ours, they

a

have

"nova"

for
on

paganism

fed

Christian philosophy, essentially the ambient energies of Christian concerns;

medieval

of

and as grand

218
as

Interpretation

it was, it

soon

collapsed

into the hardened

opacities

of

memorizable

theses.

The

problem

is that if there

were to

be

such a

thing

as

Christian

phil

of some osophy it would have to be a "thoughtful there or at least not not which was kind of being, a somehow public reality accessible to what may be called, by way of shorthand, "Greek conscious
ness."

consideration"

"new"

As

matter

of

fact, in

"content,"

addition

to

the

its

style

and

"method"

might even have to be different from the classical

"indirect"

philosophical

mode,

perhaps even more

if that

can

be

conceived
after

than the
what

procedures required of

Socrates's

returned at

issue

here,

what would

have to be

prisoner; for issue, is a "new

all,

is

at

being,"

here in

the

Cave for
outside

all

to see,

and not

the mere
vision

bespeaking

of

an old

ineffable One

the Cave. Mystical

philosophical enterprise

may have been the engine driving the from the start, but mystical vision is not especially

Christian, however
To
to exist
repeat
and

rare

the genuine article may be.

then. What would be needed,

pagan

if Christian
more

Philosophy

were

be different from
impossibile

philosophy
a new

than merely cosmetic

ally is
sider a and

per

a new
and

being,
it,

somehow connected with

grounded with

dimension of reality Christians con Event that in the kind

or

novelty; and, to deal

perhaps

(because this is the human

new

formal part, and it might ing. (The distinction implied

remain

the same) a

way

of philosophiz

here, between
can not
or

matter

and past

form, is itself in
him
we need not

function
quibble
and who

of

the old method,

at

but if Kant

let it slip

now.) What is
will

issue is
them

the creeds and institutions

theology

history
claim

deal

with

the opinions and posturings of people

to be in possession of a supernatural faith

new

might

handle that. A

presence,

different it

"wavelength"

psychopathology (to borrow a

classi

"frequency"

contemporary metaphor), a cal thinkers would have to appear,

unheard of and

invisible to

because,

must

there, they
quite

would

have
new

seen

it. But the idea

of

be said, if it had been radically new being is

surprises, but
being,"

inconceivable;
being."

things, perhaps,

and even some

not

"new

The
new

real paradox

is that if there

were to

be

such a

"new

or

dimension pervading the old, philosophical examination of it might best be done by non-Christians, people who think of themselves, whether
as as

secretly or openly, belief. Christians,

unbelievers,
"members"

or

at most

as

only

on

the periphery of
speak

of

this

new

imagery),
getics or

even when

they

are not

being

seduced

being (again, we by the urgencies

the
"distance"

in

of apolo

the sweets
and

of

edification,

might not

have
what

necessary
neutral observers

for

objective

impartial theorizing. And

is
a

these

might

first

notice

lack

of

phase,

unpredicted

perturbations,

so

to speak,

Book Reviews
absences which shouldn't

219

they

can

only

work

be there. Or they might not notice them; after all, from the tables that they have. But we cannot miss
the errors, in terms of the
old charts. all

them,

the

discrepancies, indeed
self-evidences
will

Old

have quietly
will

disappeared,
still

though not
of

of

them,
Forms

and new

tacit assumptions

emerge

tacit,

course.

The

will

probably be the first

for
was

like them
all

were

discourse
are

As necessary as they or something classical philosophy (except for Epicureanism, for which rhetorical, gentle in private and careful in public), the
casualty.
gone

Forms

simply
old

in
of

modern

thought.

course, but the

horror

the apeiron
will

(Mathematics remains, of is replaced by a fascination with

their

"infinity.") Along
may
arise

with

the Forms

disappear

necessary correlative,
with

the unintelligible substratum, the meaningless manifold, and the assumption

incredible

as

it may seem,

and

so

inconsistent

the most

ordinary
an old

experience

that

being

and

intelligibility
mark

are co-extensive

(to

use

terminology), or, that everything is

are

supposed

to

make sense.

These

the sorts of things that might

the emergence of some

Christian in philosophy, irrationalities and apparent forgetfulnesses in cosmology and epistemology ("but we've already been through the ancients might say. ) but absolute madness in moral and

thing

new and perhaps

that,"

political

philosophy ("You
the possibility
of

can't

be

serious!").
of

The

sacredness of

the in

dividual,
kind,
of

the political context, a

and

achieving virtue familial rather than

being

human!

apart

from

merely

specific view of man

(to

bring

us

back to

Cicero)

excellences

in short, and except contemporary liberal vanities. (And importance

case could of

immorality of pride in one's own for this last, the whole sticky catalogue
the
even this

last is aped, today, in the

whole se

political

"sincerity.")
other

be made, in

words, for regarding the

quence of modern and

philosophy, the whole as-yet-unfinished

chain of modern

one of

contemporary thinkers (not merely the philosophers and certainly them) as the historical embodiment of what "Christian have to be like,
or

no

Philosophy"

would

begin

as. of

There is

"procedural"

even a

novelty in

modern

thought,

"way"

a new
middle

thinking,

which almost specifies modern

philosophy in its
system

years,

and

that is the search for system,

for

the

by

which

to

grasp
a

and articulate the

Whole;

no

Greek
seems
or

would ever

have

attempted

such unless

thing. That

impulse, however,
gone

to have

ex

hausted itself
aufgehoben

it has merely

underground,

worse, has been

in technological

consciousness.

The changeover, the

attendance

to this "new
as all

being"

(or to illusions

which paraded as novelty) probably began there were doubtless prefigurative lacunae

early

as

through

St. Augustine, and the Middle Ages,

relativisms and of

but the

reductions

to absurdity
must not

offered us

American liberalism

blind

contemporary to the inherent

by

"intentionalities"

220
that

Interpretation

tradition,

as mixed as

it has been in fact. (Leo Strauss

that if this

was not

blinded.

