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Histoire des croyances et des idées religieuses #2
A History of Religious Ideas, Volume 2: From Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity
In volume 2 of this monumental work, Mircea Eliade continues his magisterial progress through the history of religious ideas. The religions of ancient China, Brahmanism and Hinduism, Buddha and his contemporaries, Roman religion, Celtic and German religions, Judaism, the Hellenistic period, the Iranian syntheses, and the birth of Christianity—all are encompassed in this volume.
580 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
About the author
Mircea Eliade
448 books2,432 followersRomanian-born historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, professor at the University of Chicago, and one of the pre-eminent interpreters of world religion in the last century. Eliade was an intensely prolific author of fiction and non-fiction alike, publishing over 1,300 pieces over 60 years. He earned international fame with LE MYTHE DE L'ÉTERNAL RETOUR (1949, The Myth of the Eternal Return), an interpretation of religious symbols and imagery. Eliade was much interested in the world of the unconscious. The central theme in his novels was erotic love.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
April 21, 2021
Mirča Elijade nastavlja gde je stao sa prvom knjigom i u ovom obimnom tomu obrađuje period ljudskog, iako bivajući istoričar to sam baš i ne razume, postepenog otuđenja od metafizičke stvarnosti.
Na stotinama strana proćićemo kroz bogatu i dramatičnu istoriju religioznosti i baštine u Kini, nastavljajući se na prethodni tom kroz post-upanišadsku Indiju sa svim krizama i cepanjima koje su upravo ti tekstovi šumski mislioca izazvali - raslojavanje tradicije na vedantu, sankhju, jogu, a potom i na budizam, đainizam, sa svim krizama i tih, više ne samo sekti ili škola onoga što će postepeno postati hinduizam, već sasvim odvojenih religijskih sistema.
Put će nas dalje voditi i kroz Evropu klasičnog doba, helenističku epohu, orfičko-pitagorejsku tradiciju i Platona kod koga se ta tradicija već cepa i ne biva sasvim shvaćena... Rim, keltska, germanska, tračanska i dačanska plemena... Uspon hrišćanstva i vazda prisutnu, večnu borbu jevreja za svoju duhovnost i državnost.
Knjiga je zaista blago, možda ne kao vrhunski izvor znanja i razumevanja ovih tema - što sigurno da joj nije ni bio cilj - već kao tačka sa koje se dalje možemo uputiti u ispitivanje bilo koje konretnije teme, bez obzira na tačnu geografsku ili vremensku odrednicu, jer zajedno sa prvim i trećim, zaključnim tomom, Mirča zaista jeste, i to uglavnom na zadovoljavajući način, pokrio vascelu istoriju ljudskog pokušaja da razume ne razumljivo ili da spozna nespoznajno. Uz sam vrhunski tekst, dopremljena je kompletan, obiman popis literature koji je sam dovoljan za decenije istraživanja.
Na stotinama strana proćićemo kroz bogatu i dramatičnu istoriju religioznosti i baštine u Kini, nastavljajući se na prethodni tom kroz post-upanišadsku Indiju sa svim krizama i cepanjima koje su upravo ti tekstovi šumski mislioca izazvali - raslojavanje tradicije na vedantu, sankhju, jogu, a potom i na budizam, đainizam, sa svim krizama i tih, više ne samo sekti ili škola onoga što će postepeno postati hinduizam, već sasvim odvojenih religijskih sistema.
Put će nas dalje voditi i kroz Evropu klasičnog doba, helenističku epohu, orfičko-pitagorejsku tradiciju i Platona kod koga se ta tradicija već cepa i ne biva sasvim shvaćena... Rim, keltska, germanska, tračanska i dačanska plemena... Uspon hrišćanstva i vazda prisutnu, večnu borbu jevreja za svoju duhovnost i državnost.
Knjiga je zaista blago, možda ne kao vrhunski izvor znanja i razumevanja ovih tema - što sigurno da joj nije ni bio cilj - već kao tačka sa koje se dalje možemo uputiti u ispitivanje bilo koje konretnije teme, bez obzira na tačnu geografsku ili vremensku odrednicu, jer zajedno sa prvim i trećim, zaključnim tomom, Mirča zaista jeste, i to uglavnom na zadovoljavajući način, pokrio vascelu istoriju ljudskog pokušaja da razume ne razumljivo ili da spozna nespoznajno. Uz sam vrhunski tekst, dopremljena je kompletan, obiman popis literature koji je sam dovoljan za decenije istraživanja.
