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Reread R. Dussaud, L'oeuvre scientifique d'Ernest Renan (1951), bought in 2000 for 100 FF, at Geuthner. Too much summary and biography, not enough intellectual history, but full of good things. Have not read N. Richard's 2015 book "La vie de Jésus" as C19th best-seller
Renan as historical philologist of Semitic languages: Hebrew, Phoenician, Aramaic and Arabic are the four pillars (aware of Ethiopic but Assyriological stuff not part of purview). Meillet in 1923 still thought his historical essay (ed 3) valuable though obsolete in details.
I read parts bc Fergus Millar praised it in intro to Roman Near East (1993). Simon Swain also liked it. For a Classicist, the pages on character of Hebrew, importance of Syriac as a scholarly language, the history and fortunes of Arabic were exciting.
Of course, Arabic epigraphy still in is infancy Biblical archaeology too; Egyptology is Maspéro; Renan embroiled in debates with other historical philologists (Max Müller); and it's all part of Renan's tenet that "le désert est monothéiste" and that Semitic languages are too
Valuable chapter by Dussaud on Renan's archaeological work in Phoenicia (1860) and on his early work on Semitic literatures. Renan insightful on archaeology (objects need contexts), Hellenization (and the end of n-Gk literatures), composition of Bible (C8th texts, C4th editor)...
iconatrophy (myths born of misinterpreted artifacts o images). ALso Dussaud on Hamdy Bey's excavations at Sidon (pre-Hellenistic art). Renan as semiticist ad epigraphist: the CIS (after Gesenius' effort: 10 inscript from Carthage in 1837, several thousand by Renan's time)
Long summaries of Renan on Jesus (=brilliant holy man, hence Renan sacked from Collège de France) & early Christianity (proletarian religion--cf Renan's populism, but ends with church structures); & of Renan's history of Israel. I wonder how much these still read as scholarship
Some thoughts on Renan's other activities-- religious histor generally (essays on Calvin etc); chapt in "Histoire littéraire de France" is on C13-14 Jewish writing in N France ! ( Old Fr-Hebrew lexica with vowel points ! Jewish grammars for Old French ! translations from Arabic)
Notes on Renan's forbears (C17th philologists), love of learning vs "bel esprit", engagement with German philology. Abrupt ending.
So a fascinating book-- so much to learn (e.g. Charles Huber's mission to Teima, in 1883-4: he died in the field; a church in Palermo with Gk and Arabic inscriptions; Renan on Indian, Arabic and Greek lingustics, ranked thus in terms of subtlety: only Indians understood radicals)
Missing: intellectual history; link btw philology/positivism and Renan's politics and engagement and general politics (1848, 1870, just pass by); link with C19th colonialism (Renan's great 1860 expedition is linked with brief French intervention to protect Christians); race...
(but Renan is not Goudineau: race is, it seems, culture); Renan's politics (sense of nation, community, defiance towards democracy of IIIrd Republic)
Lots of quotations from Renan, vigorous stylist (hence enduring fame)-- and keen geographical eye. E.g. his descriptions of Damascus or Antioch or the Lebanese mountains.
FFS I meant "Renan is not GOBINEAU" !!! I'm also reading the great Christian Goudineau on La Tenian settlements