He

knew,
the

with

Gamaliel,

to nought.") And this

regard

applies

thing be not from God, "it especially to Christians, who often

St. Thomas
thinker
as
or

will come

tend to

metaphysical asides of

the

philosophical crumbs

from the table

through as
modern

of with

any

believing
alienates

philosophical

gospel.

Shot

it is

"humanism,"

atheism, anticlericalism,
the Christian (and

and

naturalism,

Western thought
even

Jew)

of tender sensi
returns are not

bilities (and
yet

the not-so-tender), but the

complete

in.

Voluntarism, for
so a

example, the grounding

insane in the light

of a

of meaning in the will, is not Measure Who, quoadnos, functions principally as

Creator

ex nihilo and not as a craftsman

imposing

pre-given structures on

a matter which also pre-dates

his

activity.

Humanism,

the primacy of Man

shrugged off as

and even of

individual human

tagoreanism was, when the

"man"

beings, is not so easily in question, each

(though
at some
of

Pro-

one

of us

in

fact,

is

imago del

and

personally

related

remove, in

most

cases)

to the incarnate

God is

Word, Jewish.) And

will

the

intelligibility
a

God.
that

(Only
and

Christians believe
pit of ancient

even

materialism,

delightful
a

thought,
when

have

different context,

new

basis

the smallest atom, the very mud and sand of Plato's held in being, energized, by the warmth of God's fingertips. There is
siderable

lineage, Parmenides, is
con

better

farce in the drama

and

of modern

thought, but
down.

there are also some

good

lines,
The

the curtain has not yet come

question of area of

the possibility of a Christian

where
all

cial

in the
of

"metaphysics,"

the meaning

Philosophy is most cru of being (or, the

its
most technical
combat

being
there,
most same

meaning) is

that is involved. But it is

also at

and as

those very technicalities tend to

keep

it hors de

in

discussions,
in

it

can

be be

set aside

for the

present.

The

situation

is

not the

moral and political

seem

philosophy, however.
moral positions and even political which
other

There do
are

to

ideals
the

which
aid of

specifically Christian and Christian-philosophical or any

ratus.

can

be

grasped
or

without

ontological

epistemological

appa

But

on closer examination and

in the light

of even

the most super

are

ficial

acquaintance
values"

with

"moral
as

which are
life,"

philosophy there Christian. specifically Setting aside

classical
moral

very few

such vagueries

"reverence for

which conservatives accord

today apply

to unborn fetuses
vegetarians

and which

liberals

to condemned murderers (while some

extend

it to

all animals and

the Crusaders apparently limited it mainly to

themselves),
virtues,"

and

not

even

mentioning

what

are

called

"the theological

there is only one significant to

"transvaluation"

that comes with and

and

is

essential

Christianity

(and

Judaism),

that concerns the

nature

Book Reviews
and status of pride.
were all condemned

221
and even most pitiful

Arrogance, boastfulness,
in the
or
ancient

vanity,

world, to be sure, but

largely

because

they
was

were

"too

much"

disorderly. A
in

certain amount of greatness of soul

permissible,

even required

some cases.

But in the Gospels

is prohibited,

even

the

understandable

self-congratulation of the pharisee

as might

be expected if we are only the stewards of our own being, never the owners. David is taken from among the flocks, the widow's mite is preferred; throughout, the small is made great and the proud are humbled.

But
live in

what can you

do

with

that politically?!

As hard

as

humility
in

is to

a private
all

condition, it is impossible

"inoperative"

and even

public

life. And

patriotism,

the rest, justice, temperance (and with it, chastity), courage, honesty, industriousness to mention but a random few are
"pagan,"

human virtues,
are

natural and even

virtues"

if it

comes

to that. At best

they

the

"military

presupposed

by

Christian

moral

ideals.

moral and any specifically political ideals, they would have to be, as indicated previously, precisely the values hidden in contemporary liberalism. The sentimental and frequently

As

a matter of

fact, if

there are

"Christian"

irrational

presentation and application of ultimate nonrational ground.

these

values must

be distinguished
also

from their
of course

(If that

ground

is

unreal, then

the whole

thing is irrational
reason, is

and will pass.

The

anger and
a

frus

tration of

Conservatives,
not confuse

confronted with what

is patently

total disregard

of common sense and right

understandable and can

be forgiven.

But

we

may

the

data

of common sense

correspondence and
mon

theory

of truth and the principle of

principle of

in epistemology, the causality, for example,

notion of com

in the

political

arena, the

subsidiarity, the

good, the importance of the

these

family,

and

the like (these quickly become

"buzz words")
may
not

commonplaces

of

healthy

human understanding

be

confused with
"transcended"

ignored
a

and

Christianity merely because they too are being in our time. Liberalism is an embarrassment and
"right
reason"

thorn, to be sure, but

a

can common sense and

be

enough

for

Christian political philosopher? It may be the case that "good

of systematized as a

sense"

old

common

and
which

Thomistic
not

philosophy is a kind lightly foresworn can function

alist

common

sense,

is

to

be

bracing
a

refresher

in

the

face

of liberof

simpering;

and

for the

present

return

to

the

healthy
read

realisms

classical even

political

practice

(How many
a

politicians

now

Plutarch,

as

Lincoln
on

did?) may be
those
whose

splashed

first

necessary corrective, a little Realpolitik to be concern is to "protect the earth"; but con
Philosophy"

any more temporary Conservatism is not "Christian Political than American Liberalism, essentially a congeries of Protestant derivatives,
can

be

maintained on

the

basis

of reason and nature alone. and

There is however

one

special

nagging

difficulty

which

seems

to

222
militate against

Interpretation
the possibility
of a

Christian
of

political

philosophy,

and

that

is the

"other-worldliness"

supposed emerge

Christianity. How

can a positive po

litical philosophy
nature of man?

from

a vision of

being

which

does

not

seem

to

take the polis seriously,

for

which

the

end of man

is beyond

and above the

A philosophy (or theology) of history, of course, and some or individual moral imperatives, to be sure; but for the Christian, the city
so

it

would seem

is only

a means of
a

(and
goal
a

not even a

necessary

one at

that)
the

for the orderly for Aristotle).