October 6, 2016
کتاب پرباری بود . خوشحالم از خوندنش
February 9, 2022
Настає такий момент, коли книги, які раніше видавалися геніальними і новаторськими, виявляються зрештою класикою і вже не дуже актуальною. Особливо, коли паралельно вивчаються актуальні теми і сучасні методології.
Мірча Еліаде - це один із найталановитіших релігієзнавців і творців наративного тексту, який надихає, зачіпає, підтримує, а потім ми із нього виростаємо далі.
Мірча Еліаде - це один із найталановитіших релігієзнавців і творців наративного тексту, який надихає, зачіпає, підтримує, а потім ми із нього виростаємо далі.
June 6, 2021
This is what every non-fiction book strives to be, brilliant by Eliade once again. Detailed, birds eye view, seen through an analytical higher-order framework which allows for comparisons across traditions. Then, tightly woven into a coherent narrative, providing the reader with an understanding of the complex development of religious thought. If only religion was taught this way in school (Jens Bjørneboe would agree). Recommended!!!
August 21, 2008
just read the chapters from pre-brahmanism to the buddha, what an amazing bird's eye yet a detailed, comparative view. the self vs. no-self problem in buddhism is touched upon and a lot of sayings from the buddha to vasubandhu point out that both are extreme positions which flies in the face of the commonly expounded anatta concept especially by the theravadin schools.
May 17, 2018
Amazing opus on the continuation of the first one. M. Eliade opens up to his work from the Buddha in the East to the development of Christianity. As always, M. Eliade never cease to amaze me.
November 2, 2016
An excellent, bright and intriguing book. What I have been discovering while reading the book, is so new and so lovely that I am looking forward to read it again and not only that, I want to read more about its subjects. The book let your brain to fly through history and people´s minds, ideals and beliefs. You are allowed to understand them... if you are willing to.
Religions and beliefs are so complex, interconnected and symbolic that to think about it in a simple way is a scientific heresy. It is gorgeous to find out how much we have got of our previous ideals incorporated in our current ones. How those ideas were feeding each other, how they reappeared and disappeared again (e.g. Slavs brought their dead family members into their houses - which is a very ancient ritual typical for civilizations/cultures in Africa. Slavic legends about creating world have so much common with nomadic tribes from Siberia and current Mongolia...).
It is difficult to write something about the book - all you need is in its title. However, sometimes I was sad that I could not know more about particular topics. Religion is a fascinating matter to study. (Just one warning: be ready for a very difficult vocabulary.)
Religions and beliefs are so complex, interconnected and symbolic that to think about it in a simple way is a scientific heresy. It is gorgeous to find out how much we have got of our previous ideals incorporated in our current ones. How those ideas were feeding each other, how they reappeared and disappeared again (e.g. Slavs brought their dead family members into their houses - which is a very ancient ritual typical for civilizations/cultures in Africa. Slavic legends about creating world have so much common with nomadic tribes from Siberia and current Mongolia...).
It is difficult to write something about the book - all you need is in its title. However, sometimes I was sad that I could not know more about particular topics. Religion is a fascinating matter to study. (Just one warning: be ready for a very difficult vocabulary.)
September 21, 2014
The second volume of “A History of Religious Idea – From Gautama Buddha to the Triumph of Christianity” by Mircea Eliade covers the vast religious area between the ancient religions in China (Taoism and Confucianism), Brahmanism and Hinduism, Buddhism, Roman religions, Celts and Germans, Judaism, The Hindu Synthesis: The Mahabharata including the Bhagavad Gita, Iranian Synthesis, Paganism, and the Birth of Christianity and Christianity as official Religion of the Roman Empire.
This vast area of religious ideas is described in a considerable depth, although experts will certainly notice significant omissions at once; e.g. the Upanishads and the Mahabharata deserve more attention.
This volume ends with "Sol Invictus"; a religious idea taken by the Roman Emperor Aurelius (270 – 275 AC) from Egypt as uniting monotheistic Sun-God principle in the Roman Empire, before his successor Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity a preferred religion within the Roman Empire. The name Sunday – the day of God – originates from "Sol Invictus" or Sun-God in the Roman Empire.
Highly recommended!
This vast area of religious ideas is described in a considerable depth, although experts will certainly notice significant omissions at once; e.g. the Upanishads and the Mahabharata deserve more attention.
This volume ends with "Sol Invictus"; a religious idea taken by the Roman Emperor Aurelius (270 – 275 AC) from Egypt as uniting monotheistic Sun-God principle in the Roman Empire, before his successor Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity a preferred religion within the Roman Empire. The name Sunday – the day of God – originates from "Sol Invictus" or Sun-God in the Roman Empire.
Highly recommended!
