An Unknown Page from the Last Months of Hegel’s Life

This translation of this little-known piece by Croce appeared in The Personalist 45 (1964): 329-53. It is the imaginative fulfillment of two impossible wishes, stemming from the Hegelian basis of Croce’s ideal­ ism: (1) to gain from Hegel directly an assessment of the essence of his philosophy; and (2) to gain Hegel’s approval of Vico as his predecessor. Croce’s What Is Living and What Is Dead in the Philosophy o f Hegel (1907; English trans. 1915) remains an excellent source for the study of Hegel’s metaphysics, showing that the Hegelian dialectic is based on the contrariety of opposites, not on contradiction. Croce’s The Philosophy o f Giambattista Vico (1911; English trans. 1913) remains a valuable study of Vico’s thought, despite its failure to recognize the originality and importance of the “imaginative universal.” Croce made Vico into the Italian Hegel, but there is no evidence that Hegel ever read Vico. Hegel founded his philosophy of history without any knowledge of Vico as the founder of the philosophy of history. In Croce’s narration, Hegel’s “Neapolitan visitor” introduces Vico as “a genius whom you could recognize not only as your precursor but also as someone who satisfies some needs that were overlooked by you.” Croce presents Vico as not only Hegel’s precursor but also as his successor,