This book not only teaches you a lot about Bruno more, in fact, than you might ever have really wanted to know! Aug 06, Katie rated it it was amazing Shelves: I really, really enjoyed reading this book. I think that Yates has a bit of a tendency to pigeon-hole Bruno's thought more than she should, insisting throughout that his central goal was a return to Egyptianism and that he was fundamentally anti-Christian, and I think that certainly is an overall flaw.
But I'm still going to give it five stars anyways just because it's a book that's absolutely worth reading, especially it's beginning and ending. Yates puts Bruno and his Hermetic contemporaries I really, really enjoyed reading this book. Yates puts Bruno and his Hermetic contemporaries in the proper historical position, clearly illustrating that they weren't classical humanists or persecuted scientists but a brand of their own that wasn't medieval and wasn't modern, but still had roads leading in both directions. Also, as a plus, considering how esoteric the subject matter can be, Yates does a good job keeping her writing crisp and clear without oversimplifying.
Nov 11, Paul Johnston rated it really liked it. I found this an interesting book if a little out of my normal field and a little demanding particularly insofar as the expectation was that one could read Latin fluently plus a few other things, e. I didn't know anything very much about Giordano Bruno before I read it and only have a fairly average understanding of the Renaissance.
The most interesting thing is definitely the way that our modern ways of seeing things are challenged so science and magic go together and mathem I found this an interesting book if a little out of my normal field and a little demanding particularly insofar as the expectation was that one could read Latin fluently plus a few other things, e.
The most interesting thing is definitely the way that our modern ways of seeing things are challenged so science and magic go together and mathematics plays a key role in linking the two. So for Bruno one of the things that made the theories of Copernicus interesting was that they pointed the way back to Egyptian religion and its cult of the sun.
This is an academic lots of untranslated quotes from French, Italian, and Latin , groundbreaking analysis of the hermetic tradition Renaissance magic in the life of Giordano Bruno, and its place in the history of thought as a bridge between medieval scholasticism and Cartesian rationalism. As a person who lives at the intersection of religion, science, and history, this book forced me to reconsider the narrative of the genesis of Science, and the history of thought within the Church in the 16t This is an academic lots of untranslated quotes from French, Italian, and Latin , groundbreaking analysis of the hermetic tradition Renaissance magic in the life of Giordano Bruno, and its place in the history of thought as a bridge between medieval scholasticism and Cartesian rationalism.
As a person who lives at the intersection of religion, science, and history, this book forced me to reconsider the narrative of the genesis of Science, and the history of thought within the Church in the 16th century. Aug 30, Mark Bowles rated it it was amazing. Two main intentions of this book: To show that the writings of Bruno are misunderstood. Bruno is normally celebrated in the history of science for his acceptance of the Copernican theory and his own addition that the universe in infinite.
This broke the closed Ptolemaic universe. But, Bruno was not a forerunner of modern science. Instead, he advocated a magical hermetic tradition. For example Bruno used the Copernicus heliocentric chart as a talisman. Bruno still deserves a major position A.
Bruno still deserves a major position in the history of science. There was a strong connection between hermetic thought in the Renaissance and the emergence of early modern science. Magical operations with number contributed to the emergence of genuine mathematics. The Hermetic corpus was filled with sun worship and thus a heliocentric system is embraced. This is the root of Baconian utilitarianism man harnessing nature for his own use. Yates has argued that she herself is not a sorceress.
But the book has a magical feel to it. But, despite the outdating of her facts one of the most important things she contributed was the notion of a 2 stage scientific revolution. Stage 1 is magic, stage 2 is mathematics C. The Hermetic Tradition 1. The Hermetic tradition was the written work of Hermes Trismegistus who wrote on Egyptian philosophy, religion, and magic. But, for those in the Renaissance he was considered a real Egyptian priest who lived in Antiquity and it was he who Plato and the Greeks derived there knowledge.
In the Renaissance what was considered oldest was most divine.
Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition
The belief in the reality of this man was a huge historical error which had amazing results. It brought about the Renaissance revival of magic. Ficino was the 15th century scribe who translated Hermes work which he called the Pimander. He was awe struck at the Mosaic Moses and Christian truths which this ancient author mysteriously possessed. The truth is that this Hermetic corpus was really written by different people at different times. Their only unity is a religious approach without a personal God or savior to salvation and divine knowledge.
The cosmology of these writers was one of astrology. The magic of the Hermetica: This contained treatises on alchemy, astrology, and the occult powers of plants, animals, and stones. Particular emphasis is placed on talismans. These are cookbooks for the magician allowing him to cure disease, live a long life, defeat an enemy, or make someone love you.
See a Problem?
Pico Della Mirandola and Cabalist Magic: He is important to Renaissance magic because he added to this natural magic a Cabalist magic. This was a spiritual magic attempting to contact higher spiritual powers than the natural powers of the cosmos. This attempts to invoke angles and God himself. The belief was that Cabalistic teachings was a secret doctrine that Moses imparted to some of his disciples. Man could control his destiny by using Cabala to act upon the world. This was a popular book on occult philosophy which was important to Bruno.
He divided the world into three parts elemental, celestial, and intellectual. Each world receives influences by the one above it. The magician tries to draw on this power of the upper world by manipulating the lower world. What was the role that Renaissance magic played? The Greeks never took the step from their rational thought to apply their knowledge.
They did not want to operate. Mechanical operations were a degeneration from pure rational thought. The Middle Ages carried on this belief that theological contemplation was the true end of man. Renaissance magic changed all of that and made it dignified for man to operate. It was not contrary to God that his great miracle should want to use his powers. There were theological and humanistic objections to Renaissance magic.
