Doubting the Divine in Early Modern Europe

The Revival of Momus, the Agnostic God

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory, Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, History
Cover of the book Doubting the Divine in Early Modern Europe by George McClure, Cambridge University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: George McClure ISBN: 9781108569330
Publisher: Cambridge University Press Publication: June 30, 2018
Imprint: Cambridge University Press Language: English
Author: George McClure
ISBN: 9781108569330
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Publication: June 30, 2018
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Language: English

In this book, George McClure examines the intellectual tradition of challenges to religious and literary authority in the early modern era. He explores the hidden history of unbelief through the lens of Momus, the Greek god of criticism and mockery. Surveying his revival in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and England, McClure shows how Momus became a code for religious doubt in an age when such writings remained dangerous for authors. Momus ('Blame') emerged as a persistent and subversive critic of divine governance and, at times, divinity itself. As an emblem or as an epithet for agnosticism or atheism, he was invoked by writers such as Leon Battista Alberti, Anton Francesco Doni, Giordano Bruno, Luther, and possibly, in veiled form, by Milton in his depiction of Lucifer. The critic of gods also acted, in sometimes related fashion, as a critic of texts, leading the army of Moderns in Swift's Battle of the Books, and offering a heretical archetype for the literary critic.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this book, George McClure examines the intellectual tradition of challenges to religious and literary authority in the early modern era. He explores the hidden history of unbelief through the lens of Momus, the Greek god of criticism and mockery. Surveying his revival in Italy, France, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and England, McClure shows how Momus became a code for religious doubt in an age when such writings remained dangerous for authors. Momus ('Blame') emerged as a persistent and subversive critic of divine governance and, at times, divinity itself. As an emblem or as an epithet for agnosticism or atheism, he was invoked by writers such as Leon Battista Alberti, Anton Francesco Doni, Giordano Bruno, Luther, and possibly, in veiled form, by Milton in his depiction of Lucifer. The critic of gods also acted, in sometimes related fashion, as a critic of texts, leading the army of Moderns in Swift's Battle of the Books, and offering a heretical archetype for the literary critic.

More books from Cambridge University Press

Cover of the book The Women of Colonial Latin America by George McClure
Cover of the book Shakespeare Performance Studies by George McClure
Cover of the book From Self to Social Relationships by George McClure
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Wittgenstein by George McClure
Cover of the book The Electron Glass by George McClure
Cover of the book Making Foreigners by George McClure
Cover of the book Plato on Music, Soul and Body by George McClure
Cover of the book Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Cetaceans by George McClure
Cover of the book Hodge Theory and Complex Algebraic Geometry II: Volume 2 by George McClure
Cover of the book The Political Economy of Terrorism by George McClure
Cover of the book Shakespeare and the Admiral's Men by George McClure
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Chekhov by George McClure
Cover of the book The Value of Herman Melville by George McClure
Cover of the book M. I. Finley by George McClure
Cover of the book The Cambridge Companion to Henry David Thoreau by George McClure
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy