The Story of Civilization
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{{Infobox Book
| name = The Story of Civilization
| image =
| image_caption =
| author = [[Will Durant]]<br>[[Ariel Durant]]
| illustrator =
| country = [[United States]]
| language = [[English language|English]]
| subject = [[History]]
| publisher = [[Simon & Schuster|Simon and Schuster]]
| release_date = 1935-1975
| isbn =
}}
'''''The Story of Civilization''''' by [[Will Durant|Will]] and [[Ariel Durant]] is an eleven-volume set of books. It was written over a lifetime, and it totals two million words across nearly 10,000 pages. The series is incomplete: in the first book of the series (''Our Oriental Heritage'', which covers the history of the [[Eastern world|East]] through 1933), Mr. Durant stated that he wanted to include the history of the [[Western world|West]] through the early 20th century. However, the series ends with ''The Age of Napoleon'' since the Durants died before any additional volumes could be completed.
The first six volumes of ''The Story of Civilization'' are credited to Will Durant, with Ariel receiving recognition in the [[Acknowledgment (creative arts)|acknowledgement]]s. In later volumes, beginning with ''The Age of Reason Begins'', Ariel is credited as a co-author.
==Series Outline==
===I. ''Our Oriental Heritage'' (1935)===
[[Image:Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.01.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Great Pyramid of Giza|Khufu's Pyramid]] ([[Fourth dynasty of Egypt|4th dynasty]]) and [[Great Sphinx of Giza]] (c.[[2500 BC]] or perhaps earlier)]]
This volume covers Near Eastern history until the fall of the Persian Empire in the 4th century BC, and the history of India, China, and Japan up to the 1930s.
:“Every chapter, every paragraph in this book will offend or amuse some patriotic or esoteric soul: the orthodox Jew will need all his ancestral patience to forgive the pages on Yahveh; the metaphysical Hindu will mourn this superficial scratching of Indian philosophy; The Chinese or Japanese sage will smile indulgently at these brief and inadequate selections from the wealth of Far Eastern literature and thought. ... Meanwhile a weary author may sympathize with Tai T’ung, who in the thirteenth century issued his ‘’History of Chinese Writing’‘ with these words: ‘Were I to await perfection, my book would never be finished.’” (p.ix)
#'''The Establishment of [[Civilization]]'''
##The Conditions of Civilization
##The Economic Elements of Civilization
##The Political Elements of Civilization
##The Moral Elements of Civilization
##The Mental Elements of Civilization
##The [[Prehistory|Prehistoric]] Beginnings of Civilization <br>“The moulders of the world’s myths were unsuccessful husbands, for they agreed that woman was the source of all evil.” (p.70)
#'''The [[Near East]]'''
##[[Sumer]]ia
##[[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]
##[[Babylonia]]
##[[Assyria]]
##A Motley of Nations
##[[Judea]]
##[[Persian Empire|Persia]] <br>“For barbarism is always around civilization, amid it and beneath it, ready to engulf it by arms, or mass migration, or unchecked fertility. Barbarism is like the jungle; it never admits its defeat; it waits patiently for centuries to recover the territory it has lost.” (p.265)
#'''[[History of South Asia|India and Her Neighbors]]'''
##The Foundations of [[History of India|India]]
##[[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]
##From [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] to [[Aurangzeb]]
##The Life of the People
##The Paradise of the Gods
##The Life of the Mind
##The [[Indian literature|Literature]] of India
##Indian [[Indian art|Art]]
##A [[Christian]] Epilogue <br>On the fall of India to the Moguls: “The bitter lesson that may be drawn from this tragedy is that eternal vigilance is the price of civilization. A nation must love peace, but keep its powder dry.” (p.463)
#'''The [[Far East]]'''
##The Age of the Philosophers
##The Age of the Poets
##The Age of the Artists
##The People and the State
##Revolution and Renewal <br>On China in 1935: “No victory of arms, or tyranny of alien finance, can long suppress a nation so rich in resources and vitality. The invader will lose funds or patience before the loins of China will lose virility; within a century China will have absorbed and civilized her conquerors, and will have learned all the technique of what transiently bears the name of modern industry; roads and communications will give her unity, economy and thrift will give her funds, and a strong government will give her order and peace.” (p.823)
#'''[[History of Japan|Japan]]'''
##The Makers of Japan
##The Political and Moral Foundations
##The Mind and [[Japanese art|Art]] of Old Japan
##The New Japan <br>On Japan in 1935: "By every historical precedent [[Second Sino-Japanese War|the next act will be war]]."
===II. ''The Life of Greece'' (1939)===
[[Image:PICT4534.JPG|thumbnail|200px|right|Bust of Pericles after [[Cresilas]], [[Altes Museum]], [[Berlin]]]]
This volume covers [[Ancient Greece]] and the [[Hellenistic]] Near East down to the Roman conquest.
