The Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns

Name: The Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns
ISBN: 9787567597617

C. S. Lewis / 邓军海East China Normal University Press · ChinaJul 2024

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Word count: 223K words
Chapters: 52
ISBN: 9787567597617

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Summary

This volume collects a series of essays in which C. S. Lewis reflects on the quarrel between the ancients and the moderns. Running through these essays is a single thread: the debate, or divide, between ancients and moderns. Addressing the problems of modernity, Lewis argues that without an understanding of this quarrel, any critique of modernity can only fall into the crude pattern of opposing the "modern" with the latest fashionable "postmodern" currents—a mode he subjects to ethical criticism.

Editor's review

The Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns is not a systematic academic monograph but a collection of lectures and essays by C. S. Lewis, one of the twentieth century's great thinkers. Its central concern is far from the literal question of whether the "ancient" or the "modern" is superior; rather, it probes the "chronological snobbery" lurking beneath modernity—the unexamined assumption that "new" is necessarily better than "old." With his characteristic clarity, eloquence, and humor, Lewis leads readers to examine modern ideas we take for granted: the cult of "progress," the excessive reverence for "scientism," and the decline of humane education amid the tide of pragmatism. He does not call for a return to the past but asks us to keep our minds open and draw from the great tradition the wisdom moderns have forgotten, as a defense against intellectual flattening and the impoverishment of meaning. Reading this book is like conversing with a wise old friend: he offers no simple answers but continually sharpens your tools of thought, leaving you with a clearer, more cautious, and more critical understanding of your own age. For readers bewildered by the information explosion and hungry for intellectual depth, this book is a precious antidote.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the critique of modernity and intellectual history
Thinkers seeking nourishment for the humanistic spirit and dissatisfied with superficial reading
Educators and those concerned with the value of general education
Devoted readers of C. S. Lewis eager to know his scholarly side

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting systematic historical periodization or detailed reconstruction of specific events
Readers seeking immediately practical skills or methodological guides

Reading tips

Begin with the preface or introduction to grasp Lewis's distinctive perspective and framing of the "quarrel of the ancients and moderns."
The essays stand relatively independent, so you may read them in any order you like, but core pieces such as "De Descriptione Temporum" and "On Reading" should not be missed.
As you read, consider your own observations of contemporary society and culture, and ask whether Lewis's critique still holds today.

About the publisher

East China Normal University Press China · Founded in 1957

Adhering to the publishing purpose of "broad education," East China Normal University Press extends beyond its three main areas of textbooks, academic works and general-interest books, and its catalogue clearly reflects a vision that bridges Chinese and foreign humanities and social sciences. In foreign literature it offers classics such as Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country and The Old Capital (translated by Chen Dewen), Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Rilke's annotated edition of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (translated by Chen Zao); in architecture, Chen Congzhou's two-volume Appreciation Dictionary of Chinese Gardens; in social psychology, The Social Animal: 12th Edition; and it also includes philosophy titles, traditional-culture works such as the six-volume Paintings for the Protection of Life, and education books. Its authors include renowned Chinese and foreign writers and skilled translators, showing a publishing profile that balances classic translation, scholarly accumulation and public reading. Public information is limited; the above is based only on the books in the catalogue.

版权信息
编选说明
第一编古今之变
1 论时代分期（1954）
2 高雅与通俗（1939）
3 “百合花一旦腐朽”（1955）
4 善工与善行（1959）
5 论虚空
6 大迷思之葬礼
7 历史主义（1950）
8 空荡荡的宇宙（1952）
9 现代人及其思想范畴（1946）
10 现代人的心灵习惯（1945）
11 古今之变（1948）
12 论古书阅读（1943）
13 两场讲演（1945）
14 工具房里的一则默想（1945）
15 布佛氏论证：20世纪思想之根基（1941）
16 “可怕的东东”（1944）
17 宗教与科学（1945）
18 自然法则（1945）
19 牛津苏格拉底学会之成立（1942）
20 最后的访谈（1963）
第二编道德论集
1 伦理学小议
2 主观论之毒害（1943）
3 善恶二元论之纰缪（1941）
4 教条与宇宙（1943）
5 人事与天命（1945）
6 人兔之间（1946）
7 “困苦的罪人”（1946）
8 随想（1948）
9 闹心的X君（1948）
10 动物的痛苦（1950）
11 民族悔改之危险（1940）
12 看待自我之两途（1940）
13 第三诫命之默想（1941）
14 断章（1945）
15 生物解剖（1947）
16 幕后（1956）
17 复兴抑或衰微（1958）
18 首要及次要之事（1942）
19 记宴（1945）
20 人道主义刑罚理论（1949）
21 甚诞节与圣诞节：希罗多德佚书一卷（1954）
22 圣诞节对我意味着什么（1957）
23 雪中少年犯（1957）
24 进步是否可能：论福利国家之情愿为奴（1958）
25 我们并无“幸福权”（1963）
26 神话成真（1944）
27 教育与承传（1946）
译后记路易斯与古今之争邓军海

FAQ

Is this book the same as the "quarrel of the ancients and moderns" discussed by the Straussians?

Not entirely. The Straussian discussion focuses more on the rupture between classical and modern philosophy within political philosophy. Lewis's concern is broader, encompassing literature, education, values, and the transformation of the whole temperament of modern civilization. His style is closer to the humanistic essay, with a relatively lower scholarly threshold.

Can I understand this book without having read Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia?

Absolutely. This book shows Lewis as a literary critic, scholar, and public intellectual, a different domain from his fantasy fiction. It can be read independently without difficulty, and indeed offers a fuller picture of the thinker's depth.

Is the content of this book outdated?

Its core issues are not outdated. The "cult of the new," the "swelling of instrumental reason," and "the crisis of humane education" that Lewis criticizes stand out all the more in today's climate of technophilia and utilitarianism. His warnings often read with striking prescience today.

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About the author

C. S. Lewis Author · British (Irish-born) · 1898–1963

C. S. Lewis (Clive Staples Lewis) was born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1898 and died in Oxford in 1963. He was a British scholar, novelist and Christian apologetic writer. He served as a fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, and from 1954 held the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge. His writing spans fantasy, science fiction, allegory, apologetics and literary criticism: The Chronicles of Narnia build a world of clear moral contrasts through fairy-tale fantasy, The Screwtape Letters examine human nature through an epistolary allegory, The Problem of Pain and The Four Loves explore faith and love, and Of Other Worlds collects his literary essays. His work combines lucid reasoning with fertile imagination and has influenced both general readers and scholars.

邓军海 Author

Deng Junhai is an author about whom little public information is available; his profile emerges mainly from the six works held in the collection. His writing spans two broad fields, literature and industrial technology. On one side, he engages with C. S. Lewis, including Fairy Tales and Science Fiction: C. S. Lewis on Literature and a retranslation of The Four Loves, both in the Lewis works series, and also addresses literary and intellectual themes such as On Paradise Lost and The Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns. On the other, he has produced a technical work on the development and application of insulation monitoring and protection devices for transformer bushings, as well as a piece stating his position on the Black Book incident. His works are commonly classified under literary appreciation, philosophy, Western philosophy and industrial technology, suggesting that he attends both to the translation and discussion of Western literature and thought and to concrete technical applications, with a style that is argumentative and evaluative.