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Paul Kléber Monod, Solomon’s Secret Arts: The Occult in the Age of Enlightenment (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013), pp. 412, $45.00, ISBN 978 0300 12358 6.

Paul Kléber Monod, Solomon’s Secret Arts: The Occult in the Age of Enlightenment (New Haven, CT:... In setting out to trace chronologically the manifestations of occult belief systems in Britain between 1650–1815, Paul Kléber Monod uses his introduction to delineate the boundaries of his study and to declare his own position. It is apparent from the outset that, in a subject area notorious for obfuscation, the reader is in the hands of a forthright guide. The existence of an occult realm of knowledge has not been proven objectively, and therefore, our author tells us, he is not a believer. Indeed, “for the purpose of our argument,” he asserts, “the occult existed purely in the minds and actions of its adherents” (3). The notion of an ‘occult tradition’, linking modern occultism with a prisca sapientia is debunked with similar candour. He accepts that occult thinking has a lineage dating back to the early centuries of Christianity, but suggests that claims for a heritage rooted in ancient wisdom have frequently been “misappropriated, distorted, embellished or even fabricated” (2). Borrowing Eric Hobsbawm’s phrase, he believes it to be an example of an ‘invented tradition’, altered throughout history to suit the needs of contemporary society. Occult thinking does, nonetheless, have an intellectual history, which is summarised with concision. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Early Science and Medicine Brill

Paul Kléber Monod, Solomon’s Secret Arts: The Occult in the Age of Enlightenment (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013), pp. 412, $45.00, ISBN 978 0300 12358 6.

Mawer, Judith
Early Science and Medicine , Volume 18 (6): 589 – Jan 1, 2013
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1383-7427
eISSN
1573-3823
DOI
10.1163/15733823-0186P0012
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In setting out to trace chronologically the manifestations of occult belief systems in Britain between 1650–1815, Paul Kléber Monod uses his introduction to delineate the boundaries of his study and to declare his own position. It is apparent from the outset that, in a subject area notorious for obfuscation, the reader is in the hands of a forthright guide. The existence of an occult realm of knowledge has not been proven objectively, and therefore, our author tells us, he is not a believer. Indeed, “for the purpose of our argument,” he asserts, “the occult existed purely in the minds and actions of its adherents” (3). The notion of an ‘occult tradition’, linking modern occultism with a prisca sapientia is debunked with similar candour. He accepts that occult thinking has a lineage dating back to the early centuries of Christianity, but suggests that claims for a heritage rooted in ancient wisdom have frequently been “misappropriated, distorted, embellished or even fabricated” (2). Borrowing Eric Hobsbawm’s phrase, he believes it to be an example of an ‘invented tradition’, altered throughout history to suit the needs of contemporary society. Occult thinking does, nonetheless, have an intellectual history, which is summarised with concision.

Journal

Early Science and Medicine – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2013

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