#'''[[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] Prelude: [[3500 BC|3500]]-[[1000 BC]]'''
##[[Crete]]
##Before [[Agamemnon]]
##The [[Heroic Age]]
#'''The Rise of [[Greece]]: [[1000 BC|1000]]-[[480 BC]]'''
##[[Sparta]]
##[[History of Athens|Athens]]
##The Great Migration
##The Greeks in the West
##The [[Greek Mythology|Gods of Greece]]
##The Common Culture of Early Greece
##The Struggle for Freedom<br>"The realization of self-government was something new in the world; life without kings had not yet been dared by any great society. Out of this proud sense of independence, individual and collective, came a powerful stimulus to every enterprise of the Greeks; it was their liberty that inspired them to incredible accomplishments in arts and letters, in science and philosophy." (p.233)
#'''The Golden Age: [[480 BC|480]]-[[399 BC]]'''
##[[Pericles]] and the [[Athenian democracy|Democratic]] Experiment
##Work and Wealth in [[Athens]]
##The Morals and Manners of the Athenians
##The [[Art in Ancient Greece|Art]] of Periclean Greece
##The Advancement of Learning
##The Conflict of Philosophy and Religion
##The [[Ancient Greek literature|Literature]] of the Golden Age
##The Suicide of Greece<br>"As surprising as anything else in this civilization is the fact that it was brilliant without the aid or stimulus of women." (p.305)
#'''The Decline and Fall of Greek Freedom: [[399 BC|399]]-[[322 BC]]'''
##[[Philip of Macedon|Philip]]
##Letters and Arts in the [[4th century BC|Fourth Century]]
##The Zenith of [[Greek philosophy|Philosophy]]
##[[Alexander the Great|Alexander]]<br>"The class war had turned democracy into a contest in legislative looting." (p.554)
#'''The [[Hellenistic Greece|Hellenistic]] Dispersion: [[322 BC|322]]-[[146 BC]]'''
##[[Greece]] and [[Macedon]]ia
##Hellenism and the Orient
##[[Egypt]] and the West
##Books
##The Art of the Dispersion
##The Climax of Greek [[History of science in Classical Antiquity|Science]]
##The Surrender of Philosophy
##The Coming of [[Roman Empire|Rome]] <br>”We have tried to show that the essential cause of the Roman conquest of Greece was the disintegration of Greek civilization from within. No great nation is ever conquered until it has destroyed itself.” (p.659)
:Epilogue: Our Greek Heritage
===III. ''Caesar and Christ'' (1944)===
[[Image:Julius caesar.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|Bust of [[Julius Caesar]]]]
The volume covers the history of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]] and of [[Christianity]] until the time of [[Constantine the Great]].
#'''Introduction: Origins'''
##[[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] Prelude: [[800 BC|800]]-[[508 BC]]
#'''The [[Roman Republic|Republic]]: [[508 BC|508]]-[[30 BC]]'''
##The Struggle for [[Democracy]]: [[508 BC|508]]-[[264 BC]]
##[[Hannibal Barca|Hannibal]] Against Rome: [[264 BC]]-[[202 BC]]
##[[Stoicism|Stoic]] Rome: [[508 BC|508]]-[[202 BC]]
##The Greek Conquest: [[201 BC]]-[[146 BC]] <br>”The new generation, having inherited world mastery, had no time or inclination to defend it; that readiness for war which had characterized the Roman landowner disappeared now that ownership was concentrated in a few families and a proletariat without stake in the country filled the slums of Rome.” (p.90)
#'''The Revolution: [[145 BC|145]]-[[30 BC]]'''
##The Agrarian Revolt: [[145 BC|145]]-[[78 BC]]
##The [[Oligarchy|Oligarchic]] Reaction: [[77 BC|77]]-[[60 BC]]
##[[Latin literature|Literature]] Under the Revolution: [[145 BC|145]]-[[30 BC]]
##[[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]: [[100 BC|100]]-[[44 BC]]
##[[Mark Antony|Antony]]: [[44 BC|44]]-[[30 BC]]<br>”Children were now luxuries which only the poor could afford.” (p.134)
#'''The [[Principate]]: [[30 BC]]-[[Anno Domini|AD]] [[192]]'''
##[[Augustus|Augustan]] Statesmanship: [[30 BC]]-[[14|AD 14]]
##The Golden Age: [[30 BC]]-[[18|AD 18]]
##The Other Side of [[Monarchy]]: [[14|AD 14]]-[[96]]
##The Silver Age: [[14|AD 14]]-[[96]]
##Rome at Work: [[14|AD 14]]-[[96]]
##Rome and Its [[Roman art|Art]]: [[30 BC]]-[[96|AD 96]]
##[[Epicureanism|Epicurean]] Rome: [[30 BC]]-[[96|AD 96]]
##[[Roman law|Roman Law]]: [[146 BC]]-[[192|AD 192]]
##The [[Philosopher king|Philosopher Kings]]: [[96|AD 96]]-[[180]]
