Quiz: Lectures on the Philosophy of History

15 questions drawn at random. Score 80% for a silver medal.

1. 1. Why, according to Hegel, do we feel “at home” among the Greeks?

   Because their language is like German Because we are in the region of Spirit Because the Greeks were Christians Because Greece is part of Europe
2. 2. What, according to Hegel, did Robespierre’s rule of “virtue” lead to?

   A constitutional monarchy, since virtue required a stable head of state Terror, since virtue based on disposition alone breeds suspicion Peace with Europe, since a virtuous republic had no need of war The restoration of the Church as the guardian of public and private morals
3. 3. What did the Crusaders find in Jerusalem, according to Hegel’s image?

   The Holy Grail, which became the object of later romances The relics of the apostles, which they carried home to Europe The ruins of Solomon’s temple, which they restored as a church The empty Sepulchre, but not the union of the secular and the eternal
4. 4. What does Hegel take as the symbol of the Egyptian spirit?

   The Nile in flood The scarab beetle The Sphinx The pyramid
5. 5. Which two figures frame Greek life, in Hegel’s account?

   Theseus and Philip Solon and Pericles of Athens Homer and Plato Achilles and Alexander
6. 6. Why, according to Hegel, is slavery impossible under Christianity?

   Because Roman law forbade it Because the Church itself owned no slaves Because man as man is valued in God’s sight Because Christians had no need of slave labour
7. 7. Which world-historical individual does Hegel use as his main example in the Introduction?

   Luther Julius Caesar Alexander the Great Napoleon
8. 8. How does Hegel define the history of the world?

   The progress of the consciousness of freedom The history of class struggles and their resolution The succession of dynasties The growth of population, wealth and the arts
9. 9. What is “the essence of the Reformation”, according to Hegel?

   Faith alone without works The Bible in the vernacular Man is in his very nature destined to be free The independence of the German princes from Rome
10. 10. How does Hegel explain the severity of the Roman character?

    Rome copied its laws and discipline from the Spartans Rome had a harsh climate and poor soil that hardened its people Rome was ruled from the first by priests who imposed strict rites Rome was founded by force, as a band of fugitives and robbers
11. 11. In the religion of Zoroaster, how is the good principle worshipped?

    As the Sun-king As Light As Fate As an animal
12. 12. What does Hegel say experience and history teach?

    That peoples and governments never learn from history That great men are always rewarded That the best government is always the oldest one That history always repeats itself in the same order
13. 13. What does Hegel conclude after calling slavery “in and for itself injustice”?

    That it should be abolished at once by force That it should be left to the churches That it should be abolished gradually That it is justified by nature
14. 14. Without what, says Hegel, has nothing great in the world been accomplished?

    Religion Passion Wealth Planning
15. 15. When, according to Hegel, is a political revolution sanctioned in people’s opinions?

    When it is bloodless When the Church blesses it When it is led by a great man When it repeats itself