A religious Hermeticism emerged largely in France without the magic. Bruno made his first visit to Paris in It was in the art of memory that he revealed himself as a magician. The 2 strands converge--mnemonic art and Hermetical magic. The classical art of memory was to imagine a place or a building with each object inside reminding the orator of something. As he spoke he imagined himself walking through this building. This was changed in the Renaissance by replacing building images with magical or talismatic images.
Frances Yates and the Hermetic Tradition
He was sent by Henry III into England--this changed his life from a wandering magician into a strange kind of missionary. Hermetic reform in England: This philosophical dialog he later translates in terms of Copernican philosophy. By placing him in this context Bruno is at last placed among the movements of his century. His Spaccio may have been the beginning of Elizabethan Renaissance. Bruno in England and his Hermetic Philosophy: In this philosophy Copernicus was believed to have made a beginning, but since he was only a mathematician he could not uncover the meaning of his discovery.
Bruno and the Cabala: How was Bruno different from the Renaissance Hermeticism?
Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition - Wikipedia
Study of his love poetry to express philosophical or mystical aims. A spiritual record of a man struggling to become divine. Love and the planet Venus. He returns to Paris a second time.
The Mordente compass controversy. Mordente develops a new compass, Bruno publishes for him in Latin. Bruno calls him a triumphant idiot for not realizing the true implications of his work. The compass measures divine powers. He then goes to Germany. He lectured at the Wittenberg University. His last published work was De imaginum. The purpose is to show how it is possible for the individual to concentrate on magical images, to become a Solar, Jovial, or Veneral Magus and lead a magical reformation.
This book may be an important key to the way in which the Renaissance composed and used images. He had no fear of Catholic action against him. He did not believe himself to be anti-Catholic. I was astonished as to how many famous people, if you collect historian and literary trading cards Dame Yates associated with throughout her life.
Several people have suggested that her work reflects the influence of Calder and Rossi, and these names do not appear either.
Content Metrics
We had a rich archeology in to female historians fascinated with Giordano Bruno, as was Yates, and some sociological insights as to why Bruno held such a fascination for late Victorians, especially women influenced by Romanticism. This was a very helpful context to understand Yates from, but I would have liked to have seen a more in depth exploration of her work and more direct confrontation of her critics, like Wouter Hanegraaff and others.
I can also understand why Jones felt it more important to focus on the positive aspects of her career, rather than the critical aftermath. I've always had a sneaking suspicion that she was used for critical target practice by guys threatened by an outsider to academia, who happened to be built like a British battleship. It would have been an interesting comparison between her respected students, like Trevor -Roper male and her disrespected student,Betty Jo Teeter Dobbs. Like her mentor, Dobbs' experience what seems to be an untoward amount of criticism, while her male counterpart Michael White wrote Isaac Newton The Last Sorcerer, which develops the same theme uncrippled by a misattributed document.
But lest I sound too critical, I'll stop straying into Newtonia. It is not that I am credulous when I read Yates' intuitive leaps-I appreciate their audacity while I resent what is speculative in one paragraph is advanced as a conclusion shortly there after. I am not as well-educated as Yates, especially not in her literary scope-I have never been able to follow her literary parallels not having Dante or Spencer. What has always struck me is that one must be very familiar with her sources to weigh her literary cultural interpretation, which has never struck me as a very complete way to do scholarship.
Still I appreciate the popularity Yates brings to history, and especially the stride she made in bringing esotericism and interdisciplinary studies to the attention of readers like myself. Jones wrote a nice biography of an interesting person. I look forward to reading another biography of Dame Yates, and more works by Ibis Press. Apr 15, Lauren Albert rated it really liked it Shelves: While I know of her struggles and unhappiness-es through Jones' narration, her scholarly life still recalls the fantasy of scholarly life I had when young. No harsh schools, no tests except those testing yourself against your own high expectations --just reading and more reading broken up by stimulating conversations with other scholars.
Certainly no undergraduate teaching, committee meetings or tenure reviews. Then, you write about what most compels you, at your own pace. Independent wealth is While I know of her struggles and unhappiness-es through Jones' narration, her scholarly life still recalls the fantasy of scholarly life I had when young. Independent wealth is the only to achieve that now. An admirable woman driven by a love of knowledge and an intense curiosity.
- Wegbereiter der Moderne - Die Grammatik von Port-Royal (German Edition).
- ;
- ?
- Frances Yates and the Hermetic Tradition - Marjorie G. Jones - Google Книги.
- I Want To Retire! Essential Considerations for the Retiree to Be;
- !
- Lesson Plans Laughter in the Dark;
Oh that there would be more like her. Jan 01, Kara rated it liked it. Knowing nothing of the subject, nor her specialty, this book was interesting enough to have me read to completion. Raymond rated it really liked it Jul 20, Frank rated it it was amazing Apr 17, Patrick rated it liked it Oct 17, Max Bolondi rated it it was ok Nov 23, Brad Thompson rated it it was amazing Oct 05, Scott rated it really liked it Nov 18, Victor rated it really liked it Mar 16, Bruce Macfarlane rated it it was amazing Mar 14, Janice rated it it was amazing Jan 14, In addition to her insightful commentary on Yates' academic work, Jones quotes from Frances' diaries and the writings of those who were close to her, to shed light on Yates' private life.
This biography is significant for those with an interest in literary criticism, women's history, scientific history, or the intellectual atmosphere of post-war Britain, as well as those interested in the Hermetic tradition. The Best Books of Check out the top books of the year on our page Best Books of Product details Format Paperback pages Dimensions x x 18mm Looking for beautiful books?
Visit our Beautiful Books page and find lovely books for kids, photography lovers and more.