--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When historians and literary scholars…" description: "\"“When historians and literary scholars talk about the classical heritage, or the legacy to Western civilization from antiquity, they are primarily thin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/norman-f-cantor-15048_hebrew-bible_when-historians-and-literary-scholars-ta_2081934.jpg" --- # When historians and literary scholars talk about the… ![“When historians and literary scholars talk about the classical heritage, or the legacy to Western civilization from antiquity, they are primarily thinking of four worldviews that were written in Hebrew or Greek among the body of religious, philosophical, and literary texts created before 250 B.C…” quote by Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/norman-f-cantor-15048_hebrew-bible_when-historians-and-literary-scholars-ta_2081934.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/norman-f-cantor-15048_hebrew-bible_when-historians-and-literary-scholars-ta_2081934.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/59f/norman-f-cantor-15048_hebrew-bible_when-historians-and-literary-scholars-ta_2081934.jpg) > ““When historians and literary scholars talk about the classical heritage, or the legacy to Western civilization from antiquity, they are primarily thinking of four worldviews that were written in Hebrew or Greek among the body of religious, philosophical, and literary texts created before 250 B.C. These are the Hebrew Bible, the philosophies of Plato and Aristotle, and Hellenistic, or Alexandrine, literature.”” [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Four foundational Western worldviews—Hebrew Bible, Plato, Aristotle, Hellenistic literature—shape our view of ancient heritage. **In simple terms:** Four ancient texts form the basis of Western heritage. Key Takeaway Study these sources to understand Western foundations. Themes history philosophy literature culture Mood academic thoughtful Type educational historical When to use this quote - university courses - public lectures - personal study - curriculum design Key Concepts classical studies comparative religion Questions to Reflect On - What other ancient works deserve attention? - How do non‑Greek/Hebrew sources fit into Western heritage? A Different Perspective Focusing only on these four may overlook other influential traditions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible Philosophies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible-philosophies-4069479/) [Classical Heritage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classical-heritage-3864060/) [Hebrew bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrew-bible/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [Literary Texts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-texts-1080795/) [Philosophies Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophies-plato-4069481/) [Western civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-civilization/) [Worldviews Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldviews-written-4069480/) ## Related quotes > [“The classical heritage as shaped by and filtered through Roman culture had two great flaws. First, it prevented the very rich oral cultures of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-classical-heritage-as-shaped-by-and-filtered-through-roman/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“...begged them as we read our literary texts, only to listen. To wrench open - it takes an effort of will - the portcullis…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-gekoski/begged-them-as-we-read-our-literary-texts-only-to-listen-to-wrench/) [Rick Gekoski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-gekoski/) > [“Prior to any generalization about literature, literary texts have to be read, and the possibility of reading can never be taken for granted. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-de-man/prior-to-any-generalization-about-literature-literary-texts-have-to/) [Paul De Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-de-man/) > [Literary texts do not exist on bookshelves: they are processes of signification materialized only in the practice of reading. For literature to happen, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literary-texts-do-not-exist-on-bookshelves-they-are-processes-of/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“Only 8000 different words appear in the Hebrew Bible, compared to the 20,000 or more that the average adult needs to know in most languages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/only-8000-different-words-appear-in-the-hebrew-bible-compared-to-the/) [Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/) > [“They were staggered to learn that a real tangible person, living in Minnesota, and married to their own flesh-and-blood relation, could apparently believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/they-were-staggered-to-learn-that-a-real-tangible-person-living-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [The market economy is deeply congruent with the values set out in the Hebrew Bible. Material prosperity is a divine blessing. Poverty crushes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/the-market-economy-is-deeply-congruent-with-the-values-set-out-in-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [ You have miracles \[in the Hebrew Bible\], yes, but they're not the work, normally, of demons. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/you-have-miracles-in-the-hebrew-bible-yes-but-they-re-not-the-work/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [“Much of the Persian period is blank for Jewish history, however you look at it. If a good deal of the work of writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-l-grabbe/much-of-the-persian-period-is-blank-for-jewish-history-however-you/) [Lester L. Grabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-l-grabbe/) > [When you come to the New Testament you can't even swing a cat without hitting three demons and two spirits. 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In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/despite-two-millennia-of-christian-apologetics-the-fact-is-that/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) ## More by Norman F. Cantor > [“The central government was a despotism tempered by military rebellion and assassination and replacement of one scurvy lot of ruling dynasts by another. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-central-government-was-a-despotism-tempered-by-military-rebellion/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“Saint Paul was proud of his Roman citizenship, and his letter to various Christian communities in the empire presupposed an effective communications system that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/saint-paul-was-proud-of-his-roman-citizenship-and-his-letter-to/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“In the field of medicine, Galen, the Alexandrian scientist, propounded a view that is still around, nowadays called 'alternative medicine.'It was taught in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/in-the-field-of-medicine-galen-the-alexandrian-scientist-propounded-a/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“There was some kind of cultural cause for the decline of the ancient world. It was neither corruption of public spirit nor Christianity. 