Jacob Bernays (1824-1881) was a leading figure in the field of philology and classical studies toward the end of the 19th century. In Bonn, where he taught, his students included Nietzsche and Wilamowitz. He is one of the most fascinating figures in the history of literature. Excluded from both the established academic establishment and the rampant scientific productivity that swept through the century due to his Jewish heritage and his asceticism, he remained faithful to the ideas that had justified the Enlightenment. This book, written by Jean Bollack, aims to be a portrait of his work and the rigor and originality of his views on the meaning of catharsis in Aristotle's Poetics, on the importance of the Pre-Socratics, and on the points of intersection between Jewish and Christian religious philosophy.