Mysticism in English Literature

Caroline F. E. Spurgeon, ¡°Mysticism in English Literature¡±
BiblioLife | 2008-08-18 | ISBN: 0554362996 | 136 pages | PDF | 1 MB

INTRODUCTION
Mysticism is a term so irresponsibly applied in English that it
has become the first duty of those who use it to explain what
they mean by it. The Concise Oxford Dictionary (1911), after
defining a mystic as "one who believes in spiritual apprehension
of truths beyond the understanding," adds, "whence mysticism
(n.) (often contempt)." Whatever may be the precise force of the
remark in brackets, it is unquestionably true that mysticism is
often used in a semi-contemptuous way to denote vaguely any
kind of occultism or spiritualism, or any specially curious or
fantastic views about God and the universe.
The word itself was originally taken over by the Neo-platonists
from the Greek mysteries, where the name of ¦Ì?¦Ò¦Ó¦Ç? given to
the initiate, probably arose from the fact that he was one who
was gaining a knowledge of divine things about which he must
keep his mouth shut (¦Ì?¦Ø = close lips or eyes). Hence the
association of secrecy or "mystery" which still clings round the
word.

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