February 7, 2008
آنچه به نام "رساله در تاریخ ادیان" توسط جلال ستاری ترجمه شده و انتشارات سروش در 1372 منتشر کرده، تقریبن چیزی کمتر از نیمی از این کتاب دو جلدی قطور "میرچا الیاده" است که یا جلال ستاری به سلیقه ی خود بخش هایی را برای ترجمه انتخاب کرده، و یا ممیزی مانع انتشار بخش هایی از کتاب شده است! با این همه آنچه به فارسی در آمده، خواندنی ست، حتی اگر در همین سیزده فصل منتشر شده هم تغییراتی داده باشند!
Mircea Eliade is a famous specialist on mythology, religion, mysticism and ritual elements among human’s beliefs. His language is not heavy, such as most of philosophers, but almost kind of a literary narration, novel like which keeps me going on in reading. But I won’t recommend Eliade to those who are not very much interested in different cultures and different people.
Mircea Eliade is a famous specialist on mythology, religion, mysticism and ritual elements among human’s beliefs. His language is not heavy, such as most of philosophers, but almost kind of a literary narration, novel like which keeps me going on in reading. But I won’t recommend Eliade to those who are not very much interested in different cultures and different people.
April 21, 2015
Es un volumen maravilloso, pues nos informa sobre el budismo que fue la primera religión en establecer comunidades monásticas; en cuanto a la doctrina que compartían esas comunidades, son ideas fundamentales como la reencarnación, la retribución de las acciones, técnicas de meditación que llevarán al "nirvana" y a la condición de "Buda". En la religión romana nos esclarece los términos de penates, lares y manes. Habla de Zalmoxis y el nacimiento, en las religiones europeas, del concepto de inmortalidad. De la síntesis hinduista: "el Mhabharata" y "el Bhagavad Gita". De la Gnosis: de Simón el Mago a Valentino. Todo esto sirve para saber de dónde adquirió la religión católica algunos conceptos y ritos.
August 11, 2015
I read the pages 368-395 from the Chapter 29, for Gnostics. Excellent analysis, but short. I think that Eliade contrasted with Dodds's remarks in his book Pagans and Christians on Gnostics' eclecticism. He points out that: "esotericism of the Gnostics became suspect in the eyes of the ecclesia. But it was not esotericism and gnosis as such that were found to be dangerous but the heresis that infiltrated themselves under the cloak of initiatory secrecy." Ecclesia from a point after its establishement had not to be affraid from esoteric gnosis as such. Because of its open character could easily absorb the secret sects, but it could not stand their heretical doctrines.
February 8, 2008
Another amazing work from Eliade.
December 29, 2022
The second volume of Mircea Eliade’s magnum opus takes us from the religions of ancient China to the twilight of the pagan gods, soon to be overtaken by the rising sun of Christianity. Along the way, Eliade attempts to summarise what we know about ancient Celtic and Germanic religion, and broaches the difficult topic of pagan survivals, noting that “the creativity of the Celtic religious genius will experience a new apogee in the literature created, beginning in the twelfth century, around the heroes engaged in the quest for the Grail”; while the legend of one of those heroes, Parsifal, will continue, “in enriched and revalorized form,” Germanic heroic mythology.
I generally find Eliade most interesting when he is discussing religious ideas outside of the mainstream, perhaps because, as he explained in an interview, it is in the esoteric and the mystical that we are presented with “the primal sources of religion and art and metaphysics”; and that it is through what is despised or neglected (the stone that the builders rejected) that we can contribute to the “regeneration” of the creativity of the human spirit. He consequently has some fascinating things to say about alchemy (which “was not an embryonic chemistry; it was a discipline bound up with a different system of significances and pursuing a different end”) and Hermeticism (noting its possible influence on the legend of Parsifal).
There are also some striking pages devoted to heresies such as Gnosticism and Manichaeanism, whose “grandiose mythology” is imbued with “tragic pessimism”, for they deny that “a cosmos dominated by evil” can be the work of a “good and transcendent” deity: “By the mere fact that he lives on this earth, that is, that he is endowed with an incarnate existence, man suffers, which is as much as to say that he is the prey of evil. Deliverance cannot be obtained except through gnosis, the only true science, the knowledge that saves … Ignorance is the result of the mingling of spirit and body…”
Mainstream Christianity also has its mythology, presenting Christ as a saviour god who descends to Earth to teach a redemptive message before returning to Heaven – a soteriological conception also found in Hinduism and Buddhism. But the mythic nature of Christ’s story does not undermine its veracity: “The myths that projected Jesus of Nazareth into a universe of archetypes and transcendent figures are as ‘true’ as his acts and words; indeed, these myths confirm the strength and creativity of his original message.” Moreover, the incarnation of the Absolute in a historical person “represents the last and most perfect hierophany” – or manifestation of the sacred – demonstrating “that the countless pre-Christian generations were not victims of an illusion when they proclaimed the presence of the sacred, i.e., of the divine, in the objects and rhythms of the cosmos.”