But here

achievement

which

political association and

is

not

merely

happy

completely event, for some,

place.

transcends
within

it

( as

a curious

bouleversement takes
philosophy, it
was

For the

angry
tions

prophets of ancient

wrong, morally
attend

Cynics, those forbidden, to

conven

take this world and

its

particularities

seriously; to
our

to

human

is to

were a

betray the Forms, to weaken living affirmation of the

a

faith in their
of

reality.

The Cynics

"mere-ness"

this world, and, though in a

somewhat reduced

condition, the modality is

not

still around.
except perhaps

But

Christian may

be

Cynic

accidentally, in
re

terms of rhetorical style or

ceived

habit

of

thought.

One

who

believes he has
is there
and

the whole of creation in

stewardship (the

metaphor not

it's

not a philosophical

tial structure of

accommodation), may not, dare the human part of it, the city.

disregard

an essen

will be no buying and selling, no giving in marriage and precious little it must be taking philosophizing, but and there's a world to make ready, and attention must added; here, now, and

In the New Jerusalem there

be

paid

to

bodies
of

politic.

In this, liberals
of a

and conservatives are

both right;
an polit

independent
effort must

the accessibility to

specifically Christian metaphysics,

"Christian

be

made

develop
not yet

an authentic and rational

ical

philosophy."

It has For the moment,

been

achieved.

however, "Christianity
and

and an

Political

Philosophy"

march which

separately,
at

connected

disjoined

by
truth.

intention,

the
an

"and,"

best

sets

them parallel,

subtending, between them,

a

area

of

concern

but not, together,

defining

body

of

223

ESSAY-REVIEW
In Time Before Steamships: The Limits of Politics, and Thomas J. Scorza (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University

the

Billy Budd,

Modernity, by

Press, 1979) 210

pp.

Will Morrisey

Billy Budd is among those books Its surface, if nonetheless a few characters take a few actions,
"ragged,"

one always

imagines

one understands.

presents
make a

discernible

plot

in
are

which

In mirroring
proliferate:
'laws.'

nature not
reflects

as

it

seems

done. few speeches, and to exist but as it exists beneath the

surface, Melville

each

reader's

image
an

of

himself. Interpretations

epiphenomena

generated

by

artist's

depiction

of

nature's

Professor Thomas J. Scorza modestly

plaint
urbane

quotes

Henry

James's

com

about

book

who oversimplify and acknowledges Melville's less much less his latest but scholar really thinks that he no ripostes, exception. rule's is epiphenomenal; he would be the Reading critics careful and sophisticated

Scorza's
what

interpretation,
say something
undertakes

one

tends to

agree

with

one presumes

is his
who
or

'critical'

presumption would

regardless

of one's

own

objections.

But he

useful

about

this

book
a

whether
'textualist'

he

praises

blames

dual task. Scorza is

Melville's
political

insists that "while in the end, one may disagree with teaching [on the nature of the best regime, the causes of
who
of political

tragedy, and the limits standing his teaching on its own

reads

life]

and

other

points,

under

terms

is

necessary

prior

task."1

He

could

reasonably insist that we read him with some of the care with Melville. To read Scorza with care presupposes that we
with

which also must

he

read

Melville

care; in effect, Scorza's

conscientious

reviewer

also

be Melville's. Like
that

Scorza, like Scorza's

predecessors,

he

must

imagine

he
A

understands.

scholar

is

expected

to demonstrate his knowledge of what

is

called

basis

(academia is nothing if not of that knowledge he can

witty) 'the
claim

literature'

on

the subject.

On the

that he adds to the sum (academia

is nothing if not modest) of human knowledge. Mr. Scorza makes this as painless as he dares, sketching the two principal schools-of-interpretation of Billy Budd. One holds that the book is Melville's Christian, conservative
"testament
acceptance,"

of

document revealing
other

a once-rebellious writer's

that

apology to, and the book's

for, God. The

conservative

holds

that Melville remains a rebel,

author's

narrator

is the

foil. Scorza finds

224
neither

Interpretation

reading adequate. He also discusses Milton R. Stern's Stern's analysis,

such notorious such

recent

interpretation,

which goes

beyond the traditional

conservative-radical as

debate.2

Finding
and

himself "in
"romantic."

broad
for its Stern

agreement with vague

uses

far

as

it

goes,"3

Scorza faults it

"classic"

use

of

words as

as

the former in
and
a

way

to

blur the distinctions between

ancient,
read

medieval

modern

conservatism;

Stern,

apparently,

has

not

Leo Strauss
But
as

fair

requirement

to make of anyone who writes on

should

classicism.

for

"romantic,"

Mr. Scorza

know that

roman

ticism's nature precludes exact

definition.
thesis'

Again yielding to academic expectations, Scorza 'states his (the sum of human knowledge dislikes being taken unawares). Melville
of

The

Billy Budd, he final, horrible

the

contends, is

neither a classicist nor a

romantic;

he is

a poet

in the Aristophanic mold,

product
of
ancients."4

"believ[ing]
the

that the moderns were

project
which

merely the
shared with

rationalistic

they

Preliminaries accomplished, Scorza begins his

"An Inside
Narrative,"

interpretation.

