L’Idée de l’Europe au siècle des Lumières par Rotraud von Kulessa (review)

Rotraud von Kulessa and Catriona Seth present an anthology of seventy-nine short texts, by eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century writers, that reflect on Europe’s history, political power balance, geographical topography, peoples, culture, common values, and potential unity. The volume was published in a year that marked the sixtieth anniversary of the Treaty of Rome and which saw the European Union undergoing significant challenges, particularly following the UK’s Brexit vote. The reason for its publication at such a time lies in the fact that ‘les chercheurs dix-huitiémistes européens ont souhaité revenir sur des expressions anciennes de valeurs partagées et les interrogations passées sur des questions qui restent souvent d’actualité’ (p. 1). The scope and diversity of the anthology are extensive and impressive. The extracts are drawn from a range of sources, including essays, travel writing, fiction, poetry, historiographical texts, letters, and memoirs. Although French texts are more prolific, the anthology also represents the thoughts of British, German, Spanish, Italian, Swiss, and Polish writers. In addition to the canonical male voices of the Enlightenment (Voltaire, Montesquieu, Kant, Hume), the ideas of Romantic or proto-Romantic writers are also presented (Rousseau, Schiller, Schlegel, Staël, Hugo), as are those of key women writers (Staël, Graffigny, Beaumont), and some writers who have largely fallen into obscurity are re-introduced. The topics to which the texts turn their attention are varied, although there are several recurring themes. It soon becomes evident that considerations of how to build peace across Europe (later to become one of the principal intentions behind the formation of the EU) frequently occupied the minds of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century intellectuals. Aspirations and collaborations regarding economics, trade, law, arbitration, and increasing globalization also feature heavily in their writing. These, like the discussions of migration, interactions with Islamic nations, humanitarian endeavours, and security, which also reverberate through the anthology, typify those elements that remain under sociopolitical scrutiny today. The texts are not presented chronologically and this affords several advantages. It encourages comparison of the texts, underlines their interaction, allows them to be read in any order or at periodic intervals, and permits appropriate texts to serve as bookends. The book opens with Schiller’s Ode to Joy (now the anthem for Europe) and ends with extracts that ponder the future of Europe, something that today’s society also cannot help but do. In text 76, Johannes von Müller reflects on the importance of understanding Europe’s history in order to explore where its future might lie. This, in fact, encapsulates the greatest achievement of the anthology itself. The book is highly accessible and readable. Links are provided to audio versions of the texts and to sites where each text can be read in its entirety. The book is translated into English, and both French and English versions are freely available online. Each text is prefaced by a brief, informative Introduction. The book is excellent for undergraduate teaching, for satisfying general interest, and for academics, students, and the general public to ascertain the essentials of Enlightenment and Romantic thought regarding Europe. This ambitious project therefore possesses as much diversity in its potential readership and uses as it does in its approach.