The founder of modern Russian philosophy, Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900) is widely considered its greatest practitioner. Together with Dostoevsky and Tolstoy, he is one of the towering intellectual figures in late-nineteenth-century Russia, and his diverse writings influenced much of the non-Marxist tradition of twentieth-century Russian thought. Philosopher, journalist, poet, and playwright, Solovyov was also a mystic who claimed to have had three visions of Divine Sophia.

This personification of wisdom with golden hair and a radiant aura echoes both the eternal feminine and the world soul. Rooted in Christian and Jewish mysticism, Eastern Orthodox iconography, Greek philosophy, and European romanticism, the Sophiology that suffuses Solovyov's philosophical and artistic works is both intellectually sophisticated and profoundly inspiring. Judith Deutsch Kornblatt brings together key texts from Solovyov's writings about Sophia: poetry, fiction, drama, and philosophy, all extensively annotated and some available in English for the first time (with assistance from the translators Boris Jakim and Laury Magnus).

In the comprehensive introductory essay that encompasses the book's first half, Kornblatt establishes the historical, philosophical, religious, and literary context of Solovyov's Sophiology, emphasizing its connection to contemporaneous religious and philosophical thought as well as other social and cultural trends in Europe and the United States-for example, Solovyov's reactions to his changing world ran parallel to and sometimes intersected with those of Darwin, Nietzsche, and William James. Sophiology is once again finding enthusiasts both in Russia and among seekers around the world.

The definitive introduction to Solovyov's wisdom and its profound impact on Russian thought and culture, Divine Sophia makes Solovyov's mystical visions and literary "re-visions" of Sophia accessible to scholars and lay readers alike. Solovyov's wisdom writings captivated several generations of poets and philosophers during the pre- and postrevolutionary periods in Russia and abroad. In particular, his Sophiology had a profound influence on such major figures of Russia's Silver Age as Alexander Blok, Andrei Belyi, Pavel Florensky, and Sergei Bulgakov.

About the Author

Judith Deutsch Kornblatt is Professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Reviews

An extremely interesting and valuable book.... In post-Soviet Russia, there is renewed interest in Solovyov's philosophy and, among some theologians, in sophiology, which is no longer seen as a threat to doctrinal orthodoxy. Given current interest in the subject in the West as well, Judith Deutsch Kornblatt has provided a timely and valuable resource for the study of Solovyov's concept of Divine Sophia.

-- Hugh Wybrew * Times Literary Supplement *

Judith Deutsch Kornblatt's remarkable and erudite study of the Sophia in Vladimir Solov'ev's life and writings offers a comprehensive presentation of the origins of the wisdom principle of Sophia in religious thought and its evolution in Solov'ev's identity.... The book's unusual structure of two distinctively different parts-the first an intellectual tour-de-force analyzing the myriad facets of Sophia and her influence on Solov'ev, and the second a collection of annotated translations of the philosopher-poet's wisdom writings, with a reading guide preceding each group of translations-will appeal to both scholars and educators.

-- Valeria Z. Nollan * Slavic Review *

The present volume is not only striking for its manifest erudition, but also for its utter handiness.... For specialist and non-specialist alike, the author has performed an invaluable service, making research available, especially to those not conversant in Russian. In one handy volume, every contribution Solovyov ever put to ink on the subject of Divine Wisdom is found: from the purely exploratory... to his formal, philosophical expositions.

-- R. Slesinski * Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies *


Awards
Winner of Winner of the 2009 AWSS Prize for the Best Transla.



Book Information
ISBN 9780801474798
Author Vladimir Sergeyevich Solovyov
Format Paperback
Page Count 297
Imprint Cornell University Press
Publisher Cornell University Press
Weight(grams) 907g