He titles his first

of

chapter

which

is the

subtitle

Billy

Budd

Sailor. The historicist

of

explanation of

the phrase refers us three

to the

Somers trial

1842

famous in its

day

wherein was

Navy

men

were convicted of and

mutiny;

a cousin of

Melville's

the presiding officer,

the argument is that

Melville

wrote

Billy
the

Budd

as an apologia.

Scorza
and

has little
spends

difficulty
of a

showing that Melville has

more than more

that in mind,

most

the chapter

discussing

important

problem

of

defining
relate to

Melvillean

narrative

specifically,
of

how

Melville's

narrators and of

Melville himself. On the basis

the texts of

Billy
the
goes

Budd

some of the earlier

fiction, Scorza
double his
narrator,

concludes

that Melville's
and

narrator

here

is

neither

the
aided

author's

nor

his

foil,
to

that

truth

which

Melville,
In

by
to

intends

portray

beyond

the

journalistic/historical
addition

attempt

to present facts.
one can

Scorza's numerous, convincing arguments,

illuminate these
"is
no

points

by

contrasting the

narrator's claim that

Billy Budd

with certain undeniably romantic goings-on. Melville knew Hawthorne's distinction between the Romance and the Novel:

romance"5

The latter form

not

of composition

is

presumed

to

aim and

at

very

minute

fidelity,
man's

merely

to the possible,

but to the
as

probable
of

ordinary
must

course

of

experience.

The former
it
sins

while,

a work

art, it
as

rigidly
truth

subject

itself

to

laws,

truth of

unpardonably so far the human heart has fairly a right to

and while a great no

it may

swerve aside

from the
He here

present that

under circum

stances, to
will
fi
.

extent,

of

the writer's own choosing and creation.

a

be wise,

doubt,

to

make

very

moderate

use

of

the privileges

stated.

Book Reviews

225

In

view of the

fact that

color

in

moments of we

Billy Budd includes a character whose eyes change fury, and another character who, upon being hanged,
assume

is

not

convulsed,

may

that its author

narrator

knows he has
not

written what

Hawthorne he
chooses

calls a romance.

But the

is

Melville,

or, if he

is,

his

word with

he says, because the

celebrated

something else in mind; Billy Budd is no romance, innocent Billy is not perfect. His imperfection (the
"the
arch

stutter)

proves that

interferer,

the envious marplot of

Eden,
planet

still of

has

more or

less to do

with no

Earth."7

Billy Budd is
about

every human consignment to this romance, not in Hawthorne's sense

sense

(Hawthorne knew
characters
who

evil), but in the

neither

that

Melville depicts ideas

nor

are

types

simple,
avoids

incarnate

highly

individualized
excesses.
as

'personalities.'

He thus

both

novelistic and romantic

would

That is to say,

with

Scorza,
fantasy.

that

Melville

depict truth,

distinguished from fact

and

"Upright

Barbarians"

are one of

aspect of the truth

things;
and

the title

Scorza's
of

next chapter refers

to

Billy

concerning human Budd in particular

in
general.

the

character-type

"The Handsome

Sailor"

Unlike
Sailor"

is political, Rousseau, Melville thinks that the human "state of at least in the sense that simple men naturally defer "Handsome
types:

nature"

defined

as men of physical and ethical virtue.

Sailor"

Billy,

who resembles

the "Handsome

lesser extent, ethically, is physically and, Melville's version of Rousseau's noble savage, a "baby bud of humanity"8 who "lacks something of the 'Handsome ability to master his own
to
a
Sailor's'

immediate

fate."'1

His

speech-defect reminds symbol of on

Scorza

of

the

noble savage's

difficulties
the city of

with

language; it is "the
While
on

[Billy's]

existence outside of

men."10

Billy flourishes
the warship,

the merchant-ship, the Rightscommercial

of-Man,
can on

he is doomed

Bellipotent;
not

society

honor the Rousseauan ideal (if it does

a

state of warship the noble savage are forced modern societies to be nature. Under the pressure of war, or so the un-Rousseauan Scorza seems to imply. political

unfailingly embody finds himself entirely out of his

it), but

The Billy's

analysis

is convincing, but two

consistent with

points

should

be

added.

First,

speech

defect,

the

inarticulate,
not

and

therefore
political

apolitical,

noble

savage,

is explicitly linked
story
of

to the

Rousseau's
workings

philosophy but to
sinister marplot.

the Biblical

the

Fall,
also

of

Eden's

While Scorza

expends

ink

and

energy to insist

correctly,

I think

that Melville is not a

Christian, it is
with a

holds

certain

beliefs

consonant

fair to say that Melville secularized version of Scripture.

'Rousseauan'

He surely regards evil as a reality in the world, for example (siding with Plato as well as with the Bible), and his very portrait of the Billy Budd contains this important qualification of Rousseauan doctrine.

226

Interpretation

Also, Scorza
a

takes the

narrator's

portrait of

the "Handsome

Sailor"

bit too

solemnly.

He

quotes

the

passage

describing
and

"the motley
was

retinue"

("motley,"

as
one of

Shakespeare's

readers

know

Melville

decidedly

them
who

is

associated with sort of

clowns,

fools)

surrounding the "Handsome

that "which
grand sculptured

Sailor,"

take "that

pride"

in this

attention-getter as

the Assyrian priests doubtless

the faithful prostrated
reveals the shows

showed

for their

Bull

when

themselves."11

human

excellence

and

Scorza soberly comments that this divinity of "Handsome Sailors"; it also

an
worship.

that the narrator,

like Melville, has

only

at sailors

but

at

the objects

they

ironic touch, directed not We needn't assume this is

often

simple

mockery (Shakespeare's

fools, like Christ's,

past,

turn out to

be

the wisest men),

but

we needn't assume that Melville's

heart beats

with

an unqualified reverence

for

a pre-philosophic

either.

