In The Glance of the Medusa, Laszo F. Foeldenyi offers a mesmerizing examination of the rich history of European culture through the lens of mythology and philosophy. Embracing the best traditions of essay writing, this volume invites readers on a spiritual and intellectual adventure. The seven essays bear testimony to Foeldenyi's encyclopedic knowledge and ask whether it is possible to overcome our fear of passing away. In doing so, they illuminate moments of mystical experience viewed in a historical perspective while inviting readers to engage with such moments in the present by immersing themselves into the process of reading and thinking. Rather than providing firm answers to burning questions, The Glance of the Medusa highlights the limits of definition, conjuring up situations in which Man partakes of unutterable experiences-such as passion, pleasure, fear, poetry, or disgust-suggesting that moments of ecstasy cannot be pinned down or captured, only drawn a little closer.

A leading European intellectual reflects on the changing concept of melancholy throughout history Alberto Manguel praises the Hungarian writer Laszlo Foeldenyi as "one of the most brilliant essayists of our time." Foeldenyi's extraordinary Melancholy, with its profusion of literary, ecclesiastical, artistic, and historical insights, gives proof to such praise. His book, part history of the term melancholy and part analysis of the melancholic disposition, explores many centuries to explore melancholy's ambiguities. Along the way Foeldenyi discovers the unrecognized role melancholy may play as a source of energy and creativity in a well-examined life. Foeldenyi begins with a tour of the history of the word melancholy, from ancient Greece to the medieval era, the Renaissance, and modern times. He finds the meaning of melancholy has always been ambiguous, even paradoxical. In our own times it may be regarded either as a psychic illness or a mood familiar to everyone. The author analyzes the complexities of melancholy and concludes that its dual nature reflects the inherent tension of birth and mortality. To understand the melancholic disposition is to find entry to some of the deepest questions one's life. This distinguished translation brings Foeldenyi's work directly to English-language readers for the first time.

An exemplary collection of work from one of the world's leading scholars of intellectual history "Foeldenyi . . . stage[s] a broad metaphysical melodrama between opposites that he pursues throughout this fierce, provoking collection (expertly translated by Ottilie Mulzet). . . . He proves himself a brilliant interpreter of the dark underside of Enlightenment ambition."-James Wood, New Yorker Laszlo Foeldenyi's work, in the long tradition of public intellectual and cultural criticism, resonates with the writings of Montaigne, Walter Benjamin, and Thomas Mann. In this new essay collection, Foeldenyi considers the continuing fallout from the collapse of religion, exploring how Enlightenment traditions have not replaced basic elements of previously held religious mythologies-neither their metaphysical completeness nor their comforting purpose. Realizing beautiful writing through empathy, imagination, fascination, and a fierce sense of justice, Foeldenyi covers a wide range of topics including a meditation on the metaphysical unity of a sculpture group and an analysis of fear as a window into our relationship with time.