The Reign of Keys

Author: [Russian] Shchestov / Zhang Bing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: The book consists of four parts. Part I—“The Rule of the Key”—Shchestov wrote it as a continuation of Dostoevsky's The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor. The Grand Inquisitor, with his authority, becomes a usurper who seizes the spiritual rule over humanity's perfect life. "The Rule of the Key" is the term for his absolute power and legitimate rule, becoming God's authorized agent on earth. Shchestov intended to show that it is the fruit of terrifying rationalism, which deceived the first human and replaced true human freedom. Part II—“The Rule of the Idea”—is a book review of Melezhkovsky's Leo Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. In Part III—“On Shakespeare's Julius Caesar”—Shchestov reveals that Shakespeare was the Western writer who most distinctly raised the question of human existence. Part IV—“Philosophy and Sermon”—discusses Tolstoy and Nietzsche's theories on good.