##Life and Thought in the [[2nd century|Second Century]]: [[96|AD 96]]-[[192]]<br>”If Rome had not engulfed so many men of alien blood in so brief a time, if she had passed all these newcomers through her schools instead of her slums, if she had treated them as men with a hundred potential excellences, if she had occasionally closed her gates to let assimilation catch up with infiltration, she might have gained new racial and literary vitality from the infusion, and might have remained a Roman Rome, the voice and citadel of the West.” (p.366)
#'''The [[Roman Empire|Empire]]: [[146|AD 146]]-[[192|AD 192]]'''
##[[History of Italy|Italy]]
##Civilizing [[Western world|the West]]
##Roman Greece
##The [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenistic]] Revival
##Rome and [[Judea]]: [[132 BC]]-[[135|AD 135]]
#'''The Youth of [[Christianity]]: [[4 BC]]-[[325|AD 325]]'''
##[[Jesus]]: [[4 BC]]-[[30|AD 30]]
##The [[Twelve Apostles|Apostles]]: [[30|AD 30]]-[[95]]
##The Growth of the [[Early Christianity|Church]]: [[96|AD 96]]-[[305]]
##The [[Decline of the Roman Empire|Collapse of the Empire]]: [[193|AD 193]]-[[305]]
##The Triumph of [[Christianity]]: [[306|AD 306]]-[[325]]
:Epilogue <br>”Rome was not destroyed by Christianity, any more than by barbarian invasion; it was an empty shell when Christianity rose to influence and invasion came.” (p.667-668)
===IV. ''The Age of Faith'' (1950)===
[[Image:Dome of the rock distance.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The [[Dome of the Rock]] in [[Jerusalem]], a city considered holy by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.]]
This volume covers the [[Middle Ages]] in both Europe and the Near East, from the time of Constantine to that of Dante.
#'''The [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Zenith: [[325|AD 325]]-[[565]]'''
##[[Julian the Apostate]]: [[332]]-[[363|63]]
##The Triumph of the [[Barbarian]]s: [[325]]-[[476]]
##The Progress of [[History of Christianity|Christianity]]: [[364]]-[[451]]
##[[Europe]] Takes Form: [[325]]-[[529]]
##[[Justinian I|Justinian]]: [[527]]-[[565|65]]
##[[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] Civilization: [[337]]-[[565]]
##The [[Persian people|Persians]]: [[224]]-[[641]]
#'''[[Muslim history|Islamic]] Civilization: [[569|AD 569]]-[[1258]]'''
##[[Muhammad|Mohammed]]: [[569]]-[[632]]
##The [[Qur'an|Koran]]
##The Sword of Islam: [[632]]-[[1058]]
##The Islamic Scene: [[632]]-[[1058]]
##Thought and [[Islamic art|Art]] in Eastern Islam: [[632]]-[[1058]]
##Western Islam: [[641]]-[[1086]]
##The Grandeur and Decline of Islam: [[1058]]-[[1258]]
#'''[[Jewish history|Judaic]] Civilization: [[135|AD 135]]-[[1300]]'''
##The [[Talmud]]: [[135]]-[[500]]
##The Medieval Jews: [[500]]-[[1300]]
##The Mind and Heart of the Jew: [[500]]-[[1300]]
#'''The [[Dark Ages]]: [[566|AD 566]]-[[1095]]'''
##The Byzantine World: [[566]]-[[1095]]
##The Decline of the West: [[566]]-[[1066]]
##The Rise of [[Nordic countries|the North]]: [[566]]-[[1066]]
##Christianity in Conflict: [[529]]-[[1085]]
##[[Feudalism]] and [[Chivalry]]: [[600]]-[[1200]]
#'''The Climax of [[History of Christianity|Christianity]]: [[1095]]-[[1300]]'''
##The [[Crusades]]: [[1095]]-[[1291]]
##The Economic Revolution: [[1066]]-[[1300]]
##The Recovery of Europe: [[1095]]-[[1300]]
##Pre-Renaissance Italy: [[1057]]-[[1308]]
##The [[Roman Catholic Church]]: [[1095]]-[[1294]]
##The Early [[Inquisition]]: [[1000]]-[[1300]]
##[[Monk]]s and [[Friar]]s: [[1095]]-[[1300]]
##The Morals and Manners of [[Christendom]]: [[700]]-[[1300]]
##The Resurrection of the [[Medieval art|Arts]]: [[1095]]-[[1300]]
##The [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] Flowering: [[1095]]-[[1300]]
##[[Medieval music|Medieval Music]]: [[326]]-[[1300]]
##The Transmission of Knowledge: [[1000]]-[[1300]]
##[[Peter Abelard|Abélard]]: [[1079]]-[[1142]]
##The Adventure of [[Reason]]: [[1120]]-[[1308]]
##Christian [[History of science in the Middle Ages|Science]]: [[1095]]-[[1300]]
##The Age of [[Romance (genre)|Romance]]: [[1100]]-[[1300]]
##[[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]: [[1265]]-[[1321]]
: Epilogue: The [[Middle Ages|Medieval]] Legacy
===V. ''The Renaissance'' (1953)===
[[Image:Tizian 102.jpg|thumbnail|200px|right|''Venus of Urbino'' by [[Titian]], one of the Renaissance's most distinguished [[artist]]s]]
This volume covers the history of Italy from c.1300 to the mid 16th century, focusing on the [[Italian Renaissance]].
