Last Words on Life, Love, War, and God
Will Durant · 2014 · Philosophy
Read
Will Durant, the historian best known for The Story of Civilization, worked on this short book in his last years, writing on legal pads well into his nineties. He described it as an informal account of what he thought about government, life, death and God. The manuscript was not published in his lifetime and was found by a granddaughter more than three decades after his death in 1981. It appeared in 2014.
Across twenty-two brief chapters, Durant reflects on youth and old age, religion and morals, love, sex, women, race, war, politics and art. The essays are conversational and humane, but some views, including remarks on who should have children, clearly belong to their time and may trouble modern readers.
Key insights
- Durant treats each stage of life, from youth to old age, as having its own strengths, limits and typical outlook, including a drift towards conservatism.
- He writes about religion as a historian, weighing doctrine with some scepticism while paying attention to the moral and social roles faith has played.
- Writing down your considered views late in life, as Durant did, is a useful exercise in clarifying what you actually believe.
- Read old wisdom critically. Durant’s humane insights sit beside dated views, a reminder to separate lasting ideas from the prejudices of an era.
- His range, linking war, politics, morals and art, shows the value of looking at human questions across disciplines rather than in isolation.
Read it if you enjoy short, reflective essays by a veteran popular historian on the big questions of life.