Decisive Moments in History
by Stefan Zweig
Decisive Moments in History is a history collection written by Austrian author Stefan Zweig in 1927. Stefan Zweig was born in Vienna in 1881 into a wealthy Jewish family, but his privileged material life did not prevent him from pursuing freedom and aspiring to humanity. He lived through two world wars in his lifetime, witnessing all kinds of life and gaining insight into social contradictions. Stefan Zweig began his literary career as a translator and poet. But it is his novels and biographies that have made him world famous.
These short historical features, like his longer biographies, are written about real people, as Stefan Zweig says in the Foreword to this book: "[nowhere] is there an attempt to color or amplify the spiritual truth of the external or internal events through my own invention. History needs no helping hand in those sublime moments when it forms things perfectly (2)". In the decades since its publication in 1927, Decisive Moments in History’s readership has grown unabated. Needless to say, this is mainly due to the book's ability to shock the hearts and consciences of readers. Although the fourteen historical features in the book depict moments from different historical eras, regions, and people, they still have noble ideological connotations common to serious literature.
A Tribute to Humanity
The main characters in Decisive Moments in History are almost always tragic heroes, such as Leo Tolstoy, Captain Scott, Cicero, and Wilson, but their humanity shines through. As the last line of the chapter Escape to God says: "[if] he had not suffered because of us human beings, Leo Tolstoy would never have become what he is to humanity today (214)". Zweig's delicate portrayal of the characters’ courageous and unyielding humanity in the face of fate is like a song and a cry, and it moves the readers greatly.
Promote Conscience And Oppose Violence; Call For Peace And Oppose War
Such an idea is expressed in the chapter The Head on the Rostrum in Decisive Moments in History, which writes: "[the] people of Rome saw this shameful spectacle. The ghastly white head of the last defender of freedom, Cesaro, was hanging from the pulpit where he had made his immortal speech (260) ". For Stefan Zweig, history, society, religion, politics, and even rulers of all sizes may have irrational sides that lose their conscience and use violence; however, the conscience of the people will not be extinguished, and there will always be people who fight against violence with their conscience, and such struggles will continue and continue, even though some people are defeated and even lose their lives in the face of violence, but they will die with honor.
A Tribute To The Spirit Of Resilience
In Stefan Zweig's mind, the most valuable quality of a human being is resilience, regardless of success or failure. Look at the heartfelt description of The Fight for the South Pole in Decisive Moments in History: "[and] nothing testifies more grandly of the spiritual heroism of these few men in that enormous isolation, than the fact that even here, a hair's breadth away from death, Wilson, the researcher, continues his scientific observations and drags along on his own sled sixteen kilograms of rare kinds of stone in addition to the necessary load (228)".
What is more, in the chapter Resurrection of Georg Friedrich Händel, Georg Friedrich Händel lived breathlessly for four months, and strength was his life. The right half of his body felt as if it had died. He could not walk, he could not write, and he could not play a single key with his right hand. He could not speak either, and since the right half of his body was paralyzed from head to toe, his lips were horribly lopsided, and only a few words came out of his mouth in a slurred manner. However, in order to live, for the sake of his will to restore health, which he could not suppress, he dared to risk death. Handel spent nine hours a day in boiling hot water. This amazed the doctors, and his endurance increased along with his will. After a week, he was able to drag himself back to straining to walk. After two weeks, his right arm began to move. Will and faith had finally won a great victory. He broke free from the trap of death that had paralyzed him and regained his life.
Literature is the art of language. It would be vague and inappropriate to list the beauty of language as a characteristic of literary works. But the reason why Decisive Moments in History still attracts a large number of readers is due, first of all, to the charm of Stephen Zweig's language. If a novel is still able to be captivating with its twisted storyline, a biography or a historical feature has to fascinate readers with its flowing language.
Today, when we read Decisive Moments in History, we can still feel the philosophy of Stefan Zweig's life embodied in this book: eulogizing humanity, promoting conscience, opposing violence, calling for peace, reflecting on history, enlightening reason, and advocating the harmony of human beings. Stefan Zweig himself will always shine like a bright star in the sky of history and in the hearts of the world.