#'''Prelude: [[1300]]-[[1377|77]]'''
##The Age of [[Petrarch]] and [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]]: [[1304]]-[[1375|75]]
##[[Avignon Papacy|The Popes in Avignon]]: [[1309]]-[[1377|77]]<br>"Venetian merchants invaded every market from Jerusalem to Antwerp; they traded impartially with Christians and Mohammedans, and papal excommunications fell upon them with all the force of dew upon the earth." (p.39)
#'''The [[Florence|Florentine]] [[Renaissance]]: [[1378]]-[[1534]]'''
##The Rise of the [[Medici]]: [[1378]]-[[1464]]
##The Golden Age: [[1464]]-[[1492|92]]
##[[Girolamo Savonarola|Savonarola]] and the Republic: [[1492]]-[[1534]]<br>“But it took more than a revival of antiquity to make the Renaissance. And first of all it took money-smelly bourgeois money: ... of careful calculations, investments and loans, of interest and dividends accumulated until surplus could be spared from the pleasures of the flesh, from the purchase of senates, signories, and mistresses, to pay a Michaelangelo or a Titian to transmute wealth into beauty, and perfume a fortune with the breath of art. Money is the root of all civilization.” (p.67-68)
#'''[[Italy|Italian]] Pageant: [[1378]]-[[1534]]'''
##[[Milan]]
##[[Leonardo da Vinci]]
##[[Tuscany]] and [[Umbria]]
##[[Mantua]]
##[[Ferrara]]
##[[Republic of Venice|Venice]] and Her Realm
##[[Emilia]] and the [[Marche]]s
##[[Kingdom of Naples|The Kingdom of Naples]]<br>"He was not handsome; like most great men, he was spared this distracting handicap." (p.185)
#'''The [[Rome|Roman]] [[Renaissance]]: [[1378]]-[[1521]]'''
##The Crisis in the [[Roman Catholic Church|Church]]: [[1378]]-[[1521]]
##The Renaissance Captures [[Rome]]: [[1447]]-[[1492|92]]
##[[Borgia|The Borgias]]
##[[Julius II]]: [[1503]]-[[1513|13]]
##[[Leo X]]: [[1513]]-[[1521|21]]
#'''Debacle'''
##The Intellectual Revolt
##The Moral Release
##The Political Collapse: [[1494]]-[[1534]]
#'''[[Finale]]: [[1534]]-[[1576|76]]'''
##Sunset in [[Venice]]
##The Waning of The [[Renaissance]]
#Envoi
===VI. ''The Reformation'' (1957)===
[[Image:Luther46c.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Martin Luther]] at age 46]]
This volume covers the history of Europe outside of Italy from around [[1300]] to [[1564]], focusing on the [[Protestant Reformation]].
