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History as Apocalypse is a reenactment of the history of the Western consciousness from the Homeric and Biblica revolutions through Finnegans Wake. This occurs through a historical, literary, and theological analysis of the Christian epic tradition. While attention is focused primarily upon Dante, Milton, Blake, and Joyce, the Classical and Biblical foundations of the Christian epic are explored with the intention of discovering an organic unity in the evolution of the Western consciousness. Our primary epics are identified as revolutionary breakthroughs, not only as transformations of consciousness but also records of social revolutions. The Christian epic is both a consequence and a primary embodiment of the decisive historical revolutions, revolutions culminating with the ending of our historical evolution.
"This is a magnificent work; it, alone, justifies a life. Altizer's oeuvre has always been historically grounded. This book shows ineluctably how rich that grounding is."—Ray L. Hart
"Altizer's intellectual range is extraordinary. What is most impressive about the book is Altizer's ability to bring together literary, theological, philosophical, and historical materials."—Mark Taylor
"Altizer reads the epic literature with a freshness that challenges commonly accepted understandings of Western culture. A complex and difficult literature gains lucidity in the theory of the emergence of new cultural forms. The major themes of Altizer's earlier books are here rooted in history and literature so that his theological vision can be understood in its fullest implications. Dante, Milton, Blake, and Joyce cannot be read in the same way after being read in the deep context of theological reflection by Altizer."—Charles E. Winquist
"The author's words embody the very presence they invoke—a circumstance founded, no doubt, in the author's (unspoken) experience of total presence!"—D.G. Leahy
Preface
Prologue
One. The Birth of Vision
Two. Destiny, Deity, and Death
Three. Israel and the Birth of Scripture
Four. Paul and the Birth of Self-Consciousness
Five. Augustine and the Foundation of Western Christendom
Six. Dante and the Gothic Revolution
Seven. Milton and the English Revolution
Eight. Blake and the French Revolution
Nine. Joyce and the End of History
Index