Robert Fludd: Hermetic Philosopher and Surveyor of Two Worlds

by Joscelyn Godwin

Robert Fludd was one of the last of the true Renaissance men who tool all learning as their preserve and tried to encompass the whole of human knowledge. Born in Elizabethan England, he became a convinced occultist while traveling on the Continent. His voluminous writings were devoted to defending the philosophy of the alchemists and Rosicrucians and applying their doctrines to a vast description of man and the universe. All of Fludd's important plates are collected here for the first time, annotated and explained together with an introduction to his life and thought.

Genres: Philosophy, Biography, Occult, Gnosticism, Science

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Composer, musicologist and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism and music in the occult.

Reviews

[Rinnei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great illustrations, although the text that accompanied it became convoluted at times. A lot of interesting themes in general though.

[Rex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating images. The textual approach of this book will likely appeal more to the practicing hermeticist than the uncommitted reader or scholar. Godwin takes Fludd and his system of thought very seriously, referring to his work as “an inspired vehicle for universal truth” (19). Godwin compares some of Fludd’s ideas to, for instance, modern science and esoteric yoga, and he describes Fludd as a kind of freethinker more in tune with Perennial Philosophy than Christian dogma. Fludd, to my understanding, presented himself as a committed (if adventurous) Anglican, and other scholars like Bruce Janacek more or less accept this identification. I am not in a position to adjudicate the apparent controversy, but Godwin’s commitments lend a noticeable tint to his remarks about Fludd, as when he laments Fludd’s blindness to the principle of reincarnation (33). (I must, however, give Godwin credit for this wry follow-up to Fludd’s spurious evidence for the upward tendency of the vivific spirit: “Perhaps Fludd had done more kite-flying than corpse-weighing” (66).)

That said, most of the book is comprised of reproductions of the fantastic illustrations to Fludd’s work, accompanied by summaries and quotes from his writings, and these are all very helpful. I found this a good visual introduction to such a striking figure.

[Sean Tatol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice images, basically an art book. Unfortunately, I personally find the hermetic mindset too silly to pore over the pictures more than superficially. My rating reflects my middling interest in the subject matter, I'm sure a fan would love it.

[Degan Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fascinating illustrations that bridge exploration of science as a new discipline with fascination and cosmic spirituality. I intense to use some of these in my own art.