This image is the cover for the book Guide of the Perplexed, Volume 1

Guide of the Perplexed, Volume 1

“One of the most important contributions to the study of Maimonides . . . The translation is of a quality unequaled in a modern language.”—Journal of the History of Philosophy

This monument of rabbinical exegesis written at the end of the twelfth century has exerted an immense and continuing influence upon Jewish thought. It has also been a formative element in the thinking of leading Christian writers and philosophers down through the seventeenth century.

The Guide is not a philosophical treatise. Its aim is to liberate people from the tormenting perplexities arising from their understanding of the Bible according only to its literal meaning. This edition contains extensive introductions by Shlomo Pines and Leo Strauss, a leading authority on Maimonides.

“An important volume which is unlikely to be surpassed for a long time.”—Times Literary Supplement

Moses Maimonides, Shlomo Pines, Leo Strauss

Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon 1138-1204) was born in Cordoba, Spain, but spent his most formative and productive years in Cairo, where he developed an enviable medical practice. He was appointed as the court physician to the Grand Vizier Al Qadi al Fadil, and thereafter to the Sultan Saladin. He continued to serve as the royal physician to the Sultan Saladin’s son. In addition to being an admirable physician, he was also an important philosopher. Through the environment provided by Arabic culture he had access to classical Greek philosophy and medical writings.

The University of Chicago Press