Western Esotericism

Choosing among various meanings given to the word in modern languages, Faivre (emeritus religious studies, �cole Pratique des Hautes �tudes, Sorbonne) examines esotericism as a group of specific historical currents that present strong similarities and are found to have historical interconnections. By West he means the Christian West, influenced as it might be from time to time by Jewish, Muslim or more distant religious ideas. His whirlwind tour covers ancient and medieval sources of the modern Western esoteric currents, esotericism in the heart of the Renaissance and the flames of the Baroque, esotericism in the shadow of the Enlightenment, from Romantic knowledge to occultist programs, and esotericisms of the 20th century. L'�sot矇isme was published in 1992 by Presses Universitaires de France. Among Rhone's translations is an earlier work of his. Annotation 穢2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)