Concerning THE MESSAGE REDISCOVERED, a review placed by René Guénon, in issue 270 of the magazine «Études Traditionnelles», September 1948
This book presents itself at first glance in a form that is uncommon and even peculiar: each one of its chapters is divided into two parallel columns, containing two series of aphorisms or detached verses that correspond with each other.
It is obvious that, under those circumstances, it is impossible to give any analysis or summary; moreover, it seems to be created rather to provide themes of meditation in some way, than to be read in a continuous way from beginning to end.
Also, we must say that the correspondence between the verses of the two columns is not always clear; but it is best that we reproduce the explanation the author himself has given us on this subject:
«The two columns appeared naturally as a reply from Earth and Heaven and from their necessary union which makes the whole mystery of the incarnation of life and of the coming of awareness of he who inhabits it. In this way, the column on the right is an equivalent, but not an explanation of the column on the left, and, by examining the multiple meanings of those verses, we can connect them with the synthesis of the prime mystery of the creation, which is always more or less present by means of the alchemistic meaning».
Besides, the multiplicity of the meanings we are talking about is not intentional, «but comes forth from the natural generation of the mother-root»,
that is to say in the alchemistic sense which the author considers as the central and ultimate meaning of his work.
If we have understood it well, this would have been written under a kind of inspiration, and that is why it contains more than what has been expressly wanted, although it is certainly difficult to determine the exact part of each of the two elements that have collaborated here.
In any case, under these circumstances, we don’t think we could say that it properly and effectively reconnects to a definite tradition; but at least the tendencies that express themselves here are in short, generally, those of hermeticism, and more precisely of christian hermeticism.
We say generally, because, if we enter into details, we observe that certain things, conscious or not, seem to have come from elsewhere; in this way, we have noticed some verses that remind in a rather striking way of certain taoïst maxims, and they are of course not the least worthy of interest.
However, the essential importance the author gives to the alchemistic meaning defines well the «perspective» of the whole, and also puts up limits, which are not different from those of the hermetic viewpoint itself.
We have to add that here and there we find some «oddities» of the sort we almost always come across in writings belonging to Western forms of esotericism: in this way the titles of the columns on the left are all made up of a series of anagrams starting with the first, which has a rather curious effect; but also, and which is more unfortunate in our opinion, certain wordings present themselves in an enigmatic form which really seems to us of little use; besides, we will not emphasize this shortcoming any longer, because we know that the author has realized this himself and that he has made this disappear in the modifications and additions he has already prepared with a future edition in mind.
We don’t know what the «specialists» of hermeticism, if however there still are some competent ones around, would think of this book and how they would appreciate it; but it is certain that it is far from being without importance and that it deserves being read and studied with care by everybody who takes an interest in this particular aspect of the tradition.
