The Essential Titus Burckhardt: Reflections on Sacred Art, Faiths, and Civilizations (The Perennial Philosophy) (Paperback)

by Titus Burckhartd (Author), William Stoddart (Editor) "It is characteristic of Sufism that its expressions often hold the balance between love and knowledge..." (more)
Key Phrases: perennialist school, subtle world, corporeal state, Titus Burckhardt, Middle Ages, Sun Dance (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Burckhardt has always been a[n] inspiration...His... modesty and natural reticence hid his great stature as...[a] man of wisdom." -- Keith Critchlow, author of Islamic Patterns: An Analytical and Cosmological Approach

"Burckhardt looks at Islam and Christianity with the eyes of a scholar who combines...spiritual insight with...love of...Truth." -- Annemarie Schimmel, Harvard University, author of Mystical Dimensions of Islam

"The Essential Titus Burckhardt is a veritable theophany. Wherever you open the pages...[it] breathes all that is sacred." -- Sir John Tavener, composer, and author of The Music of Silence: A Composer's Testament

"This book is a spiritual and intellectual journey that...brings together the wisdom of the major religious traditions." -- Rama P. Coomaraswamy, M.D., F.A.C.S., author of The Destruction of the Christian Tradition

"This distillation of [Titus Burckhardt's] life's work is a precious memento." -- Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions and Why Religion Matters

Product Description
An introduction to the thought of one of the greatest perennialist authors of the twentieth century. Burckhardt's writings constitute a veritable language of the Spirit, and this volume opens doors into the worlds of traditional art, science, metaphysical doctrine and spiritual life.

Combining the erudition of a philosopher, art historian, and cultural anthropologist with the beauty of soul steeped in the spiritual traditions of both East and West, Burckhardt's range of subject matter was enormous. He was at home in every traditional civilization, and the present volume gives ample evidence to this fact in the extracts dealing with Medieval Christendom, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and the religion of the Sun Dance. He was also well-acquainted with the perspectives of the modern world, as his critiques of the limitations of the theory of evolution and modern psychology show.

The importance of Burckhardt's writings is well summarized by the words of Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr (George Washington University): "[He] lived the truth of which he wrote. The exceptional light of intelligence which emanated from him pierced to the heart of the texts he studied and illuminated their meaning in a manner which is possible only by a person in whom the truth has descended from the plane of the mind to the centre of the heart and become fully realized."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: World Wisdom (May 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941532364
• ISBN-13: 978-0941532365
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #813,430 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars TRUE AND BEAUTIFUL REFLECTIONS, April 1, 2005

By	MATEUS SOARES DE AZEVEDO (SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL) - See all my reviews

Wisdom and tradition were the most important aspects of the writings of the distinguished Swiss art historian Titus Burckhardt.

THIS BOOK PUTS AT THE DISPOSAL OF A WIDER PUBLIC SOME OF THE BEST OF BURCKHARDT'S ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF ART AND RELIGION.

This wide ranging book offers to the reader much relevant work. It will delight both the student and the general reader.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The true human, the true artistic, vocation is to transcend oneself., May 23, 2006

By	OAKSHAMAN "oakshaman" (Algoma, WI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

_Titus Burckhardt was one of the great expositors of the perennial philosophy, along with the Traditionalists Rene Guenon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, and Frithjof Schuon. It is obvious to me that he truly experienced what he wrote upon. To him Intellection was not an abstract metaphysical principle. This is the miracle of true contemplative thought in the modern age.

_His emphasis tended more to the nature of what constitutes sacred art. That is why this volume is so well illustrated with both color plates, as well as, black and white images. His central message is that Tradition possesses a secret power that is communicated to an entire civilization; even in those arts and crafts whose objects include nothing particularly sacred. In a theocratic society, the humblest activity participates in heavenly benediction. In contrast, "sacred art" in the West since the Renaissance is essentially profane art with only a superficial religious theme.

_There are some thick, but important, volumes that you find yourself despairing that you will ever get to the end of. However, this thick volume of the essential Burckhardt (like its sister volume on the essential Schuon) is such a joy to read that you never want it to come to an end. Unlike drier works, every page restores your soul instead of draining it.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Anthology of Burckhartd's Thought, October 30, 2003

By	michael fitzgerald (Indiana University, USA) - See all my reviews

"Burckhardt's thought (as expressed in The Essential Titus Burckhardt) is clear and soberingly articulated, his argumentation intuitive and profound"