Splendor of the True: A Frithjof Schuon Reader

372 Pages·2013·4.059 MB·English, French

by  Cutsinger, James S., Schuon, Frithjof

Splendor of the True
SUNY series in Western Esoteric Traditions
—————
David Appelbaum, editor
S T
PLENDOR OF THE RUE
A Frithjof Schuon Reader
Selected, translated, and with an introduction by
James S. Cutsinger
Foreword by
Huston Smith
Cover image: Photograph of Frithjof Schuon (c. 1958). Courtesy of World Wisdom, Inc.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2013 State University of New York
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schuon, Frithjof, 1907–1998.
[Selections. English. 2013]
Splendor of the true : a Frithjof Schuon reader / selected, translated, and
introduced by James S. Cutsinger ; foreword by Huston Smith.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-4611-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4384-4610-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Religion—Philosophy. 2. Religions. 3. Philosophy. I. Cutsinger, James S.,
1953– II. Title.
BL51.S463213 2013
210—dc23 2012017394
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Socrates
Do you think Truth is akin to moderation and proportion or to
disproportion?
Glaucon
To proportion.
Socrates
Then in addition to our other requirements we must look for a mind
endowed with moderation and grace and drawn by nature to see the
Truth in all things.
Plato, Republic, 486d

CONTENTS
Illustrations ix
Poems xi
Foreword by Huston Smith xiii
Introduction by James S. Cutsinger xv
Preface xlix
I. RELIGION AND TRADITION
1. The Sense of the Absolute in Religions 3
2. Two Esotericisms 17
3. Concerning Naiveté 23
4. The Mystery of the Hypostatic Face 33
II. THE PERENNIAL PHILOSOPHY
5. Summary of Integral Metaphysics 43
6. Consequences Flowing from the Mystery of Subjectivity 51
7. Tracing the Notion of Philosophy 59
8. Understanding and Believing 71
III. HUMAN NATURE AND DESTINY
9. Man in the Universe 83
10. The Message of the Human Body 91
11. Man and Certainty 103
12. Universal Eschatology 109
IV. SACRED ART AND SYMBOLISM
13. The Question of Forms in Art 121
14. The Liberating Passage 135
15. An Elementary Criteriology of Celestial Apparitions 139
16. The Symbolism of the Hourglass 147
V. SPIRITUALITY
17. Modes of Spiritual Realization 155
18. The Anonymity of the Virtues 165
19. The Nature and Function of the Spiritual Master 171
20. The Stations of Wisdom 181
Conclusion: Religio Perennis 191
Appendix: Selections from Letters, Spiritual Texts, and Memoirs 199
Translator’s Notes 235
Glossary 263
Sources 275
Bibliography of Works by Frithjof Schuon 277
Index 287
ILLUSTRATIONS
Frithjof Schuon in 1965 xlvii
Artwork by Frithjof Schuon
Sketches from the Far East to the Far West 117
Color Plates
following page 152
A. Maghreb
B. Celestial Virgin and Child
C. The Christ
D. The River
E. Sioux Chief
F. The Descent of the Sacred Pipe
G. The Thunderstorm
H. The Terrace
The Book of Keys, No. 74, The Five Divine Presences
Original French Manuscript 200
English Translation 201