Along
in the
who
acts

with

barbaric

virtue

there is "Aristocratic
archetype

Virtue,"

embodied
Sailor"

person of

Captain Vere. The

commonwealth's

here is the "Great

and

for the

preservation

for his
him to

own

glory:

patriotic version of

Aristotle's

great-souled man. and

Commander Nelson
some

was

the most recent "Great

Sailor,"

Vere

resembles

degree;

in Scorza's equation, Vere is to Nelson

Sailor"

as

Billy

is to the "Handsome
as

a of

modernized,

vitiated metamorphosis

thereof. "Just
Sailor'

the nature

Billy

Budd is

a refracted

image

of

the 'Handsome

through the

prism of a

refracted

Rousseauan philosophy, so also is the character of Captain Vere image of the Great Sailor through the prism of Burkean

philosophy."1-'

Vere,
shares

animated

by

Burke's

respect

for law

and

custom,
'rights.'

Burke's distrust
regards
also.

of radical
as

change

for the

sake of abstract and

Scorza
Melville
only
ever

Vere

Billy's
a

ethical

superior,

believes that
and can

does,

Billy

is only

peacemaker, Scorza argues,

of natural

make peace

in the

world of

commerce,

rights;
what

Vere,

what calls

his

limitations,
and

can act more or

less effectively in
of

Melville

"the

ampler

more

knowing
"Vere"

world

great

warship."13

Scorza

ingeniously
and

observes that

seems a combination of vir

(as in virtue)
vere means

Veritas,
fear"

truth.

Unfortunately, he ignores
at

the

fact that
although

"to
to

fact that becomes important later. And best

an

he

sees

that

Melville knowledge is he
assumes

Scripture),
is

that the ability to

ethically function in the he

ambiguous

thing (as it is in

knowing

world

a sign of virtue and

truth.
should

Nonetheless,
will

there

be

no

carping

when

writes

that "Melville
and

test
of

modern

politics

by testing

the models of

Rousseau

Burke,
of

both

whom, though in different ways,

also attacked enlightened philos reveal

ophy."14

This testing, he continues,

along
with

shall

the limitations
of

both
and

models,

the even

greater

limitations

'Enlightenment'

utilitarianism.

Book Reviews

227

Completing
"Natural

his

analysis
embodied

of

Melville's

triptych,

Scorza

describes

Depravity,"

Claggart. Like the

and plans

marplot

of

in the Bellipotent's master-at-arms, John Eden, Claggart envies the innocent man,

his

ruin.

Scorza,

with

his

usual

accuracy

of

perception,

observes

that today's Satan owes

times a master-at-arms
sword or nature
cutlass,"15

his

power

to technological civilization; in
of

earlier

had the
with

duty

instructing
became

men

"in the

use of

arms,

but

the advance of gunnery, the post's

chiefs of
police

original

was

lost,

and

masters-at-arms
with

"charged

among
gun

other matters

the

decks."10

No creeping
that

duty of preserving order on the populous democracy escapes Mr. Claggart's

unbene-

volent eye.

Scorza
and

writes

the undeniable

"The apparently irresistible advance of civilization possibility of an innate capacity for human evil combine
of political

to limit the possibilities

provides

for the latter to (technological

operate
or

justice because the former necessarily Because from a position of

strength."17

civilization

other)

presupposes of

the naturally depraved Claggart is a man

goes on

intelligence, and because considerable intellect, Scorza

to argue that for Melville science

the evil products of evil that

as of

and philosophy are themselves intellectuality. The intellectual Vere might find

disconcerting, but so would Melville, who explicitly describes Claggart being whose intellectuality is at the service of his passions a kind maniacal Hobbes. In the following chapter, Scorza quotes the relevant
a
relationships are not

passage, commenting that "Rational

ones; indeed
antipathy."18

they may be

mere

facade,
are no

But in that case, they Scorza believes that Melville agrees

about the same time:
seethed with plebeian

necessarily good hatred and violent concealing longer truly rational; perhaps Nietzsche
was

with

what

arguing

at

that the reasonable philosopher,

Socrates,
at all.

fascinating
to offer.

envy and was not truly speculation; Scorza will return to it,

rational

actually It is a
evidence

with

additional

But
action or

now

he turns to "A Deplorable

actions,
which
occurs

Occurrence,"

the book's

central

series of

in Vere's
with

cabin.

He

shows

how

Melville foreshadows Billy's failure to deal

can't

Claggart lawfully.

Billy

defend himself
speech
. .

lawfully
and

against

Claggart's
too

machinations

because his
child-like

capacity for innocence is

observes
and

reason

is

weak;
to

ethically,
protect

"his

the reason for his

inability

himself."19
itself"

Scorza
speech

that because "human innocence

cannot

defend
of

by

law it "cannot be the basis for the

realm of

conduct

human

affairs."20

Politics is the

survival;
and

even

the self-sacrificing "Great

educates

Sailor"

dies to

preserve

the regime,

his glory between

the

generations

that

follow him.
In arranging the
confrontation

evil and

innocence that

yields

228
the "deplorable

Interpretation
occurrence,"

of political prudence

Vere unwittingly demonstrates the limitations with especially those of Burkean political prudence,
. .

its "reflexive
And

reliance upon

(it

should

be

needless

apparently reasonable legal to say) Claggart's fate reminds

.

convention."21

us

of

his

limitations,
wherein results sailor.
unable

also.
sound.