#'''From [[John Wyclif]] to [[Martin Luther]]: [[1300]]-[[1517]]'''
##The [[Roman Catholic Church]]: [[1300]]-[[1517]]
##England, [[John Wyclif|Wyclif]], [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]], and the Great Revolt: [[1308]]-[[1400]]
##France Besieged: [[1300]]-[[1461]]
##Gallia Phoenix: [[1453]]-[[1515]]
##England in the Fifteenth Century: [[1399]]-[[1509]]
##Episode in [[Burgundy]]: [[1363]]-[[1515]]
##[[Central Europe|Middle Europe]]: [[1300]]-[[1460]]
##The [[West Slavs|Western Slavs]]: [[1300]]-[[1516]]
##The [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] Tide: [[1300]]-[[1516]]
##[[Portugal]] Inaugurates the [[Commercial Revolution]]: [[1300]]-[[1517]]
##[[Spain]]: [[1300]]-[[1517]]
##The Growth of Knowledge: [[1300]]-[[1517]]
##The Conquest of the Sea: [[1492]]-[[1517]]
##[[Desiderius Erasmus|Erasmus]] the Forerunner: [[1469]]-[[1517]]
##[[Germany]] on the Eve of [[Martin Luther|Luther]]: [[1453]]-[[1517]]
#'''[[Protestant Reformation|The Religious Revolution]]: [[1517]]-[[1564|64]]'''
##[[Martin Luther|Luther]]: The Reformation in Germany: [[1517]]-[[1524|24]]
##The Social Revolution: [[1522]]-[[1536|36]]
##[[Huldrych Zwingli|Zwingli]]: The Reformation in [[Switzerland]]: [[1477]]-[[1531]]
##Luther and Erasmus: [[1517]]-[[1536|36]]
##The Faiths at War: [[1525]]-[[1560|60]]
##[[John Calvin]]: [[1509]]-[[1564|64]]
##[[Francis I of France|Francis I]] and the Reformation in France: [[1515]]-[[1559|59]]
##[[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] and [[Thomas Cardinal Wolsey|Cardinal Wolsey]]: [[1509]]-[[1529|29]]
##Henry VIII and [[Thomas More]]: [[1529]]-[[1535|35]]
##Henry VIII and the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries|Monasteries]]: [[1535]]-[[1547|47]]
##[[Edward VI of England|Edward VI]] and [[Mary Tudor]]: [[1547]]-[[1558|58]]
##From [[Robert Bruce]] to [[John Knox]]: [[1300]]-[[1561]]
##The Migrations of Reform: [[1517]]-[[1560|60]]
#'''The Strangers in the Gate: [[1300]]-[[1566]]'''
##The Unification of [[Russia]]: [[1300]]-[[1584]]
##The Genius of [[Islam]]: [[1258]]-[[1520]]
##[[Suleiman the Magnificent]]: [[1520]]-[[1566|66]]
##The Jews: [[1300]]-[[1564]]
#'''Behind the Scenes: [[1517]]-[[1564]]'''
##The Life of the People
##Music: [[1300]]-[[1564]]
##Literature in the Age of [[François Rabelais|Rabelais]]
##Art in the Age of [[Hans Holbein|Holbein]]
##Science in the Age of [[Nicolaus Copernicus|Copernicus]]<br>”People then, as now, were judged more by their manners than by their morals; the world forgave more readily the sins that were committed with the least vulgarity and the greatest grace. Here, as in everything but artillery and theology, Italy led the way.” (p.766)
#'''The [[Counter-Reformation|Counter Reformation]]: [[1517]]-[[1565|65]]'''
##The Church and Reform
##The Popes and the [[Council of Trent|Council]]
: Epilogue: Renaissance, Reformation, and Enlightenment
===VII. ''The Age of Reason Begins'' (1961)===
[[Image:Galileo.arp.300pix.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Portrait of [[Galileo Galilei]] by [[Giusto Sustermans]]]]
This volume covers the history of Europe and the Near East from 1559 to 1648.
#'''[[English Renaissance|The English Ecstasy]]: [[1558]]-[[1648]]'''
##[[Elizabeth I of England|The Great Queen]]: [[1558]]-[[1603]]
##Merrie England: [[1558]]-[[1625]]
##On the Slopes of Parnassus: [[1558]]-[[1603]]
##[[William Shakespeare]]: [[1564]]-[[1616]]
##[[Mary I of Scotland|Mary Queen of Scots]]: [[1542]]-[[1587|87]]
##[[James I of England|James VI and I]]: [[1567]]-[[1625]]
##The Summons to [[Reason]]: [[1558]]-[[1649]]
##[[English Civil War|The Great Rebellion]]: [[1625]]-[[1649|49]]<br>“Witches were burned, and Jesuits were taken down from the scaffold to be cut to pieces alive. The milk of human kindness flowed sluggishly in the days of Good Queen Bess.” (p.54)
#'''The Faiths Fight For Power: [[1556]]-[[1648]]'''
##''Alma Mater [[Italy|Italia]]:'' [[1564]]-[[1648]]
##Grandeur and Decadence of [[Spain]]: [[1556]]-[[1665]]
##The Golden Age of [[Spanish Literature]]: [[1556]]-[[1665]]
##The Golden Age of [[Spanish Golden Age|Spanish Art]]: [[1556]]-[[1682]]
##The Duel for France: [[1559]]-[[1574|74]]
##[[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]]: [[1553]]-[[1610]]
##[[Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu|Richelieu]]: [[1585]]-[[1642]]
##France Beneath the Wars: [[1559]]-[[1643]]
##[[Eighty Years' War|The Revolt of the Netherlands]]: [[1558]]-[[1648]]
##From [[Peter Paul Rubens|Rubens]] to [[Rembrandt]]: [[1555]]-[[1660]]
##The Rise of the [[Northern Europe|North]]: [[1559]]-[[1648]]
##The Islamic Challenge: [[1566]]-[[1648]]
##Imperial Armageddon: [[1564]]-[[1648]]<br>"The stones in his bladder bothered him more than the wars of France."(p.411)
#'''The Tentatives of Reason: [[1558]]-[[1648]]'''
##Science in the Age of [[Galileo Galilei|Galileo]]: [[1558]]-[[1648]]
##Philosophy Reborn: [[1564]]-[[1648]]<br>"Is Christianity dying? ... If this is so, it is the basic event of modern times, for the soul of a civilization is its religion, and it dies with its faith." (p.613)
===VIII. ''The Age of Louis XIV'' (1963)===
[[Image:Louis XIV of France.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] King of [[France]], by [[Hyacinthe Rigaud]], [[1701]]]]
This volume covers the period of [[Louis XIV of France]] in Europe and the Near East.
