The Need for Roots

Jul 6, 2026

The text is a translation of Simone Weil’s philosophical work that examines social ethics and the inner needs that enable people to feel at home in society and recover vitality. It is organized into three major parts: the needs of the soul, a diagnosis of uprootedness in cities, countryside, and nationhood, and the growing of roots. The preface by T.S. Eliot frames Weil’s complex character, urges careful reading, and emphasizes her originality, moral seriousness, and the difficulty of quick judgment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages314

Reading Time13 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Preface by T.S. ELIOT

Translator’s Foreword

Part I The Needs of the Soul

Order

Liberty

Obedience

Responsibility

Equality

Hierarchism

Honour

Punishment

Freedom of Opinion

Security

Risk

Private Property

Collective Property

Truth

Part II Uprootedness

Uprootedness in the Towns

Uprootedness in the Countryside

Uprootedness and Nationhood

Part III The Growing of Roots

The Need for Roots ‘Its subject is politics in the widest Aristotelian understanding of the term, and the treatment is of exceptional originality and breadth of human sympathy. What is required if men and women are to feel at home in society and are to recover their full vitality? Into wrestling with that question, Simone Weil put the very substance of her mind and temperament. The apparently solid edifices of our prepossessions fall down before her onslaught like ninepins.’ The Times Literary Supplement Simone Weil The Need for Roots Prelude to a Declaration of Duties towards Mankind Translated by Arthur Wills With a preface by T.S.Eliot London and New York L’Enracinement was first published 1949 by Editions Gallimard, Paris First published in English 1952 by Routledge & Kegan Paul First published in Routledge Classics 2002 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P4EE 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to [www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk](www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk).” Translation © 1952 Editions Gallimard All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Weil, Simone, 1909–1943. [Enracinement. English.] The need for roots: prelude to a declaration of duties towards mankind/Simone Weil; preface by T.S.Eliot. [p. cm](p. cm).—(Routledge classics) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Social ethics. 2. Social psychology. I.Title. II. Series. HM 665.W4513 2001 3O3–3′72-dc21 2001041850 ISBN 0-203-19351-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-37420-7 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-27101-0 (Print Edition) (hbk) ISBN 0-415-27102-9 (Print Edition) (pbk) CONTENTS PREFACE BY T.S. ELIOT vii TRANSLATOR’S FOREWORD xv PART I The Needs of the Soul 1 Order 9 Liberty 11 Obedience 12 Responsibility 14 Equality 15 Hierarchism 17 Honour 18 Punishment 19 Freedom of Opinion 21 Security 31 Risk 32 Private Property 33 Collective Property 34 Truth 35 PART II Uprootedness 39 v Uprootedness in the Towns 41 Uprootedness in the Countryside 75 Uprootedness and Nationhood 95 PART III The Growing of Roots 181 PREFACE The only kind of introduction which could merit permanent association with a book by Simone Weil would be—like that provided by M.Gustave Thibon to Gravity and Grace1—an introduction by someone who knew her. The reader of her work finds himself confronted by a difficult, violent and complex personality; and the assistance of those who had the advantage of long discussions or correspondence with her, especially those who knew her under the peculiar conditions of the last five years of her life, will be of permanent value in the future. I lack these qualifications. My aims in writing this preface are, first, to affirm my belief in the importance of the author and of this particular book; second, to warn the reader against premature judgment and summary classification—to persuade him to hold in check his own prejudices and at the same time to be patient with those of Simone Weil. Once her work is known and accepted, such a preface as this should become superfluous. All of Simone Weil’s work is posthumous. Gravity and Grace—the selection from her voluminous notebooks made by M. Thibon, and the first volume to appear in France—is admirable in its contents, but somewhat deceptiv

FAQs

What central question does the work address?

It asks what is required for men and women to feel at home in society and recover full vitality.

How is the book structured?

It is divided into three parts: the needs of the soul, uprootedness (in towns, countryside, and nationhood), and the growing of roots.

What does the preface by T.S. Eliot suggest about reading Simone Weil?

It warns against premature judgment and summary classification, urging readers to hold back prejudices and be patient with Weil’s distinctive outlook.

Jul 6, 2026

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