The Reign of the Key -- Chekhov Anthology

Author: [Russian] Chestov, translated by Zhang Bing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-09-01
Features: The book consists of four parts. Part I – "The Rule of the Key" – Chestov wrote it as a continuation of Dostoevsky's Legend of the Grand Inquisitor. Dostoevsky's 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 legitimate agent on earth. Chestov intended to use this to point out that it is the fruit of terrifying rationalism, which deceived the first man and replaced human true freedom. Part II – "The Rule of the Idea" – is a book review Chestov wrote on Melezhkovsky's Leo Tolstoy and Dostoevsky. In Part III – "On Shakespeare's Julius Caesar" – Chestov 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.