road to excitement, fame, power and riches. He warns us against our
readiness to believe in myth and metaphysics, demonstrating how Man
will believe anything, even the most mystical or incomprehensible
religion or ideology, provided it is preached by his leaders. History,
as seen by Taine, is one long series of such adventures and horrors
and nowhere was this more evident than in France before, during and
after the Revolution in 1789.

Taine became, upon reading 'On the Origins of the Species' a
convinced Darwinian and was, the year after Darwin, honored by the
University of Oxford with the title of doctor honoris causa in jure
civili for his 'History of English Literature'. Taine was not a
methodical ideologist creating a system. He did not defend any
particular creed or current. He was considered some kind of positivist
but he did not consider himself as belonging to any particular school.

The 6 volumes of "Les Origines de la France Contemporaine" appeared
one after the other in Paris between 1875 and 1893. They were
translated into English and published in New York soon afterwards.
They were also translated into German. Taine's direct views displeased
many in France, as the Royalists, the bonapartist and the Socialists
felt hurt. Still, the first edition of Volume II of "LE RÉGIME
MODERNE" published by Hachette in 1894 indicated that "L'ANCIEN
REGIME" at that time had been printed in 18 editions, "LA RÉVOLUTION"
volume I in 17 editions, volume II in 16 editions and volume III in 13
editions. "LE RÉGIME MODERNE" volume I had been printed in only 8
editions. Photographic reprints appeared in the US in 1932 and 1962.

Taine's description and analysis of events in France between 1750
and 1870 are, as you will see colorful, lucid, and sometimes intense.