George Eliot, Strauss's Life of Jesus

Gisela Argyle (York University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1846

Places

England (Country of Origin)

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Translation

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The article below treats George Eliot’s translations of both Strauss’s Life of Jesus and Feuerbach’s Essence of Christianity.

In Victorian narratives of a crisis of faith (both factual and fictive), German biblical criticism, or higher criticism – most importantly Strauss’s Life of Jesus – is usually cited as one of its two main causes, the other being scientific knowledge. Further causes cited are ethical qualms about Old Testament morality and about Christian doctrines, such as atonement, and disillusionment with worldly or hypocritical clergy, such as we meet in Anthony Trollope’s Barchester Towers (1857) where the cosmopolitan young Bertie Stanhope wickedly shocks the chancellor by announcing to an assembly of conservative clergymen that Englishmen could learn from German

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3055 words

Citation: Argyle, Gisela. "Strauss's Life of Jesus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 November 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1838, accessed 23 November 2024.]

George Eliot, Strauss's Life of Jesus

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