All very

Scorza then

comments

on

the

death-scene

itself,

with lying Billy the fatal to and master-at-arms eventually immediately fatal to the is "Billy becomes merely an instrument of destruction because he

knocks the

Claggart

on

his

prominent

forehead,

to use

his tongue to defend himself

way
of

against

evil"; Billy's
with

violent act

is

"ignoble"

an

dealing
way

with of

evil, contrasting
with
it.22

the "Handsome

Sailor's"

political,

noble

dealing

Unlike the Nelsonian

"Great

Sailor,"

Billy

achieves

no political

glory for his (unintentionally)

Neither

self-sacrificing There are

narrator accuser

act.
problems with

this

reading.

Melville
to

nor

his his

suggests

that Billy's

act

is ignoble. Billy's
and

inability

answer

behold,"

is

"a

crucifixion

to
God!"

Vere

pronounces

Claggart
hang!"

"Struck dead

by

an angel of

The fact that "the

or

angel must

doesn't
directed if

reflect

on on

Billy's nobility,
the
Cross.23

lack

of

same; to

Christ,
this

after

all,

defeated Satan
at

One

might

try
make

explain

as

irony

Christianity, but Scorza doesn't

is
evil, one,
not yield
such

that

argument.

Further,

intellectuality
of

capable

why would a rational self-defense, were Billy justice? And finally, Billy does achieve a kind of glory
as

glory,

albeit

may be had
peevish

by

the grace of the British

celebrates
attributed

Navy's "authorized weekly as an eternal reproach to "that

publication,"

which

Claggart's life
to the late Dr.

saying
the

Johnson,
But
along.
Court"

that

patriotism

is the last

resort of

scoundrel."24

again

Melville intervenes to
scene

hurry
that

us pack-animal commentators and

The

courtroom

requires

discussion,

in "A Drumhead
a crime.
with

Scorza emphasizes,
observes

with

Vere,

Billy

has

committed

Like
the

Vere, he law itself, abstracted from

that one must concern

all

oneself

not

merely

else, but

with

the public

consequences of

that law and its violation. He

lucidly

insists that

The ironist
that

case against

Vere

must sooner or

later

arrive

at

the

argument

Vere

should

not

have

proceeded

with

Billy's trial. But in terms

of

the

story itself,
narrator

what

Vere

might

have done is 'but

boggy

ground

to build on'; the

himself

presents

Vere's

rationale as reasonable

and, in

fact, 'too

true.'

Vere's judgment is the only really authoritative one offered; since he considers but dismisses the more cautious proposed policy, he can only be
lieutenants'

said

to

have

erred

// his fears

of

rekindled

mutiny

can

be

shown

to

be

ill-

founded.25

Book Reviews

229
on

Precisely.
"ragged"

And,
but

I add, it

can

be

so

shown,
which

the

basis

of the text

that

not

"boggy"

thing,

will

refute

Vere's judgment in
to his lieutenants

its

own

time.

Meanwhile,
(who "admits that
recounts

Scorza correctly describes Vere's

speech

constitute the

jury)

what the
when

that

as rhetorical, and correctly observes that Vere law specifically requires is not really He Vere's lieutenants ask with what Vere admits is
clear."20

natural compassion

and,

more

than

that,

conscientiousness

if they

can

convict, but

mitigate

the penalty, Vere

what sailors

resorts
are."

to

his

own non-rhetorical not revert

judgment that "You know

recent outbreak at
panic of

("Will they

to the the

the Nore? Ay.

They know
think

the well-founded alarm

it

struck

throughout England. Your clement sentence

they

would are

account

pusillanimous.
.
.

They

would

that

we

hinch,

that

we

afraid of them.
lieutenants'

Scorza does

not suggest that

and

fear

of

being

thought

afraid,

in appealing to his perhaps to their fear of

another
of

Vere's

Nore mutiny, Vere reflects his own fear; hence the significance name. He takes Vere's argument simply as one of those sensible
arguments

anti-Enlightenment
asked

that Melville
events

endorses.

"The

reader

is

not

to accept

or resist

those later

and

decisions";

rather, "Vere's

axioms"

modern

are what undermine

"those

natural

standards

by

which

the virtuous can

narrator's argument that

decisions
be
seen
"axioms,"

made as

as truly He correctly cites the it's too easy for outsiders to criticize such difficult in emergencies, which does moderate what will presently

be

measured

glorious."28

the

"insider"

Melville's tacit

criticism

of

the

decision,

of

the

and of

the decider.

That
Sea."

criticism continues

in

the narrator's account of

"An Execution
'Satan'Vere!"

at

When
of

Billy

says

without

stuttering,
man

imposed flaw

the merely Rousseauan

overcoming the "God bless Captain

the crew's reaction reflects their nature.

Without volition,

as

it were,

as

if indeed the
with

ship's populace were voice

but the
aloft

vehi

cles of some vocal current electric,

a resonant sympathetic echo:

one

from

alow

and

came

'God bless Captain

their

Vere!'

And

yet at

that instant

Billy

alone must

have been in

hearts, is

as

in

their

eyes.'--'

Billy's

act of

forgiveness

of what

at

least

an

act of private

and natural

injustice

provokes an

entirely

natural

(likened to electricity)

and conscien

tious response from the crew; no wilfulness is involved.

