The Uses of the Past

With the vision of both historian and philosopher, Herbert Muller surveys the golden ages of past societies in a search for a pattern or a lesson that can be meaningful today. He analyzes the spirit and contribution of the Byzantine Empire, Israel, Greece, and Rome; Western Christendom, including the Age of the Enlightenment; 'Holy Russia,' Byzantine and Marxist; and the mysticism of India and the humanism of China. In his final chapter he presents a challenge and a credo for the present. Professor Muller is in the Department of English, Indiana University