Eliade shows how the mainstream Church defined itself in opposition to the anti-cosmic dualism of the heretics: by glorifying the Creation, blessing life and accepting history, even – and this is one of Eliade’s perennial themes – “when history becomes nothing but terror.” Nevertheless, “a certain ‘Manichaean tendency’ is still an integral part of European spirituality”, feeding popular myths and legends, while an authentic Christian gnosis and esoteric teaching are stifled, diminished and camouflaged. This Eliade considers to be the highest price that the Church had to pay for unity.
The book has a charming epilogue in the form of an anecdote about an appearance of the goddess Demeter, disguised as an old woman, at a bus stop at Eleusis, once the home of the greatest of the mystery religions, in 1940. As long as myths can metamorphose, Eliade appears to be saying, they can never truly die.
There is more on Eliade and religious symbolism in my Goodreads blog: Myth Dancing (Incorporating the Twenty Third Letter). A series of posts on Eliade begins here: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
I generally find Eliade most interesting when he is discussing religious ideas outside of the mainstream, perhaps because, as he explained in an interview, it is in the esoteric and the mystical that we are presented with “the primal sources of religion and art and metaphysics”; and that it is through what is despised or neglected (the stone that the builders rejected) that we can contribute to the “regeneration” of the creativity of the human spirit. He consequently has some fascinating things to say about alchemy (which “was not an embryonic chemistry; it was a discipline bound up with a different system of significances and pursuing a different end”) and Hermeticism (noting its possible influence on the legend of Parsifal).
There are also some striking pages devoted to heresies such as Gnosticism and Manichaeanism, whose “grandiose mythology” is imbued with “tragic pessimism”, for they deny that “a cosmos dominated by evil” can be the work of a “good and transcendent” deity: “By the mere fact that he lives on this earth, that is, that he is endowed with an incarnate existence, man suffers, which is as much as to say that he is the prey of evil. Deliverance cannot be obtained except through gnosis, the only true science, the knowledge that saves … Ignorance is the result of the mingling of spirit and body…”
Mainstream Christianity also has its mythology, presenting Christ as a saviour god who descends to Earth to teach a redemptive message before returning to Heaven – a soteriological conception also found in Hinduism and Buddhism. But the mythic nature of Christ’s story does not undermine its veracity: “The myths that projected Jesus of Nazareth into a universe of archetypes and transcendent figures are as ‘true’ as his acts and words; indeed, these myths confirm the strength and creativity of his original message.” Moreover, the incarnation of the Absolute in a historical person “represents the last and most perfect hierophany” – or manifestation of the sacred – demonstrating “that the countless pre-Christian generations were not victims of an illusion when they proclaimed the presence of the sacred, i.e., of the divine, in the objects and rhythms of the cosmos.”
Eliade shows how the mainstream Church defined itself in opposition to the anti-cosmic dualism of the heretics: by glorifying the Creation, blessing life and accepting history, even – and this is one of Eliade’s perennial themes – “when history becomes nothing but terror.” Nevertheless, “a certain ‘Manichaean tendency’ is still an integral part of European spirituality”, feeding popular myths and legends, while an authentic Christian gnosis and esoteric teaching are stifled, diminished and camouflaged. This Eliade considers to be the highest price that the Church had to pay for unity.
The book has a charming epilogue in the form of an anecdote about an appearance of the goddess Demeter, disguised as an old woman, at a bus stop at Eleusis, once the home of the greatest of the mystery religions, in 1940. As long as myths can metamorphose, Eliade appears to be saying, they can never truly die.
There is more on Eliade and religious symbolism in my Goodreads blog: Myth Dancing (Incorporating the Twenty Third Letter). A series of posts on Eliade begins here: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
June 28, 2020
Another course text for my freshman religion class in college; despite this text being incredibly detailed which I often appreciate, I found it incredibly challenging to navigate along with its interesting choices to portray certain religions more/less/in different lights than others. My class and I mostly complained about its difficulty to digest, and my incredible professor also had some reservations of their own on a different matter.
(Perhaps it was the fact that I read the entirity of this book with the exception of a couple of chapters which did not allow me much time to think on what I had read, but it is still not easy to get through).
(Perhaps it was the fact that I read the entirity of this book with the exception of a couple of chapters which did not allow me much time to think on what I had read, but it is still not easy to get through).
