Édouard Schuré
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Eduard (Édouard) Schuré (January 21, 1841 in Strasbourg – April 7, 1929 in Paris) was a French philosopher,
poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
, playwright,
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...
, music critic, and
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of
esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
.


Biography

Schuré was the son of a doctor in the Alsatian town of Strasbourg, who died when Édouard was fourteen years old. Schuré mastered French as well as
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
, and was influenced by German and French culture in his formative years. He received his degree in law at the University of Strasbourg, but he never entered into practice. Schuré called the three most significant of his friendships those with Richard Wagner, Marguerita Albana Mignaty and
Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...
. Schuré's interest and studies led to an extensive knowledge of German literature. The discovery of Wagner's "music drama" ''
Tristan and Isolde Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Based on a Celtic legend and possibly other sources, the tale is a tragedy about the illic ...
'' impressed him sufficiently to seek—and obtain—Wagner's personal acquaintance. In France, he published his first work ''Histoire du Lied''—a history of the German folk song, which earned him some recognition in the country of his family. With the publication of the essay ''Richard Wagner et le Drame Musical'', he established himself as a major French Wagner expert and advocate of the time. When the Franco-German war of 1870-71 poisoned the German arts for many French, it would seem that Schuré was not immune from this influence. His nationalism is reflected in his remarks of this time—and later in his life—in a comparison of glorified Celtism (France) and a negatively viewed "Teutonism" (Germany). On a trip to Italy during this time he met, twenty years his senior, a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
woman, Marguerita Albana Mignaty, whom he subsequently described as his "muse", although he himself was married. After the tide of war had ebbed, Schuré reestablished his relationship with Wagner. In 1873, he met the German philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
; with frequent contact they shared enthusiasm for Wagner. The cultist veneration of Wagner, however, seeded Schuré's alienation from the composer. Schuré now turned increasingly to the esoteric and the occult, his major influence being the famous French occultist-scholar Fabre d'Olivet. In 1884, he met the founder of the Theosophical Society
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 ...
. Although unwelcome in the
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
, he nevertheless entered. In 1889, he published, after some smaller works on similar topics, his major work ''Les Grands Initiés'' (''The Great Initiates''). In 1900, the actress
Marie von Sivers Marie Steiner-von Sivers Some sources cite birthname as Marie von Sivers, Marie Sievers, or Marie von Sievers (14 March 1867 – 27 December 1948) was a Baltic German actress, the second wife of Rudolf Steiner and one of his closest colleagu ...
came into contact with him because she intended to translate his works into German (''The Great Initiates'', ''The Sacred Drama of Eleusis'' and ''The Children of Lucifer''). At the German Section of the Theosophical Society, he met the Austrian philosopher and later founder of
Anthroposophy Anthroposophy is a spiritualist movement founded in the early 20th century by the esotericist Rudolf Steiner that postulates the existence of an objective, intellectually comprehensible spiritual world, accessible to human experience. Follower ...
, Rudolf Steiner. In 1906, Sivers brought about a meeting between Schuré and Steiner. Schuré was deeply impressed and thought of Steiner as an authentic 'initiate' in line with his ''The Great Initiates''. After hearing Steiner lecture in Paris for the first time in 1906, Schuré in an ecstatic state ran home and wrote down the entirety of the lecture from memory. This first lecture, and the other lectures in the series (which Schuré wrote down) were published as ''Esoteric Cosmology''. Subsequently, Steiner and von Sivers staged Schuré's esoteric dramas at the following Theosophical Congresses in Berlin and Munich. Schuré's ''The Children of Lucifer'', served as a precursor of Rudolf Steiner's own esoteric dramas. In 1908 Schuré brought out ''Le Mystère Chrétien et les Mystères Antiques'', a French translation of Steiner's work ''Christianity as Mystical Fact and the Mysteries of Antiquity''.Rudolf Steiner, ''Christianity as Mystical Fact and the Mysteries of Antiquity'' New York and London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1914, ed. by Harry Collison, first published London 1914 from the German 2nd edition 191

Online (1961 edition, NY) annotated and with introduction by A.Heidenreic

/ref> With the outbreak of World War I, Schuré's relationship with Steiner and his wife became strained. Schuré threw in the two secret intentions about Germanic and Pan and stepped out of Steiner's Anthroposophical Society. Four years after the war, Schuré re-consolidated his friendship with Steiner. In subsequent years, Schuré published his autobiography.