#'''The French Zenith: [[1643]]-[[1715]]'''
##The Sun Rises: [[1643]]-[[1684|84]]
##The Crucible of Faith: [[1643]]-[[1715]]
##The King and the Arts: [[1643]]-[[1715]]
##[[Molière]]: [[1622]]-[[1673|73]]
##The Classic Zenith in French Literature: [[1643]]-[[1715]]
##Tragedy in the Netherlands: [[1649]]-[[1715]] <br>“It was an age of strict manners and loose morals.” (p.27) <br>”Like the others, he came from the middle class; the aristocracy is too interested in the art of life to spare time for the life of art.” (p.144)
#'''England: [[1649]]-[[1714]]'''
##[[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell]]: [[1649]]-[[1660|60]]
##[[John Milton|Milton]]: [[1608]]-[[1674|74]]
##[[English Restoration|The Restoration]]: [[1660]]-[[1685|85]]
##[[Glorious Revolution|The Glorious Revolution]]: [[1685]]-[[1714]]
##From [[John Dryden|Dryden]] to [[Jonathan Swift|Swift]]: [[1660]]-[[1714]]
#'''The Periphery: [[1648]]-[[1715]]'''
##The Struggle for the [[Baltic countries|Baltic]]: [[1648]]-[[1721]]
##[[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]]: [[1698]]-[[1725]]
##The Changing Empire: [[1648]]-[[1715]]
##The Fallow South: [[1648]]-[[1715]]
##The Jewish Enclaves: [[1564]]-[[1715]]
#'''The Intellectual Adventure: [[1648]]-[[1715]]'''
##From Superstition to Scholarship: [[1648]]-[[1715]]
##The Scientific Quest: [[1648]]-[[1715]]
##[[Isaac Newton]]: [[1642]]-[[1727]]
##English Philosophy: [[1648]]-[[1715]]
##Faith and Reason in France: [[1648]]-[[1715]]
##[[Baruch Spinoza|Spinoza]]: [[1632]]-[[1677|77]]
##[[Gottfried Leibniz|Leibniz]]: [[1646]]-[[1716]]
#'''France Against Europe: [[1683]]-[[1715]]'''
##The Sun Sets
===IX. ''The Age of Voltaire'' (1965)===
[[Image:Voltaire Largilliere.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Voltaire]], portrait after [[Nicholas de Largilliere]]]]
This volume covers the period of the [[Age of Enlightenment]], as exemplified by [[Voltaire]], focusing on the period between 1715 and 1756 in France, Britain, and Germany.