If,

as

Scorza argues,

Billy "grants to Vere the divine approbation and natural legitimacy which then Billy, speaking for God [Vere's] own trial arguments and nature, is finally Vere's ethical superior. But in fact Vere is not legitimated for, as the narrator says, it is Billy who must be in their hearts
undermined"30

230
as

Interpretation
repeat

they

his

blessing

of

Vere. Although Scorza

recognition of

quotes

another pas

sage which
not

mentions the crew's

Billy's

innocence, he does

apply it to Vere's speech, in which the Captain suggested to his lieutenants that they "know what sailors Indeed they do not, and the ignorance of the nature of their subjects prevents them from
are." rulers'

making a courageous and statesmanlike decision. Billy's execution, described in terms of Christ's legitimate

Ascension, doesn't
"inarticulate"

Vere, (like Billy) murmur, likened

(another
natural as

either; it

undermines

his legitimacy. An
advance
of

to

the

tropical
silenced

rainstorm

phenomenon), issues from the sailors,

of a
sea

only

when

"Shrill

the

shriek

hawk [another

natural

phenomenon,
the boatswain
and

but,
and

like the serpent, a predatory one], the silver his mates pierced that ominous low sound,
the mechanism of
ments

whistles of

dissipating it;
thinned.
of
. .

discipline,
are
make

the

throng

was

yielding to Scorza com

are

that such
you

devices

necessary if
nature
of

the

necessary in times initial mistake of

if

war, but
to

they

only
the

failing

understand

your

men.

Scorza has Melville

aroused when

one argues that technology is bad (as Further, do, accurately, I think), one's suspicions ought to be phrase

by

such

as

"the

discipline,"

mechanism

of nature.
superstitious

especially
men
as

that mechanism is

described
to the

as

overriding
and

Seafowl
that

fly "screaming
no prosaic

spot,"

the

find
the

"big

with

significance."32

The

prosaic

significance,
the

narrator

says,

is

"the

mere

animal

greed

for

prey";

non-prosaic

(therefore poetic?) significance is not specified. It is clear, however, that Billy's death/ascension is an event of more than prosaic significance,
thus
next

making this

an

instance
that

of superstition

being

truer than
are

fact. Vere's
and

pronouncement

"forms,

measured

forms,

everything;

that is the import couched in the story of Orpheus with his lyre spell therefore takes on a striking binding the wild denizens of the
wood"33

irony.

Orpheus
music

used

music;
not
owe
...

Billy,
its
a of sort an

not

Vere, is described
to

as

musical.

Orpheus's
in its

did

power

its

conti

being "long
. .

thereby "superinduc[ing]
promptitude
of

of

impulse

much

resembl[ling]
narrator's

the

effect

instinct"34

which

is the

description
Scorza

the 'conditioned

response'

evoked

by

Verean discipline.

Vere's limitations. He rightly interprets Vere's death-bed cries of "Billy Budd, as Vere's recognition Billy "that nature, not man-made 'measured forms,' should ultimately guide
recognizes

many

of

Budd,"

'everything.'

":i5

We differ

on

matter

of

emphasis; I

rate

Billy
at

and

the

sailors somewhat

higher,

Vere

somewhat
are

lower than he does.

as
we

Also,

there

is
of

sense

in

which

Orphic forms is Scorza's

important,

see

the end

the

book. "Ragged
Edges"

title

for his final chapter; it

refers

to the

Book Reviews
narrator's statement

231

that

The symmetry in a narration misingly told

of

form

attainable

in

pure

fiction

cannot so
with

having

less to do have its

with

fable than
.

readily be achieved fact. Truth uncompro

will always

ragged edges.

3e

This, incidentally, implicitly distinguishes Verean formalism from

(as Scorza hinted
But Scorza has "abrasiveness to
when

truth

he

criticized

Vere's "Burkean
an

conventionalism").
of

another

thing in

mind:

explanation
"ragged"

Billy Budd's
abrades

modern

readers."37

Melville's

book

moderns of all sorts.

Conservatives,

who would applaud

Vere,

find Melville

applauding the Captain rather too weakly for their taste; liberals and radicals find Melville's "aristocratic to "enlightened egalitariopposition" anism"

beyond the limits

endorse

of

their rational discourse.

A
to

modern

could

scarcely because because

scope,
of

the assertion that

"Tragedy

is

endemic

modern politics

attractive romantic

innocence is too fragile in is too he

in the

a man-of-war

world,
and

modern conservative conventionalism

is too limited in

vision

and

because

natural evil

effective

complex civilizations

modernity."38

Still less

could

endorse

the assertion that modernity

itself is radically
is modernity,

defective,
least its

that

Claggart,

with

his "prideful

knowledge,"30

or at

worst aspect.

It in his

would

critique

be easy to tease Mr. Scorza for suggesting that is a of modernity if not in his
'solution,'

Melville,

prot

But Strauss himself tells

there's
no

us

that

Swift was, in effect,

a proto-'Straussian';

harm in adding Melville to the list of thinkers who criticized modernity in the name of something that predated modernity. Scorza also argues that Melville is something of a Nietzschean again, in his critique
of

modernity
wine

only.

He

suggests

that Claggart is Melville's

Socrates-figure;
fish's"

the evidence
allows

being that,
to
get
on

like Socrates in the Symposium, Claggart "never within his guard"; that he has the "torpedo

numbing

effect

narrator compares who compares

speech, like the Socrates of the Meno; and that the him to a snake, echoing Alcibiades in the Symposium,
"bite"

the
of

of

reactionary bite
unconvincing;

serpent"

the

philosophy is the

with

the

bite

of

serpent

("the

narrator's

phrase).40

I find this is
a Christ-

given

the very explicit

allusions slightest

Melville

employs elsewhere

in

Billy

Budd (we

are

left

without

the

doubt that
want

Billy

figure

and

that Claggart is a

Satan-figure), I

more

than these few

Claggart much more clearly resembles a romantic parallels. hero/villain. There is the telltale pallor, the dark hair, the fiery eyes, the prominent forehead, "the hint of something defective or abnormal in
tenuous

the

constitution and

blood,"41

the rumor that

he has

Crime in his Past;

and

one thinks of such

fictional

constructs as

Heathcliff, Lord Byron

Edgar

232

Interpretation
parallels

Allan Poe. The

with

to Milton's

Satan,

mentioned

by Scorza,
some

harmonize

this; the Satan of Paradise Lost was a hero to Romantics. Nonetheless, Scorza's underlying argument is
is
an

of the
sound.

