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PROLEGOMENA original: "Prolegomena"; a Greek word meaning "forewords" or "preliminary remarks" that introduce a complex subject.

CHAPTER I.

WHY HEGEL IS HARD TO UNDERSTAND.

"The condemnation," says Hegel, "which a great man lays upon the world, is to force the world to explain him."¹ If the greatness of Hegel is measured by this standard, it must be something far beyond the ordinary. Interpreters of his system have contradicted each other almost as much as the various commentators on the Bible. He is claimed as a leader by widely different schools of thought, all of which look to him as the original source of their arguments. The Right wing, the Left wing, and the Center These terms refer to the "Old Hegelians" (Right), who used Hegel to support religious orthodoxy, the "Young Hegelians" (Left), who used him to argue for radicalism and atheism, and a moderate middle group (Center). all claim to be the genuine descendants of the prophet and to inherit his inspiration. If we believe one side, Hegel can only be properly appreciated when we strip his teaching of every shred of religion and traditional belief original: "orthodoxy" it retains. If we believe another group of interpreters, he was the champion of Christianity.

These contradictory views may be safely left to cancel each other out. However, a diversity of opinion on such topics is neither unnatural nor unusual. The meaning and significance of a great event, a great character, or a great work of philosophy original: "reasoned thought" will be judged and explained in different ways, depending on the effect they produce on different minds and different levels of life and society. Those effects, perhaps, will

¹ Hegel's Life original: "Hegel’s Leben"; written by Karl Rosenkranz., p. 555.