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  Studies in Comparative Religion
The First English Journal on Traditional Studies - established 1963
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Titus Burckhardt
Titus Burckhardt, a German Swiss, was born in Florence in 1908 and died in Lausanne in 1984. He devoted all his life to the study and exposition of the different aspects of Wisdom and Tradition. In the age of modern science and technocracy, Burckhardt was one of the most remarkable exponents of universal truth, in the realm of metaphysics as well as in the realm of cosmology and of traditional art. In a world of existentialism, psychoanalysis, and sociology, he was a major voice of the philosophia perennis, that "wisdom uncreate" that is expressed in Platonism, Vedanta, Sufism, Taoism, and other authentic esoteric or sapiential teachings.

  Articles

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Type TitleAuthor/
Reviewed Author*
Author 2/
Reviewer
IssueReligion
Article
The Void in Islamic ArtBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 16, No. 1 and 2. ( Winter-Spring, 1984) Islam
Article
Traditional ScienceBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 16, No. 1 and 2. ( Winter-Spring, 1984) Islam
Article
Two Short Extracts from Titus Burckhardt’s First BookBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 16, No. 1 and 2. ( Winter-Spring, 1984) Christianity
Article
The Seven Liberal Arts and the West Door of Chartres CathedralBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 16, No. 1 and 2. ( Winter-Spring, 1984) Christianity
Article
Extracts from the Letters of Shaikh Al-Arabi Ad-DarqawiBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 16, No. 1 and 2. ( Winter-Spring, 1984) Islam
Article
The Sacred MaskBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 14, No. 1 and 2. ( Winter-Spring, 1980) Comparative Religion
Article
Insight into AlchemyBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 13, No. 3 and 4. ( Summer-Autumn, 1979) Comparative Religion
Article
Concerning the BarzakhBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 13, No. 1 and 2. ( Winter-Spring, 1979) Islam
Article
The Prayer of Ibn MashishBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 12, No. 1 and 2. ( Winter-Spring, 1978) Islam
Article
Using the Arabic language as the tool for his case study, Burckhardt explores its influence on Islamic art and spirituality. The nomadic life of the Arabs contributed to the consistency of the Arab language because it is when a culture settles into one place that its language becomes attached to things and institutions and therefore finds its decay. He describes Arab linguistically as having an “auditive intuition”. It is based in active association, instead of static imagery. This relates to Islamic art as it is manifested by images and calligraphy that evoke rhythm and movement and stories that are formed from logic and rhetoric instead of the sedentary nature of a statue or a painting of a different culture and language. All of these things contribute to illustrating the spiritual nature of Islam in its incantations and litanies and Burckhardt uses these observations to draw conclusions regarding the theology and practice of the Islamic faith.
Arab or Islamic Art? The impact of the Arabic language on the visual artsBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 5, No. 1. ( Winter, 1971) Islam
Article
In this article, Burkhardt explains that Islamic artwork strives to represent two important aspects: (1) to preserve the “primordial dignity of man,” and (2) to visually remind people of Islam’s fundamental denial of idols and idolatry. The artwork serves to reinforce the idea that there should be nothing between man and the invisible presence of God.
The Void in Islamic ArtBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 4, No. 2. ( Spring, 1970) Islam
Article
Burckhardt comments on the symbolic importance of the image of the Heavenly Jerusalem, which first appeared in a medieval manuscript. He compares this image side-by-side with a drawing of the mandala of Vaikuntha, the home of the Hindu god, Vishnu. Also comparing relevant scriptural texts, Bruckhardt is more interested in the objective comparison of the two images/texts than in drawing conclusions as to why and how such similarities came into existence.
The Heavenly Jerusalem and the Paradise of VaikunthaBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 4, No. 1. ( Winter, 1970) Christianity
Article
Burckhardt begins his article with an interesting comparison of the Virgin Mary’s intelligence, which he considers the highest possible for humans with the seven sciences, which he claims are an “expression of so many faculties of the soul”. He continues to address these sciences and classifies them as grammar, logic, and rhetoric, as the first three, and arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy respectively. Apparently these seven sciences, which do not of course fit the term of science as used today, are represented by the seven planets. Other correlations related to these sciences include their relation to numbers, as well as their representation on the door of Chartres Cathedral.
The Seven Liberal Arts and the West Door of Chartres CathedralBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 3, No. 3. ( Summer, 1969) Christianity
Article
Burckhardt examines the history and symbolism of the chess-board of its pieces. From its roots in India through its passages into Persia and into Europe the chess-board is both a military stratagem and a symbol of space and the universe, as well as a symbol of the nature of the soul and the relationship between will and fate.
The Symbolism of ChessBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 3, No. 2. ( Spring, 1969) Misc
Correspondence
Titus Burckhardt responds to a letter written in defense of Teilhard De Chardin, condemning Teilhard’s thesis; calling it “a Trojan horse to introduce materialism and progressism into the very bosom of the religion.”
Correspondence on Teilhard de Chardin Burckhardt, Titus Vol. 3, No. 2. ( Spring, 1969) Christianity
Book Review
Gai Eaton reviews Sacred Art in East and West: Its Principles and Methods by Titus Burckhardt, a book he calls “a study of what real art has been in the past and of what it still is in those few regions of the world that have not yet been completely overrun by modernism.” The book focuses on the sacred art of Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Taoism.
Sacred Art in East and West: Its Principles and MethodsBurckhardt, Titus *Eaton, Gai Vol. 3, No. 1. ( Winter, 1969) Comparative Religion
Article
Esteemed author Titus Burckhardt reviews the writings and perspectives of Seyyed Hossein Nasr through four of his books: An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrine, Three Muslim Sages: Avicenna—Suhrawardî—Ibn Arabi, Islamic Studies, Essays on Law and Society, the Sciences, Philosophy and Sufism, and Ideals and Realities of Islam. Burckhardt examines not only the essential contents and messages of each of Nasr’s books, but also the author’s perspectives and influences. Burkhardt also provides a brief biography of Seyyed Nasr’s life, supplying useful background for Nasr’s writings and philosophies.
Islamic Surveys: Four Works by Seyyed Hossein NasrBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 2, No. 3. ( Summer, 1968) Islam
Book Review
In his review of Alchemy, Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul by Titus Burckhardt, Seyyed Hossein Nasr highlights the point made in this book of the errors of the current interpretation of alchemy as either a precursor of modern chemistry or as a science of the psyche alone. For as to the latter he says that it is impossible to study the psyche “without reference to the luminous world of the Spirit which alone can comprehend the soul.” The reviewer praises the book for presenting all aspects of alchemy in the light of the Spirit including its relation to art, and particularly for the explanation of the correspondence between the alchemical process and the stages of the spiritual life.
Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the SoulBurckhardt, Titus *Nasr, Seyyed Hossein Vol. 2, No. 2. ( Spring, 1968) Comparative Religion
Article
The subject of Islamic art in various forms is the central topic of this article and the reader is given an in-depth analysis of the symbolism and meaning of this traditional art. The author’s goal is to approach the topic of this article without using the historical evidence of influence from other cultures as much as the historical background of how Islamic art reflects the original goals of that religion. Burckhardt also points out some of the problems of the approach that modern science takes towards Islamic art. The author also provides some intriguing comparisons between Islamic and Christian art and how the differences in form symbolically reflect differences in religious doctrine. Some of the specific subjects analyzed in this way include icons, or lack thereof, the architecture of mosques and basilicas, structural ornamentation and inscriptions within sacred structures.
Perennial Values in Islamic ArtBurckhardt, Titus Vol. 1, No. 3. ( Summer, 1967) Islam
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