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Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“Christian legend later claimed that Peter also went to Rome and there became head of the Christian community, that is, a bishop. Both Peter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/christian-legend-later-claimed-that-peter-also-went-to-rome-and-there/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [ “In response to \[the Philistine\] threat \[in the ninth century B.C.\], the Hebrews could no longer rely on the leadership of 'judges,' ad hoc… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/in-response-to-the-philistine-threat-in-the-ninth-century-b-c-the/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“Because the Egyptians had no feeling that events of the moment were transitory, they viewed the present as eternal. The world was static; what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/because-the-egyptians-had-no-feeling-that-events-of-the-moment-were/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“While many Greeks (although not Thucydides) thought that history moved in circles, repeating itself infinitely, the Jewish idea that each event was singular and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/while-many-greeks-although-not-thucydides-thought-that-history-moved/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [“The end of Egypt's isolation turned what had been only occasional and incidental contact with the rest of the Near East into a constant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-end-of-egypt-s-isolation-turned-what-had-been-only-occasional-and/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) [Explore all 44 Norman F. Cantor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) ## More Hebrew bible quotes > [“Despite two millennia of Christian apologetics, the fact is that belief in a dying and rising messiah simply did not exist in Judaism. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/despite-two-millennia-of-christian-apologetics-the-fact-is-that/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [The market economy is deeply congruent with the values set out in the Hebrew Bible. Material prosperity is a divine blessing. Poverty crushes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/the-market-economy-is-deeply-congruent-with-the-values-set-out-in-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [Around A.D. 930, the sages in Tiberias assembled all 24 holy books and completed the writing of the codex, the first definitive Tanakh, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronen-bergman/around-a-d-930-the-sages-in-tiberias-assembled-all-24-holy-books-and/) [Ronen Bergman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronen-bergman/) > [Sophia - a mystical female presence whose appearance is only fleeting in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament - was clearly once a household…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/sophia-a-mystical-female-presence-whose-appearance-is-only-fleeting/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [“Only 8000 different words appear in the Hebrew Bible, compared to the 20,000 or more that the average adult needs to know in most languages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lane-greene/only-8000-different-words-appear-in-the-hebrew-bible-compared-to-the/) [Robert Lane Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lane-greene/) > [The essence of the Hebrew Bible, transmitted by Christianity, is separation: between life and death, nature and God, good and evil, man and woman,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/the-essence-of-the-hebrew-bible-transmitted-by-christianity-is/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [“There are indeed moral universals — the Hebrew Bible calls them ‘the covenant with Noah’ and they form the basis of modern codes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/there-are-indeed-moral-universals-the-hebrew-bible-calls-them-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [When you come to the New Testament you can't even swing a cat without hitting three demons and two spirits. And magic becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/when-you-come-to-the-new-testament-you-can-t-even-swing-a-cat-without/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [“Much of the Persian period is blank for Jewish history, however you look at it. If a good deal of the work of writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-l-grabbe/much-of-the-persian-period-is-blank-for-jewish-history-however-you/) [Lester L. Grabbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-l-grabbe/) > [ You have miracles \[in the Hebrew Bible\], yes, but they're not the work, normally, of demons. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-moore-cross/you-have-miracles-in-the-hebrew-bible-yes-but-they-re-not-the-work/) [Frank Moore Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-moore-cross/) > [“They were staggered to learn that a real tangible person, living in Minnesota, and married to their own flesh-and-blood relation, could apparently believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/they-were-staggered-to-learn-that-a-real-tangible-person-living-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [“Whom I Desired (Chimadeti) SONG OF SOLOMON 2:3: “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaim-bentorah/whom-i-desired-chimadeti-song-of-solomon-2-3-as-the-apple-tree-among/) [Chaim Bentorah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaim-bentorah/) > [“A Man’s life of any worth is a continual allegory, and very few eyes can see the Mystery of his life—a life like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-man-s-life-of-any-worth-is-a-continual-allegory-and-very-few-eyes/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [“The Hebrew Bible, speaking of the first sexual encounter between Adam and Eve, says that “Adam knew” his mate. Remarkably, the Hebrew word l-da’at,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-blech/the-hebrew-bible-speaking-of-the-first-sexual-encounter-between-adam/) [Benjamin Blech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-blech/) > [“Tyndale was in prison for sixteen months. “If I am to remain here through the winter,” he wrote to the authorities, “have the kindness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-stone/tyndale-was-in-prison-for-sixteen-months-if-i-am-to-remain-here/) [Larry Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-stone/) [Browse all 37 Hebrew bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrew-bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When historians and literary scholars talk about the classical heritage, or the legacy to Western civilization from antiquity, they are primarily thinking of four worldviews that were written in Hebrew or Greek among the body of religious, philosophical, and literary texts created before 250 B.C. 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