Les Ruines, ou méditation sur les révolutions des empires

by C.-F. (Constantin-François) Volney

"Les Ruines, ou méditation sur les révolutions des empires" by C.-F. Volney is a philosophical work published in 1791. Volney places himself among the ruins of Palmyra, where a "genius of ruins and tombs" appears in a dream to reveal the natural laws governing human history. The phantom prophesies the French Revolution's spread across the globe and explores the astronomical interpretation of religions. A landmark of deist thought bridging Enlightenment and Romanticism, the work achieved significant success in France, England, and the United States.