Perspective

Even though Isaiah Berlin's essays originally appeared in academic journals, they were addressed not to academics but to a general audiences. Many were originally delivered as public lectures. Thus, they are not specialist pieces. Nevertheless, they do assume a degree of general knowledge far beyond what today's writers for general audiences expect. Berlin's style often runs to long sentences with many clauses, as he pursues a theme or idea. He often paraphrases the content of forgotten Russian novels, pamphlets or essays, offering only occasional or oblique comments.

Berlin's main purpose is, first, to draw the audience into the milieu of the Russian nineteenth century, with which he is fascinated. Second, he wants to convince readers of the importance of neglected themes or ideas in the work of one or another writer or thinker, to broaden the audience's understanding of the variety and complexity of Russian culture beyond the...