A History of Silence From the Renaissance to the Present Day

Silence is not simply the absence of noise. It is within us, in the inner citadel that great writers, thinkers, scholars and people of faith have cultivated over the centuries.

It characterizes our most intimate and sacred spaces, from private bedrooms to grand cathedrals – those vast reservoirs of silence. Philosophers and novelists have long sought solitude and inspiration in mountains and forests. Yet despite the centrality of silence to some of our most intense experiences, the transformations of the twentieth century have gradually diminished its value. Today, raucous urban spaces and a continual bombardment from different media pressure us into constant activity. We are losing a sense of our inner selves, a process that is changing the very nature of the individual.

This book rediscovers the wonder of silence and, with this, a richer experience of life. With his predilection for the elusive, Corbin calls us to listen to another history.

Alain Corbin is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Paris I, Sorbonne.

• Acknowledgements
• Prelude
• Chapter 1. Silence and the intimacy of places
• Chapter 2. The silences of nature
• Chapter 3. The search for silence
• Chapter 4. The educations and disciplines of silence
• Chapter 5. Interlude: Joseph and Nazareth, or absolute silence
• Chapter 6. The speech of silence
• Chapter 7. The tactics of silence
• Chapter 8. From the silences of love to the silence of hate
• Chapter 9. Postlude: The tragedy of silence
• Notes