This collection of essays, offered in honor of the distinguished career of prominent political philosophy professor Clifford Orwin, provides a wide context in which to consider the rise of “humanity” as one of the chief modern virtues. A relative of—and also a replacement for—formerly more prominent other-regarding virtues like justice and generosity, humanity and later compassion become the true north of the modern moral compass. Contributors to this volume consider various aspects of this virtue, by comparison with what came before and with attention to its development from early to late modernity, and up to the present.

[T]he great contributions of the book of Job to the problem of suffering are: (1) A clear and scientific presentation of the problem; (2) a bold sweeping aside of the insufficient current theological explanations; (3) a vastly enlarged conception of Jehovah's character and rule; and (4) that attitude of faith which comes from as personal experience of God and which trusts unreservedly...-from "The Problem of the Book of Job"Bible students and classical scholars alike will find this 1911 work, from a renowned Biblical scholar of the early 20th century, an enlightening clarification of the most complex and confusing era in Israel's history, the period from the fall of Jerusalem to the death of Herod the Great. Sifting through the limited historical records that have come down to us-the memoirs of Nehemiah, the first book of the Maccabees, the histories of Josephus-as well as the literature that sprang from the anguish and suffering of the scattered Hebrews-including the poems of Isaiah, the Book of Job, and the Psalter-Kent offers insightful literary and historical commentary and critique on the major Jewish writings of the time.Also available from Cosimo Classics: Twelve Studies on the Making of a Nation: The Beginning of Israel's History, by Kent and Jeremiah Whipple JenksAmerican scholar CHARLES FOSTER KENT (1867-1925) was president of the Association of Biblical Instructors in American Colleges and Secondary Schools (now the American Academy of Religion) from 1910 to 1925. He is also the author of A History of the Jewish People.