The Life of Jesus

"The highest consciousness of God which has existed in the bosom of humanity was that of Jesus." - E. Renan

With this book, Ernest Renan, a renowned historian and philologist, set out to recount the life of Jesus not as a divine myth, but as the story of an extraordinary man who forever changed human history. Blending historical analysis with poetic narrative, The Life of Jesus is not only a scholarly work but also a literary masterpiece. It also marked a turning point in the historical study of religion.

Presented here with all of Renan's original footnotes, this edition offers the most complete and faithful reading of the text.