Mimesis

"The compass and the richness of the book can hardly be exaggerated. This is true too of the originality of Mr. Auerbach's critical method which is at once encyclopedic and microscopic, combining the disciplines of philology, literary criticism, and history."--New York Times "One of the great works of literary scholarship... Auerbach's method ... is to fasten with fastidious sensitivity on some stray phrase or passage in order to unpack from it a wealth of historical insight. It is his combination of scholarly erudition and critical astuteness which is most remarkable."--Terry Eagleton, London Review of Books "One of the most important and readable books in literary criticism of the past 15 years ... The author, beginning with Homer and the Bible, traces the imitation of life in literature through the ages ...touching upon every major literary figure in western culture on the way."--Publishers Weekly "Written with the authority that comes from deep learning and full of information worth knowing. Princeton's 50th anniversary edition of Mimesis has an introduction by the late literary and cultural critic Edward Said that by itself is worth the price of the book. It's the only preface I know of that I wish were longer, serving as both an analysis of Auerbach and a ramework placing him in his scholarly and historical context... Princeton's reissue of Mimesis is both timely and symbolic."--Guy Davenport, Los Angeles Times Book Review "[Mimesis] offers not just an eminent reading of the Western canon, but a mighty lesson on how to write... I don't think a more significant or useful book of criticism has been written in the half-century since Mimesis was published. What's more, I can't imagine that anything like it will ever be written again... [In] producing such a rich, strong book on how to read, Auerbach composed a virtual manual on how to write, one I've referred back to again and again since the day, almost two decades ago, when I first happened upon it."--Jim Lewis, Slate Magazine "[T]he greatest single work of literary criticism of the 20th century... [S]o suggestive, so rich in understanding and insight, so useful in teaching one how to reach more deeply and appreciatively is the book that it is difficult to believe that anyone will ever again have the intellectual resources to write another book about literature anywhere near as powerful. Written while the Nazis were marching across Europe, Mimesis is a strong reminder of the glory of Western literature, and by extension of Western civilization, and of what is at stake in the battle against those who would simplify, politicize, or otherwise degrade it."--Joseph Epstein, Weekly Standard

Erich Auerbach, before his death in 1957, was Sterling Professor of Romance Languages at Yale University.

Introduction to the Fiftieth-Anniversary Edition ix 1.Odysseus' Scar 3 2.Fortunata 24 3.The Arrest of Peter Valvomeres 50 4.Sicharius and Chramnesindus 77 5.Roland Against Ganelon 96 6.The Knight Sets Forth 123 7.Adam and Eve 143 8.Farinata and Cavalcante 174 9.Frate Alberto 203 10.Madame Du Chastel 232 11.The World in Pantagruel's Mouth 262 12.L'Humaine Condition 285 13.The Weary Prince 312 14.The Enchanted Dulcinea 334 15.The Faux Devot 359 16.The Interrupted Supper 395 17.Miller the Musician 434 18.In the Hotel de la Mole 454 19.Germinie Lacerteux 493 20.The Brown Stocking 525 Epilogue 554 Appendix 559 Index 575