The Mosaic Constitution
Political Theology and Imagination from Machiavelli to Milton
It is a common belief that scripture has no place in modern, secular politics. Graham Hammill challenges this notion in The Mosaic Constitution, arguing that Moses’s constitution of Israel, which created people bound by the rule of law, was central to early modern writings about government and state.
“The Mosaic Constitution is an extraordinary work of scholarship—remarkable in its depth and range, remarkable in its implications for the field. The scale and texture of the historical scholarship show the kind of period fluency and scholarly gravitas that will place Graham Hammill squarely in the ranks of the most accomplished of contemporary analysts of the early modern era. This impressive book will be the point of reference for scholars engaged with the history of political theology in the early modern era.”
“Through this beautifully realized study of the central role played by the figure of Moses in the work of disparate political thinkers from Machiavelli and Milton to Spinoza and Freud, Graham Hammill uncovers the productive relationship among political theology, early modern constitutionalism, and the creation of the state. The Mosaic Constitution is a major contribution to literary, legal, and political debates about the ongoing entanglement of the sacred and the secular.”
Abbreviations
Part One: Moses and Political Theology
2. Machiavelli and Hebrew Scripture
3. Spinoza and the Theological Imaginary
Part Two: The Mosaic Constitution in England: Sovereignty, Government, Literature,1590–1630
4. Marlowe and the Counter-Reformation
5. Drayton and the Plague
Part Three: Political Making, Literary Making, 1651–1671
6. Marvell’s Mosaic Moment
7. Harrington’s Poetics of Government
8. Paradise Regained and the Limits of Toleration
Notes
Index
Literature and Literary Criticism: British and Irish Literature
Political Science: Classic Political Thought
Religion: Judaism
You may purchase this title at these fine bookstores. Outside the USA, see our international sales information.
