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Line 41: + + − In the Paris of the Second Empire Éliphas Lévi was a well known person. In the beginning a rather casual interest, his pursuit of esoteric matters later earned him a singular knowledge, almost tailor-made for a society that could no longer believe in the solacements from the church, yet neither in those the ersatz religion science would offer<ref>What sounds polemical in fact is not. It took us over 100 years (until after Chernobyl) until eventually we managed to free science from the nimbus the 19th century had bestowed upon it.</ref>. Although the political revolutions which had been turning the French society literally upside down for six decades finally found a temporary slowdown under Napoléon III, neither his imperialistic foreign policy nor the pomp of his self-stagings could resolve the deeply rooted feeling of uncertainty. People sensed something had been lost, and albeit only a small minority actually wanted to turn back the clock there was a widespread, diffuse longing - for a modern past, for a "like back then, but today". Esotericism appeared to offer a solution of this dilemma. By applying methods and forms of representation of the natural sciences on conceptions of the supernatural a connection between these two seemingly emerged, and the ''occult sciences'' took shape.+ + − One reason for Éliphas Lévi's success may of course be seen in the fact that he was the first who consequently followed this path. He was the first after [[Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim|Agrippa von Nettesheim]] who occupied himself with occultism more intensely than just en passant. That way he could draw from an extensive well - without being hampered by the lesser developed ability in him to working systematically. Almost every notable mystic of the following times would be influenced by his scriptures, for the wide range of subjects they cover as well as for their relative originality. His taste for excentric appearances, calculated for effect and regardless of possibly negative outcome, helped boost his popularity even further. Seven years after his death the Parisian newspaper ''Le Figaro'' would publish a leading article about him.<ref>[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k278346v Un maitre sorcier. Le Figaro v. 6. Oktober 1882] (describes in detail the incidents around Lévi's near execution in 1848)</ref> [[image:Talisman_universel_selon_levi.png|According Papus the universal charm Lévi discovered, by which all evil spirits can be banned, provided you drew it with golden ink on a pristine parchment, and carry it in a bag of golden silk.|thumb]] Apart from the above-mentioned Fernand Rozier the mystics particularly influenced by him were:
→Reception
== Reception ==
== Reception ==
[[image:Eliphas_Levi_1872_Photo_Originale.jpg|Portrait from 1872|left|thumb]]
[[image:Eliphas_Levi_1872_Photo_Originale.jpg|Portrait from 1872|left|thumb]]
In Second Empire Paris, Éliphas Lévi was a well known figure. His pursuit of esoteric matters, initially a rather casual interest, later provided him with a unique knowledge. By applying methods and forms of presentation of natural sciences to concepts of the supernatural, a connection between these two seemingly emerged, and the ''occult sciences'' took shape.
One reason for Éliphas Lévi's success may be seen in the fact that he was the first to follow this path consequently. He was the first after [[Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim|Agrippa von Nettesheim]] to study occultism more intensely than just fleetingly and thus was able to draw from substantial sources. Due to the wide range of subjects covered as well as because of their comparative originality, his works influenced all notable mystics in the afermath. His inclination for eccentric appearances, calculated for effect and regardless of possible negative outcome, contributed to further boosting his popularity. Seven years after his death,Paris newspaper ''Le Figaro'' published an editorial on him.<ref>[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k278346v Un maitre sorcier. Le Figaro v. 6. Oktober 1882] (provides a detailed description of incidents connected to Lévi's near execution in 1848)</ref>
[[image:Talisman_universel_selon_levi.png|According to Papus, the universal charm discovered by Lévi banning all evil spirits, provided it was drawn on pristine parchment in golden ink and carried in a golden silk bag.|thumb]]
Apart from Fernand Rozier mentioned above, further mystics particularly influenced by Lévi were:
* [[Gérard Encausse]] (1865 - 1916), who published under the pseudonym Papus,
* [[Gérard Encausse]] (1865 - 1916), who published under the pseudonym Papus,
* [[Stanislas de Guaita]] (1861 - 1897),
* [[Stanislas de Guaita]] (1861 - 1897),