Leçons d'histoire

Volney, C.-F. (Constantin-François), 1757-1820Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 531K words
Chapters: 54

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Leçons d'histoire, by C.-F. Volney. Author: Volney, C.-F. (Constantin-François), 1757-1820. Language: French. Class: D: History: General and Eastern Hemisphere. Release Date: May 26, 2012

Editor's review

This is a set of history lectures by the French thinker Volney (1757–1820), released free in the original French by Project Gutenberg. Volney is best known for works such as The Ruins, and his historical writing often reflects the rational, critical outlook of the Enlightenment. This book shows how he approached historical sources and how he presented the course of history to an audience. For readers studying Enlightenment historiography or eighteenth-century French historical thought, it is a useful primary text; for general readers, it is more like a window onto what a history lecture looked like more than two hundred years ago. The French original rewards a slower pace, ideally with reference works or a parallel translation at hand. The electronic edition is easy to search and excerpt, making it useful for locating Volney's statements on specific historical questions when writing papers. Read it as a source text and a work of thought, not as popular history in the modern sense.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and graduate students studying Enlightenment historiography and historical thought
Advanced French majors and readers of history and literature with sufficient French
Readers interested in eighteenth-century French intellectual history and Volney's works
Writers of papers who need to locate Volney's historical arguments in the original

Not a good fit for

Readers who cannot read French and do not wish to use reference works or translations
General readers expecting modern popular history or a complete survey

Reading tips

Begin with Volney's life and the context of Enlightenment historiography, then approach the text with its central questions in mind.
Read through in the order of the lectures, marking passages on specific events and historical views for later verification.
When the French proves difficult, consult French–Chinese dictionaries or existing scholarship alongside the text.
Read the book against Volney's other works to trace the continuity of his historical outlook.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a complete general history?

No. It is a set of Volney's history lectures, closer to course notes, focused on the speaker's central questions and historical method rather than offering an exhaustive survey. Readers should treat it as a work of thought and a primary source, not expect the complete narrative of a modern textbook.

Can I read this book without knowing French?

The original is in French, so reading it directly without French is difficult. Use French–Chinese dictionaries, translation tools, or relevant scholarship for support; if you only want to understand Volney's historical thought, you may start with Chinese-language studies before returning to the original.

What is the electronic edition best used for?

The Gutenberg edition is convenient for full-text searching, excerpting, and reading across devices. It suits paper writing when you need to locate Volney's statements on specific questions, and it works well for reading by topic. For close reading, keep notes on the structure of the lectures and their core arguments.

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About the author

Volney, C.-F. (Constantin-François), 1757-1820 Author

C.-F. Volney (Constantin-François Volney, 1757–1820) was a late Enlightenment French traveller, Orientalist and writer on history and philosophy. His works centre on ancient civilisations, the rise and fall of empires and Eastern societies, combining first-hand observation with broad speculation. Voyage en Égypte et en Syrie records his survey of cities, customs and ruins in the Near East under Ottoman rule, while Les Ruines, ou méditation sur les révolutions des empires surveys dynastic change and the decline of civilisations with a philosophic, elegiac tone. He also wrote new researches on ancient history, a study of the climate and soil of the United States, a course of history, and a proposal for applying the European alphabet to Asian languages. His writings bridge Enlightenment travel literature and historical reflection, influencing later Orientalism and political thought of the revolutionary era. Public sources are limited, so biographical details are not speculated upon.