An Early History of Compassion: Emotion and Imagination in Hellenistic Judaism (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781107146266)

In this book, Fran oise Mirguet traces the appropriation and reinterpretation of pity by Greek-speaking Jewish communities of Late Antiquity. Pity and compassion, in this corpus, comprised a hybrid of Hebrew, Greek, and Roman constructions; depending on the texts, they were a spontaneous feeling, a practice, a virtue, or a precept of the Mosaic law. The requirement to feel for those who suffer sustained the identity of the Jewish minority, both creating continuity with its traditions and emulating dominant discourses. Mirguet's book will be of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity for its sensitivity to the role of feelings and imagination in the shaping of identity. An important contribution to the history of emotions, it explores the role of the emotional imagination within the context of Roman imperialism. It also contributes to understanding how compassion has come to be so highly valued in Western cultures.

Author: Fran輟ise Mirguet
ISBN-10: 1107146267
ISBN-13: 9781107146266
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 10/12/2017
Pages: 278
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.20w x 0.60d