A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom: An Encyclopedia of Humankind's Spiritual Truth

by Whitall N. Perry, Huston Smith (Introduction), Marco Pallis (Foreword)

This extraordinary compendium gives access to what the greatest minds of all time and the various faith and philosophical traditions say on every aspect of the spiritual life, be it faith, patience, suffering, or mercy. Relevant passages are included, such as Eckhart, Philo, Rumi, the Talmud, Shakespeare, Rama Krishna, Black Elk, The Psalms, the Tao Te Ching, and Milarepa, among countless others.

Genres: Philosophy, Spirituality, Reference, Mysticism, Religion

1144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

From Wikipedia:

Whitall Nicholson Perry (January 19, 1920 - November 18, 2005) was an American author born in Belmont, Massachusetts, member of the Perennialist School, which is based primarily on the work of René Guénon, Ananda Coomaraswamy and Frithjof Schuon. Perry’s major opus, A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom, is a compilation of thousands of quotations from all the great religious and esoteric traditions, supported by commentaries.

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Reviews

[Daniel Sepulveda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I acquired this book back in 2000, and I consider it to be one of the most important pieces of my collection. It is a huge 1144 page volume, fruit of research and experience of many, with the aim of the editors (pretty well achieved by the way) of comparing traditional texts in regard with several philosophical questions and aspects of life.

The result is a book where every page is a reflection around some immanent theme: Sacrifice/Death, Illusion, Humility, Combat/Action, Judgement, Symbolism, Pilgrimage, Metanoia, Mercy-Love-Contemplation, Faith, Grace, Love, Ecstasy, Beauty, Peace, Discernment-Truth, Knowledge, Reality, etc. to name just a few.

Among the sources cited are: Hermes, The Qur'an, Eckhart, Sri Ramakrishna, Plato, The Bible, Dante Alighieri, St Agustine, Mencius, Huang Po, Tauler, Peter Sterry, The Bhagavad-Gita, Shakespeare, Huai Nan Tzu, The Talmud, Philalethes, Ibn Al-Arif, Confucius, Black Elk, Cicero, Rumi, and the Zohar, to name just a reduced few.

I have indicated this book as read, but I will probably never finish it completely, as it touches aspects of my life which are interpreted according to my experience.

Wonderful book.

[Peter Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone wishing to study the Perennial philosophy, 'A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom' is indeed a treasure. My hardback copy has just over a thousand pages with an average of about seven or eight quotations per page. I have not yet found any two quotations that are mutually inconsistent, which is a testament to the rigour and unity of the philosophy it represents.

If we are a student of comparative religion or the Perennial philosophy Whitall Perry has done us all a great service by compiling this collection.

[David Teszár · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favourites.

[Catholicus Magus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only way in which this work could be surprised is by learning all of this wisdom through the mnemonic method; otherwise, my first edition copy of this work is among my most treasured possessions, simply for the fact that Perry's adept skill at combining innumerable spiritual traditions, mystics, scriptural references, and poets is unsurpassed.

Being an encyclopedia, isolated reading of this work is less profitable than if its meditations are integrated into legitimate spiritual practices. But that's not to say that the voluminous nature of this work could not induce someone into such practices—I have not seen this implemented so I'm unable to comment on this potential.

If you are lacking in an encyclopedia of this nature, you ought to acquire this piece for your own personal studies, spiritual pilgrimage, or intellectual study.