The Secret Lore of Egypt: Its Impact on the West
The author of four previous Cornell University Press volumes on  Egyptology, Hornung (emeritus, Univ. of Basel) here focuses on  "Egyptosophy." This concept is defined as "the study of an  imaginary Egypt viewed as the profound source of all esoteric  lore. This Egypt is a timeless idea bearing only a loose  relationship to the historical reality." Hornung traces the  influences of this imaginary Egypt on Western culture from the  classical world, through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, to  the present day. He argues that the god Thoth and various  Egyptian sages known to the ancient Greeks coalesced into the  legendary Hermes Trismegistus, the creator of the art of writing  and civilization. Hornung views these mystical and magical  "Egyptian" elements as a basis for Gnosticism as well as other  secret and metaphysical societies, among them the Rosicrucians,  the Freemasons, and the Theosophists. The text presumes  extensive knowledge of Western philosophy, art history, and  religion; references are made to "the Madonna Platytera" and the  "Gnostic Pistis Sophia," for example, without any footnotes or  explanations. Recommended for academic libraries and specialized  collections. (Illustrations and index not seen.) Edward K.  Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Pierce, FLCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.