In this volume, originally published in 1961, the author presents an exposition of the meanings given to history. Part 1 describes the conceptions of history impied in wide-spread religions and cultures, Confucian and Taoist, Hindu and Buddhist, Zoroastrian and Muslim, Greek and Roman, Jewish and Christian. Part 2 surveys the theories of independent thinkers and schools in the Occident from the Middle Ages to the mid-twentieth century.