The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755: Representations and Reactions, Issue 2Theodore E. D. Braun, John B. Radner Voltaire Foundation, 2005 - 342 pages The most momentous natural disasters are not necessarily those with the most victims, but rather those producing the greatest shockwaves in intellectual history. The Lisbon earthquake of 1755 forced thinkers to re-engage with many of the greatest metaphysical and scientific questions of the day. Humanity, claiming control of its condition through its search for knowledge, was confounded by its sudden and brutal reduction to the role of passive victim by an unpredictable and incomprehensible Nature. Reason and faith had been reconciled in their understanding and celebration of a divine law reflected and echoed by the laws of science, but the Lisbon earthquake shattered the euphoria of this reconciliation. The debate was metaphysical and scientific, but it was also aesthetic, as the earthquake reopened interest in the sublime: everything that threatened man's personal security, and that enthralled the imagination. Voltaire's intervention made the earthquake one of the great dramas of the century. It even became a metaphor of the French Revolution, shifting the emotion from the trauma of a natural phenomenon to that of a political event. Casanova dreamed of a disaster that might raze the Doge's palace, while Mercier was ambivalent in his Tableau de Paris, imagining a catastrophe capable of laying waste to Paris. Behind the obligatory pathos lay a veiled desire for regeneration through destruction. This is the first major work in half a century to assess the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, both as it was represented at the time, and the reactions it provoked in large areas of western and central Europe, including Portugal, Spain, France, England, Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. Topics considered include its coverage in the popular press, its social and political aftermath, the theological and scientific debates it engendered, as well as twenty-first century assessments of its causes and effects. Literary responses - both serious and parodic - are discussed, through the centuries up to our own time. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 47
Page 16
... British interests had been secured by an earlier treaty of 1654. Under the terms of that Cromwellian agreement , not only were privileges accorded to English traders but a provision prohibited the raising of customs duties on English ...
... British interests had been secured by an earlier treaty of 1654. Under the terms of that Cromwellian agreement , not only were privileges accorded to English traders but a provision prohibited the raising of customs duties on English ...
Page 17
... British . Although scoring points over the British would not have upset the old court nobility , Pombal's radicalism at home led them to see him as a menace to their conservative way of life . Not only did they regard him as socially ...
... British . Although scoring points over the British would not have upset the old court nobility , Pombal's radicalism at home led them to see him as a menace to their conservative way of life . Not only did they regard him as socially ...
Page 96
... British . The Lisbon earthquake , however , changed the general perception of earthquakes in the British public sphere . Before the disaster , enlightened observers had calmly and rationally enjoyed the sublime spectacle of earthquakes ...
... British . The Lisbon earthquake , however , changed the general perception of earthquakes in the British public sphere . Before the disaster , enlightened observers had calmly and rationally enjoyed the sublime spectacle of earthquakes ...
Contents
perceptions of the Lisbon | 247 |
Heinrich von Kleists Erdbeben in Chile | 265 |
JAMES AND JAN T KOZAK Representations of the 1755 | 299 |
Copyright | |
1 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
1755 Lisbon earthquake 1er novembre Albrecht von Haller André autres avait Bern bien c'est Candide catastrophe causes Charles Wesley church contemporary Correvon culture d'une damage décembre désastre de Lisbonne deux Dieu disaster Discours divine earth eighteenth century Elie Bertrand Encyclopédie Enlightenment epistème Erdbeben in Chili été être événements event evil fait February Fernando VI Foucault France Gabriel Malagrida Gazette God's Guéneau Heinrich von Kleist homme human interpretation Jesuits José Journal Kant l'événement l'histoire l'homme l'on letter Lisbon earthquake Lissabon literary littéraires London Madrid Marchand Mémoires modern monde Montbeillard n'est natural natural philosophy naturelle nouvelles optimism Paris Parmenides Penthesilea père peut philosophical pièce poem Poème Pombal Portugal Portuguese premier published qu'il quake raison religious Royal scène secousses Seigneux séisme Sermon preached seul Seville siècle sous Spain terre de Lisbonne terremoto texts theodicy Théodora tout tragédie tremblement de terre vers Voir Voltaire Voltaire's William Stukeley