November 5, 2019
This is what all non-fiction books should aspire to be. Dense yet lucid. A feat of academic writing.
The material covered should be common knowledge, not because it's easy (it's not), but for its importance. The current debate on nationalism versus "universalism" was already had in Palestine of Hellenistic times. The more one reads history, the less inclined one is to believe in "anything new under the sun".
The material covered should be common knowledge, not because it's easy (it's not), but for its importance. The current debate on nationalism versus "universalism" was already had in Palestine of Hellenistic times. The more one reads history, the less inclined one is to believe in "anything new under the sun".
April 10, 2021
Un volum încărcat cu extrem de multe informații. Este o adevărată cronologie a ideilor religioase. De aici poți prelua un topic și să-l studiezi în amănunt.
Ce îmi place este că sunt create legături între diversele mișcări și gândiri spirituale. Astfel totul are un sens mai ușor de digerat pentru cititorul amator.
Ce îmi place este că sunt create legături între diversele mișcări și gândiri spirituale. Astfel totul are un sens mai ușor de digerat pentru cititorul amator.
January 30, 2023
A good read. It continues where he left off from Volume 1. The sections on Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christian Heresiology were the most interesting. I didn't really remember much about the Celts, Iran or China. Germanic religion was fascinating. There's a bit too much latin terminology and it can be quite academese, a lot of dates and name dropping of scholars and historical figures.
Read
November 14, 2020Каша в голове еще больше, чем после первого тома. Много мутного и непонятного. Вместо расплывчатых положений веры хотелось бы чего-то более конкретного - описания обычаев, влиянияния религий на жизнь верующих. Самым сложным для меня оказался буддизм, самым простым - иудаизм, так как база уже была.
June 3, 2021
Excellent. The “big” picture....
March 28, 2023
الترجمة للعربية سيئة جدا
April 2, 2023
Przestarzałe, kryptoteologiczne gówno.
March 23, 2024
I enjoyed the religious history analysis in this volume more than in the first volume. Likely because I'm more familiar with the topics covered in this volume.
April 24, 2024
Sehr gelungene Fortsetzung des ersten Teils. Wie der erste Teil, eignet sich das Buch sehr gut, um sich einen chronologischen Überblick von Religionen zu machen.
February 17, 2024
4 months for the 4 volumes of the history of religions for me. Could have been profession changing, had I read them 15 years ago. I never realized how interesting this subject could really be. The next few words will be about the 4 volumes more or less in general, as my head is still reeling from the amount of information that was synthesized here.
Eliade died by the time of Vol 4, which can be clearly felt as that is more a compendium of different researchers and authors in this field and lacks the unity and cross-referencing that the previous volumes have. This doesn't mean that it lacks valuable ideas or insights, it's just different...
The most interesting one for me was Vol 1 dealing with archaic and ancient belief forms and religions, which was quite the eye-opener. That one kind of lays the foundation for the further volumes as the underlying theme, as I perceived it, is that certain experiences as well as certain influences among peoples in long forgotten times have lead to the development of various proto-religious beliefs, which then again developed due to various other influences leading to the appearance of religions in Antiquity.
I would even go as far as to say, that these are not only scholarly excellent works, though I don't know how much our understanding of religions changed in the past 40-50 years since Eliade, but these should be mandatory readings for teachers/preachers of the faith as well. I specifically think about Christians, but that's because of my own background. There's a lot to learn from these volumes, but it also takes quite some time to go deep into them.
Eliade died by the time of Vol 4, which can be clearly felt as that is more a compendium of different researchers and authors in this field and lacks the unity and cross-referencing that the previous volumes have. This doesn't mean that it lacks valuable ideas or insights, it's just different...
The most interesting one for me was Vol 1 dealing with archaic and ancient belief forms and religions, which was quite the eye-opener. That one kind of lays the foundation for the further volumes as the underlying theme, as I perceived it, is that certain experiences as well as certain influences among peoples in long forgotten times have lead to the development of various proto-religious beliefs, which then again developed due to various other influences leading to the appearance of religions in Antiquity.
I would even go as far as to say, that these are not only scholarly excellent works, though I don't know how much our understanding of religions changed in the past 40-50 years since Eliade, but these should be mandatory readings for teachers/preachers of the faith as well. I specifically think about Christians, but that's because of my own background. There's a lot to learn from these volumes, but it also takes quite some time to go deep into them.
January 19, 2022
La obra de Mircea Eliade es fundamental para todos aquellos interesados en los distintos cultos y creencias que han dado forma a la cosmovisión de los diferentes pueblos de la tierra.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews