Restoring paradise : Western esotericism, literature, art, and consciousness

197 Pages·2004·1.812 MB·English

by  Versluis, Arthur

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Western Esotericism, Literature,
Art, and Consciousness
A r t h u r V e r s l u i s
R e s t o r i n g
P a r a d i s e
SUNY series in
Western Esoteric Traditions
David Appelbaum, editor
R e s t o r i n g
P a r a d i s e
Western Esotericism, Literature,
Art, and Consciousness
Arthur Versluis
State University of New York Press
Published by
STATEUNIVERSITYOFNEWYORKPRESS, ALBANY
© 2004 Arthur Versluis
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic,
electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise
without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, address State University of New York Press,
90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207
Production, Laurie Searl
Marketing, Anne M. Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Versluis, Authur, 1959–
Restoring paradise : western esotericism, literature, art, and consciousness / Arthur Versluis.
p. cm.—(SUNY series in Western esoteric traditions)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7914-6139-4 (alk. paper)
1. Occultism—History. 2. Occultism in literature. 3. Occultism in art. I. Title. II. Series.
BF1411.V47 2004
135—dc22
2004045292
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In memory of
poet and scholar
Kathleen Raine

Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Initiatory Transmission and
the Imagination 1
What is Esoteric?
Initiatory Transmission and Western Esotericism
The Esoteric Imagination
1 Origins 17
Alchemy of the Word
The Field of the Imagination
The Red Thread of Gnosis
Conclusions
2 Historical Currents 35
Divine Service: Chivalry and the Troubadours
Books within Books: Jewish Kabbalism
The Transfiguration of Earth: Alchemical Literature
The Divine Science: Theosophic, Pansophic,
Rosicrucian, and Masonic Literature
viii CONTENTS
3 Modern Implications 87
Prospero’s Wand: Modern Esoteric Literature
The Western Esoteric Traditions and Consciousness
Literature, Art, and Consciousness
Notes 159
Index 169
Preface
Restoring Paradisebegan as an introduction to the literary and religious history
of Western esotericism and was meant for a general audience, but as the book
took shape, so did an unexpected thesis about initiation, literature, art, and con-
sciousness itself. Soon it became clear that Restoring Paradisewas to be a gen-
uinely interdisciplinary argument whose subjects range across Western
religious and literary history, all the way from the early Christian era to twenti-
eth-century poets and artists. At the suggestion of an early reader, I also in-
cluded references to Japanese Zen Buddhism and to the great Japanese
philosopher Keiji Nishitani, but the work’s focus remains Western. In writing
this book, I drew on a variety of both primary and secondary sources, but in
keeping with my original impetus, wrote for a general audience across a range
of fields rather than for specialists in one or more of the many periods, tradi-
tions, figures, and locales that play a role in supporting and amplifying the
larger argument. At the very least, I hope that Restoring Paradisewill serve to
introduce many readers to the richness of our common inheritance, found
where literature and religion meet in the works of such extraordinary figures as
Charles Williams, C. S. Lewis, O. V. Milosz, H. D., and Cecil Collins. This is
the first extensive discussion of these authors together, and I hope that it will
open the way to a new appreciation for each of them in this larger context.
Hence, I include a short annotated bibliography to suggest further study for
those interested in the fields that I here introduce in the course of making my
case about literature and art as means of esoteric transmission in the West.
ix