An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit Of Wisdom In The West (Codhill Press)

An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West (Codhill Press)

From BooklistThrough the vast plain of European philosophic and religious thought meanders a small stream of unorthodox, sometimes occult belief that Bamford traces comprehensively, from the hermetic and Orphic traditions of ancient Greece, to the Celtic world's vision of Christianity, down to the fellowship of the Rosy Cross and the Romantics. Bamford argues that far from being invariably dualistic and body-denying, Western thought has always included a competing vision of wholeness and sensual joy. Many of the figures and schools of thought (the troubadours, Novalis) he examines are familiar to readers of perennial philosophy, but Bamford introduces lesser-known material as well and views familiar subjects from a uniquely optimistic standpoint. His chapter on Johann Georg Hamann, the "Magus of the North," describes that visionary philosopher's idiosyncratic but profound interpretation of the Bible as a revelation of mystical experience, and those on walking as prayer and the occult significance of the rosary offer unusual perspectives. Learned but accessible, Bamford's vision of the Western tradition may be embraced by many. Patricia MonaghanCopyright