Notes towards the Definition of Culture
New York: Harcourt Brace, 1949. First edition. Octavo, original black cloth, original dust jacket. About-fine. Item #340
"THE PRIMARY CHANNEL OF TRANSMISSION OF CULTURE IS THE FAMILY"
First American edition demonstrating T.S. Eliot's continued resolve, begun in The Ideal of a Christian Society (1939), to define and defend Western culture. One of 7500 copies published in March 1949. A bright, fresh copy.
Eliot's consideration of the Hebrew Religion, Greek Philosophy, Roman Law unifying the West appeared in the aftermath of two successive world wars which had shattered the overarching cultural cohesion of European Christendom. "In The Idea of a Christian Society (1939) and Notes towards the Definition of Culture (1948), the most influential poet and critic of his age, the unsparing spectator of the Waste Land of modern culture, took up the defense of the beliefs and customs that nourish civilization" (Russell Kirk, The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot).
The book consists of: Introduction, I. The Three Senses of "Culture," II. The Class and the Elite, III. Unity and Diversity: The Region, IV. Unity and Diversity: Sect and Cult, V. A Note on Culture and Politics, VI. Notes on Education and Culture: And Conclusion. Appendix: The Unity of European Culture. The appendix prints the text of three radio talks broadcast to Germany in 1946. Dedicated: "To Philip Mairet/in gratitude and admiration" and with a brief Preface, initialed and dated "T. S. E. /January, 1948."
Gallup, T.S. Eliot: A Bibliography, A51.
Price: $150.00