Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
In The Dark Side of the Enlightenment John V. Fleming shows how the impulses of the European Enlightenment, generally associated with great strides in the liberation of human thought from superstition and traditional religion, were challenged by tenacious religious ideas or channeled into the darker pursuits of the esoteric and the occult. His topics include the stubborn survival of the miraculous, the Enlightenment roles of Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry and the widespread pursuit of magic and alchemy. Though we tend not to associate what was once called alchemy with what we now call chemistry, Fleming shows that the difference is merely one of linguistic modernization. Alchemy was once the chemistry, of Arabic derivation, and its practitioners were among the principal scientists and physicians of their ages. No point is more important for understanding the strange and fascinating figures in this book than the prestige of alchemy among the learned men of the age. Fleming follows some of these complexities and contradictions of the "Age of Lights" into the biographies of two of its extraordinary offspring. The first is the controversial wizard known as Count Cagliostro, the "Egyptian" freemason, unconventional healer, and alchemist known most infamously for his ambiguous association with the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, which history has viewed as among the possible harbingers of the French Revolution and a major contributing factor in the growing unpopularity of Marie Antoinette. Fleming also reviews the career of Julie de Krüdener, the sentimental novelist, Pietist preacher, and political mystic who would later become notorious as a prophet. Impressively researched and wonderfully erudite, this rich narrative history sheds light on some lesser-known mental extravagances and beliefs of the Enlightenment era and brings to life some of the most extraordinary characters ever encountered either in history or fiction.--Book jacket.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Showing 2 featured editions. View all 2 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
The dark side of the enlightenment: wizards, alchemists, and spiritual seekers in the age of reason
2013, W. W. Norton & Company
in English
- First edition.
0393079465 9780393079463
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
2
Dark Side of the Enlightenment: Wizards, Alchemists, and Spiritual Seekers in the Age of Reason
2013, Norton & Company, Incorporated, W. W.
in English
039324217X 9780393242171
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?History
- Created February 2, 2018
- 7 revisions
Wikipedia citation
×CloseCopy and paste this code into your Wikipedia page. Need help?
September 18, 2024 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
December 21, 2022 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
November 14, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
October 10, 2020 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
February 2, 2018 | Created by ImportBot | Imported from Internet Archive item record |