Editing Simone Weil (section)

==Works==
Weil's most famous works were [[List of works published posthumously|published posthumously]]. According to Lissa McCullough, Weil would likely have been "intensely displeased" by the attention paid to her life rather than her works. She believed it was her writings that embodied the best of her, not her actions and definitely not her personality. Weil had similar views about others, saying that if one looks at the lives of great figures in separation from their works, it "necessarily ends up revealing their pettiness above all", as it's in their works that they have put the best of themselves.<ref name="Lissa">{{cite book|author=Lissa McCullough|title=The Religious Philosophy of Simone Weil: An Introduction|pages = 1–3|year=2014|isbn=978-1-78076-796-3|publisher = [[I.B. Tauris]]}}</ref>

=== ''The Iliad, or The Poem of Force'' ===
{{main|The Iliad or the Poem of Force}}

Weil wrote ''The Iliad, or The Poem of Force'' ({{langx|fr|L'Iliade ou le poème de la force}}), a 24-page essay, in 1939 in Marseilles.<ref name = "NYB">{{cite web|url= http://www.nybooks.com/books/imprints/classics/war-and-the-iliad/|title= War and the Iliad|publisher=The New York Review of books |access-date=29 September 2009}}</ref><ref name = "SWanth">{{cite book | last = Weil| first = Simone| title = An Anthology| year = 2005 | pages = 182, 215| isbn = 0-14-118819-7|publisher = Penguin Books}}</ref>{{r|Zaretsky|p=28}} First published in 1940 in ''[[Les Cahiers du Sud]]'', the only significant literary magazine available in the [[Zone libre|French free zone]].<ref name="SWanth" /> It is still commonly used in university courses on the [[Classics]].<ref name = "Christological ">{{cite book
  | last = Meaney
  | first = Marie 
  | title = Simone Weil's Apologetic Use of Literature: Her Christological Interpretation of Ancient Greek Texts
  | year = 2007
  | pages = 3
  | isbn = 978-0-19-921245-3 
  |publisher = Clarendon Press}}</ref>

The essay focuses on the theme that Weil calls 'Force' in the ''[[Iliad]]'', which she defines as "that ''x'' which turns anyone subjected to it into a ''thing''."<ref name="Iliad Chicago">{{cite journal|last=Weil| first=Simone| year=1965| title=The ''Iliad'', or ''The Poem of Force''| journal=Chicago Review| volume=18| number=2| pages=5–30| doi=10.2307/25294008| jstor=25294008| translator=Mary McCarthy| url=http://biblio3.url.edu.gt/SinParedes/08/Weil-Poem-LM.pdf| access-date=10 April 2023}}</ref> In the opening sentences of the essay, she sets out her view of the role of Force in the poem:

<blockquote>
The true hero, the true subject, the centre of the ''Iliad'', is force. Force employed by man, force that enslaves man, force before which man's flesh shrinks away. In this work, at all times, the human spirit is shown as modified by its relations with force, as swept away, blinded, by the very force it imagined it could handle, as deformed by the weight of the force it submits to.{{R|Iliad Chicago|p=5}}
</blockquote>

''[[The New York Review of Books]]'' has described the essay as one of Weil's most celebrated works,<ref name = "SWanth"/> while it has also been described as among "the twentieth century's most beloved, tortured, and profound responses to the world's greatest and most disturbing poem."<ref>{{cite web
|url= https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511u/books2005/6
|title= Books in Brief
|publisher= The Atlantic Monthly
|access-date= 29 September 2009
|archive-date= 15 May 2008
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080515211413/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200511u/books2005/6
|url-status= dead
}}</ref>

Simone Pétrement, a friend of Weil's, wrote that the essay portrayed the ''Iliad'' as an accurate and compassionate depiction of how both victors and victims are harmed by the use of force.<ref name="Petrement">{{cite book
  | last = Pétrement
  | first = Simone
  | title = Simone Weil: A Life
  | orig-year = 1976 |year=1988 |edition=English |translator-first=Raymond |translator-last=Rosenthal
  | pages = 361–363
  | isbn = 0-8052-0862-3
  |publisher = Random House}}</ref>

The essay contains several extracts from the epic which Weil translated herself from the original Greek; Pétrement records how Weil took over half an hour per line.<ref name="Petrement"/>

===''The Need for Roots''===
{{main|The Need for Roots}}

Weil's book ''The Need for Roots'' ({{langx|fr|L'Enracinement}}) was written in early 1943, immediately before her death later that year. In it Weil presents a morality based on compassion rather than the rule of law.<ref name=":12" /> At this time Weil was in London working for the [[French Resistance]] and trying to convince its leader, [[Charles de Gaulle]], to form a contingent of nurses, including Weil, who would parachute to the front lines.{{r|Zaretsky|p=10}} Weil's intention was partially for these nurses to provide care, but also to offer an inspiring moral opposite to Nazism with Weil stating "it may be that our victory depends upon the presence among us of a corresponding inspiration, but authentic and pure".{{r|Zaretsky|p=154}}

''The Need for Roots'' has an ambitious plan. It sets out to address the past and to propose a road map for the future of France after World War&nbsp;II. She painstakingly analyzes the spiritual and ethical [[Social environment|milieu]] that led to France's defeat by the German army, and then addresses these issues with the prospect of eventual French victory.

