HENRY GEORGE portrays MOSES (1878) 插畫檔

In his 1878 lecture Moses, HENRY GEORGE portrays Moses not as a myth or purely religious figure, but as a towering political and social legislator whose ideas remain strikingly relevant. Three key elements shape his analysis:The Engraving of the TabletsGeorge highlights the symbolic act: Moses personally engraves the second set of Tablets (Exodus 34:1, 28) after shattering the first. It is not God writing directly, but man carving law into stone – a powerful image of human responsibility. The law is not imposed from heaven as arbitrary decree, but co-authored between divine ideal and human action. George sees here the birth of rational law, rooted in justice rather than superstition. ►Conclusion: For George, Moses is the first progressive political economist. He fights land monopoly, the source of poverty and servitude. His law is not ancient relic but a living model for modern struggles against inequality. “The real sepulchre of Moses is the human heart” – his thought lives on in every fight for social justice.► Three great religions place the leader of the Exodus upon the highest plane they allot to man. To Christendom and to Islam, as well as to Judaism, Moses is the mouthpiece and law-giver of the Most High; the medium, clothed with supernatural powers, through which the Divine Will has spoken. Yet this very exaltation, by raising him above comparison, may prevent the real grandeur of the man from being seen. It is amid his brethren that Saul stands taller and fairer.►(Note: The dates 1571–1451 BC refer to a traditional biblical chronology for the lifespan of Moses, as calculated in systems like James Ussher's, where he lived 120 years.)...VINTAGE ETCHING circa mid 19th century. Digital restoration by Pictore. Authentic illustration free of AI.