#'''[[Régence|France: The Regency]]'''
#'''[[England]]: [[1714]]-[[1756|56]]'''
##The People
##The Rulers
##[[Religion]] and [[Philosophy]]
##[[Literature]] and [[Drama|the Stage]]
##[[Art]] and [[Music]]
#'''[[France]]: [[1723]]-[[1756|56]]'''
##The People and the State
##Morals and Manners
##The Worship of Beauty
##The Play of the Mind
##[[Voltaire]] in [[France]] <br>”Women, when on display, dressed as in our wondering youth, when the female structure was a breathless mystery costly to behold.” (p.75)
#'''Middle Europe: [[1713]]-[[1756|56]]'''
##The [[Germany]] of [[Bach]]
##[[Frederick the Great]] and [[Maria Theresa of Austria|Maria Theresa]]
##[[Switzerland]] and [[Voltaire]]
#'''The Advancement of Learning: [[1715]]-[[1789|89]]'''
##The Scholars
##The [[Science|Scientific]] Advance
##[[Medicine]]
#'''The Attack Upon [[Christianity]]: [[1730]]-[[1774|74]]'''
##[[Atheism|The Atheists]]
##[[Denis Diderot|Diderot]] and the [[Encyclopédie|Encyclopedie]]
##[[Denis Diderot|Diderot]] Proteus
##The Spreading Campaign
##[[Voltaire]] and [[Christianity]]
##The Triumph of the [[Philosophe]]s
===X. ''Rousseau and Revolution'' (1967)===
[[Image:Jean-Jacques Rousseau (painted portrait).jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]]]
This volume centers on [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] and his times. It received the [[Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction]] in [[1968]].<ref Name="Pulitzer">{{cite web | title = Pulitzer Prize Winners: General Non-Fiction | work = | publisher =pulitzer.org | date = | url =http://www.pulitzer.org/ | format =web | doi = | accessdate = 2008-02-29 }}</ref>
#'''Prelude'''
##Rousseau Wanderer: [[1712]]-[[1756|56]]
##[[Seven Years' War|The Seven Years' War]]: [[1756]]-[[1763|63]]
#'''[[France]] Before the Deluge: [[1757]]-[[1774|74]]'''
##The Life of the State
##The Art of Life
##[[Voltaire]] Patriarch: [[1758]]-[[1778|78]]
##Rousseau Romantic: [[1756]]-[[1762|62]]
##Rousseau Philosopher
##Rousseau Outcast: [[1762]]-[[1767|67]]
#'''The [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] South: [[1715]]-[[1789|89]]'''
##''[[Italy|Italia]] Felix:'' [[1715]]-[[1759|59]]
##[[Portugal]] and [[Pombal]]: [[1706]]-[[1782|82]]
##[[Enlightenment Spain|Spain and the Enlightenment]]: [[1700]]-[[1788|88]]
##''Vale, Italia:'' [[1760]]-[[1789|89]]
##The Enlightenment in [[Austria]]: [[1756]]-[[1790|90]]
##Music Reformed
##[[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] <br>“Lovers under a window plucked at a guitar or mandolin and a maiden’s heart.” (p.220)
#'''[[Islam]] and the [[Slavs|Slavic]] East: [[1715]]-[[1796|96]]'''
##Islam: [[1715]]-[[1796|96]]
##[[Russia]]n Interlude: [[1725]]-[[1762|62]]
##[[Catherine II of Russia|Catherine the Great]]: [[1762]]-[[1796|96]]
##The Rape of [[Poland]]: [[1715]]-[[1795|95]]
#'''The [[Protestantism|Protestant]] North: [[1756]]-[[1789|89]]'''
##[[Frederick II of Prussia|Frederick's]] [[Prussia|Germany]]: [[1756]]-[[1786|86]]
##[[Immanuel Kant|Kant]]: [[1724]]-[[1804]]
##Roads to [[Weimar]]: [[1733]]-[[1787|87]]
##[[Weimar]] in Flower: [[1775]]-[[1805]]
##[[Johann Wolfgang Goethe|Goethe]] Nestor: [[1805]]-[[1832|32]]
##The Jews: [[1715]]-[[1789|89]]
##From [[Geneva]] to [[Stockholm]] <br>“He concluded that history is an excellent teacher with few pupils.” (p.529)
#'''[[Samuel Johnson|Johnson's]] England: [[1756]]-[[1789|89]]'''
##[[Industrial Revolution|The Industrial Revolution]]
##The Political Drama: [[1756]]-[[1792|92]]
##The English People: [[1756]]-[[1789|89]]
##The Age of [[Joshua Reynolds|Reynolds]]: [[1756]]-[[1790|90]]
##England's Neighbors: [[1756]]-[[1789|89]]
##The Literary Scene: [[1756]]-[[1789|89]]
##[[Samuel Johnson]]: [[1709]]-[[1784|84]]
#'''The Collapse of [[Feudalism|Feudal]] France: [[1774]]-[[1789|89]]'''
##The Final Glory: [[1774]]-[[1783|83]]
##Death and the Philosophers: [[1774]]-[[1807]]
##On the Eve: [[1774]]-[[1789|89]]
##The Anatomy of Revolution: [[1774]]-[[1789|89]]
##The Political Debacle: [[1783]]-[[1789|89]]
#Envoi
===XI. ''The Age of Napoleon'' (1975)===
[[Image:Jacques-Louis_David_017.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] in His Study'' by [[Jacques-Louis David]] (1812)]]
This volume centers on [[Napoleon I of France]] and his times.
