Moses Hess: The Holy History of Mankind and Other Writings

by Moses Hess , Edited and translated by Shlomo Avineri

• ISBN13: 9780521387569
• ISBN10: 0521387566
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-01-10
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Moses Hess is a major figure in the development of both early communist and Zionist thought. The Holy History of Mankind appeared in 1837, and was the first book-length socialist tract to appear in Germany, representing an unusual synthesis of Judaism and Christianity that showed the considerable influence upon Hess of Spinoza, Herder and Hegel. In due course many of Hess's ideas would find their way into the work of Karl Marx, and into subsequent socialist thought. The distinguished political scientist Shlomo Avineri provides the first full English translation of this text, along with new renditions of Socialism and Communism, A Communist Credo; and The Consequences of a Future Revolution of the Proletariat. All of the usual reader-friendly series features are provided, including a chronology, concise introduction and notes for further reading, in a work of special relevance to students of politics, modern European history, and the history of Zionism.

Table of Contents

Introduction	ix
Chronology of the life of Moses Hess	xxviii
A note on the text	xxxii
Bibliographical note	xxxiv
The Holy History of Mankind
PART ONE: THE PAST AS THE FOUNDATION OF WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
The First Main Period of the Holy History -- or the History of Revelation of God, the Father	5	(16)
First Period: India. From Adam to the Deluge	6	(1)
Second Period: Assyria. From Noah to Abraham	7	(2)
Third Period: Egypt. From Abraham to Moses	9	(1)
Fourth Period: Palestine -- Phoenicia. From Moses to David	10	(2)
Fifth Period: Babylonia -- Persia. From David to the Exile	12	(2)
Sixth Period: Greece. From Ezra to Matathias Maccabaeus	14	(2)
Seventh Period: Rome. From Matathias Maccabaeus to Jesus Christ	16	(1)
Note	17	(4)
The Second Main Period of the Holy History -- or the History of Revelation of God, the Son	21	(16)
First Period: Rome. From Christ to the Migration of the Peoples	21	(2)
Second Period: France. From Leo the Great to St Gregory	23	(2)
Third Period: England. From St Gregory to Charles Martell	25	(2)
Fourth Period: Saxons, Slavs, and Scandinavians. From Charles Martell to Gregory the Seventh	27	(1)
Fifth Period: Prussia. From Gregory the Seventh to the Exile [of the Papacy]	28	(2)
Sixth Period: South America. From John Wycliffe to Martin Luther	30	(2)
Seventh Period: North America. From Martin Luther to Benedict Spinoza	32	(1)
Note	33	(4)
The Third Main Period of the Holy History -- or the History of Revelation of God, the Holy Spirit	37	(60)
First Period: North America. From Benedict Spinoza to the French Revolution	37	(3)
Second Period: Europe. The Revolution	40	(3)
Note	43	(16)
An Interlude (instead of an Introduction) to a correct judgment of these pages	52	(7)
PART TWO: THE FUTURE, AS THE CONSEQUENCE OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED
First Chapter: The Natural Striving of Our Age or the Foundation of the Holy Kingdom	59	(18)
Second Chapter: Our Present Plight as the Mediator of the Foundation of the Kingdom	77	(8)
Third Chapter: The New Jerusalem and the End of Days	85	(12)
Socialism and Communism	97	(19)
A Communist Credo: Questions and Answers	116	(12)
Consequences of a Revolution of the Proletariat	128	(8)
Appendix: Christ and Spinoza (from Rome and Jerusalem)	136	(4)
Index	140