RENAN, Ernest.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Vie de Jésus. First edition, one of a very small number printed on papier Hollande of a work with profound and lasting cultural repercussions, which took its lead from German higher criticism and pictured Jesus through the lens of historical rationalism, upsetting both ecclesiastical authorities and secular nationalists.Vie de Jésus was an extraordinary literary event, selling 146,000 copies in the first 18 months, 10 printings in the first year, and being translated almost at once into numerous other languages. The book was intended as the first book in the eight-volume series, Histoire des Origines du Christianisme, and contains a series half-title to that effect.Renan was persuaded by his sister, Henriette, to write the work. He began it with her help while they were travelling through Syria - where she died of a fever that nearly claimed his life as well. The book is dedicated to her memory. Years earlier, Renan had written, "I envy the man who shall evoke from the past the origins of Christianity. Such a writer would compose the most important book of the century."

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