Esoteric and literary meaning

Schuré's ''The Great Initiates'' is described by some as a masterpiece. In it, he describes the path allegedly followed by some of the ancient philosophers in search of profound esoteric knowledge, often called the " mysticism, initiation", as describing the process of becoming a mystic master or spiritual healer. Those familiar with
Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
,
Hermes Trismegistus Hermes Trismegistus (from grc, Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest"; Classical Latin: la, label=none, Mercurius ter Maximus) is a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a syncretic combination of t ...
,
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
,
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
,
Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
will find frequent references in Schuré's work. Although having no knowledge of the 'druid' Rama, Schuré pursued the notion that a secret esoteric knowledge was known to them all, that this group were among the pillars of civilization and represented the founders of spiritual and philosophical ways of being as well as in some cases—though contrary to their message—religions. Schuré recognized that the path to a harmonious world was not to be found through a bigoted denial of the value found by other civilizations by their own sages. He wanted people to recognize the value of
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
in spiritual, philosophical, and religious ways. Schuré wrote a considerable number of books and plays. In his 1912 ''From Sphinx to Christ (Treatise on Occult History)'' he admires the racist basis of the hereditary caste system in India. He believed the Brahmans had to protect their pure Aryan blood from admixtures with the blood of the other - inferior - races of India after the 'invasion' of India by the Aryans. His plays enjoyed relative fame in his days in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, and some of them were put on stage by Steiner. He also influenced Russian composer
Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
.


Works (selection)


Works available in English

* ''The Great Initiates, A Study of the Secret History of Religions'' * ''The Children of Lucifer'' (Drama in 5 Acts) * ''The Genesis of Tragedy and The Sacred Drama of Eleusis'' (Treatise on Theatre, including a reconstruction of an ancient drama) * ''From Sphinx to Christ'' (Treatise on Occult History)
''Hermes to Plato''

''Krishna and Orpheus''

''Jesus the Last Great Initiate''
* ''The Priestess of Isis'' (Novel) * ''Woman the Inspirer'' (Lecture/Treatise) * ''Ricardo Wagner - His Work and Ideas'' * ''History of Music Drama'' * ''A Beam of Sunlight in the Deep Forest'' (A collection of mystical prose works, including the novel 'The Angel and the Sphinx')


Original editions

*''Histoire du Lied ou la chanson populaire en Allemagne'', 1868 *''Le drame musical. Richard Wagner, son œuvre et son idée'', 2 volumes, 1875 *''Les Grands Initiés. Esquisse de l'histoire secrète des religions'', 1889 *''Le drame sacré d'Eleusis'', 1890 *''Sanctuaires d'Orient'', Paris 1898 *''Les grandes légendes de France'', Paris, 1893 *''Les Enfants de Lucifer'', 1900 *''Précurseurs et revolt'', Paris, 1904 *''La Prêtresse d'Isis'' (Légende de Pompeii), 1907 *''Femmes inspiratrices et poètes annonciateurs'', Paris, 1908 *''L'évolution divine. Du Sphinx au Christ'', 1912 *''Les prophètes de la renaissance'', 1920 *''Celtique L'âme et le génie de la France à travers les Ages'', Paris 1920 *''Merlin l'enchanteur'', Paris, 1921 *''Le rêve d'une vie. Confession d'un poète'' (autobiography), 1928


References


External links

*

Edouard Schuré ''The Great Initiates, A Study of the Secret History of Religions''. English edition, Harper Collins 1980, .

Edouard Schuré, Foreword to Rudolf Steiner's ''An Esoteric Cosmology, Evolution, Christ & Modern Spirituality'' (lectures in Paris, 1906) as translated for English edition, online. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schure, Edouard 1841 births 1929 deaths Writers from Strasbourg French music critics French philosophers 19th-century French dramatists and playwrights 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights 19th-century French poets 20th-century French poets French Theosophists Anthroposophists