===''Gravity and Grace''===
While ''[[Gravity and Grace]]'' ({{langx|fr|La Pesanteur et la Grâce}}) is one of the books most associated with Simone Weil, the work was not intended to be a book at all. Rather, the work consists of various passages selected from Weil's notebooks and arranged topically by her friend [[Gustave Thibon]]. Weil had given Thibon some of her notebooks written before May 1942, but not with any intent to publish them. Hence, the resulting selections, organization and editing of ''Gravity and Grace'' were much influenced by Thibon, a devout Catholic (see Thibon's introduction to ''Gravity and Grace'' ([[Routledge]] & Kegan Paul, 1952) for more details).

Weil felt gravity and grace were opposites believing that gravity signifies the ''force'' of the natural world of which all beings are physically, materially, and socially affected and that this "pulls" attention away from God and the afflicted whereas grace is a form of justice and a counter-balance, motivated by the goodness of God. Weil felt that this gravity (force) and grace (justice) are the two most fundamental aspects of the world and came together at the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion]].<ref name=":12" />

=== ''Waiting For God'' ===
''Waiting for God'' (French: ''Attente de Dieu'') is a collection of Weil's personal letters and essays compiled and published after her death. The book was published in French in 1950, posthumously, edited by Father Joseph-Marie Perrin and Gustave Thibon and the English translation was published shortly after, in 1951.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Waiting for God by Simone Weil {{!}} EBSCO Research Starters |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/waiting-god-simone-weil |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.ebsco.com |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=Waiting for God |url=https://www.routledge.com/Waiting-for-God/Weil/p/book/9780367705282?srsltid=AfmBOop5xmdedKo0qA70Kj11r6ElicxyowmjFCf2jgoYknA6fvj8lWXW |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Routledge & CRC Press |language=en}}</ref>

''Waiting for God'' opens with Simone Weil's 1942 letters to Dominican priest Jean-Marie Perrin, revealing her deep spiritual turmoil as she grapples with the demands of Christian faith. She reflects on the "just balance" of the world, seeing God's guidance in both human reason and our need for physical and emotional fulfillment. Weil introduces the idea of a "sacred longing", the human pursuit of beauty and connection as an expression of yearning for a tangible divine presence.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" />

Her writings detail a mystical experience that reshaped her understanding of divine love, emphasizing that true devotion requires patient, attentive openness to God. Weil sees suffering (not just joy) as essential to spiritual growth, a path to deeper connection with the divine. Despite her intense faith, she resisted baptism, believing that spiritual readiness must come through divine initiative, not personal decision. The essays explore themes of love, attention, suffering, and religious practice, asserting that love of God must include love for others and the world. Profound and challenging, ''Waiting for God'' is a key text for those drawn to mysticism, philosophy, and the complexities of faith.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" />

Essays included in this collection include: 

* ''Reflections on the Right Use of School Studies with a View to the Love of God''
* ''The Love of God and Affliction''
* ''Forms of the Implicit Love of God''
* ''Concerning the 'Our Father'''
* ''The Three Sons of Noah and the History of Mediterranean Civilization''

=== Other Significant Essays ===
Weil wrote many essays many of which have been compiled into various books. Major essays not included in ''Gravity and Grace'' or ''Waiting for God'' include: 

* ''Factory Work'' (1935) based on Weil's experience working in factories, offering insights into the dehumanizing aspects of industrial labor.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weil |first=Simone |title=Factory Work |url=https://files.libcom.org/files/december1946politics.pdf |website=Libcom}}</ref>
* ''Reflections on the Causes of Liberty and Social Oppression'' (1934) a critical analysis of oppression in both capitalist and socialist systems, emphasizing the spiritual value of labor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=5H IO H F R Q F H W & D X R / LE D 6 R F 2 S S U H |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/3/oa_monograph/chapter/3990977 |website=Muse}}</ref>
* ''The Power of Words'' (1937) Examines how political language and slogans can distort truth and manipulate thought.
* ''Meditation on Obedience and Liberty'' (1940) explores the relationship between obedience, authority, and personal freedom.
* ''What the Occitan Inspiration Consists Of'' (1941) Discusses the spiritual and poetic legacy of the Occitan tradition.
* ''Human Personality'' (1943) discusses what constitutes the sacred core in human beings<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kruk |first=Edward |date=2006 |title=Spiritual Wounding and Affliction: Facilitating Spiritual Transformation in Social Justice Work |url=https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/index.php/csw/article/view/5775/4714#:~:text=Spiritual%20affliction%20is%20an%20extreme,another%20and%20away%20from%20oneself. |journal=Critical Social Work |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |doi=10.22329/csw.v7i1.5775 |issn=1543-9372|doi-access=free }}</ref>
* ''Draft for a Statement of Human Obligations'' (1943) proposes a framework of obligations as the foundation for justice, contrasting with rights-based approaches.
* ''Note on the General Suppression of Political Parties'' (1943) (also known as Essential Ideas for a New Constitution) A radical critique of political parties, arguing they hinder the pursuit of truth and justice. Published posthumously in ''La Table Ronde'' in 1950.
* ''What is Sacred in Every Human Being?'' (1943) composed shortly before her death. It explores the intrinsic value and dignity of every person
* ''Are We Fighting for Justice?'' (1943) critiques the moral motivations behind the Allied war effort in World War II, asking whether it is truly being fought for justice or simply for victory
* ''Concerning the Colonial Problem in its Relation to the Destiny of the French People'' (1943) (originally ''Note sur la question coloniale)'' Weil addresses colonialism and its moral and political implications, particularly for France. She advocates for justice and genuine fraternity between peoples