Philosophy Between the Lines: The Lost History of Esoteric Writing by Arthur M. Melzer

Author:Arthur M. Melzer [Melzer, Arthur M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2014-04-02T16:00:00+00:00

PART THREE

The Consequences of the Recovery of Esotericism

9

A Beginner’s Guide to Esoteric Reading

You tell me . . . that after the reading of my book, you are hardly any further along concerning the heart of the question. How by the devil! . . . do you not read the white [spaces] of works? Certainly, those who read only the black of a writing will not have seen anything decisive in my book; but you, read the white, read what I did not write and what is there nonetheless; and then you will find it.

—ABBÉ GALIANI to a friend

THE LONELINESS OF MODERN READERS

If it is really true that most philosophers prior to the nineteenth century wrote esoterically, then we had better read them esoterically. Otherwise, we risk finding ourselves in the uncomfortable position of Galiani’s friend.

In fact, doesn’t the experience that his friend reports have some real ring of familiarity? We start out, many of us do, as enthusiastic undergraduates, eagerly hoping to learn from the great and wise thinkers of the past about whom people speak with such reverence. But after some time spent reading their books, we often find that we are “hardly any further along concerning the heart of the question.” While these books contain many interesting ideas and sentiments, they also seem full of contradictions, illogic, and leaps of faith. From an early age, a quiet sense of disappointment hovers over our experience of such reading.

And yet we know that people in the past report having been greatly moved and formed by these classic works. Somehow these books spoke to them in a way that they do not to us. Isn’t it reasonable to wonder whether our unique alienation from the writers of the past might not be due, at least in part, to our ignorance of their manner of writing? If we were to recover the art of esoteric reading, perhaps we might also restore something of this lost connection to the past.

Still, to say that “we” must learn to read esoterically does not necessarily mean that every one of us must. Some amount of division of labor is both possible and necessary in scholarship. Cautious analytic minds will do close analyses; bold, synthetic ones will provide sweeping syntheses. Those able to assimilate vast amounts of material in multiple languages from alien times will discover and detail the historical context. So also, those with a gift and taste for close textual analysis and reading between the lines will pursue the esoteric dimension.

All of us do not have to specialize in every one of these jobs, but we all have to appreciate the necessity of each. We also need to be well enough versed in each of the jobs to be able to understand, judge, and assimilate their particular contributions. In short, some of us need to devote ourselves to esoteric reading, and the rest need to be willing and able to give this work an intelligent hearing.

YOU CAN LEARN ESOTERIC INTERPRETATION

For those seeking to learn to

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