#'''The [[French Revolution]]: [[1789]]-[[1799|99]]'''
##The Background of Revolution: [[1774]]-[[1789|89]]
##[[National Constituent Assembly|The National Assembly]]: May 4, [[1789]]-September 30, [[1791]]
##[[French Legislative Assembly|The Legislative Assembly]]: October 1, [[1791]]-September 20, [[1792]]
##[[French Convention|The Convention]]: September 21, [[1792]]-October 26, [[1795]]
##[[French Directory|The Directory]]: November 2, [[1795]]-November 9, [[1799]]
##Life Under the Revolution: [[1789]]-[[1799|99]]
#'''Napoleon Ascendant: [[1799]]-[[1811]]'''
##[[First Consul|The Consulate]]: November 11, [[1799]]-May 18, [[1804]]
##The New Empire: [[1804]]-[[1807|07]]
##The Mortal Realm: [[1807]]-[[1811|11]]
##[[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]] Himself
##Napoleonic France: [[1800]]-[[1815]]
##Napoleon and the Arts
##Literature versus Napoleon
##Science and Philosophy under Napoleon <br>"It was a typical Napoleonic campaign: swift, victorious, and futile." (p.228)
#'''[[United Kingdom|Britain]]: [[1789]]-[[1812]]'''
##England at Work
##English Life
##The Arts in England
##Science in England
##English Philosophy
##Literature in Transition
##[[Lake Poets|The Lake Poets]]: [[1770]]-[[1850]]
##The Rebel Poets: [[1788]]-[[1824]]
##England's Neighbors: [[1789]]-[[1815]]
##[[William Pitt the Younger|Pitt]], [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Nelson]], and Napoleon: [[1789]]-[[1812]]
#'''The Challenged Kings: [[1789]]-[[1812]]'''
##[[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]]
##[[Italy]] and Its Conquerors: [[1789]]-[[1813]]
##[[Austria]]: [[1780]]-[[1812]]
##[[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]: [[1770]]-[[1827]]
##[[Germany]] and Napoleon: [[1786]]-[[1811]]
##The German People: [[1789]]-[[1812]]
##German Literature: [[1789]]-[[1815]]
##German Philosophy: [[1789]]-[[1815]]
##Around the [[Heartland (geopolitics)|Heartland]]: [[1789]]-[[1812]]
##[[Russia]]: [[1796]]-[[1812]]<br>" ... she entered upon a series of adventures, in one of which she was surprised with motherhood." (p.633)
#'''Finale: [[1811]]-[[1815]]'''
##To [[Moscow]]: [[1811]]-[[1812|12]]
##To [[Elba]]: [[1813]]-[[1814|14]]
##To [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]]: [[1814]]-[[1815|15]]
##To [[Saint Helena|St. Helena]]
##To the End
##Afterward: [[1815]]-[[1840|40]]
==Criticism==
''The Story of Civilization'' has been criticized by some for simplifications, rash judgments colored by personal convictions, and story-telling, and described as a careless dabbling in historical scholarship. Professor [[J. H. Plumb]]'s opinion on the series was that “historical truth… can rarely be achieved outside the professional world [of historians].”<ref> J. H. Plumb, New York Review of Books; quoted in Arnold Beichman, “Is History Only for the Historians?” The Christian Science Monitor, 28 October 1965.</ref>.
The counter to such criticism is that Durant’s purpose in writing the series was not to create a definitive scholarly production but to make a large amount of information accessible and comprehensible to the educated public in the form of a comprehensive "composite history." Given the massive undertaking in creating these 11 volumes over 50 years, errors and incompleteness have occurred; yet for an attempt as large in breadth of time and scope as this, there are no similar works to compare.
As Mr. Durant says in his first work, ''Our Oriental Heritage'', "I wish to tell as much as I can, in as little space as I can, of the contributions that genius and labor have made to the cultural heritage of mankind - to chronicle and contemplate, in their causes, character and effects, the advances of invention, the varieties of economic organization, the experiments in government, the aspirations of religion, the mutations of morals and manners, the masterpieces of literature, the development of science, the wisdom of philosophy, and the achievements of art. I do not need to be told how absurd this enterprise is, nor how immodest is its very conception" . . . "Nevertheless I have dreamed that despite the many errors inevitable in this undertaking, it may be of some use to those upon whom the passion for philosophy has laid the compulsion to try to see things whole, to pursue perspective, unity and time, as well as to seek them through science in space."
"Like philosophy, such a venture [as the creation of these 11 volumes] has no rational excuse, and is at best but a brave stupidity; but let us hope that, like philosophy, it will always lure some rash spirits into its fatal depths."
==See also==
* ''[[A Study of History]]''
* ''[[The rise of the West]]''
* ''[[The Cartoon History of the Universe]]''
* ''[[The Story of Philosophy]]''
* ''[[The Outline of History]]''
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Story of Civilization, The}}
[[Category:Books about civilizations]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction]]
[[ar:قصة الحضارة]]
[[fa:تاریخ تمدن (کتاب)]]