English Melville

artist,

not a philosopher.
capable of

An Aristophanes?
and

Owing

more

to Shake
else

speare, I think:

mixing Plato
enigmatic,
nor

the Bible

and

anything

to serve his own,

frequently

purposes.

But

neither

Shakespeare

Aristophanes

would

give

his final lines

'officially'

to an anonymous sailor.

Billy,

we

learn, does

achieve

fame,

not

but among the sailors, who superstitiously and rightly treasure pieces of the spar from which Billy was hanged as relics from a Cross. One of them, composes a ballad, "Billy in the "with an artless poetic
temperament,"42 Darbies."

The

poetic

account,

ragged edges and

all, is
a

more accurate
reproach.

than

the official journalistic/historical account;

three

it is

poetic

Its last

lines

seem

to

evoke

Billy's

predicament

accurately:

Just And
I

ease

these darbies

at

the wrists,

roll me over

fair!
weeds about me
twist.43

am sleepy, and

the oozy

Billy

is

caught

between

the

iron bands

of

law

and

the lower

parts

of

(the snake-like Claggart in the story, the serpentine "oozy in the ballad). But in saying this one recognizes a discrepancy between the poem and the event. In the hanging scene, we understand that Billy
nature

weeds"

transcends the realms of law and malice;

and soon shall

he

"ascends."

Here, he is trapped,
the executed
portrays

be

"drop[ped]
poem

deep."44

This doesn't

undercut

Billy, because the

isn't truly in his voice; it

him

more

accurately than the report does, but it isn't really about him. This lament in reality describes the predicament of such ordinary mortals as the sailor who wrote it and his fellows. Like Plato, Melville saw that the city and man man in the best sense are not quite compatible. In this inevitable for tragedy. Which is why Vere's fear, though understandable, is for Melville a lesser thing than Billy's forgiveness. It is not in politics but in poetry that Melville finds the true Orphic voice;
tension there
always

is

the

potential

in

be uncompromisingly told. Plato would say it differently, noting that poetry is itself a compromise. The longest human life is too short for bad books. In reading Billy
poetry's

realm,

not

in politics, truth

can

Budd, Mr. Scorza hasn't

we

wasted

don't

waste use of

our

time,

either.

graceful political addition

considerable

his time. In reading Scorza on Billy Budd With his fidelity to the text, with his learning, with his perceptiveness and sound
me

judgment, he
to

convinces

that
not

Melville

might

welcome

this

'Melville

scholarship,'

if

all

additions

thereto.
as

Whatever
critic's

criticisms

have

made

may

therefore

be

dismissed

mere

Book Reviews
epiphenomenal
grumblings more

233
perhaps.

evidence

of

little-Claggartian envy,
than

Scorza Melville
a
'has'

cares

about

politics

Melville does. Scorza

Insofar

as

politics, he

seems

less the

aristocrat of

Scorza's book than

photographing the few feet to the

very

tough-minded

republican. urge

Watching
move

mountain,

Billy

Budd, I

him to

his

camera a

left. Without changing his

'Thomas J. Scorza:
of

philosophic

lens,

of course.

In

the

Time Before Steamships Northern Illinois

Politics,
2

and

Modernity, DeKalb:

Billy Budd, The Limits University Press, 1979), p.

xiv.

Milton R. Stern, ed., Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative), Bobbs-Merrill, Indianapolis, 1975. Stern's principal critical study of Melville is The Fine Ham mered Steel of Herman Melville, (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1957). Scorza, op. cit., p. xxvi. Ibid., p. xxxiv. 5 Herman Melville: Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative), in The American Tradition in Literature, edited by Sculley Bradley, Richard Croom Beatty, E. Hudson Long, (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1967), p. 512.
:l 4

in The Complete Novels

7

Nathaniel Hawthorne: The House of the Seven Gables A Romance, Preface, Tales of Nathaniel Hawthorne, edited by and Selected
(New York:

Norman Holmes Pearson,

Modern Library,

1937/1965),

p.

243.

Melville,

op.

cit., p. 512.

Scorza, op. cit., p. 26. "Ibid., p. 25. Ibid., p. 29. Melville, op. cit., p. 504. Scorza, op. cit., p. 59. " Melville, op. cit., p. 509. Scorza, op. cit., p 15 Melville, op. cit., p. 519. Ibid., p. 520. Scorza, op. cit., pp. 80-81. Ibid., p. 90. 40 Ibid., p. 97. 50 Ibid., p. 90. Ibid., p. 106. 22 Ibid., p. 108. Melville, op. cit., p. 546. Ibid., p. 567.
"' 11 12
14
.59.

10

17

,s

"

21

24

2!i

Scorza,

op.

cit., pp. 127-28.

20
27

2S

'"'

30 n
32
:"

Ibid., p. 140. Melville, op. cit., p. 554. Scorza, op. cit., p. 142. Melville, op. cit., p. 562: italics mine. Scorza, op. cit., pp. 162-63. Melville, op. cit., p. 564; italics mine. Ibid., Ibid., Ibid.,
pp.

564-65.

p. p.

565.

"

565, italics

mine.

234
15
30
17

Interpretation

Scorza, op. cit., p. 164. Melville, op. cit., p. 565. Scorza, op. cit., p. 171
Ibid.,
p. p.

173. 176.

"Ibid.,
40

11, p. 181, n. #7. 11 Melville, op. cit., p. 520. '-Ibid., p. 568; Melville's italics. r'lbid., p. 568.
Ibid.,
p.
41

Ibid.,

p.

568.

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