Beyond Enlightenment -- Occultism and Politics in Modern France (review)

Under the ambitious title Beyond Enlightenment – Occultism and Politics in Modern France, New College of Florida historian David Allen Harvey writes an informative work centered on occultism, or the other "face of modernity." Despite its emphasis on the visible, the Renaissance also generated a renewed interest in the imponderable and the arcane meanings of ancient texts and artifacts. The Enlightenment accentuated the clash between modern science and religion, leaving in its wake a kind of ideological vacuum for non-partisans. For many, occultism came to occupy that blind spot left behind by the lack of an "existential" meaning of materialism and by the unyielding dogmatism of religion. By the end of the nineteenth century, occultism was considered by most of its adepts as the synthesis of scientism and religion resulting in a higher wisdom which helped them cope with disenchantment in the modern world. Harvey points out that the feud between reason and faith persists today, and that the occultist itinerary leads to an engaging "diagnosis" of societies in which this feud with its accompanying polarization first crystallized.

Although modern occultism encompasses a vast array of heterogeneous trends, doctrines, groups, eras, and areas, Harvey concentrates primarily on the French occult movement known as Martinism; its lifespan provides him with a timeframe lasting approximately from the end of the Old Regime to World War I. Occult groups are usually known to the general public through sensational literature, even conspiracy theories, which distort their image while the secrecy surrounding their practices inspires fascination or fear. Harvey provides a sober yet thought-provoking depiction of Martinists by focusing on the primary texts behind their movement's major tenets, thereby effectively clarifying the social and political ideals they prescribe to heal the ills of their times.

In 1760, Martinism started as a mystical branch of Freemasonry under the name Temple des Élus Coën that was founded by Martinès de Pasqually, and which matured under his disciple Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin. This group underwent several changes until it was dissolved under the French Revolution. During the nineteenth century, the renewed impact of Martinism, often combined with Swedenborgism and Mesmerism, ranged from occult gurus such as Éliphas Lévi to writers like Huysmans, both of whom Harvey discusses at length. In the late 1880s, Martinism took off again thanks to charismatic leaders such as Stanislas de Guaita and Gérard Encausse, alias Papus.

Most of the principles of the movement were developed in the writings of Saint-Martin who, borrowing from Christianity, neo-Platonism, and Jacob Boehme, argues that man emanates directly from God. In turn, contrary to the materialism of his time, man is innately divine. This emanation from God harks back to a primordial time when man lived in peace and harmony with his peers and with the cosmos. Saint-Martin elaborated a theory of "correspondence" which posits an exact analogy between the microcosm (man) and the macrocosm (the universe). Since the planets influence man's life, reciprocally a Martinist practices his occult "science" to influence the universe. He explores the divine force within him with the help of occult knowledge locked up in texts like the Bible or the Kabala, and by deciphering the expressions of "Providence" in the universe's natural laws. Especially after the uncertainty following the French Revolution, Martinists aspired to use their occult knowledge to help society to regain that lost golden age of humanity. Harvey clears the way for more analysis on the Martinist attempt at a new epistemology which, long before the development of the electrical telegraph or the telephone, rendered certain aspects of the supernatural superfluous by including faith, the imponderable, and reason within one system.

The lost golden age functioned as a founding myth. Martinists invented "metahistories" to grasp the divine at work in world history as well as to establish their own prestigious filiation. Harvey effectively perceives the artificial genealogy of various occult groups by showing that, similarly to...