A R eexaminati on by Jaroslav
Pelikan ; The Ideal of the
University by R obert Paul
Wolff; Loose Canons: N o tes
on the C ulture W ars by
Henry Louis Ga tes, Jr. , Ill ,
476
ZIMMERMAN , Edwin : Dido
Was Smitten (poem), 11 ,243
G.B. VIeO
The Making of an Anti -Modem
MARK LILLA
The Italian scholar GIOvanni Battista Vico ISWidely Viewed as the nrst modem philosopher
of history, a Judgment largely based on hiSobscure 1744 masterpiece, Ncll' Sciencc. In this
new studyMark Lilla complicates this picture by presenting VICO as one of the most troublmg
of anti-modem thinkers.
By combing Vico's neglected early writings on metaphysics and jurisprudence, Lilla reveals
the philosopher's deep rese rvations about the modern outlook and shows how his science
of historygrew out of these
very
doubts. This nrst truly comprehensive Introduction to VICO
puts all the elements of hiStheories of authont)" politics, and Civil religion m thei r proper
relationship with his theory of history. As such, It raises provocative questions about the
subsequent intellectual development ofthe anti-modern trad ition as
It
relates to the historical
and socialsciences ofour time. It is a brilliant antidote to the "standard" reading of Vico and
will transfonn studies of hiSwork. $39.95 cloth
Available at bookstores or from
Harvard University Press
Cambridge, MA 02138 Call toll-free: 1-800-448-2242
