An Early History of Compassion

In this book Franoise Mirguet traces the appropriation and reinterpretation of pity by Greek-speaking Jewish communities of Late Antiquity. Pity and compassion in this corpus comprised a hybrid of Hebrew Greek and Roman constructions; depending on the texts they were a spontaneous feeling a practice a virtue or a precept of the Mosaic law. The requirement to feel for those who suffer sustained the identity of the Jewish minority both creating continuity with its traditions and emulating dominant discourses. Mirguet''s book will be of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity for its sensitivity to the role of feelings and imagination in the shaping of identity. An important contribution tothe history of emotions it explores the role of the emotional imagination within the context of Roman imperialism. It also contributes to understanding how compassion has come to be so highly valued in Western cultures.